Panasonic has rolled out yet another digital camera for the masses, and it seems that consumer level compact digital cameras seem to be more and more powerful these days that they tend to reach early DSLR performance. The LUMIX DMC-ZR1 is one such shooter, as it boasts the title of featuring the first 0.3mm thin aspherical lens in the world, making room for the innards of this digital camera to be crammed into such a compact body, all of it despite carrying a powerful, 25mm ultra-wide-angle, 8x optical zoom LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens. Panasonic’s ZR1 compact digital camera will give consumers unprecedented flexibility when it comes to snapping photos, bringing its famous long-zoom capability into a tiny body without compromising on both style and substance.

According to David Briganti, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, “The ZR1 answers the call of consumers looking for a truly pocketable digital camera, while still featuring a zoom more powerful than typical compact cameras. We know consumers want to catch every shooting opportunity, and with the ZR1, this is possible through unique features such as the ultra-wide-angle lens and Panasonic’s popular iA Mode.”

The ZR1 will feature a zoom range of 25-200mm, enabling one to capture expansive scenery photos and close-ups in a jiffy. It is also important to note that this powerful zoom also works equally well during video recording, making sure you never miss a moment be it from close or afar, while the 12.1-megapixel resolution it captures images in enables one to blow up photos to a huge size without compromising on overall detail. Some of the features found on the Panasonic DMC-ZR1 include :-

• Hand-Shake Component – Answers the problem of natural hand-shaking that goes along with pressing the shutter button
• Face Recognition – Up to six faces can be registered, and up to three can be simultaneously recognized to show their names once registered
• Travel Mode – Users can quickly organize information related to travel, including destination, date and time. Playback of these photos is just as easy, by designating the date or period of travel on the calendar menu interface
• High Dynamic Mode – Helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure even when the scene may contain both bright and dark areas
• PHOTOfunSTUDIO 4.0 – Included software allows the user to view, edit and archive captured photos and videos. It features dramatic speed-up of operation and also allows users to store and sort photos by a specific, recognized face in the image

Interested? The LUMIX DMC-ZR1 will be released later this September for $279.95 and will come in a choice of black, red, blue and silver colors.

Press Release