Panasonic Canada Inc. has announced updates to two of its lines of Lumix digital cameras: the rugged and waterproof DMC-TS series and the DMC-ZS series of compact ultra-zooms.

Lumix DMC-TS20: Quite affordable for a tough camera, the new 16.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-TS20 is dustproof, waterproof to 5m, shockproof from a height of 1.5m and freezeeproof to -10°C. It feature a non-protruding 4x wide-angle zoom lens (25-100mm equivqlent), Mega OIS stabilizer and 2.7" LC. Useful amenities include a sophisticated Intelligent Auto mode, new Panorama Shot feature, many autofocus modes, numerous special-effects options, an Auto Retouch option in Playback, and the essential overrides. Movie mode offers 720p capture in the software-friendly MP4 format, and included software makes it convenient to upload videos to YouTube or Facebook via a computer. ($229 MSRP, available in blue, red and orange)

Lumix DMC- TS4: The flagship of the Lumix tough line, the DMC-TS4 (shown at top of story) has a 12MP High Speed CCD, Leica DC 28-128mm zoom lens (135 equivalent), a very effective Power OIS stabilizer, and 2.7" LCD. It's waterproof to a full 12m and shockproof from 2m. It's also equipped with a faster, more sophisticated processor and Sonic Speed AF, a GPS receiver for geo-tagging photos, plus an altimeter, compass and barometer. The TS4 includes most TS20 features, but adds extras such as a 3.7fps burst mode, aperture and shutter speed control, plus Time Lapse Shot, 3D Photo and Handheld Nightshot modes. It can record 1080/60i in AVCHD codec and 1080/30p in MP4 format. ($399 MSRP, in blue, black and orange)

Lumix DMC-ZS15: This 12.2MP model with Leica DC 16x zoom lens (24-384mm equivalent) and 3"LCD, benefits from Panasonic's new High Sensitivity MOS sensor, very fast Light Speed AF and the Power OIS stabilizer. It's loaded with a wide range of automatic and creative features, plus numerous special-effects options that can be applied in capture and Playback modes. Extras include a 10fps burst mode (5fps with tracking autofocus) and Panorama Shot, 3D Photo, HDR and special Night modes for superior quality at high ISO. The ZS15 makes uploading to YouTube or Facebook, via a computer, very convenient. Movie mode allows for 1080/60i recording in AVCHD 2 or 1080/30p in MP4, with mono sound. ($329 MSRP, in black and red)

Lumix DMC-ZS20: Similar in many respects to the ZS15 but even thinner (28mm), this high-end 14MP model with Leica DC 20x zoom lens (24-480mm equivalent) is billed as the slimmest 20x zoom camera on the market. The primary benefit over the ZS15 is the GPS receiver, with a database of one million landmarks plus maps of numerous countries that can be loaded as desired. As a bonus, the ZS20 also features touchscreen operation that allows for setting the point of focus, shutter release, zooming, map navigation and image playback at a touch of the LCD screen. Note too that Movie mode offers 1080/60p recording in AVCHD 2 or 1080/30p in MP4, with Dolby stereo sound ($399 MSRP, in black red and silver)

Article Tags:  Panasonic, Lumix, camera, waterproof, shockproof, freeze-proof, tough, DMC-ZS20, DMC-ZS15, DMC-TS4, DMC-TS20, Leica, Dolby, HD, video, movie MP4, AVCHD, GPS, geo-tag, touchscreen, AF, autofocus