Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15

Lumix 12.1 Megapixel Compact Digital Camera with iA Mode, LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR Lens with 5x optical zoom, and Intelligent LCD.

Intelligent Auto Mode Just Keeps Getting Better

Panasonic incorporated Intelligent Auto mode in pursuit of the ultimate ease of operation and the reduction of misshots. This mode is also further advanced with the inclusion of the AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure feature for the DMC-FS15.  Furthermore, digital red-eye correction is also integrated in the Face Detection.

In iA mode the camera does all the work, activating AF tracking, Intelligent Exposure, Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector, Mega O.I.S. (optical image stabilizer), and Intelligent ISO Control. This leaves the user free to simply compose the shot and press the shutter button, with the assurance that the image will be clear, beautiful and properly exposed.

With the new AF Tracking function, the user can "lock" the focus onto a moving subject. The camera then automatically tracks the subject as it moves, keeping it in focus without the user having to hold the shutter button halfway down. This makes it easier to capture the perfect moment clearly and in sharp focus when shooting images of a child, pet, sports or any scene with moving subjects and spur-of-the-moment action.

Intelligent Exposure suppresses blocked shadows and blown highlights to capture images that look natural and true-to-life. It now features an automatic backlight compensation function that activates whenever the camera detects that the light source is behind the subject

Face detection accuracy has been increased in the FS15 to now provide continuous adjustment of the focus and exposure even if the face is turned sideways to the camera. Combined with AF Tracking, Face Detection helps users capture special moments, including the fleeting expressions on the faces of active children. Plus, with the FS15, the red-eye effect can be digitally corrected automatically when it occurs due to the use the flash.

Intelligent Scene Selector automatically selects whichever of 5 scene modes -- Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, and Night Scenery - best suits the shooting situation. The Quick AF system allows the camera to keep focus on the subject while the camera is in recording mode even before pressing a shutter button.

In addition to the advanced functions mentioned above, the iA mode inherits fundamental functions users need in a good digital still camera. These include MEGA O.I.S., which prevents blurring from hand-shake, and Intelligent ISO Control, which prevents motion blur by adjusting the ISO sensitivity if the subject moves as the shot is taken. The MEGA O.I.S. conventionally has mode 1 and 2, and now it has AUTO mode to select the suitable one between the modes according to the zoom ratio being used.

The user can activate all of these useful functions by simply pressing an independent iA button on the top of the camera, which is newly equipped for direct activation. All these features make the FS15 the ultimate, super-versatile automatic camera for capturing clear, beautiful, mistake-free photos with ease.

The bigger picture with the Leica DC VARIO-ELMAR wide angle lens

The 12.1-megapixel DMC- FS15 packages a 29mm wide-angle * Leica DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 5x optical zoom into a slim, compact body. Comprising 7 elements in 6 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses with 4 aspherical surfaces, this advanced lens unit realizes the outstandingly slim and compact body yet passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver an exceptional optical performance.

The zoom ratio can be extended up to 9.8x (294mm * ) in 3megapixel resolution mode with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom.  By using the central part of the CCD, this powerful zooming function allows you to easily capture and magnify distant subjects. 

High Performance Venus Engine IV

The image-processing LSI, Venus Engine IV, features advanced signal processing technology for rendering high quality images.

Featured in the DMC- FS15, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine IV supports a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as 0.006 seconds and the camera's quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities. And in High-Speed Burst shooting mode, * * it fires off an incredible 5.5 shots per second. You also get unlimited consecutive shooting, * * * which lets you keep shooting until the memory card is full.

The Venus Engine IV also supports a High Sensitivity mode that lets the DMC-FS15 record at a setting of up to ISO 6400, sensitive enough to capture subjects in near-total darkness without using a flash. * *

Look at me!

The DMC-FS15 incorporates an easy-to-see, large, 2.7-inch 230,000-dot high-resolution LCD for comfortable viewing while both monitoring shots and playing back the results. The Intelligent LCD function detects the light condition and automatically boosts the LCD backlighting by max. 40% when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine, and adjusts the frame rate when shooting in low-lit situations in addition to using the pixel mixed readout method to secure clarity in such situations. Detecting the lighting condition precisely and automatically controlling the brightness with a total of 11 fine steps, this function gives the display the most appropriate clarity in any situation without using extra energy.

