Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [8.33mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0007OV46I
• Item model number: DMC-FZ4PP-S
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,647 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 8, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Panasonic is pleased to introduce the 4.0-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 with a Mega O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) that compensates the handshake, plus a newly developed 12x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 35mm to 420mm on a 35mm film camera). The DMC-FZ4 is heir to the 3.1-megapixel DMC-FZ3, but enhances its excellence not only with the total number of pixels but also with other innovative technical improvements such as faster AF and various design development on the grip or the position of shutter button, to encourage higher-level shooting with comfortable operation.

The remarkable 12x optical zoom can capture large frames of photo subjects even a long distance away. Furthermore, Panasonic's Mega O.I.S. assures stability of the magnified image and resolves the problem of blurring when the zoom photography is operated by hand without the assistance of a tripod. The camera is equipped with a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens for high resolution imaging with very little distortion. Moreover, the combination of 3 aspherical lenses preserves an astonishingly compact body size even for a 12x optical zoom digital still camera.

The engine, or the brain, driving high picture quality and quick response of the camera is once again the leading-edge image processing LSI Venus Engine II, which boasts excellent resolution in the horizontal and the vertical, in addition to the diagonal. An industry-leading release time lag of 0.006 second and a shutter interval of approximately 0.3 seconds (not including time for AF) allows you to precisely capture your target subject. What's more, consecutive shooting performance boasts the capability of sequential shots at a rate of 4 frames per second at full resolution. An unlimited consecutive shooting function allows you to take photos in succession until the memory card or built-in memory is full.

Remarkable 12x Optical Zoom in a Compact Body
The Lumix DMC-FZ4 digital camera is equipped with a 4.0-megapixel CCD and newly developed Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens offering 12x optical zoom (equivalent to 35mm to 420mm on a 35mm film camera) with aperture of f2.8 to f3.3. The combination of 3 aspherical lenses, the crystallization of Panasonic's optics technology, generates high optical performance while preserving the compactness of the unit. The zoom range can be totally extended to 48x when combined with 4x digital zoom.

Mega O.I.S.--The Essential Feature for Digital Cameras
Mega O.I.S., which Panasonic strongly believes is indispensable for a high-magnification model, is subsumed with two selectable modes. In Mode 1, the O.I.S. lens continuously compensates the vibration, and in all Panasonic's own Mode 2, the O.I.S. lens suppresses hand-shake only at the moment the shutter button is pressed. In this mode, the lens can move in all directions at the moment to maximize its effect, and higher-resolution image can be taken by capturing the image as close as to the center of the lens. Venus Engine II also encourages this advantageous performance in the point of enhancing the accuracy of hand-shake detection; consequently, even without using a tripod, it allows you to reduce the shutter speed more than three steps compared to the conventional cameras without O.I.S., while assuring clear images. It is difficult to capture crisp and clear images in shootings with high-powered zoom or with macro mode without using a tripod. The shutter speed tends to slow when shooting in low-lit indoor conditions or taking pictures of nighttime scenery. However, Mega O.I.S. enables you to easily take clear, beautiful pictures in such situations.

The Venus Engine ll Leads the Industry for Its Quick Response
The Venus Engine ll engine is the brain of digital camera, driving high picture quality and quick camera response. Panasonic has achieved great improvements in both resolution and response compared with the performance of previous Venus Engine. In the previous Venus Engine, the luminance signal was extracted from all RGB pixels to improve the diagonal resolution by 50%. In addition to that, the Venus Engine II gains a new imaging process that adds the luminance signal extracted only from the G pixels upon detecting the horizontal/vertical lines in the image. This results in the improvement of the horizontal and vertical resolution by more than 10% compared with the former Venus Engine, while maintaining the 50% improvement in the diagonal resolution.

The multitask image-processing LSI realizes outstanding response with an industry-leading shutter-release time lag of 0.006 seconds minimum and a shutter interval of approximately 0.3 seconds (not including time for AF), achieving more stress-free operation. It also boasts high consecutive shooting performance, providing shooting at 4 frames per second at full resolution. The Unlimited Consecutive Shooting function allows limit-free consecutive shooting up to the capacity of the memory card or built-in memory. The number of recordable picture depends on the memory card size, battery life, picture size, and compression.

The Industry-Leading Short AF Time for a High-Zoom Model
An AF method can be selected according to the shooting situation: 9-point, 3-point high-speed, 1-point high-speed, 1-point normal-speed, and Spot. In the newly incorporated 1-point high-speed AF, the shutter time lag (including AF speed, i.e. the time from full shutter realease to image capture) has dramatically been reduced to one-third the level of the previous DMC-FZ3 model, and has resulted in achievement of industry-leading short shutter time lag for a high zoom model.

