SECAUCUS, NJ--(Marketwire - January 22, 2008) - Panasonic today introduced its newest LUMIX digital camera, the DMC-LS80, which features advanced, yet easy-to-use settings that help even the entry-level digital photographer take great photos. Encased in a compact design and powered by AA batteries, the LS80 offers convenience and increased usability. With a newly developed LUMIX DC VARIO lens system, 3x optical zoom and 8.1-megapixel high resolution, the LS80 is feature-rich and user-friendly digital camera, all at an affordable price.

At the core of the DMC-LS80's easy-to-use operation is a comprehensive system of intelligent technologies that operate within the camera automatically, without any extra effort from the user. The Panasonic LUMIX LS80 integrates four distinct features aimed at making it easy to capture perfect images.

--  MEGA O.I.S. - Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and an Optical Image
    Stabilizer (O.I.S.) lens system shifts to compensate, preventing hand-shake
    from creating a blurry image and instead, providing a clear and crisp
    photo.
    
--  Intelligent ISO - With this feature, the digital camera can determine
    if the photo subject is moving and change ISO setting and shutter speed
    accordingly, thus enabling a blur-free photo.
    
--  Auto Macro - The LS80 automatically switches to the Macro setting when
    in close proximity to the photo subject, ideal for those extreme close-up
    shots.
    
--  Quick AF - With the Quick AF (Auto Focus) system, the LS80 will focus
    on the photo subject without the user needing to press the shutter button,
    producing the fastest shutter speed by minimizing the AF time.
    

"Continuing on the success of our 2007 line of LUMIX digital cameras, all our 2008 models will also include two advanced anti-blur technologies, Intelligent ISO and MEGA O.I.S., helping all our consumers -- from the beginners to the advanced DSLR-users -- take high-quality photos they are proud to share," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "Committed to the idea that digital photography should be a fulfilling and enjoyable experience, our Panasonic LUMIX digital cameras offer intuitive features, like Auto Macro, that are seamlessly integrated into the photography process, so the user doesn't need to change any settings."

Another new intuitive technology of the LS80 includes the Intelligent LCD, which means the brightness of the LCD automatically adjusts as the ambient light level changes. With the Intelligent LCD, which comes with 230,000-dot high resolution, images are clear, bright and easy to see -- regardless whether it is day or night; inside or outside.

Other features of the DMC-LS80 include:

--  Venus Engine III Processor: High-quality, high-performance image
    processing with the Venus Engine III.  With its multi-task image processing
    capability, the Venus Engine III boasts outstanding response time.  Shutter
    release time lag is as short as 0.005 second*. In the consecutive shooting
    mode, it is possible to shoot at 2.5 frames per second in full
    resolution**; and in High-Speed Burst shooting mode***, the LS80 fires off
    an incredible 5.5 shots per second. Also, with unlimited consecutive
    shooting, the user can snap photos continuously until the SD Memory Card is
    full ****.
    
--  High Definition Compatible: With the LUMIX LS80, consumers are able to
    take 1920x1080 pixel photos, ideal for viewing on wide-screen (16:9) High
    Definition televisions. The complete Panasonic VIERA line of Plasma and LCD
    HDTVs comes equipped with an internal SD card slot, so viewing digital
    photos is as easy as taking the SD card out of the LS80 and inserting it
    into the front of the Panasonic VIERA.
    
--  Video Recording:  In addition to recording standard VGA (640 x 480),
    the DMC-LS80 can also record WVGA (848 x 480) motion pictures at 30 frames
    per second. Fitting a wide-screen HDTV perfectly, these wide-aspect motion
    images make for impressive viewing.
    

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LS80 will be available in pink, black and silver models in February 2008 for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $149.95.

*Not including the time for AF.
**Maximum 7 images in standard mode / 4 images in fine mode.
*** In 2-megapixel(4:3), 2.5-megapixel(3:2), 2-megapixel(16:9) recording.
**** The speed of the consecutive shooting varies depending on the memory
card. The number of recordable pictures depends on the memory card size,
battery life, picture size and image compression.

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company

Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (NYSE: MC) and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. In its commitment to provide consumers with extensive imaging resources, Panasonic LUMIX established the Digital Photo Academy, a series of nationwide workshops designed to instruct consumers how to optimize the features on their digital cameras and produce high-quality photos. Panasonic is honored to support OUR PLACE -- The World's Heritage, a project that will create the world's largest photographic collection of UNESCO World Heritage sites, with acclaimed photographers exclusively using LUMIX digital cameras to capture all images. Information about Panasonic LUMIX digital still cameras and its affiliated programs is available at www.panasonic.com/dsc.