The High Angle mode makes the LCD screen extremely easy to view when the camera is held high, such as when shooting over a crowd.

The Sound of Music

To increase your enjoyment when playing back your images, the FS15 provides slideshows complete with music. Just select the pictures you want to show and choose the mood that best matches your selection from natural, slow, urban or swing, and you'll get an emotion-filled slideshow with a variety of slide change effects and matching music without any annoying adjustments to the newly added speaker.

Additionally, all Lumix cameras can take 1920x1080 pixel high-definition quality photos that are ideal for full-screen viewing on a wide-screen (16:9) HDTV. Panasonic has long focused on making photography more enjoyable, such as by letting people view their images easily on a Panasonic Viera TV with Viera Image Viewer (internal SD card slot).

Not forgetting motion pictures, the FS15 can record WVGA * * * * (848 x 480) motion pictures at 30 frames per second in addition to standard VGA 640 x 480). The WVGA * * * * * motion picture also fits a wide-screen (16:9) TV perfectly to offer impressive viewing.

The Fun of Photography

The minimum shooting distance has been shortened to 3cm in the FS15 – great for macro shots. Using the digital Zoom Macro function, the user can pull subjects even closer than the closest point possible with the wide-angle setting, and capture dramatic close ups.

Introducing the included software

The latest version of exciting software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 comes bundled with the DMC-FS15. The PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 allows the user to edit or organize a collection of photos with more ease and fun. It features Face Recognition function that recognizes the faces in the picture stored in your PC to sort the photos by faces. Conventionally, you had to pick up one by one out of hundreds of photos when you only want the picture of a specific person. But with the PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0, the software automatically does it once the face is registered regardless of the camera type you used – perfect for digging out all photos of Aunt Mary for her birthday surprise for example!  On the sophisticated interface, you can also enjoy emotional slideshow with a variety of effects. Motion pictures (MOV or MPEG2) can also be upload directly to YouTube. * * * * * *

* 35mm film equivalent: 29-145mm
* * In 3-megapixel(4:3), 2.5-megapixel(3:2), 2-megapixel(16:9) recording
* * * The consecutive shooting speed varies with the memory card, image size, and image compression mode. The number of shots depends on the memory card size, battery life, image size and image compression mode.
* * * * When you set the picture quality to HD, WVGA or VGA, we recommend using
   a high-speed card with”10MB”/s” or greater displayed on the package. SD speed class is the speed
  standard regarding continuous writing.
* * * * * Motion pictures can be recorded continuously for up to 15 minutes in some countries.
* * * * * * YouTube is a trademark of Google Inc. *All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective corporations.

More external Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 reviews!

