• 8.3 megapixel sensor
• 18x optical zoom
• MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer)
• ISO 6400 High Sensitivity mode
• 2.5-inch large Intelligent LCD
• Use with SanDisk SD Cards

Panasonic DMC-FZ18
Panasonic introduces a new 8.1 Megapixel Lumix camera, featuring a 28mm wide angle Leica DC lens with a powerful 18x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm camera) with f/2.8 brightness. Panasonic Lumix FZ series has been highly evaluated across the world, for concomitant realization of both high performance and ease of use, and the new Panasonic Lumix FZ18 has also been developed with no compromise of picture quality, operational ease and portability. The newly developed 28mm wide angle 18x optical zoom lens in the Panasonic FZ18 boasts notable optical performance and compactness, to open the door for the new world of expression that has ever been thought impossible with a single compact camera.

Stabilizer
Panasonic also made an epoch in digital photography by providing all Lumix cameras with Intelligent Image Stabilization system that comprehends MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) to suppress hand-shake and Intelligent ISO control to prevent motion blur, allowing anyone to take clear, beautiful pictures with ease. Even going far beyond that, Lumix cameras pursue both the beauty of picture and the ease of operation at the same time to newly include the Intelligent Auto mode. In addition to two of the essential image stabilizing systems, this mode further features three new functions.

Auto focus and Face detection
The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically sets the appropriate scene mode according to the scene you’re going to take. It is selected from most frequently-used scene modes such as portrait, scenery, macro, night scenery and night portrait. The Face Detection system helps the camera to recognize a human face and focus and set AE. The Continuous AF system allows the camera to keep focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, to get best result out of a shutter chance by minimizing the AF time. These multi-capable functions happen automatically, so you can shoot without the bother of adjusting settings every time conditions change. Lumix and its powerful Intelligent Auto Mode does all the work for you. You can enjoy easy, trouble-free shooting in any situation and get the satisfaction that comes with capturing clear, beautiful images.

Venus Engine
The high-speed, high-performance image processing LSI is the Venus Engine III, which boasts shooting at ISO 1600 in normal recording mode and even max. ISO 6400 in high sensitivity mode. Effective resolution has been increased to 8.1 Megapixels, which supports the Extra Optical Zoom function, that provides additional magnification - even up to 28.7x when taking photos with 3-megapixel resolution. The 2.5-inch large, high resolution LCD with 207,000 pixels, and the large, 0.44-inch Electric Viewfinder with 188,000 pixels, make it easy to see when monitoring and playing back images.

Optical Image Stabilizer
Panasonic incorporates both MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) to compensate for hand-shake and Intelligent ISO Control system to detect and suppress motion blur into all Lumix cameras, which are the industry’s most advanced countermeasures against blurring. In addition to these two paramount anti-blurring technologies, Panasonic keeps pursuing its own ideal that anyone at any technical level of photography can take beautiful pictures with ease, and Intelligent Auto mode is newly incorporated into Lumix. Increasing numbers of scene mode is one thing and taking advantage of them is another, and that’s why here comes the Intelligent Scene Selector that automatically sets the appropriate scene mode according to the scene you’re going to take among the most frequently-used scene modes such as Portrait, Scenery, Macro, Night Scenery and Night Portrait. The Face Detection system helps the camera to recognize a human face and focus and set AE. Up to 15 human faces can be recognized simultaneously. The Continuous AF system allows the camera to keep focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, to get best result out of a shutter chance by minimizing the AF time. These multi-capable functions happen automatically, so you can shoot without the bother of adjusting settings every time conditions change. Lumix and its powerful Intelligent Auto Mode do all the work for you. You can enjoy easy, trouble-free shooting in any situation and get the satisfaction that comes with capturing clear, beautiful images.

LCD screen and View finder
The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Megazoom camera boasts a 2.5-inch large Intelligent LCD with full 207 k pixels resolution for comfortable viewing while both monitoring shots and playing back the results. The camera detects the light condition and automatically boosts the LCD backlighting by 40% when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine, and boosts signals by pixel-mixed readout method when shooting under low-lit situation to secure a clear image in any circumstances. The High Angle mode, which can be accessed quickly and easily via a dedicated button, makes the LCD screen extremely easy to view when the camera is held high, such as to shoot over a crowd. The large 0.44-inch in-line Electric Viewfinder has high, 188,000-pixel resolution to provide easy, corner-to-corner focusing confirmation even in manual focus mode.