Panasonic is pleased to announce a new addition of stylish and compact hybrid digital camera DMC-FX77 to the LUMIX FX series featuring a Smart Touch operation on the 3.5-inch large LCD. All control is possible by the touch operation - Touch AF, Touch Zoom or Touch Shutter during recording and various playback functions including new Art Retouch and Beauty Retouch mode.



New LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT lens 24mm ultra wide angle 5x optical zoom (equivalent to 24mm to 120mm on a 35mm camera) with F2.5 brightness has been developed to fit in the compact lens unit enhancing the slimness of camera body. The lens especially excels not only in shooting dynamic landscapes with its wide angle of view but also in capturing moving subjects even in low-lit situations such as indoors or at night with its outstanding brightness. Incorporating a newly developed 12.1-megapixel Hi-Speed CCD sensor, the DMC-FX77 is compatible with high-speed, large-capacity signal processing required for 1920 x 1080 full-HD movie recording in AVCHD and high speed continuous shooting. And the advanced image processing LSI, the Venus Engine FHD, assures high picture quality in both photo and movie recording. It also compiles the Intelligent Resolution technology to perform the optimum signal processing depending on the part of a picture to give a whole image outstandingly natural clearness with fine details. The powerful 5x optical zoom increases its power to 6.5x equivalent with the Intelligent Zoom function taking advantage of the Intelligent Resolution technology maintaining the picture quality even using digital zoom. The Sonic Speed AF, which gains approx. 33% higher speed compared with DMC-FX70, and a quick start-up time give the DMC-FX77 super high speed response that helps to catch even the most fleeting photo opportunities.



The iA (Intelligent Auto) mode is also evolved. For more correction effect in movie recording, Active Mode added to the conventional MEGA O.I.S.  It excels in suppressing blur when recording movie at wide angle in shooting while walking. Together with the MEGA O.I.S. for photo and the outstanding brightness of the lens, the DMC-FX77 powerfully prevents any kind of blur - whether the blur is caused by a handshake or the subject's motion in both photo and movie recording. The Motion Deblur mode* is also available by updating the motion detection (Intelligent ISO Control) and brightness control (Intelligent Exposure) to gain as high shutter speed as possible. The Face Recognition recognizes registered human faces to set appropriate focus and exposure on the person even showing his/her name on the LCD. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically sets the scene mode among frequently used scene mode - Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait, Night Scenery or Sunset. Also, Face Recognition, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent Exposure work appropriately just by entering the iA mode for any user to take beautiful photos with maximum ease.

The DMC-FX77 comes not only with the high basic performance but also with a host of entertainment features that adds fun to photography such as new Beauty Retouch, Art Retouch and My Photo Album. The newly added Lumix Image Uploader realizes direct, instant image sharing via Facebook(photo) or YouTube(movie) with any PC on the spot to let users enjoy communication with photos and movies they take. The 3D image produced by DMC-FX77 with the new 3D Photo mode can also be enjoyed on a VIERA 3D HDTV or other MPO-compatible 3D equipment.

Delicate in design but bold in performance – The DMC-FX77 looks so sleek and elegant with its new streamline design but is an outstandingly high performance hybrid digital compact camera you have never met before.




1. Newly Developed Bright F2.5 LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT Lens with 24mm Ultra Wide-Angle and 5x Optical Zoom
The DMC-FX77 incorporates a newly developed high quality LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT lens that boasts excellent brightness of F2.5. The F2.5 lens is even brighter by approx.25% than the F2.8 lens which is generally considered a bright lens. It allows the use of higher shutter speed but captures stunningly clear, sharp, blur-free images even in lower lighting situation. Together with the anti-blurring function in the iA mode, DMC-FX77 powerfully suppress blur caused by the movement of subjects. Also, the 24mm (35mm camera equivalent: 24-120mm ) ultra-wide-angle lens - rare on a compact camera - gives photographers a wider range of composition possibilities with approx. 213% larger viewing space compared to that of 35mm camera. The super-high-quality LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT lens minimizes distortion at the wide end.
Comprising of 7 elements in 6 groups with 3 aspherical lenses with 5 aspherical surfaces, the lens unit in DMC-FX77 realized downsizing of both total length and diameter to fit in the slim, compact body of the camera. It is made possible with its new mechanism and the world’s first use of new material* for Extra High Index Low Dispersion Meniscus Aspherical Lens as thin as 0.3mm. Panasonic succeeded in developing the lens with high refractive index and low dispersion performance which results in the excellent color reproduction and suppression of chromatic aberration.

