Panasonic: Panasonic Introduces DMC-LS85 AA-Battery Powered Digital Camera With 4x Optical Zoom and Bright F2.8 Lens

SECAUCUS, NJ--(Marketwire - January 16, 2009) - Panasonic today introduced a new addition to its acclaimed LUMIX line of digital cameras, the 8.1-megapixel DMC-LS85. Encased in a compact design and powered by AA batteries, the DMC-LS85 offers a powerful 4x optical zoom and bright F2.8 quality LUMIX DC VARIO lens at an affordable price.

Panasonic has incorporated its Intelligent Auto Mode (iA) into the DMC-LS85, a new addition to the LS series of entry-level cameras. In this model, iA is comprised of four major functions including Mega O.I.S, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Face Detection. Additionally, Panasonic's Quick AF (auto focus) system allows the camera to automatically keep focus on a subject without the need to hold the shutter button down halfway, greatly minimizing the time needed for the camera to focus. A new enhancement for iA mode this year is a simple button located on top of the camera, which enables the user to enter the mode directly without going into the menu.

"By combining intuitive, advanced technologies with a compact design and an affordable price, the DMC-LS85 is ideal for a consumer at any level. From beginner to the advanced photographer, this portable and inexpensive camera can take high-quality photos," said David Briganti, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "The wide array of easy-to-use features and the powerful LUMIX lens make the DMC-LS85 an impressive entry-level camera and further reinforces Panasonic's goal to make digital photography a fulfilling and enjoyable experience for consumers at all levels."

The DMC-LS85 records video in WVGA (848 x 480) format at 30 frames per second in addition to standard VGA (640 x 480). The WVGA motion picture fits a wide-screen (16:9) TV perfectly. Furthermore, a 2.5-inch large LCD features 230,000-dot high resolution and Intelligent LCD function, which detects lighting conditions and controls the brightness level of the LCD to offer a display with the most appropriate clarity in any situation. Slideshows can be accompanied by music, courtesy of the newly added speaker, so users can view or show their photos with greater impact.

The DMC-LS85's internal memory has doubled in capacity, when compared to its predecessor the DMC-LS80, up to approximately 50MB. Due to the low energy consumption of the camera's Venus Engine IV processor, battery life has also been extended to shoot more than 270 photos (CIPA) with two AA batteries.

The DMC-LS85 will be available in silver, black and pink at a suggested retail price of $119.95 starting in April 2009. For more information and to download full specifications, please visit [ www.panasonic.com/pressroom ].

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 Panasonic Corporation. (NYSE: [ PC ]) 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.

