New Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT3 featuring Full-HD Movie Recording and Advanced GPS Function for all-round Outdoor Excitement

Panasonic is pleased to introduce the new LUMIX DMC-FT3, a camera designed and especially geared for active outdoor use with superb photo and video recording in an extremely tough body with rugged design. Featuring AVCHD Full HD movie recording capability, the new 12.1-megapixel FT3 further strengthens its toughness appeal being waterproof to 12m, shockproof to 2m, freezeproof to -10 degrees C and dustproof.

The FT3 features a high-quality LEICA DC VARIO ELMAR 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4.6x optical zoom. A folded optics shaft guide method is adopted to secure the toughness of the lens unit. Comprising 10 elements and a prism unit in 8 groups, including 1 ED lens and 5 aspherical lenses with 6 aspherical surfaces passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver exceptional optical performance right to the edge of the frame. Thanks to the newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology, Intelligent Zoom is available with the FT3 which extends the zoom ratio by approx.1.3x maintaining the picture quality even when combining this digital zoom process. This means the 4.6x optical zoom can virtually extend to 6x equivalent. Furthermore, the Extra Optical Zoom function extends zoom power to 9.1x (at 3-megapixel resolution) by using the centre part of the 12.1-megapixel high resolution CCD to bring subjects even closer.

Tough for the great outdoors
Thanks to rubber padding and reinforced glass, the FT3 features an airtight body that lets intrepid photographers operate the rugged camera underwater to a depth of up to 12 meters.

The FT3 is drop proof from a height of up to 2 meters and in addition to reinforcing the exterior of the camera with shock-resistant material, the FT3 uses folded optics to help prevent its lens unit from being damaged when dropped during operation. The lens unit is protected by a supplementary damper to absorb the force from shock impact. Combined with its dustproof, waterproof and freezeproof performance, this makes it the ideal camera for use outdoors, in active situations, and for casual everyday shooting.

Perfect companion for all seasons and all sports
The DMC-FT3 newly integrates a GPS function, which has proven to be popular previously in the LUMIX TZ series. It shows the name of the location and Landmark using the internal data to give real-time information on the area of shooting and adds reference and fun during active travel. The area information covers 203 countries or regions for global use, plus more than 1,000,000 landmarks (information covers 78 countries or regions).

Amongst an array of exciting features included in the new FT camera are a compass, altimeter and even barometer to show and record altitude, barometric pressure and orientation data. The barometer also works as an indicator for depth underwater. The rugged design, GPS and the advanced measuring equipments offers a variety shooting options in wide-ranging situations - Whether it is fishing or camping in the springtime, to diving, snorkelling and surfing in summer, or mountain climbing in autumn and skiing snowboarding in winter – The DMC-FT3 is suitable all-year-round to record stunning memories in both beautiful photo and movie.

Advanced Signal Processing, high performance Venus Engine FHD
Empowered by a newly developed 12.1-megapixel Hi-Speed CCD sensor and high-speed, high-performance Venus Engine FHD, the DMC-FT3 processes a large amount of signals at high speed, making it possible to record 1,920 x 1,080 full-HD movie recording and high resolution consecutive shots at 3.7 fps in 12.1-megapixel full resolution and max.10 fps at 3-megapixel recording.

With Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas –outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas are automatically detected. The outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clarity while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas that look more finely detailed. To the soft gradation part, the superior noise reduction system of the Venus Engine FHD is applied making it smoother.  Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, the innovative Intelligent Resolution technology precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel, in the most effective way, as a result, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and movie recording.

Intelligent Resolution technology also facilitates Intelligent Zoom, which virtually extends the optical zoom ratio to its 1.3x equivalent maintaining the picture quality even combined with the digital zoom. Details of an image in high sensitivity recording tend to be lost in the noise reduction process; however, Intelligent Resolution works to keep them.