Although screen-freeze in high-speed AF is now minimized, if you take the picture of a subject with fast movement, you can select 1-point normal-speed AF, which does not have any screen-freeze while focusing. In addition, an AF assist lamp expands the AF ability even at night or under the low-light conditions.

A Variety of Settings with Mode Dial and Scene Modes
Convenientyly select from 9 scene modes that meet most any shooting situation thanks to the newly installed Scene Mode Help screen. This shows the description of each mode on the LCD monitor and makes it easier to select the mode that best fits the shooting conditions.

Manual functions such as aperture-priority AE, shutter-priority AE, or manual exposure are selectable directly by the mode dial, which offers smooth control. It also offers easy shooting even to entry-level users by providing a Simple Mode in which most settings are determined automatically. You just aim at the subject, zoom in or out, and press the shutter button.

High-End Usability Satisfies a Wide Range of Photographers
A 1.5-inch LCD monitor provides immediate visual image confirmation, and an extended battery life of 300 images (CIPA) gives the FZ4 more staying power than its predecessor.

Auto-angle detection, another new feature, records whether an image was taken horizontally or vertically. This ensures that when playing back on the LCD monitor and displaying images on your TV by connecting your Lumix with a video cable, vertical images are automatically displayed vertically and horizontal images are automatically displayed horizontally.

Product Description

The Panasonic DMC-FZ4S Lumix Digital Camera recreates the vivid moments that you're trying to capture digitally, with perfect accuracy. The super-bright 12x Optical and 4x Digital zooms deliver exquisite shots from telephoto to wide angle and macro. The MEGA Optical stabilizer stops jittery hands from producing shaky pictures. Snap off consecutive shots at 4 frames per second until the memory is full, for that perfect shot. All this in a smaller, easier-to-hold body. White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen, Flash, White Set, White Balance Adjustment Shutter Speed - 8 - 1/2,000 sec. MEGA Optical image stabilizer helps eliminate blurry pictures Mega Burst Shooting Mode take up to 7 shots at 4 or 2 frames per sec. Playback Modes - Thumbnail Display, Zoomed Playback(16x max), Slide Show, Resizing, Trimming, DPOF Scene Modes - Portrait, Sports, Scenery, Night Scenery, Panning, Night Portait, Fireworks, Party, Snow, Playback Color Effect Modes - Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia Records to SD/MMC cards Auto Angle Detection Language Selections - English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Italian, French Lithium-ion battery pack with charger - takes up to 320 pictures Includes ArcSoft PhotoImpression, Panorama Maker and PhotoBase Color - Silver Dimensions(HxWxD) - 2.69 x 4.25 x 3.34 Weight - 0.72 lbs. Included Accessories - Battery charger, battery pack, 8MB SD Card, lens cap, lens hood & adapter, A/V & USB cable, strap and CD-ROM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Best Buy" Secret, March 20, 2006

By 

Edward M. Nicholson "Honest Ed" (Raleigh, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Electronics)

After several months of use, the FZ4 continues to impress me. I had originally planned to get the FZ5 to replace my 3-yr old Panasonic LC5 but when I tried both, I found that an extra $100 or so bought me a slightly larger LCD (not enough to matter), sound when using the movie mode (which I have not used on any digital camera) and other useless gadgetry, like choice of silver or black body. I feel that the FZ4 is slightly faster and noise, which is usually seen in the shadows at higher ISO, is slightly reduced---and no purple fringing, period. Both are excellent cameras within their design parameters as cameras for sports, family gettogethers,nature and travel, not portrait or studio work although enlargements on the FZ4 are fine up to and including 8x11 and often even larger. What it lacks is a complete set of manual controls but if you want that you must get a DSLR and a couple of zoom lenses which will set you back several thousand. My Panasonic DMC-FZ4 was well under US$250, including tax and shipping.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera, June 27, 2007

By 

SewingNana (Alderwood Manor, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Electronics)

With out a doubt one of the best little zoom cameras ever! The Leica lens is amazing and our shoots are wonderful!

I find my self carrying this with me in my car at all times. We have bigger, more expensive digitals, but this continues to be my favorite all around camera. Our little ones (3 grandchildren) can not escape the pictures with this one! and they are IN FOCUS to boot!

Buy one if you can find one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no such thing as old, July 1, 2009

By 

Chase - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Electronics)

when a camera shoots great fantastic pics, ther is no such thing as being dated, i buy older camera's they might not have all these frills of todays cameras which you might not use anyway, but these cameras are built better stronger and have better lenses even if their pixels are lower than today's cameras, i think they out perform them when it comes to quality pics, especially the panasonic lumix dmc fz line of cameras, is the most amazing! i collected all of them and i treat them as jewels.