Matsushita, Leica unveil digital still cameras

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By Martyn Williams

(IDG) -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., better known by its Panasonic brand name, and Germany's Leica Camera AG have unveiled the first product of a joint venture agreement signed earlier this year -- a pair of digital still cameras that combine Matsushita's electronic systems with Leica's renowned optics.

The first of the two cameras, which were both given their first public showing at the World PC Expo show that began Wednesday just outside Tokyo, is the DMC-LC5. The camera has a 3X optical zoom lens, 4-megapixel CCD (charge coupled device), 2.5-inch (6.25-centimeter) color TFT (thin film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor with hood to increase visibility in bright light and the ability to manually set the exposure and focus of the camera. With the latter two features, the companies hope the camera will appeal to serious photography enthusiasts.

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The DMC-F7 is less feature-packed. It has a 2X optical zoom, 2-megapixel CCD and 1.5-inch (3.75-centimeter) color TFT LCD monitor. Its highest picture resolution is 1,600 by 1,200 pixels while the DMC-LC5 has a higher 2,240 by 1,680 mode available because of its higher resolution CCD.

Burst shooting is offered by both cameras -- the DMC-LC5 can shoot a maximum of eight frames at four frames per second and the DMC-F7 can manage up to five frames at four frames per second. Additionally, both cameras have the ability to record QuickTime movies and use SD (Secure Digital) or MultiMedia Card memory cards.

The DMC-LC5 weighs 360 grams and measures 127.5 by 82 by 63.4 millimeters while the DMC-F7 is lighter at 150 grams and measures 104 by 50.9 by 31.6 millimeters.

Matsushita refused to disclose a price for the cameras although local media said the DMC-LC5 would cost around 90,000 yen (US$767) and the DMC-F7 would cost around 50,000 yen. They will both go on sale Oct. 27 in Japan and the company is planning to produce 2,000 and 10,000 units per month respectively. Plans for sales outside of Japan have not yet been determined.