 ---------------------- ------------------------ 96.7 x 62.0 x 29.8 mm Metrics Dimensions (W x H x D) (3.89 x 2.48 x 1.19 in) ---------------------- ------------------------ Weight 128g (0.28 lb) Approx. 176g with Battery and SD Memory Card (0.38 lb) ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Camera Effective Optics Pixels Pixels 8.1 Megapixels ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ 1/2.5-inch / 8.32 Total Sensor Size / Total Megapixels / Primary CCD Pixels / Filter Color Filter ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ F2.8 - 5.9 / 2-Step (F2.8 - 8 (W) / F5.9 - Lens Aperture 16 (T)) ---------------------- ------------------------ Optical Zoom 4x ---------------------- ------------------------ f=5.5-22.0mm (33-132mm Focal Length in 35mm equiv.) ---------------------- ------------------------ Extra Optical Zoom 5.1x (4:3 / 5M), 6.4x (EZ) (under 3M) ---------------------- ------------------------ Lens LUMIX DC VARIO 6 elements in 5 groups (3 Aspherical Lenses / 4 Aspherical surfaces) ---------------------- ------------------------ 2-Speed Zoom - ---------------------- ------------------------ Optical Image MEGA O.I.S. (Auto / Stabilizer Mode1 / Mode2) ---------------------- ------------------------ Conversion lens Compatibility - ---------------------- ------------------------ Digital Zoom 4x ( Max. 16.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom ) (Max.25.5x combined with Extra Optical Zoom) ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Normal: Wide 50cm/ Tele Focus Focusing Area 50cm - infinity Macro / Intelligent AUTO : Wide 5cm / Tele 50cm - infinity ---------------------- ------------------------ Focus Range Display Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ AF Assist Lamp Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Normal / Macro, Quick AF Focus (Always On) ---------------------- ------------------------ AF Metering Face / Multi (9pt) / 1pt ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ 8-1/2000 sec Starry Sky Mode: Shutter Shutter Speed 15, 30, 60sec. ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Finder Viewfinder - ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Optical Image Recording iA Stabilizer Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Intelligent ISO Control Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Face Detection Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Portrait, Scenery, Night Intelligent Scene Portrait, Night Scenery, Selector Macro ---------------------- ------------------------ Intelligent Exposure - ---------------------- ------------------------ AF Tracking - ---------------------- ------------------------ Digital Red Eye Correction - ---------------------- ------------------------ iA Direct Button Yes ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Still Image: JPEG (DCF/ File Format Exif2.21) Motion picture: File QuickTime Motion JPEG ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Interface Mode Switch [Recording] / [Playback] ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Intelligent AUTO, Normal Recording Picture, SCN, Motion Modes Mode Button Picture ---------------------- ------------------------ Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Scene Mode Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo ---------------------- ------------------------ Full-Resolution Image, 3.0 frames/sec Max. 7 Continuous Shooting images (Standard mode), Mode Max 4 images (Fine Mode) High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 4.5 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9) ---------------------- ------------------------ Unlimited consecutive shooting 2.0 frames/sec ---------------------- ------------------------ Motion Picture VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, Recording 30fps (Motion JPEG) QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) ------------------------ WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Exposure Parameters Exposure Program AE ---------------------- ------------------------ Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV ---------------------- ------------------------ Yes (only in Backlight Compensation Intelligent AUTO mode) ---------------------- ------------------------ Auto (AE) Bracketing - ---------------------- ------------------------ Multi-Aspect - ---------------------- ------------------------ Light Metering Intelligent Multiple ---------------------- ------------------------ Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 High Sensitivity (ISO ISO Sensitivity 1600-6400) ---------------------- ------------------------ Max Auto ISO Setting - ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Image Parameters Aspect Ratio 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 ---------------------- ------------------------ Still Picture 3264 x 2448 (8M) / 2560 Recording x 1920 (5M EZ) / 2048 x 4:3 1536 (3M EZ) ------------------------ 3264 x 2176 (7M) / 2048 3:2 x 1360 (2.5M EZ) ------------------------ 3264 x 1840 (6M) / 1920 16:9 x 1080 (2M EZ) ---------------------- ------------------------ Image Quality Fine / Standard ---------------------- ------------------------ Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Balance White Set (Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, Highspeed Burst mode? ---------------------- ------------------------ Quick Menu Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Color Mode Sepia, Cool, Warm ---------------------- ------------------------ Still Image with Audio Recording - ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Others Audio Dubbing - ---------------------- ------------------------ Flip Animation - ---------------------- ------------------------ Real-time histogram - ---------------------- ------------------------ Composition Guide line Yes (1 pattern) ---------------------- ------------------------ Auto Review 1sec, 2sec, Hold, Zoom ---------------------- ------------------------ Review - ---------------------- ------------------------ Easy Zoom / Zoom Resume No / No ---------------------- ------------------------ Optical Zoom in Motion Picture - ---------------------- ------------------------ Macro Zoom - ---------------------- ------------------------ Orientation Detector Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Scene Mode Help Screen Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Self Timer 2sec / 10sec ---------------------- ------------------------ Focus Icon Select - ---------------------- ------------------------ Normal Playback, Slideshow, Favorites Playback Mode Playback ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Playback Display Easy Organization - ---------------------- ------------------------ Touch Zoom - ---------------------- ------------------------ Thumbnails / Zoomed 12,30-thumbnails / Max Playback 16x ---------------------- ------------------------ Calender Display / Dual-Image Playback Yes / No ---------------------- ------------------------ Set Favorites / Rotate Image Yes / No ---------------------- ------------------------ Playback Still Images with Audio - ---------------------- ------------------------ Playback Motion Picture Yes (Motion JPEG) ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ All Still Images / Favorites BGM Effect (Natural / Slow / Swing Slideshow Mode / Urban / OFF) ---------------------- ------------------------ Show Histogram - ---------------------- ------------------------ Show Highlights - ---------------------- ------------------------ Single / Multi / All / Delete Image All except Favorites ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ DPOF Print Setting / Delete Set Protection Yes / Yes ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Resize / Trim / Aspect Edit Conv. / Leveling Yes / No / No / No ---------------------- ------------------------ Copy / Title Stamp / Text Stamp Yes / Yes / Yes ---------------------- ------------------------ Cut Animation - ---------------------- ------------------------ Single / Multi / All / PictBridge Support Favorites / DPOF ---------------------- ------------------------ English,German,French, Italian,Spanish,Polish, Czech,Hungarian,Russian, Chinese(Traditional), Chinese(Simplified), Netherlandic, Thai, Korean, Turkish, Portuguese, Arabic, Persian, Japanese, Swedish, OSD language Danish, Finnish ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Travel Date / World Setup Time Yes / Yes ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ 2.5" TFT Screen LCD Others Monitor LCD Monitor Display (230K dots) Field of View : approx. 100% AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode, High-Angle LCD ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Flash Built-in-Flash Forced Off 0.3 - 5.9m (Wide/ISO Auto), 0.5 - 2.8m (Tele/ISO Auto) ---------------------- ------------------------ External Flash - ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard Media Recording Media (Still image only) ---------------------- ------------------------ Built-in-Memory approx. 50MB ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Audio Microphone / Speaker Mono / Yes ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ AV Output (NTSC/PAL, NTSC only in N.America) Interface Interface / USB2.0 Full speed ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Alkaline AA Battery x2 Power Power (Included) AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional) ---------------------- ------------------------ 270 pictures (Alkaline Batteries, CIPA Standard) 300 pictures (Evolta Batteries, CIPA Standard) 550 pictures Battery life (NiHM Batteries, CIPA (approx.) Standard) ---------- ---------------------- ------------------------ Standard Package Included Software PHOTOfunSTUDIO v3.0 USB Driver ---------------------- ------------------------ Battery Pack (AA Alkaline Batteries x 2), Standard Accessories AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, Hand Strap, CD-ROM

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Panasonic: Panasonic Introduces DMC-LS85 AA-Battery Powered Digital Camera With 4x Optical Zoom and Bright F2.8 Lens