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SECAUCUS, N.J. (July 21, 2008) – Panasonic today unveiled the LUMIX DMC-FZ28 digital camera, which boasts a premium 27mm wide-angle LEICA lens with an 18x optical zoom, ideal for tight indoor shots and long-distance action photos. The 10.1 megapixel digital camera also features an enhanced Intelligent Auto Mode (iA), with the new AF (auto focus) Tracking function, making it easier for photographers at any level to shoot sharp, well-focused photos, even when the subject is moving – making it ideal for action shots.

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The AF Tracking function, the latest component to be added to Panasonic’s iA system, allows users to lock focus on a moving subject. The camera then automatically tracks the subject as it moves, keeping it in focus without the need to hold the shutter halfway down. AF Tracking makes it easier to capture moving subjects and spur-of-the-moment action shots. The AF Tracking technology also improves Face Detection (up to 15 faces), by providing continuous adjustment of the focus and exposure, even if the face is turned away from the camera.*

“The FZ28 packs a wide-angle lens and a high-powered zoom, so shooting outdoor events or vacation adventures is easy with this powerful camera,” said David Briganti, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Without sacrificing Panasonic’s reputation for high-quality lenses and innovative technologies, the FZ28 expands the Intelligent Auto Mode, allowing a user at any level to take high-quality photos.”

In addition to the AF Tracking functionality, Panasonic’s other iA technologies include:

Intelligent Exposure – Helps prevents photos from being under- or over-exposed by instantly analyzing the framed image and adjusting the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting or the use of the flash. The camera will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.

Digital Red-eye Correction– This feature helps to eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at night. Incorporated into the camera, the built-in flash emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash, detects red-eye and will digitally correct it.

MEGA O.I.S. – Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent hand-shake from creating a blurry image.

Intelligent ISO – Determines if the photo subject is moving and changes the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly, thus giving a blur-free photo.

Intelligent Scene Selector – Senses the ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and will automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode. This intuitive technology, helps the consumer use the most common scene modes that are built into the camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments.

Face Detection – Detects faces in the frame (up to 15 faces), even if they are moving, and selects optimal focus and exposure settings so portraits come out clear.

Quick AF (Auto Focus) – Starts focus on the subject by just pointing the camera at the subject, thus minimizing the AF time.

The high-quality, high-performance Venus Engine IV supports a faster response time, allowing the camera to shoot 2.5 shots per second at full resolution and 13 shots per second in High-Speed Burst mode. In High Sensitivity mode, the FZ28 can shoot up to ISO 6400 in extremely low-lit situations. The LUMIX DMC-FZ28 also is equipped with a 2.7-inch large, high resolution LCD with 230,000 pixels, and a high resolution electric viewfinder equivalent to 201,600 pixels.

The DMC-FZ28 also features High Defintion (HD) video capabilities with a resolution of 1280 x 720p at 30fps. Still photos can also be shot in a 16:9 aspect ratio for optimal full-screen viewing on a HDTV. Panasonic VIERA Plasma or LCD HDTVs also feature an integrated SD Memory Card slot, allowing users to easily view photos by simply inserting the SD Memory Card into the convenient SD Card slot built into the TV. Consumer can also enjoy watching videos in HD quality and view still images by connecting the DMC-FXZ28 via an optional Panasonic component cable (DMW-HDC2).

Additional features of the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28 include:

Image Leveling – When a captured image “leans” to the right or left because the camera was held at a slight angle when the photo was taken, the Image Leveling function rotates the image to straighten it and crops the unnecessary edges. No computer needed!

Scene Modes – The DMC-FZ28 offers a total of 37 scene modes to respond easily to any shooting situation. The new Pin Hole and Film Grain modes add unique, film camera-like effects and ambiences to images. Additionally, the actual effects of the scene mode can be viewed on the LCD before taking the shot.

Flash – Reaches a distance of 8.5 meters at the wide setting and 5.4 meters at the telephoto setting (ISO AUTO).

SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0 SE – Software application comes bundled with the DMC-FZ28 for editing and developing images in the RAW file format.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28 will be available in silver and black in August 2008 for a suggested retail price of $399.95.

