Panasonic Unveils DSLR And Lenses

Panasonic has unveiled a new DSLR camera with an interchangeable Leica lens, called the Lumix DMC-L10, as well as two new DSLR lenses.

Panasonic says that its new DMC-L10 will offer a ‘Live View’ function which allows a user to frame and check their shot before capturing the image, an LCD that can rotate 270 degrees, and can be used with lenses made by a variety of manufacturers, as it uses the open Four Thirds System for its lens mount.

The DMC-L10 sports a 10.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Panasonic’s Supersonic Wave Filter system that prevents dust from collecting on the sensor and degrading photo quality.  The camera also comes with a Venus Engine III image processor provides high quality image rendering and high speed response, the company says.

Panasonic Australia’s Category Marketing Manager for Mobile AV, Alistair Robins said, “The L10 is a stylish black ‘pentaprism’ camera with a great feature set for the enthusiast photographer looking to move up to a high-quality digital SLR. ‘Live View’ gives them amazing flexibility – settings and effects can be checked beforehand, ensuring the picture will be just as they intended.”

The DMC-L10 also has a Dual AF function – with Contrast AF and Phase Difference AF – that gives users greater freedom of choice. The company has also included Face Detection and Intelligent ISO Control features from its digital compact camera line. This new camera is Panasonic’s first digital SLR with Face Detection, which will focus, set auto exposure and can detect up to 15 human faces simultaneously, capturing the subjects clearly and brightly. Combining Face Detection with Panasonic’s Intelligent ISO Control settings, which measures the movement of the subject and sets the ISO level accordingly, the DMC-L10 helps give consumers crisp, blur-free images, the company says.

In addition to the new Lumix, Panasonic has also released two new lenses that includes a Leica D lens with a zoom range of up to 300mm and a large-diameter standard zoom lens with a focal length from 14mm to 50mm.

Click to enlarge

The Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm lens

The new Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm lens offers an exceptionally long focal range of 14-150mm (35mm equivalent: 28-300mm) but sports a compact and lightweight profile. According to Panasonic, this is the result of incorporating four aspherical lenses in the unit and improves optimal performance by minimising distortion.

Panasonic Australia’s Category Marketing Manager for Mobile AV, Alistair Robins said, “This compact lens is the perfect travel lens for the Four Thirds System, allowing for greater flexibility as well as helping deliver stunning pictures.”

The new lens uses four aspherical lenses and an ED (extra-low dispersion) lens to deliver an outstanding optical performance. Across the entire 28-300 mm zoom range, it captures high-resolution, high-contrast images that are clear from corner to corner. The ED lens suppresses chromatic aberration, to capture accurate, true-to-life telephoto shots with minimum colour bleeding, the company says.

Panasonic also claims that the lens is the first Leica D lens to incorporate Extra Silent (XS) technology, for quick, quiet, accurate auto focusing control. Supersonic oscillation helps assure silent, seamless operation, while the system’s high torque provides exceptional responsiveness, accuracy and focusing stability. This type of motor allows quick auto focusing in a super-telephoto zoom camera.

With its minimum focus distance of 50 cm even at full zoom, the new lens provides a maximum photographic magnification of 0.36x (35mm equivalent). This combines with Mega O.I.S. hand-shake correction to capture outstanding macro shots without using a tripod.

Another lens that Panasonic has released is the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-500mm/ F3.8-5.6 Mega O.I.S. This new lens will be available for the Lumix DMC-L10 and will also be available separately with an RRP of $1,199.

This new has a compact and lightweight body and includes including two aspherical lenses that minimises distortion and peripheral vignetting at the wide end. Two ED (extra-low dispersion) lenses reduce chromatic aberration to an absolute minimum. The lens is compatible with 67mm filters and provides outstanding hand-shake correction with Panasonic’s advanced MEGA O.I.S, the company says.

Availability and Pricing:

The DMC-L10 will be released in November of this year, will be sold with the LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-50mm / F3.8-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. lens, and will be priced at $2199.

The LEICA D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm lens will be available in early 2008 and will have an RRP of $2,299. The new Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-500mm/ F3.8-5.6 Mega O.I.S. will come with the new Lumix DMC-L10 or can be purchased separately with an RRP of $1,199.

See: www.panasonic.com.au