Panasonic Announces Lumix DMC-TS2 (aka DMC-FT2) Rugged Camera Waterproof to 10m
2010-02-11 03:53 | DMC-TS2 Sales Ranking: #57 | Tag: Panasonic Camera Announces Lumix RuggedAverage Camera Review Rating [4 reviews]
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It's been a year since Panasonic released its first rugged Lumix DMC-TS1 (aka DMC-FT1). Now Panasonic comes back with the new Lumix DMC-TS2 (aka DMC-FT2). The TS2 is shockproof from a height of 2m (the TS1 could withstand drops of 1.5m), waterproof to 10m (as opposed to the TS1's 3m) and freezeproof to -10C (like the TS1). It's also dust-proof. For increased durability, the Panasonic LUMIX TS2 will come with an optional silicon jacket that helps protect its exterior from scratches.
Like its predecessor, the TS2 features a 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4.6x zoom with a scratch-resistant 2.7-inch LCD display, and can record high-definition movies in AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG formats at a 1,280x720-pixel, high-definition resolution. Unlike the TS1, the TS2 can record not just to SD and SDHC cards but also to super-high-capacity SDXC cards.
The TS1 surpassed the Olympus Tough-8000 in terms of image quality, and the TS2 promises to improve it further via the new 'Intelligent Resolution' image-processing technology and a higher 14.1 Megapixel resolution sensor. It also offers optical image stabilisation that's apparently twice as effective as its predecessor's. Pricing and availability for the TS2 will be announced 30 days prior to shipping date. The TS2 will be available in silver, blue, orange and yellow. For more details, check out below press announcement from Panasonic:
Photo Album: Panasonic Announces Lumix DMC-TS2 (aka DMC-FT2) Rugged Camera Waterproof to 10m
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PANASONIC'S RUGGED DIGITAL CAMERA GETS TOUGHER - WATERPROOF TO 33 FEET, FREEZEPROOF, SHOCKPROOF*1 - WITH THE ABILITY TO RECORD HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO
New Panasonic LUMIX TS2 Features a Rugged Design, Allowing for Extreme Outdoor Use, Yet Still Easy to Use to Capture High Quality Photos
Secaucus, NJ (January 26, 2010) - Panasonic today introduced the new LUMIX DMC-TS2, a successor to the company's first rugged digital camera designed for active outdoor use, the LUMIX DMC-TS1. Featuring High Definition video recording capability, in the AVCHD Lite format, the new 14.1-megapixel LUMIX TS2 further strengthens its toughness when compared to its predecessor and is waterproof to 33 feet (10m), shockproof to 10 feet (2m), freezeproof to 14° F (-10° C) and dustproof*1.
"We have been very pleased to see that consumers found true value in Panasonic's first rugged digital camera, knowing that they could take it on their outdoor adventures where it could withstand drops, water and dust. But even more, we saw that users enjoyed our LUMIX TS1 for their daily photo needs - they were able to take high-quality video and photo without worrying if they casually tossed it in their bag or used it in the rain," said David Briganti, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "The new LUMIX TS2 gets tougher and we expect it to be a key product in 2010, as its rugged features are becoming even more desirable for active users, especially with this year's new freezeproof capabilities. Families will enjoy this digital camera, both for their own outdoor activities, vacations, but also so they can allow children to take photos without the anxiety they might otherwise feel of damage."
With its enhanced toughness, The LUMIX TS2 features an airtight body protected against water immersion, dust and sand. The new model is waterproof to a depth of 33 feet and dustproof, which can be attributed to its rubber padding and reinforced glass and carbon inside the camera. Furthermore, the LUMIX TS2's cover panel for the LCD is thickened by 1.3x compared to the predecessor LUMIX TS1 to withstand increased pressure underwater. The LUMIX TS2 is shockproof, encased with shock-resistant material, and its folded optics design protects its lens when dropped during operation. Furthermore, the lens unit is protected by a supplementary damper to absorb the force from shock impact. Also, all components including the lens unit, have been tested to endure temperatures as low as14°F (-10°C). For increased durability, the Panasonic LUMIX TS2 will come with an optional silicon jacket that helps protect its exterior from scratches.
