Product Description

The Panasonic FZ38 can record HD movie of 720P in AVCHD Lite. And a stereo microphone, featuring Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, records high quality audio. Just press the Motion Picture Button, and shooting begins. In the Creative Movie Mode, the shutter speed and aperture can be adjusted. The iA Mode can also be activated in motion picture recording. When the DMC-FZ38 is connected to a Panasonic VIERA via an optional mini HDMI cable, the TV's remote control unit can be used to enjoy playing back with greater convenience. The DMC-FZ38 features a 27mm wide-angle 18x optical zoom f/2.8-4.4 LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens in a compact body (35mm equivalent: 27-486mm). The lens unit comprises 11 elements in 8 groups, with 2 ED lenses and 3 aspherical lenses, including a dual-sided aspherical meniscus lens. The powerful 18x zoom can also be used in motion picture recording. Furthermore, in 3-megapixel resolution, the Extra Optical Zoom function provides additional magnification, extending the zoom power to 35.2x (35mm film camera equivalent: 950mm).

POWER O.I.S. is about twice as effective as MEGA O.I.S. at reducing low-frequency vibration-caused blur when pressing the shutter button or shooting with a slow shutter speed. So you can take beautiful night shots without blurring. Activating POWER O.I.S., Intelligent ISO Control, Face Detection AF/AE with Face Recognition, Intelligent Scene Selector, Intelligent Exposure and AF Tracking, the camera does all the work in the iA Mode. Face Recognition function recognizes registered persons' faces and optimizes the focus and exposure settings.

Package Content

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 Digital Camera in Black
2. Battery Charger
3. Battery Pack
4. AV Cable
5. USB Cable
6. Shoulder Strap
7. Software CD-ROM
8. Lens hood
9. Lens hood adaptor
10. Lens cap & string
11. Extra Free: 4GB SDHC Memory card (Generic, class 4 or higher)
12. Extra Free: rain-proof soft carry case (Generic)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6666 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Dimensions: 4.41 pounds

Features

• 12 megapixels and RAW format support
• Long Battery life up to 470 pictures per full charge
• 18x Optical Zoom 27mm Wide-angle LEICA DC Lens
• Bright & High Resolution 2.7 inch LCD screen
• POWER Optical Image Stablisation (OIS) for Hand-shake Blurring Compensation, twice as effective as MEGA OIS in the predecessor Panasonic FZ28 and FZ18
• Full Manual Operation with Smooth Joystick Control: Simply move the joystick vertically or horizontally to adjust the shutter speed, aperture or focus during manual focus
• Record HD movie of 720P in AVCHD Lite with stereo sound
• iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode with Face Recognition
• Ultra high-speed start-up of 1.2 seconds, a 20% decrease from the previous Panasonic FZ28

Customer Reviews

Good camera, shame about the memory card
I bought this camera because I wanted something slightly better than the standard "point and shoot" cameras, but I didn't want the hassle, expense, and weight of a Digital SLR. I'm not a serious photographer, but this camera seems very good - it does everything I want it to do, and there are still lots of features that I don't yet know how to use, which I shall explore more fully in due course. The build quality seems good - very sturdy. It's also nice to look at, and easy to hold - not as bulky as SLRs. The most impressive feature of this camera is the zoom - 18x, and it still takes good pictures at high zoom levels (assuming you hold the camera steady). The photos I've taken with it so far are quite nice - I think if I were a good photographer I could take some really good ones with this camera.

The software that comes with it is adequate, although could be improved, doesn't let you control the camera from the computer, or delete photos on the camera from the computer. Apart from that though, it will do all the normal things you would expect of camera software.

The case is fine - fits the camera in it with space for some other accesories (like a computer cable etc)

The only real disappointment was the memory card supplied with the camera. I didn't realise this, but there are different classes of memory card (something to do with the speed at which they process data I think). Anyway, the one supplied was 4GB, but was too slow to be usable. When trying to view photos using the camera, it took ages to switch between photos, and zoom in / out etc. To start with I thought it was the camera, but when I bought a faster (8GB) memory card, everything was much faster, and the video recording function (which wasn't working properly with the 4GB card) worked fine.