New Panasonic Cameras Make You Irrelevant
August 13, 2007: Panasonic’s Lumix cameras are often sexy, full-featured and well-reviewed. Their newest batch of digishooters offer some innovative features that pretty much take the shot for you.
This is from Panasonic’s press release:
Panasonic today expanded its LUMIX family of digital still cameras with the introduction of the LUMIX DMC-FZ18, an 8.1 Megapixel compact camera with an impressive 18x optical zoom. In addition to a premium 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens, the DMC-FX18 joins the LUMIX DMC-FX33 and DMC-FX55 as the first Panasonic digital cameras to offer the revolutionary Intelligent Auto Mode, which include Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector and Continuous Auto-focus functions, allowing users to easily capture clear, professional-quality images in any situation or setting.
According to Panasonic’s spokesperson, it sounds like all you’ll have to do is aim the camera and shoot.
“The Intelligent Auto Mode in the DMC-FZ18 does all the work for you, making photo-taking trouble-free,” noted Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company.
I know what face detection and continuous auto-focus do, and they’re all good, but I’m kind of freaked out by the Intelligent Scene Selector. Somehow, the camera “reads” the scene and knows if you’re taking a portrait, capturing scenery, or making a macro. That’s pretty cool and little strange.
What’s next - will the menus in restaurants “read” me and know what I’m hungry for? When I go into The Gap will the right pair of jeans walk right up to me? If I put a chicken into the over, will it scan the bird and automatically set the right time and temperature?
The camera of tomorrow, today. But do you want a camera that figures all this out for you? Is it too much trouble to turn the “scene” button on your compact camera to “portrait” yourself?
Scott