The Panasonic LUMIX TS2 features Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus), which enables a super-fast response time, and a shutter release time lag as short as approximately 0.005 second. With the camera's quick response, it is easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities. Combining that with the Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus) that lets users lock on the subject in approximately 0.24 second(wide-end) / 0.28 second (tele-end)*2 and the short startup time of approximately 1.1 second.
The Panasonic LUMIX TS2 features new image processing technology, Intelligent Resolution, which is incorporated in its Venus Engine HD II. With Intelligent Resolution technology, three areas - outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation - are examined pixel by pixel and automatically detected to enhance any degradation created during the digital zoom process or in high-sensitivity shooting, when details in an image tend to get lost in the noise reduction process. The outline areas are enhanced effectively to give the edges more clarity, while simultaneously giving a moderate accent to the textured areas so it looks accurately detailed. To the soft gradation area, such as a face, the increased noise reduction system of the Venus Engine HD II is applied to make it smoother. As a result of Intelligent Resolution, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and video recording. The Intelligent Resolution technology powers Panasonic's new Intelligent Zoom feature, which extends the camera's zoom ratio by approximately 1.3x while maintaining the picture quality - and enhancing the digital zoom and making it comparable to the quality of an optical zoom. Thus, with Intelligent Zoom, the Panasonic TS2 features a total zoom up to 6x.
The LUMIX TS2 features a 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO ELMAR lens that extends to a 4.6x optical zoom, giving consumers great shooting range. The wide-angle lens provides flexibility for all shooting scenarios, especially useful underwater where movement is often restricted and the shooting angle becomes important for composing shots. The LUMIX TS2 features a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD with a wide-viewing angle that ensures high visibility during recording and playback, thanks to its automatic brightness control depending on the lighting conditions. Also, the LUMIX TS2 features a built-in LED light, which is extremely convenient when shooting in dark situations, such as underwater.
The LUMIX TS2 can record HD video in Motion JPEG and AVCHD Lite- with the latter format almost doubling the recording time in HD quality compared with the Motion JPEG format. To complement the HD video capabilities, the Panasonic LUMIX TS2 features Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, which enables high quality audio.
The Panasonic LUMIX TS2 features iA (Intelligent Auto) modem, a popular feature on LUMIX digital cameras, making them intuitive to use without changing any settings, as the technologies engage automatically. For instance, iA incorporates Panasonic's POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), which doubles the repression power compared to the conventional image stabilization system, MEGA O.I.S.
Other technologies incorporated into the LUMIX TS2's iA mode include:
- Face Recognition - With new enhancements when compared to previous editions, Face Recognition allows users to register up to three different images for a person, helping to improve detection accuracy. Face detection is also included for up to 15 faces.
- Intelligent Scene Selector - Automatically selects whichever of 6 Scene Modes - Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly added Sunset - best suits the shooting situation.
- Other iA Technologies: Intelligent Resolution and Intelligent Zoom, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure.
Panasonic's iA is also available in video mode, and it automatically selects the most suitable Scene mode and helps to reduce blur due to handshake and improves focus, brightness and exposure. In addition, iA in video mode features Intelligent Scene Selector, which automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the shooting environment.
Other features of the Panasonic LUMIX TS2 include:
- Happy Mode - New Scene mode that optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photo and video more vivid and true to the color the users remember when they took it.
- High Dynamic - New mode is newly added to the existing Scene modes. This mode helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure, even though the scene contains both bright and dark area together. The user can select one of three options, Standard, Art, or B/W, depending on the desired effect and personal taste to make the photo look natural to artistic.
- Compatibility - Compatible with SDXC Memory Cards, including Panasonic's newly announced 64 GB*3 and 48 GB SDXC Memory Cards - to enable high capacity content storage and fast data transfer speeds. Also compatible with Windows 7*4.
- Video Divide - Users can divide video into two sections to shorten or delete the unwanted clips directly on the camera. Users can also grab a still image from a video - all within the menus on the camera.
- Battery Life - Can take up to 360 images on a single battery charge*5.
Pricing and availability for the Panasonic LUMIX TS2 will be announced 30 days prior to shipping date. The Panasonic LUMIX TS2 will be available in silver, blue, orange and yellow.
*1 When used according to Panasonic's operating guidelines, waterproof to a depth of 10m and dustproof in accordance with IEC60529 standard. Shockproof from a height up to 2.0m in accordance with the "MIL-STD 810F Method 516.5-Shock" test standard. All components including the lens unit are evaluated to endure the temperature as low as -10 degrees C to make the TS2 freezeproof.