At the same time, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine HD FHD supports a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as approx. 0.005 seconds and the camera's quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities together with the Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus) which boasts approx.28% faster speed compared with the earlier released DMC-FT2. The Venus Engine FHD also supports a High Sensitivity mode that lets the DMC-FT3 record at a setting of up to ISO 6400, sensitive enough to capture subjects in near-total darkness without using a flash.**

Enjoy 1920 x 1080 Full-HD Movie Recording in AVCHD
With the ever growing popularity of capturing movies with digital cameras, the DMC-FT3 features an excellent recording capability of AVCHD movie in 1920 x 1080 full-HD. The AVCHD format allows almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG and the picture quality is greatly enhanced thanks to Intelligent Resolution technology. The rugged camera also boasts a number of options to enhance personal movies such as Dolby Digital Creator to record high quality audio, 4.6x optical zoom and a Wind Cut function to block out most of the noise from background wind. These choices of settings enhance the usability and fun of recording high quality full-HD movie.

In addition, with the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 6.1 HD Lite Edition, it is easy to view and edit your recorded contents. You may also choose to upload your videos to YouTube or burn them to a DVD disc for archiving.

Evolving iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode Makes Every Photo and Movie More Beautiful
Panasonic’s well renowned iA (Intelligent Auto) mode has also evolved within the FT3. For more correction effect in movie recording, Active Mode is added to the conventional POWER O.I.S. It excels in suppressing blur when recording wide angle movies while walking. Together with the POWER O.I.S., the DMC-FT3 powerfully prevents blur in both photo and movie recording.  Motion Deblur mode* is also available by updating the motion detection (Intelligent ISO Control) and brightness control (Intelligent Exposure) to gain as high a shutter speed as possible. Face Recognition, Face Detection, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent Exposure work appropriately just by entering the iA mode for any photographer to take beautiful photos with maximum ease.

Exciting Features for More Fun Photography
Thanks to the newly integrated LUMIX Image Uploader you can instantly share your images via Facebook or video to YouTube (movie) with any PC on the spot with the FT3.  All you have to do is checkmark the photos you want to share and connect the camera to a PC. Uploading starts just by following the simple instructions, allowing you to add a comment and notify your friends via e-mail. Facebook can be used for photos and YouTube for movies.

The FT3 is equipped with a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD with wide viewing angle and AR(Anti-Reflection) coating. The screen brightness automatically adjusts in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times. The large screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting.

All new memories in 3D
The newly added 3D Photo mode produces a realistic 3D image out of 20 consecutive images shot whilst panning left to right. The 3D image can be viewed on VIERA 3D HDTV or other MPO-compatible 3D equipment such as TV, Digital Photo Frame or Printing.

Take the DMC-FT3 out for any outdoor adventures in any season – diving, snorkelling, surfing, climbing, skiing or camping - and bring back some tremendous records of memories in stunning photos or in full-HD. Available in two bold colours, Blue and Red, from March 2011. An optional marine case (DMW-MCFT3) is available for underwater photography to 40m.

*1 Recording conditions by CIPA standard
• CIPA is an abbreviation of [Camera & Imaging Products Association].
• Temperature: 23 oC (73.4 oF)/Humidity: 50% when LCD monitor is on.
• Using a Panasonic SD Memory Card (32 MB).
• Using the supplied battery.
• Starting recording 30 seconds after the camera is turned on. (When the optical image stabilizer function is set to [AUTO].)
• Recording once every 30 seconds with full flash every second recording.
• Rotating the zoom lever from Tele to Wide or vice versa in every recording.
• Turning the camera off every 10 recordings and leaving it until the temperature of the battery decreases.
• The number of recordable pictures decreases in Auto Power LCD Mode and Power LCD Mode.

*2 - • These are standard times taken at a temperature of 23 oC (73.4 oF) and a humidity of 50%.
• The time available for recording varies depending on the environment, the interval between recordings, and the manner of use.
• Actual recordable time is the time available for recording when repeating actions such as switching the power supply [ON] / [OFF], starting/stopping recording, zoom operation etc.
• Motion picture recorded continuously in [MOTION JPEG] is up to 2 GB. Only the maximum recordable time for 2 GB is displayed on the screen.