                         DMC-LS80 Specifications
                   DMC-LS80: S-Sliver, K-Black, P-Pink


Dimensions (W x H x D)   95.7 x 62.0 x 31.2 mm (3.77 x 2.44 x 1.23 in)
Weight                   Approx. 129g  (0.28Ib)
                         Approx. 177g with Battery and SD
                          Memory Card (0.39 lb)
Camera Effective
 Pixels                  8.1 Mega pixels
Image Sensor             1/2.5",  8.32 Mega Total Pixels CCD
                         Primary Color Filter
Optical Zoom             3x
Extra Optical Zoom       4:3 Aspect Ratio: 3.8x for 5Mega, 4.8x for 3Mega,
                          2Mega, 0.3Mega
                         3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3.8x for 4.5Mega, 4.8x
                          for 2.5Mega
                         16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3.8x for 3.5Mega, 4.8x
                          for 2Mega
Digital Zoom             4x
                         (Max. 12.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without
                          Extra Optical Zoom )
                         (Max. 19.1x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Length             f=5.5-16.5mm (35mm Equiv.: 33-100mm)
Lens                     LUMIX DC VARIO
                         6 elements in 5 groups (3 Aspherical Lenses /
                          4 Aspherical surfaces)
Aperture                 Wide: F2.8 / F8 (2 steps) Tele: F5.1 / F14
                          (2 steps)
Optical Image
 Stabilizer              MEGA O.I.S. (Mode1/ Mode2)
Focusing Area            Normal:  50cm - infinity
                         Macro / Intelligent : Wide 5cm /
                          Tele 30cm - infinity
AF Metering              1-point/ 1-point high speed/ 5-point
Focus                    Normal / Macro, Quick AF On/Off
AF Assist Lamp           Yes
ISO Sensitivity          Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600
                         (High Sensitivity Mode:  Auto(1600 - 6400))
White Balance            Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade /
                          Halogen / White Set
Exposure                 Program AE
Exposure Compensation    1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV
Backlight Compensation   Yes  (at Intelligent mode)
Auto (AE) Bracketing     +/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering           Intelligent Multiple
Rec Mode (Mode Dial)     Intelligent, Normal Picture, Motion Picture, Scene
Scene Mode               Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery,
                          Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery,Food,
                          Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset,
                          High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky,
                          Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial photo
Shutter Speed            8-1/2000 sec
                         Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.
Self Timer               2sec / 10sec
Auto Review              1sec, 2sec, Zoom, Hold
Color Mode               Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia,
                          Cool, Warm
Recording Format         Still Image: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File
                          system, based on Exif 2.21 standard), DPOF
                          corresponding
                         Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Recording Image Size     Still Image:
                         4:3 Aspect Ratio:  3264 x 2448 pixels, 2560 x 1920
                          pixels, 2048 x 1536 pixels,
                         1600 x 1200 pixels, 640 x 480 pixels
                         3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 2176 pixels, 2560 x 1712
                          pixels, 2048 x 1360 pixels
                         16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 1840 pixels, 2560 x
                          1440 pixels, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Image Quality            Fine / Standard
Motion Picture           4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240
                          pixels 30 fps, 10 fps
                         16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps
Burst Shooting Mode      Full-Resolution Image, 2.5 frames/sec  Max. 7
                          images (Standard mode), Max 4 images (Fine Mode)
                         High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 5.5 frames/sec
                          (recorded in 2M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2,
                          2M for 16:9)
Unlimited consecutive

 shooting                Yes
Intelligent Exposure     No
Digital Red Eye
 Correction              No
Easy Zoom                Yes
Still Image Rec.
 with Audio              No
Audio Dubbing            No
Real-time histogram      No
Composition Guide line   Yes (2 patterns)
Built-in Memory          approx. 24MB
Scene Mode
 Help Screen             Yes
Auto Angle Detection     Yes
Travel Date/World Time   Yes / Yes
Title Edit               Yes
Text Stamp               Yes
Built-in Flash           Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On,
                          Forced Off,
                         (Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction only in Night
                           Portrait/Party/Candle Light mode only)
                         0.3 - 5.9m (Wide/ISO Auto),  0.3 - 3.2m
                          (Tele/ISO Auto)
LCD Monitor              2.5" TFT LCD Display (230K dots)
                         Field of View : approx. 100%
                         AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode,
                          High angle mode
Playback mode            [REC]/[Play] Selector switch
                         30-thumbnail display, 12-thumbnail display,
                          calendar display, zoomed playback (16x max.),
                          playback of favorite pictures, image rotation,
                          Resizing (selectable number of pixels), trimming,
                          protection, aspect conv. DPOF print setting
Slideshow Mode           Yes (duration & effect adjustable)
Category Playback        Yes (in slideshow mode and normal playback)
OSD language             English, German, French, Italian, Spanish,
                          Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Chinese
                          (Traditional), Chinese(Simplified), Netherlandic,
                          Thai, Korean, Turkish, Portuguese, Arabic,
                          Persian, Japanese
Recording Media          Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card,
                          MultiMediaCard (Still image only)
Microphone               Yes
Speaker                  No
Interface                DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), USB2.0 Full Speed
Direct Print             PictBridge
Power                    2 x AA Batteries
Battery life (approx.)   180 images with Alkaline Batteries (included)*1
                         270 images with Oxyride Batteries (optional)*1
                         470 images with Ni-MH (optional)
                          (Capacity:Typical2600mAh/Minimum2450mAh)*1
Included Software        PHOTOfunSTUDIO -viewer-
                         ArcSoft (MediaImpression / Panorama Maker)
                         USB Driver
Standard Accessories     AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, Strap, CD-ROM,
                          2x Alkaline AA Batteries

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