Our Rating ****~ (4/5)

Tough Body and 28mm Wide-Angle 6x Intelligent Zoom for Superior Versatility in Both Photo and Movie Recording

The camera features a high-quality LEICA DC VARIO ELMAR 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4.6x optical zoom. The folded optics of shaft guide method is adopted to secure the toughness of the lens unit. Comprising 10 elements and a prism unit in 8 groups, including 1 ED lens and 5 aspherical lenses with 6 aspherical surfaces passing the Leica’s stringent standards to deliver exceptional optical performance to the edges. Thanks to the newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology, the Intelligent Zoom is available with the FT2 which extends the zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the picture quality even combining the digital zoom. This means the 4.6x optical can virtually extend to 6x equivalent. Furthermore, the Extra Optical Zoom function that extends zoom power to 9.8x (at 3-megapixel resolution) by using the center part of the 14.1-megapixel high resolution CCD to bring subjects even closer. With the enhanced toughness, the Panasonic FT2 is waterproof to a depth of 10m and dustproof equivalent to the “IPX8″ and “IP6X” standard. Thanks to rubber padding and reinforced glass and carbon resins inside the camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 features an airtight body protected against water immersion, dust and sand. The camera is drop proof from a height up to 2.0m in accordance with the “MIL-STD 810F Method516.5-Shock” test standard. In addition to reinforcing the exterior of the camera with shock-resistant material, the camera uses folded optics to prevent its lens unit from taking damage when dropped during operation. The lens unit is protected by a supplementary damper to absorb the force from shock impact. All components including the lens unit are reexamined to endure the temperature as low as -10 degrees C to make the camera freezeproof.

photoreview.com.au writes:

“Buy this camera if:

- You’re looking for a slimline camera for snorkelling that can record HD video clips and good-looking still shots. – You want good wide-angle coverage and competent image stabilisation for shooting both video and still pictures. – You require a tough, waterproof, solidly-built camera with an easy-to-use menu system. – You can live with high levels of automation.

Don’t buy this camera if:

- You require PASM shooting modes. – You want to shoot raw files (the FT2 can’t). – You want high burst capacity at high resolution. – You prefer using a viewfinder.”

PhotographyBlog writes:

“The main negatives are that the camera is on the pricey side if its nigh indestructible qualities aren’t a key priority, although this is true of all cameras in this category, so make sure that you really will regularly use the DMC-FT2 in at least one extreme environment before purchase. Also the move to 14 megapixels doesn’t add anything to the camera, although thankfully it doesn’t detract in any way either, with image quality on a par with the previous FT1 model.”

Pcworld writes:

“We were impressed by the results we got using this camera in a variety of test environments, taking photographs in dark rainforests, in the surf and on the sand, as well as bright daylight. This camera is a great addition to your travel bag, and it can take plenty of knocks and bumps. The extra features and scene modes add fun to the photography, and the video settings allow this compact digital camera to double up for camcorder duties too.”

Intelligent Resolution Technology Compiled in the New Venus Engine HD II Assures High Picture Quality for Both Photo and Movie

The high-speed, high-performance Venus Engine HD has been re-engineered to compile the new image processing technology “Intelligent Resolution”. It enables the recording of beautiful photos and high-definition movies with higher quality signal processing. With the Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas — outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas are automatically detected. The outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clearness while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas to look more finely detailed. To the soft gradation part, superior noise reduction system of the Venus Engine HD II is applied to make it smoother. Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, the innovative technology, Intelligent Resolution, precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel in the most effective way for it. As a result, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and movie recording. The Intelligent Resolution technology also realizes Intelligent Zoom, which virtually extends the optical zoom ratio to its approx. 1.3x equivalent maintaining the picture quality even combining the digital zoom. Details of an image in high sensitivity recording tend to be lost in the noise reduction process, however, the Intelligent Resolution works to keep them. At the same time, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine HD II supports a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as approx. 0.005 second and the camera’s quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities together with the Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus) that lets you lock on the subject minimum in approx. 0.24 (wide-end) / 0.28 (tele-end) second and the short startup time of approx. 1.10 second. The high performance Venus Engine HD II is also energy efficient compared with the conventional Venus Engine HD, extending the battery life up to 360 shots (CIPA) per a single charge.