* Face must initially be facing forward to be detected.

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company

Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (NYSE: MC) and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. In its commitment to provide consumers with extensive imaging resources, Panasonic LUMIX established the Digital Photo Academy, a series of nationwide workshops designed to instruct consumers how to optimize the features on their digital cameras and produce high-quality photos. Panasonic is honored to support OUR PLACE – The World’s Heritage, a project that will create the world’s largest photographic collection of UNESCO World Heritage sites, with acclaimed photographers exclusively using LUMIX digital cameras to capture all images. Information about Panasonic LUMIX digital still cameras and its affiliated programs is available at HYPERLINK “BLOCKED::outbind://773/www.panasonic.com/dsc” \o “BLOCKED::outbind://773/www.panasonic.com/dsc

outbind://773/www.panasonic.com/dsc” www.panasonic.com/dsc.

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DMC-FZ28

Dimensions (W x H x D)

117.6 x 75.3 x 88.9 mm

Weight

Approx. 370g

Approx. 417g with Battery and SD Memory Card

Camera Effective Pixels

10.1 Mega pixels

Image Sensor

1/2.33″ 10.7 Total Mega Pixels CCD

Primary Color Filter

Optical Zoom

18x

Extra Optical Zoom

4:3 Aspect Ratio: 21.4x for 7Mega, 25.7x for 5Mega, 32.1x for 3Mega, 2Mega, 0.3Mega

3:2 Aspect Ratio: 21.4x for 6Mega, 25.7x for 4.5Mega, 32.1x for 2.5Mega

16:9 Aspect Ratio: 21.4x for 5.5Mega, 25.7x for 3.5Mega, 32.1x for 2Mega

Digital Zoom

4x

( Max. 72.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom )

(Max. 128x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)

Focal Length

f=4.8-86.4mm (35mm Equiv.: 27-486mm)

Lens

LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT

11 elements in 8 groups

(3 Aspherical Lenses / 4 Aspherical surfaces, 2 ED lenses)

Aperture

Wide: F2.8 – F8.0 Tele: F4.4 – F8

Optical Image Stabilizer

MEGA O.I.S. (Auto/Mode1/ Mode2)

Conversion lens Compatibility

Yes

Focusing Area

Normal: Wide 30cm/ Tele 200cm – infinity

MF / Intelligent AUTO / Macro: Wide 1cm / Tele 200cm – infinity

Tele Macro (approx. 11x – 18x) : 100cm – infinity

AF Metering

Face / AF tracking / multi-area / 1-area high speed / 1-area / spot

Focus

Normal / Macro, Quick AF On/Off (On in Intelligent Auto), Continuous AF On/Off
AF/MF Switchable, Manual Focus(Joystick), One Shot AF, AF Area Select, AF Tracking

AF Assist Lamp

Yes

ISO Sensitivity

Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600
(High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 – 6400) )

ISO Limit Set

Yes

White Balance

Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Flash / Halogen / Color Temperature / White Set 1 / White Set 2
(Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby1, Baby2, Pet,
High Sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Pinhole modes)
White Balance Adjustment (2-axis adjustable, ±9steps each, Blue/Amber and Magenta/Green bias)

Exposure

Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual, Program Shift(Program AE mode)

Exposure Compensation

1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV

Backlight Compensation

Yes (auto in Intelligent AUTO mode)

Multi-Exposure

No

Multi-Aspect

No

Auto (AE) Bracketing

+/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames

Light Metering

Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot

Rec Mode (Mode Dial)

Intelligent AUTO, P(Program) mode, A(Aperture Priority) mode, S(Shutter Priority) mode, M(Manual) mode, Custom1, Custom2, Portrait mode, Scenery mode, Sports mode, Night Portrait mode, Close-up mode, Scene mode,
Motion Picture

Scene Mode

Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Flash Burst, Panning,

Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial photo, Pin Hole, Film Grain

Advanced Scene Mode

Portrait mode : Normal, Soft Skin, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative
Scenery mode : Normal, Nature, Architecture, Creative
Sports mode : Normal, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative
Night Portrait : Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Illuminations, Creative
Close-up: Flower, Food, Objects, Creative

Shutter Speed

P:1-1/2000sec (Selectable minimum shutter speed)
A/S:8-1/2000sec, M:60-1/2000sec?
Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.