This advanced lens unit passes Leica's stringent standards and delivers an exceptional optical performance with its minimal distortion and chromatic aberrations while suppressing ghosting and flaring.
Thanks to the Intelligent Resolution technology, the Intelligent Zoom is available with the DMC-FX77 which extends the zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the picture quality even using a digital zoom. This means the 5x optical can virtually extend to 6.5x 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 CCD to bring subjects even closer.

The compact lens unit contributes to the downsizing of the camera itself to make DMC-FX77 ever more compact with slimmer, more sleek profile compared with the predecessor DMC-FX70.


2. Enjoy 1,920 x 1,080 Full HD Movie Recording in AVCHD with the Advanced iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode
According to the rise of movie recording popularity, digital cameras are now more compatible with it. The DMC-FX77, the top-end model of the FX series, has recording capability of AVCHD movie even in 1,920 x 1,080 full-HD despite its slim, stylish body. The AVCHD format features almost doubling the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG. The picture quality is greatly enhanced thanks to the Intelligent Resolution technology. The DMC-FX77 also boasts Dolby Digital Creator to record high quality audio.

Now on the DMC-FX77, the popular iA (Intelligent Auto) is also available in motion image recording. The AF Tracking function that can lock onto the subject by just touching it on the screen to keep it in focus even it moves is now available in movie recording, too. The MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent Exposure also support shooting beautiful movie with ease. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality. The Intelligent Exposure that also optimizes the exposure to prevent over/under exposure part from occurring.

The 5x optical zoom is available in movie recording, too. With the Video Divide function, users can divide the video into two sections to shorten or delete the unwanted part 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. A host of options enhances the usability and fun of recording high quality full-HD


3. The 3.5-inch Large Smart Touch Screen for Intuitive Touch-Control Shooting and Additional Fun
The DMC-FX77 adopts full touch-screen operation with new Smart Touch Screen. Auto Focus is immediately set to the subject by just touching it on the large LCD and you can even release the shutter. Thanks to the sonic speed AF with approx.33% higher speed, setting focus and releasing shutter is now dramatically faster.

The 3.5-inch in 16:9 aspect large screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting. It also serves as a small photo and video viewer, allowing the user and friends to enjoy viewing the still and motion images together.

Once you lock on the subject by a touch, the camera tracks the subject with the AF tracking function even if it moves. With the Intelligent Scene Selector in the iA mode, the camera automatically switches to the appropriate mode according to the subject touched. For example, a touch on a human face switches to the portrait mode and a touch on the background or scenery to the scenery mode while a touch on the subject close to the camera to the close-up mode. All menu setting is now available with touch control. In the shooting screen you can directly touch the icon to change its setting quickly.

The functions and settings used most often, such as O.I.S., consecutive shooting, auto focus point, white balance setting, ISO sensitivity level, image size and LCD mode are quickly and easily accessed via the shortcut setting by just dragging the icon to the main menu area.

Taking advantage of the touch operation, new functions are incorporated to add more fun to DMC-FX77. My Photo Album function lets users to sort images in the separate folders allowing quick, direct playback of the images they want without searching a huge collection of photos. For example, you can sort photos regarding work or those shot in private. This is also convenient when transferring the images because you can just copy the target folder in a SD card to the PC without selecting the photos you need one by one.

The Art Retouch function lets users give different impression to the photo in camera from the original. Brightness can be changed with exposure and the color with saturation. It is possible to retouch and make the photo, even if it is washed-out or colorless, look in the way you wish to be by combining two parameter settings – more natural, softer, or more vivid to suit your preference of color manner.  The Beauty Retouch mode makes it possible to virtually makeup the faces. In Esthetic mode, various effect can be applied to the face including clearing the skin texture, lifting up the face whitening of teeth and so on. In the Make-up mode, users can choose the color of foundation, lips, cheeks or eye-shadow

The touch-screen operation excels not only for shooting but also for playing back images with outstanding visibility. You can play back the image you want out of hundreds of stocks by touching in the thumbnails. To play back images one by one in order, you can drag the image over the screen with a finger to browse the collection of photos as you flip over the pages of the book. Max. 16x of enlargement is also operated easily with touches. The touch control also allows easy, intuitive operation in attractive features, which will be detailed later.