Take Motion Picture Recording to the Next Level with New Generation AVCHD Lite and iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode

In addition to Motion JPEG images, the camera can record high-definition motion picture in AVCHD Lite. It features almost doubling the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format. The picture quality is greatly enhanced thanks to the newly added Intelligent Resolution technology. The FT2 also features Dolby Digital Creator to record high quality audio, so you can match the beautiful motion images with outstanding sound.

Now on the camera, the popular iA (Intelligent Auto) is also available in motion image recording. Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) helps prevent handshake when using zoom or shooting in low lit situations. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion on it, so it always turns out beautiful. Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. And Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality. The 4.6x optical zoom is also available in movie recording. With the newly added Video Divide function, users can divide the video into two sections to shorten or to delete the unwanted half on the spot in the camera. You can cut out a clear still image from a movie in the camera thanks to the Intelligent Resolution technology. A Wind Cut function is also available to block out most of the noise from background wind. Still or motion images recorded in AVCHD Lite on SD Memory Cards are easy to view on a Panasonic VIERA TV. Simply insert the card into the VIERA Image Viewer (SD Memory Card slot) on VIERA TV or DIGA Blu-ray Disc Player to playback your contents. Alternatively, you can use an optional mini HDMI cable to output the still and motion images you took from the camera directly to the TV for VIERA Link. You can take maximum advantage of LUMIX camera’s playback functions including the slideshow in which both still and motion images are integrated in the timeline, category playback according to the scene mode you used or calendar display and so on. All control is possible using only the TV’s remote control. In addition, with the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.0 HD Edition, it is easy to view and edit your recorded contents. You may also choose to upload your videos to YouTube or burn them to a DVD disc for archiving.

The iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode Further Evolved with POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) and Intelligent Resolution Technology

Panasonic incorporated the iA (Intelligent Auto) mode in pursuit of the ultimate ease of operation and the reduction of misshots. In the iA mode the camera does all the work, leaving you free to compose shots and capture moments. Just press, aim and shoot. This mode is now further advanced with the inclusion of further advanced image stabilization system POWER O.I.S. and Intelligent Resolution technology for FT2. The hand-shake component, which is physically generated when pressing the shutter button or when shooting at night with a slow shutter speed, is recognized as a low-frequency vibration, for which the new POWER O.I.S. is particularly effective. This greatly improves the quality of shots taken at night or indoors where a flash cannot be used, or where the photographer doesn’t want to use a flash because it would spoil the mood. It captures beautiful photos in situations that previously resulted in blurring. The camera features the Face Recognition. Three face images can be registered for each person, to raise the detection accuracy. And when the angle of view is changed horizontally, the name display also rotates for easier reading. The Intelligent Scene Selector, which automatically selects whichever of 6 Scene modes — Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly added Sunset — that best suits the shooting situation. In addition, newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in iA mode which results in the clearer and higher picture quality in every photo and movie with extended zoom range equivalent to 6x optical zoom. Once you enter the iA mode, these functions happen automatically together with other powerful shooting-assist functions — AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent Exposure — so you can shoot without the bother of adjusting settings every time conditions change. You can enjoy easy, trouble-free shooting in any situation and get the satisfaction that comes with capturing clear, beautiful images. The new Happy mode, a color mode option in the iA mode, optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photos and movies more vivid and true to the colors of the scenes you memorized.

S P E C I F I C A T I O N

Note: *1 Recording conditions by CIPA standard · CIPA is an abbreviation of [Camera & Imaging Products Association]. · Temperature: 23 °C (73.4 °F) / Humidity: 50% when LCD monitor is on. · Using a Panasonic SD Memory Card (32 MB). · Using the supplied battery. · Starting recording 30 seconds after the camera is turned on. (When the optical image stabilizer function is set to [AUTO].) · Recording once every 30 seconds with full flash every second recording. · Rotating the zoom lever from Tele to Wide or vice versa in every recording. · Turning the camera off every 10 recordings and leaving it until the temperature of the battery decreases. · The number of recordable pictures decreases in Auto Power LCD Mode and Power LCD Mode. *2 · These are standard times taken at a temperature of 23 °C (73.4 °F) and a humidity of 50%. · The time available for recording varies depending on the environment, the interval between recordings, and the manner of use. · Actual recordable time is the time available for recording when repeating actions such as switching the power supply [ON] / [OFF], starting/stopping recording, zoom operation etc. · Motion picture recorded continuously in [MOTION JPEG] is up to 2 GB. Only the maximum recordable time for 2 GB is displayed on the screen.