Self Timer

2sec, 10sec, 10sec[3 pictures]

Auto Review

1sec, 2sec, Zoom, Hold

Review

1x, 4x, 8x

Contrast ±2steps

Picture Adjustment

Sharpness ±2steps

Saturation ±2steps

Noise Reduction ±2steps

Color Effect Mode

Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm

Color Bracketing

Standard / Black & White (2 images), Standard / Sepia (2 images), Standard / Black & White / Sepia (3 images)

Recording Format

Still Image: JPEG(Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif 2.21 standard), RAW, DPOF corresponding

image with audio: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif 2.21 standard)+ QuickTime

Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG

Recording Image Size

Still Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 3648x 2736 pixels, 3072 x 2304 pixels, 2560 x 1920 pixels,

2048 x 1536 pixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels, 640 x 480 pixels

3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3648x 2432 pixels, 3072 x 2048 pixels, 2560 x 1712 pixels, 2048 x 1360 pixels

16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3648 x 2056 pixels, 3072 x 1728 pixels, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 1920 x 1080 pixels

Image Quality

Fine / Standard / RAW / RAW+JPEG

Motion Picture

4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps, 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps/10 fps

16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps
HD?16:9 Aspect Ratio?: 1280×720 pixels 30fps

Burst Shooting Mode

Full-Resolution Image, 2.5 frames/sec Max. 5 images (Standard mode), Max 3 images (Fine mode)

High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 11 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3), 12 flames/sec (2.5M for 3:2),
13 flames/sec (2M for 16:9) (Speed Priority)
7 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9) (Image Priority)

Unlimited consecutive shooting

Yes

Intelligent Exposure

Off / Low / Standard / High

Digital Red Eye Correction

Yes

Easy Zoom / Zoom Resume / Motion Zoom

No / Yes / Yes

Still Image Rec. with Audio

5 sec

Audio Dubbing

Max. 10sec

Real-time Histogram / Highlight Display

Yes / Yes

Composition Guide line

2 patterns

Built-in-Memory

approx. 50MB

Scene Mode Help Screen

Yes

Auto Angle Detection

Yes

Flip Animation

Yes

Travel Date / World Time

Yes / Yes

Title Edit

Yes

Text Stamp

Yes

Built-in-Flash

Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On,
Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off,

Flash Synchro ; 1st / 2nd

Flash output Adjustment (1/3EV step, -2 – +2 EV)

0.3 – 8.5m (Wide/Macro/ISO Auto), 1.0 – 5.4m (Tele/ISO Auto)

External Flash

No

Viewfinder

0.20″ Color EVF (201.6K Pixels equiv.), Field of View : approx. 100%, Lens 19.6x

LCD Monitor

2.7″ TFT LCD Display (230K dots)

Field of View : approx. 100%

AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode, High angle mode

Playback mode

[REC]/[Play] Selector switch

30-thumbnail display, 12-thumbnail display, calendar display, zoomed playback (16x max.),

Playback of favorite pictures, Category Playback (playback and slideshow of pictures in category)

Slide show (duration & effect with music is selectable), image rotation

Resizing (selectable number of pixels), trimming, protection, aspect conv. DPOF print setting ?

Creating still pictures from a motion picture

Enlarge focus area, Image leveling

OSD language

English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese

Recording Media

Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard(Still image only)

Microphone

Yes

Speaker

Yes

Interface

DC Input, AV Output (NTSC), HD AV Output (Component), USB2.0 High speed

Direct Print

PictBridge

Power

Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 710mAh) (Included)

AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)

Battery life (approx.)

460 pictures (CIPA standard)

Included Software

PHOTOfunSTUDIO -viewer- 2.1E

ArcSoft (MediaImpression / Panorama Maker)

SilkyPix Developer Studio 3.0SE, QuickTime, USB Driver

Standard Accessories

Battery Charger, Battery Pack,

Lens Cap, Lens Cap Strap, Lens Hood, Hood Adaptor, AV Cable, USB Connection Cable,

Shoulder Strap, CD-ROM

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