Camera Type	Compact
KEY FEATURES	.
Intelligent Auto (iA) Mode	Optical Image Stabilizer Intelligent ISO Control Face Detection Intelligent Scene Selector (Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Macro) Digital Red Eye Correction iA Direct Button
Camera Effective Pixels	12.1 Mega Pixels
Optical Image Stabilizer	MEGA O.I.S. (Auto/Mode1/ Mode2)
Optical Zoom	5x
Image Sensor	1/2.33-inch / 12.7 Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Digital Zoom 1	4x (Max. 20.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom) (Max.39.1x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Length	f=5.2-26.0mm (29-145mm in 35mm equiv.)
Lens	LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR 7 elements in 6 groups (3 Aspherical Lenses / 4 Aspherical surfaces)
PERFORMANCE FEATURES	.
Conversion Lens Compatibility	No
Focusing Area	Normal: Wide 50cm - infinity Macro / Intelligent AUTO : Wide 5cm / Tele 50cm - infinity
AF Metering	Face / AF Tracking / Multi (11pt) / 1pt
Focus	Normal / Macro, AF Tracking (On / Off), Quick AF (Always On)
AF Assist Lamp	Yes
ISO Sensitivity	Auto /100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 - 6400) )
White Balance	Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Set (Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, Highspeed Burst, Photo Frame mode)
Exposure	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
Backlight Compensation	Yes (only in Intelligent AUTO mode)
Auto Bracketing (AE)	+/- 1/3 EV ~ 1EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering	Intelligent Multiple
Dedicated Button/Mode Switch	[Recording] / [Playback]
Shooting Mode (Mode Dial)/Rec. Mode	Intelligent AUTO, Normal Picture, MySCN, SCN, Motion Picture
Scene Modes	Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, 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
Shutter Speed/Shutter System	8-1/2000 sec Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.
Self Timer	2sec, 10sec
Auto Review	1sec, 2sec, Zoom, Hold
Review	No
Color Mode	Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm
Recording Format	Still Image: JPEG (DCF / Exif2.21) Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Image Quality	Fine/Standard
4:3 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	4000 x 3000(12M)/ 3264 x 2448 (8M EZ) / 2560 x 1920 (5M EZ) / 2048 x 1536 (3M EZ) / 1600 x 1200 (2M EZ) / 640 x 480 (0.3M EZ)
3:2 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	4000 x 2672(10.5M) / 3264 x 2176 (7M EZ) / 2560 x 1712 (4.5M EZ) / 2048 x 1360 (2.5M EZ)
16:9 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	4000 x 2248(9M) / 3264 x 1840 (6M EZ) / 2560 x 1440 (3.5M EZ) / 1920 x 1080 (2M EZ)
Motion Image (4:3 Aspect Ratio)	VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG) QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG)
Motion Image (16:9 Aspect Ratio)	WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG)
CONVENIENCE FEATURES	.
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting 2	1.7 frames/sec
Intelligent Exposure	Yes
Digital Red Eye Correction	Yes
Easy Zoom/Zoom Resume/Motion Zoom	No
Still Image Recording with Audio	No
Audio Dubbing	No
Real-time Histograms	No
Composition Guide Lines	Yes (1 pattern)
Built-in Memory	approx. 50MB
Scene Mode Help Screen	Yes
Flip Animation	No
Travel Date/World Time	Yes/Yes
Text Stamp/Date Stamp	Yes
Built-in Flash Type/Mode	Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off 0.3 - 5.3m (Wide/ISO Auto), 1.0 - 3.0m (Tele/ISO Auto)
External Flash	No
Viewfinder	No
LCD Monitor	2.7" TFT Screen LCD Display (230K dots) Field of View : approx. 100% AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode, High-Angle LCD
Playback Mode	Normal Playback, Slideshow, Category Playback, Favorites Playback
OSD Language	English,German,French, Italian,Spanish,Polish, Czech,Hungarian,Russian, Chinese(Traditional),Chinese(Simplified), Netherlandic,Thai,Korean, Turkish, Portuguese, Arabic, Persian, Japanese, Swedish, Danish, Finnish
Recording Media	Built-in Memory SD Memory Card SDHC Memory Card MultiMediaCard (Still image only)
Microphone	Mono
Speaker	Yes
Interface	AV Output (NTSC/PAL, NTSC only in N.America) / USB2.0 Full speed
Color	Silver
Power Supply	ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 940mAh) (Included) AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Battery Life 3	330 pictures (CIPA standard)
ACCESSORIES	.
Included Software	PHOTOfunSTUDIO v3.0 ArcSoft (MediaImpression / Panorama Maker) USB Driver, QuickTime
Standard Accessories	Battery Pack (AA Alkaline Batteries x 2), AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, Hand Strap, CD-ROM
Multi-Aspect	No
Aperture	F3.3 - 5.9 / Iris Diaphragm (F3.3 - 8 (W) / F5.9 - 8 (T))
Focus Range Display	Yes
Quick Menu	Yes
Continuous Shooting Mode	Full-Resolution Image, 1.8 frames/sec Max. 5 images (Standard mode), Max 3 images (Fine Mode), High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 5.5 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9)
Focus Icon Select	Yes
Macro Zoom	Yes
Orientation Detector	Yes
Aspect Ratio	4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9
Thumbnails/Zoomed Playback	12,30-thumbnails / Max 16x
Calendar Display/Dual-Image Playback	Yes / No
Set Favorites/Rotate Image	Yes / No
Playback Motion Picture	Yes (Motion JPEG)
Slideshow Mode	All Still Images / Favorites / Category BGM Effect (Natural / Slow / Swing / Urban / OFF)
Delete Image	Single / Multi / All / All except Favorites
DPOF Print Setting/Set Production	Yes / Yes
Resize/Trim/Aspect Conv./Leveling	Yes / Yes / No / No
PictBridge Support	Single / Multi / All / Favorites / DPOF
Dimensions (H x W x D)	2.14'' x 3.82'' x 0.85''
Weight	Approx. 0.26 lb lbs

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