The Intelligent LCD automatically adjusts the screen brightness in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times.


4. Advanced Signal Processing System with New 12.1-megapixel Hi-Speed CCD and High Performance Venus Engine FHD
The newly developed 12.1-megapixel CCD with 2-channel signal output structure boasts higher signal transfer speed for the operations that require high performance and speed such as 1920x1080 full HD movie recording and high speed continuous shooting. The picture quality is also improved thanks to the approx.25% higher sensitivity* which is made possible by highly efficient light condensation adoption larger on-chip micro lenses.

For the image processor, the Venus Engine FHD is incorporated that features exceptionally advanced signal processing capabilities. By separating chromatic noise from luminance noise and applying the optimal noise reduction to each, you can capture clear and beautiful images even when shooting at high ISO sensitivity levels. The Venus Engine FHD also provides precisely selective noise reduction to the chromatic noise without affecting the border of colors which is judged from the brightness level of a pixel. 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 process of the Venus Engine FHD 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.


Linking smoothly with the Hi-speed CCD sensor, the Venus Engine FHD processes a large amount of signals at high speed, making it possible to record 1,920 x 1,080 full-HD movie recording and high resolution consecutive shots at 3.7 fps in 12.1-megapixel full resolution and max.10 fps at 3-megapixel recording.

At the same time, the multi-task image-processing engine, the Venus Engine FHD realizes 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) which boasts approx.33% faster speed compared with the DMC-FX70/FX75.


5. The Evolving iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode Makes Every Photo and Movie More Beautiful
Panasonic incorporated the 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.

For more effective countermeasure against blur, the Active Mode is newly equipped with DMC-FX77 for an option of image stabilization in movie recording. This mode is especially effective in active movie recording at wide angle such as shooting while walking.

With the DMC-FX77, the Motion Deblur mode* is incorporated to prevent blur even more powerfully. The mode is a comprehensive integration of Intelligent ISO Control which automatically adjusts ISO setting and shutter speed according to the subject's movement and the advanced contrast control system of Intelligent Exposure that also optimizes the exposure to prevent over/under exposure part in a picture. The camera judges the appropriate shutter speed to suppress the motion blur according to the movement of the subject.

The shutter speed rises as high as possible activating the high sensitivity recording by pixel mixed readout method. Combined with the outstanding brightness of the lens and the Active Mode, the DMC-FX77 thoroughly prevents any kind of blur - whether out of handshake or the subject's motion, whether in photo or movie recording.

Not only those, the Face Recognition function remembers registered faces to give an appropriate AF/AE on the people while removing the unwanted red-eye. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically selects whichever of 6 Scene modes - Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and Sunset - that best suit the shooting situation.

In addition, the Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in the iA mode which results in the clearer and higher picture quality in every photo and movie with extended zoom range equivalent to 6.5x optical zoom by the Intelligent Zoom.

Plus, the light control of flash is optimized according to the scene more precisely and the portrait shots using flash, which tends to be overexposed, are now even more beautiful.

Once you enter the iA mode, these functions happen automatically together with other powerful shooting-assist functions - AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control 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.


6. Other Exciting Features for More Fun of Photography
The DMC-FX77 features a new way of communication by sharing photo or movies taken by users via LUMIX Image Uploader. All you have to do is checkmark the photos you want to share in the camera and connect the camera to a PC. Uploading automatically starts just by following the guidance. You can add comment and let your friends know the update of your album via e-mail consequently. Facebook can be used for photos and YouTube for movies. Users can join these social networking service without installation of special software. It is easy to share photo and movies on the spot, which means that your friends do not have to wait for you to come back home.

The newly added 3D Photo mode produces a realistic, less-distorted 3D image in the camera. Take 20 panning shots and the camera automatically selects two most suitable images –one for a right eye and one for the left eye – to synthesize a 3D composite. The 3D image can be viewed on VIERA 3D HDTV. The format of 3D image is compatible with MPO which can be played back on other MPO-compatible equipment such as TV, Digital Photo Frame or Printing.

A total of 25 scene modes such as popular Baby or Pet, sets most appropriate parameter in wide-ranging situations.

Photos or movies recorded in AVCHD 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 FX77 directly to the TV for VIERA Link. Most of the control is possible using only the TV's remote control.


View the original article here