Features
Supplied Software

Features

Free Angle LCD Monitor: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 digital camera features a clear, bright, high-resolution 2" diagonal, low-temperature polycrystalline TFT LCD monitor for framing shots and displaying your recorded images. The LCD monitor has approximately 235,000 pixels with a field of view of about 100% of the image being recorded. The viewfinder is on a swiveling mechanism and can be angled so it can be easily viewed when shooting at a high angle overhead or a low angle. You can also close the monitor when not in use.

LCD Viewfinder: In addition to the LCD monitor, the camera has a color LCD viewfinder with 235,000 pixels and a field of view of about 100% of the image. A diopter adjustment of -4 to +4 lets you adjust the image of the viewfinder to your vision.

Image Sensor: The images are captured on the FZ30's 1/1.8" (8.933mm) CCD with 8,320,000 total pixels and 8,000,000 effective pixels. The CCD features a primary color filter which ensures the correct extraction of color information from the CCD for vivid, rich color images.

Leica Lens: The FZ30 is equipped with a high-quality Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a powerful 12x optical zoom (35mm film camera equivalent: 35mm to 420mm). The optical zoom is manually controlled by a zoom ring around the lens.

Digital Zoom: The camera has a digital zoom that can be set to 2x or 4x. Combined with the 12x optical zoom, the maximum total zoom is 48x.

Extended Optical Zoom: The Extended Optical Zoom function, which magnifies the image with minimal deterioration by using the center part of the high-resolution CCD, boosts the zoom power to a maximum of 19.1x. Combined with the digital zoom of 4x, the total maximum zoom is 76.4x. The Extended Optical Zoom option is only available if the picture size is not set to the highest setting for each aspect ratio.

Optional Conversion Lenses/Filters: The lens is threaded to accommodate optional conversion lenses, such as the DMW-LT55 tele-conversion lens or the DMW-LW55 wide conversion lens. In addition, you can use the DMW-LMC55 MC protector (a transparent filter to protect the lens) or the DMW-LND55 ND filter which reduces the amount of light to approximately 1/8th without affecting the color balance.

MEGA Optical Image Stabilization: To prevent blurry images caused by hand movement, you can activate the MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (MEGA O.I.S.). Inadvertent hand movement generally occurs during telephoto, macro, or self-portrait shooting, or when taking photos at night or in dim lighting. The MEGA O.I.S. system uses built-in gyrosensors to detect even tiny camera movement, then shifts a lens in the opposite direction to compensate. You can choose between two O.I.S. modes: continuous stabilization (Mode 1) or activated only when shutter is pressed halfway (Mode 2).

Recording Media: The FZ30 can record images on SD Memory Cards of 8 MB to 2 GB capacity. A 32 MB SD card is included. Note: MultiMediaCards (MMC) are also compatible, however, the writing and reading speeds are slower than SD cards. Recording motion pictures on MMCs is not recommended.

Image Resolution You can record still images in 10 sizes and three aspect ratios. You can also choose TIFF (uncompressed), Fine or Standard Image Quality settings for each available resolution. For the highest resolution of each aspect ratio, you can select a RAW setting which must be processed on your computer with the supplied software. The number of images you can record on SD cards is as follows:

Auto Focus: You can select any of five Auto Focus modes:

• 9-area Focusing: The camera focuses on any of 9 focus areas. Effective when subject is not in the center of the frame.
• 3-area Focusing (High Speed): The camera quickly focuses on any of 3 focus areas (left, right, or center)
• 1-area Focusing (High Speed): The camera quickly focuses on the subject in the AF area in the center of the screen.
• 1-area Focusing: The camera focuses on the subject in the AF area in the center of the screen.
• Spot Focusing: The camera focuses on a limited narrow area in the screen.

AF Assist Lamp: The camera has an AF Assist Lamp which provides extra lighting as a focusing aid for slightly dark situations where auto focusing would ordinarily be difficult.

Continuous Auto Focus: In the Continuous Focus mode, the camera is constantly focusing on the subject. When activated, the time required for focusing is greatly shortened when the AF mode is set to 1-area focusing, 1-area focusing (high speed), or spot focusing.

Manual Focus: You can focus manually using the focus ring around the lens. There are two manual focus assistance modes which enlarge a portion of or the entire picture to make it easier to focus.

Focus Range: The FZ30's focus range is 0.98 feet to infinity (Wide) and 6.56 feet to infinity (Tele). In the Macro mode, the focus range is 0.16 feet (Wide) and 6.56 feet (Tele) to infinity.

Auto Exposure Modes:

• Program AE Mode: The camera automatically sets the shutter speed and the aperture value according to the brightness of the subject. By using the Program Shift feature, you can change the shutter speed and aperture settings under the same exposure to achieve an effect.
• Aperture Priority AE: The shutter speed is automatically determined by the camera according to the aperture value you set.
• Shutter Priority AE: The aperture value is automatically determined by the camera according to the shutter speed you set.
• Manual Exposure: The exposure is adjusted by the aperture value and shutter speed which are manually adjusted.

