LAS VEGAS – Panasonic stayed true to the International CES trend of safe and affordable camera introductions by unveiling five new point-and-shoots offering feature sets that fit squarely into the evolutionary classification.
Among the highlights was the Lumix DMC-ZS50, offering an unique — for its class — eye-sensor enabled viewfinder. The ZS50 also has a 12.1-megapixel MOS sensor that’s 1.5x larger than the one in the older ZS40 for improved picture quality.
The compact camera has a 30x Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens that starts off at 24mm, Hybrid five-axis OIS to help eliminate blur and it takes FullHD AVCHD Progressive movies.
Beyond the usual JPEGs, it takes RAW files as well which is beyond the ordinary for aim-and-forget cameras. The ZS50 has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity as well as a QR code to make pairing relatively simple.
Also part of the compact zoom series, the DMC-ZS45 drops to a 20x Leica DC Vario zoom, a 16-megapixel sensor, Power OIS, a three-inch tilting screen, Full HD capability and Wi-Fi/NFC capability.
With rugged cameras still attracting attention from outdoor enthusiasts, the company added two new models, the TS30 and TS6, both with built-in GPS and Wi-Fi/NFC capability.
The TS30 is waterproof to 43 feet, shock-proof to 5 feet, freeze-proof to 14 degrees and dust-proof. The TS6 isn’t quite as capable of swimming with the fishes but it can hit 25 feet, is shock-proof, freeze-proof and dust-proof. The TS30 has a 16.1-megapixel chip, a 4.6x optical zoom starting off at 28mm, a three-inch LCD. The TS6 has a 16.1-megapixel sensor, a 4x zoom (25-100mm) and a 2.7-inch LCD. The final entry, the compact DMC-SZ10, has built-in Wi-Fi, a 12x optical zoom starting off at 24mm, a 180-degree tilting 2.7-inch LCD rated 460K dots to easily take selfies, OIS and captures 720p videos.
All the cameras are due early in 2015 with prices to be announced closer to introduction.