*2 Using 1-area AF.
*3 1GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Usable capacity will be less. SDXC Memory Cards can only be used in SDXC host devices, which support the SDXC Memory Card.
*4 Windows and the Windows logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
*5 Based on the CIPA standard.
* Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.
*Leica is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystems IR GmbH.
*The LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and quality assurance systems that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company's quality standards.
*The "AVCHD Lite" and the "AVCHD Lite" logo are trademarks of Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation.
* AVCHD Lite motion images recorded onto an SD Memory Card or a DVD disc cannot be played from a device that does not support the AVCHD standard.
*Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
Panasonic DMC-TS2 Sample Photos on Flickr
Panasonic DMC-TS2 Camera Reviews Roundup
| ImagingResource: "Color is good overall, though somewhat muted in some respects, especially yellows, some of which have a slight green tint. Blues are pumped more than reds, but color looks mostly accurate, rather than the usual tendency toward significant oversaturation that many companies employ to appeal to consumers. Hue is also a little off for colors like yellow and cyan, but that's quite common. Caucasian skintones look fairly..." - Jul 29 2010 More » | |
| DigitalCameraReview: "The real crux of the TS2 is its ability to go underwater and record video and stills. To test it, I chose a few scenarios. The first idea was to go surfing with the camera, but I was worried about dropping it or keeping it submerged too long. So instead I chose a controlled environment; I set up an object in a well-lit sink in hopes of capturing stills and video. The results were above average, and once you loo..." - Apr 29 2010 More » | |
| PhotoReview Australia: "Photographs taken with the test camera looked natural under most types of lighting and were surprisingly sharp and artefact-free given the size of the sensor and resolution of this camera. The autofocusing system was accurate under most lighting conditions, even in low light levels, although we recorded a few 'misses' when shooting underwater video clips in slightly cloudy water and with low-contrast subjects. ..." - Mar 23 2010 More » | |
| DCI: "We found that the images that the TS2 captured had decent, but not spectacular resolution. While the images were pretty sharp across the zoom range and had low distortion, there was also some evidence of chromatic aberration at the edges of the frame. The TS2 uses an optical stabilization system, where an element of the lens moves to adapt for camera shake. We test this by shaking the camera on our test rig, an..." - Mar 20 2010 More » | |
| PhotographyBLOG: "The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 follows a long tradition of incrementally improving on a previous model by adding a smattering of new features. Cynics may argue that there's not really enough new features on offer to justify the upgrade, but the inclusion of freezeproof-ness, better waterproofing and shockproofing, plus a noticeably quicker auto-focus system, means that the DMC-FT2 is a serious challenger to the longer-..." - Feb 11 2010 More » |
Panasonic DMC-TS2 Camera Recent User Reviews
My second and probably not my last Lumix, S. Zemlo "MCP, MCDST, MCSA, HDA, CSS" - Aug 05 2010
This camera does everything it says it does. I know there is a lot of discussion about just how waterproof it is or isn't, but I gotta say... mine has worked just fine from kayaking, to pool parties, to swimming in the ocean. I did get a little fog inside the lens at the beach, which probably isn't a good thing, but it went away and still works just fine. I think as long as you are...
My second and probably not my last Lumix, S. Zemlo "MCP, MCDST, MCSA, HDA, CSS" - Aug 05 2010
First off... for all you people complaining about the AVCHD format... here's a converter that works very well if you don't have decent editing software. This camera does everything it says it does. I know there is a lot of discussion about just how waterproof it is or isn't, but I gotta say... mine has worked just fine from kayaking, to pool parties, to swimming in the ocean. I di...
Awesome little camera, Igor Titarenko - Aug 02 2010
I bought this camera primarily for its ruggedness and underwater capability. Did extensive research and decided this camera offered the best combination of image quality, features, and design out of all the "rugged" cameras I looked at. I already own a Nikon D40 DSLR and several lenses for the times when I need serious image quality and flexibility, but if I'm going to trade...
Nice camera but..., Ruth A Olson - Jul 19 2010
I ordered this camera as a gift, and it functions well, but the focus motor broke about 2 weeks after receiving it. I hope Panasonic will replace the camera with a new one, not one that's been refurbished....
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