Ultimate Travel Companions from Panasonic – New LUMIX TZ20 and TZ18

24mm Ultra Wide-Angle Powerful 16x Optical Zoom LEICA DC Lens

Panasonic’s multiple award winning TZ series is pleased to welcome a two outstanding new additions - the TZ20 and TZ18. Brimming with the very latest Lumix technology and key features fundamental to the TZ success story – including HD movie recording capability, full manual control, a 24mm ultra wide angle and powerful 16x optical zoom in a compact body – the TZ20 offers and even higher standard with built-in GPS and  FULL HD AVCHD movie recording..

24mm Ultra Wide-Angle LEICA DC Lens with 16x Powerful Optical Zoom
A compact and versatile lens system is the hallmark of the LUMIX TZ series and for the new TZ20 and TZ18 this lens system is entirely redeveloped in both optical and mechanical design. Featuring a new high-quality 24mm ultra wide angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 16x optical zoom. The newly applied Nano Surface Coating boasts an extremely low reflectance ratio compared with the conventional multi coating to suppress image ghosting. Thanks to this very latest Panasonic technology, adopted for the first time to the LUMIX cameras, the images delivered through the lens of a TZ20 and TZ18 have exceptional optical performance with stunning clarity that passes Leica's stringent standards.

Comprising 10 elements in 8 groups, including 2 ED lens and 2 aspherical lenses with 3 aspherical surfaces, this advanced lens unit greatly suppresses chromatic aberration which tends to occur in telephoto shooting. It is also a compact design despite its higher versatility with a longer zoom range, and is made possible by a new structure of lens barrel. Thanks to Intelligent Resolution technology,  Intelligent Zoom is made available which extends the zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the picture quality even when combined with this digital zoom process. This means the 16x optical zoom can be virtually extended to a 21x (20x for TZ18) equivalent. Furthermore, the Extra Optical Zoom function extends zoom power to 33.8x (at 3-megapixel resolution) by using the center part of the large MOS sensor to bring subjects even closer.

14.1-Megapixel MOS Sensor and Venus Engine FHD for High Speed, High Sensitivity Image Recording
For the TZ20, a newly adopted 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor and the advanced image processor, Venus Engine FHD, feature high speed, high sensitivity image recording to realize 1920 x 1080 full-HD movie recording and high speed burst shooting. It lets the TZ20 shoot 10 fps in 14-megapixel full resolution with mechanical shutter and 5 fps with continuous AF. Even higher speed burst shooting is available with TZ20 if electronic shutter is used - 60 fps in 3.5-megapixel*. While the new TZ18 takes advantage of the Venus Engine VI.

For the effective concentration of light, the newly developed sensor adopts micro fabrication technology to achieve even higher sensitivity. With an advanced micro light tube structure, both colour mixture and signal loss are prevented resulting in outstanding clearness. Furthermore, by optimizing the semiconductor production process a dramatic suppression of noise is achieved, important for the delivery of high quality photographs.

The Sonic Speed AF, which boasts approx. 49% higher speed compared with the predecessor, and a quick start-up time give the TZ20 super fast response that helps to catch even the most fleeting photo opportunities.

1,920 x 1,080 50i (PAL)/60i(NTSC) Full-HD Movie Recording in the AVCHD Format with TZ20
As an advanced photographic tool for recording not only great photos also beautiful full-HD movies, the TZ20 can record high-resolution full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 50i (PAL) / 60i (NTSC) movies in AVCHD (MPEG-4 / H.264)* format in addition to motion JPEG images.

The AVCHD format allows almost twice the recording time in HD quality than the conventional Motion JPEG and excels in the compatibility with AV equipment like HDTVs or Blu-ray Disc players. A special, separate button on the top lets the user instantly start recording movies while shooting photos without any having to make any extra settings.

The powerful 16x optical zoom is available in movie recording along with popular iA (Intelligent Auto) functions, POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), Face Detection and Intelligent Scene Selector. For more effective countermeasure against blur, an all new Active Mode is newly integrated within the TZ20 that greatly improves the effect of the image stabilizer when the photographer is walking or moving around.

Fantastic sound can also be captured thanks to Dolby Digital Stereo Creator to record high quality audio, so you can match the beautiful motion images with outstanding stereo sound plus a Wind Cut function is also available to block out most of the noise from background wind.

For the TZ18, 720p HD movie is also available ensuring no matter what your special moment, the TZ8 can capture it.

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.

Advanced GPS System
The TZ series is acclaimed as an excellent travel companion because of a wide shooting range, hybrid recording capability of high quality photo and movie and a host of travel-friendly functions including a built-in GPS system.

The location data of where the photo was taken is embedded with its latitude and longitude automatically in the Exif data of each picture. These geo-tagged images can be pinpointed on the maps of social media internet maps to be shared with friends and families. It also 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).

Smart Touch Screen for Intuitive Touch-Control on the 3.0-inch Large 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD*
The compact TZ20 adopts full touch-screen operation with a new Smart Touch Screen. Auto Focus (AF) and can be immediately set to focus on the subject by simply touching it on the large LCD and then followed by releasing the shutter again using the touch-screen. A 3.0 inch large 460,000-dot high resolution screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting. It also serves as an effective photo and video viewer, allowing the enjoyment of viewing still and motion images back instantly when on the move.

With the Intelligent Scene Selector in the iA mode, the camera automatically switches to the appropriate mode according to the subject touched, for example, a touch on a human face switches to the portrait mode and a touch on the background or scenery to the scenery mode.

All menu settings are now also available with touch control and even in the shooting screen you can directly touch the icon to change the settings quickly. The touch-screen operation excels not only for shooting but also for playing back images with outstanding visibility. You can play back the image you want from potentially the many thousands taken by touching the thumbnails. To play back images one by one in order, you can drag the image over the screen with a finger to browse the collection of photos as you would flip over the pages of a book. The screen brightness automatically adjusts in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times. The AR (Anti-Reflection) coating is especially effective in suppressing reflection under strong sunlight in daytime

The 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 TZ20 and TZ18. For more effective correction in movie recording, Active Mode is added to the conventional POWER O.I.S. It excels in suppressing blur when recording movie at wide angle in shooting while walking. Together with the POWER O.I.S., both cameras powerfully prevent blur in both photo and movie recording.

Intelligent Handheld Nightshot mode is also new which generates a beautiful night scenery with illumination by layering the images shot consecutively plus, 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, The Intelligent Scene Selector, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure work appropriately just by entering the iA mode for any user to take beautiful photos with maximum ease.

Exciting Features for More Fun of Photography
Thanks to newly integrated LUMIX Image Uploader you can instantly share your images via Facebook or video to YouTube (movie) with any PC directly with both the TZ20 and TZ18.  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 simply instructions, allowing you to add a comment and notify your friends via e-mail. Facebook can be used for photos and YouTube for movies.

An added benefit of the TZ20 is the fantastic addition of 3D Photo mode which produces a realistic, low-distortion 3D image from up to 20 consecutive images shot whilst panning. The 3D image can be viewed on VIERA 3D HDTV or other MPO-compatible 3D equipment such as TV, Digital Photo Frame or Printing

With a host of up-to-the-minute technologies further advancing the possibilities of photography in a compact, pocket-sized body, both the TZ20 and TZ18 offer exceptional quality in photo and movie recording and ultimate convenience with fun tailored for the energetic world travelers and photographic enthusiasts alike.