Exposure Compensation: The camera automatically sets the exposure. If you cannot achieve the proper exposure due to the difference in brightness between the subject and background, exposure compensation allows you to adjust the exposure between -2EV and +2EV in steps of 1/3EV.

Light Metering: The FZ30 gives you three options for light metering:

• Multiple: Intelligent Multiple point light metering measures the amount of light across the entire image to achieve a balanced exposure setting.
• Center-weighted: Center-weighted metering places the greatest importance on the center part of the image and measures the average overall brightness of the scene.
• Spot: Light is measured on the subject in the spot metering target.

Auto Bracketing: If you are unsure of the proper exposure, you can use the Auto Bracketing feature to take multiple pictures with a single press of the shutter, each using a different exposure. The camera will take three exposures, one using the average exposure, one over exposed and one under exposed. The amount of compensation can be set between -1EV and +1EV in 1/3 EV steps.

Scene Modes: When you select a scene mode to match the subject and recording situation, the camera sets the optimal exposure and hue to obtain the desired picture. Two frequently-used scene modes can be stored in memory and set to the SCN1 or SCN2 position on the camera's rotary mode dial. Each Scene Mode has a specific focus range. Available scene modes include:

• Portrait Mode: The subject stands out from the unfocused background and has natural facial tones.
• Sports Mode: This mode allows you to take pictures of a fast-moving subject such as during outdoor sports. Minimum focus range: 16.4'.
• Food Mode: The Food Mode allows you to take pictures of food with a natural hue without being affected by the ambient light in restaurants.
• Scenery Mode: The camera focuses preferentially on a distant subject, allowing you to take pictures of a wide landscape. Focus range: 16.4' to infinity.
• Night Portrait Mode: This mode allows you to take pictures of a subject and a landscape with near real-life brightness by using the flash and slowing down the shutter speed. Focus range: 3.94' to 16.4'.
• Night Scenery Mode: You can vividly record nightscapes in this mode because the shutter speed is greatly reduced (up to 8 seconds). A tripod is recommended. Focus range: 16.4' to infinity.
• Baby Mode: The Baby Mode weakens the effect of the flash. You can enter the birthdays of the baby and display the age of the baby in each picture. Focus Range is 0.16' (W)/6.56' (T) to infinity.
• Soft Skin Mode: The camera detects the face or skin area to achieve a smoother appearance of the skin than the Portrait mode.
• Candle Light Mode: This mode allows you to take pictures in a candlelit atmosphere. Tripod is recommended.
• Party Mode: To record pictures at indoor gatherings, the party mode slows down the shutter speed and uses the flash so both the subjects and the background are recorded at natural brightness. Subjects should be about 5 feet away, and a tripod is recommended.
• Fireworks Mode: The Fireworks mode allows you to photograph fireworks exploding in the night sky. Tripod recommended. Focus Range is 16.4' to infinity. Most effective when the subject is 32 feet or more away.
• Snow Mode: The exposure and white balance are adjusted to make the white color of the snow stand out.
• Starry Sky Mode: You can take vivid pictures of a starry sky or a dark subject that you could not take in the Night Scenery mode. The shutter speed is open for 15, 30, or 60 seconds, so a tripod is required.
• Panning Mode: The Panning Mode allows you to obtain the blurred background as you follow a subject moving in one direction, such as a runner or a car.

Burst Mode: You can take multiple shots consecutively in the Burst Mode. You can select from three Burst Mode settings: High Speed, Low Speed, and Unlimited. You can record up to 9 standard quality or 5 fine quality images at a speed of 3 images per second during High Speed shooting or 2 images per second during Low Speed shooting. When set to Unlimited, the camera can record images at a rate of 2 images per second. The number of recordable pictures depends upon the remaining capacity of the memory card.

White Balance: To reproduce colors accurately, you can manually set the White Balance to match the ambient light around the subject, or use the automatic setting. Manual settings include: Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen and Flash. You can use the White Balance Set mode to adjust the camera to the present lighting situation. Frequently used White Balance settings can be stored in one of two Preset White Balance memories.

ISO Sensitivity: You can manually select a Sensitivity setting to ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200, or ISO 400. When set to Auto, the camera automatically sets the optimal sensitivity between 80 and 400 depending upon the brightness of the scene.

Built-in Flash: The built-in flash can be set to the following modes:

• Auto: Flash is automatically activated when recording conditions make it necessary.
• Auto/Red-eye Reduction: Flash is automatically activated when recording conditions make it necessary. It is activated once before the actual recording to reduce the red-eye effect, and then is activated again for the actual recording.
• Forced On: Flash is activated regardless of the recording conditions.
• Forced On/Red-eye Reduction: The flash is activated every time regardless of the recording conditions. A pre-flash helps to reduce the red-eye phenomenon.
• Slow sync./Red-eye Reduction: When a picture is taken with a dark background landscape, the shutter is slowed down when the flash is activated so the background will become bright. Simultaneously, the red-eye phenomenon is reduced.
• Forced Off: The flash is not activated for any recording conditions.

  Note: The flash must be manually opened before use.

Optional External Flash: The FZ30 has a Hot Shoe to accommodate an external flash, such as the Panasonic DMW-FL28.

Self Timer: The camera has a self timer feature that delays the shutter release, allowing you take pictures of yourself. The self timer can be set for 2 or 10 seconds.

Review: You can view the last recorded picture for about 10 seconds without leaving the recording mode. While the picture is displayed, you can enlarge the picture 4x or 8x. The picture can be deleted (Quick Deletion) during the review, if desired.

Audio Recording: Five seconds of audio can be recorded on the built-in microphone when you record a still image.

Flip Animation: The camera allows you to created motion picture files up to 20 seconds long by connecting pictures recorded in the Flip Animation mode. When capturing pictures in sequence, moving the subject little by little and aligning the pictures makes the subject look as if it is moving. The images are 320 x 240 pixels.

Motion Pictures: The FZ30 can record motion pictures with audio at two speeds and at three picture sizes. You can record at 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 images at 30 or 10 frames per second.

Battery: The FZ30 uses a single CGA-S006A rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. The estimated battery life is 280 recordable pictures or approximately 140 minutes of recording, and approximately 300 minutes of playback time. Estimated charging time is approximately 120 minutes using the supplied DE-993 battery charger. Note: The battery cannot be charged inside the camera.

Backup Battery: When a fully charged battery has been inserted for more than 24 hours, the clock setting is stored in the camera for at least 3 months, even if the battery is removed.

Optional AC Adapter: You can operate the camera on AC power using the optional DMW-CAC1 AC adapter (available from the manufacturer). The adapter is recommended when the camera is connected to your PC or printer. Note: The camera's battery is not charged when the AC adapter is in use.

Power Save Mode: The Power Save mode allows you save battery power by automatically shutting off the camera after a set amount of time without operation. You can set the interval at 1, 2, 5, or 10 minutes, or Off.

Color Effect Mode: You can set a color effect for recorded pictures for a special touch:

• Cool: The picture becomes bluish.
• Warm: The picture becomes reddish.
• B/W: The picture becomes black and white.
• Sepia: The picture becomes sepia.

Picture Adjustments: Recorded pictures can be adjusted to match the recording situation. Picture Adjustments include:

• Contrast: Increase or decrease the difference between the brightness and the darkness in the picture.
• Sharpness: Set the sharpness to High for more definition, or Low for a softer focus.
• Saturation: Set the saturation to High for vivid colors, or Low for more natural pictures.
• Noise Reduction: Set the Noise Reduction to High for enhanced noise reduction, or Low to reduce the noise reduction effect.

Playback Features: Recorded images can be displayed on the LCD screen one at a time, or using multi-playback, you can display 9, 16, or 25 images at a time. From these screens, you can delete one or multiple images at a time. Playback zoom allows you to enlarge an image on the LCD screen by 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x or 16x.

PictBridge: The FZ30 can be connected to any PictBridge-compatible printer via the supplied USB cable for direct printing. The print size, layout, date, and other settings can be made with the camera prior to printing.

Supplied Software

Applications: The supplied CD-ROM software (Digital Camera 2.4) includes the following applications:

• LUMIX Simple Viewer 1.0E (Windows): Allows you to easily transfer pictures from the camera to the PC, print them, attach them to e-mails, etc.
• PHOTOfunSTUDIO-viewer 1.0E: Similar to "Simple Viewer", except that it allows you to categorize the pictures by their recording date, model name of the camera used, or a keyword. You can also resize the pictures and set their layout when printing. Dates can be added to pictures if not set when photo was taken.
• USB Driver 1.0: Required for operating the digital camera through the PC--Windows 98/98SE only (driver is included in Windows XP, 2000, and Me)
• QuickTime: Required for playing back motion pictures (QuickTime Motion JPEG format) recorded on this camera
• ArcSoft Software Suite (Windows/Macintosh):
  • PhotoImpression: Allows you to adjust colors, crop and process images in other ways to create calendars, cards, art works and more
  • PhotoBase: Allows you to transfer images from an SD Memory Card to a compatible PC and display them in an easy-to-see list format
  • Panorama Maker: Allows you to combine several still pictures to make panoramic photos.

Operating Environment:

• LUMIX Simple Viewer: