Panasonic has taken its current European convention in Frankfurt as the opportunity to announce two new compacts in its Lumix line, the FZ1000 II and the ZS80/TZ95.
The models appear to be modest updates to existing cameras, rather than anything radially different from previous offerings.
The FZ1000 II is a gentle refresh of the FZ1000, which was announced five years ago, a camera that itself was superseded by the FZ2000. Panasonic has, however, maintained the FZ1000 up until this point, with the two residing in different price brackets.
The new model adds a slightly higher-resolution 3-inch LCD screen on the rear, with 1.25 million dots, up from the 921k-dot panel that we saw in the FZ1000. There's also a new Zoom Composite Assist feature, which is designed to keep a lock on a subject as you zoom the lens to prevent the camera from losing it.
The camera also now features the L.Monochrome D Photo Style, an option that has graced other recent Lumix models, as well as a new minimum aperture of f/11. Other features, such as the 25-400mm f/2.8-4 (35mm equivalent) zoom lens and 5-axis Hybrid Optical Image Stabilizer, appear to be unchanged from before.
The ZS80/TZ95, meanwhile, builds on the existing ZS70/TZ90, with a fresh Live View Finder (EVF). Whereas the ZS70/TZ90 was designed with a 0.20-inch finder with a 1.12 million-dot panel, the ZS80/TZ95 boasts a 0.21-inch finder that has a significantly higher 2.33 million-dot resolution.
The SZ70/90's Wi-Fi feature has been maintained, although this is now joined by Bluetooth functionality. Otherwise, the new camera appears to offer the same core specs as the SZ70/TZ90, such as 20.3MP 1-inch sensor, 4K video recording and a 3-inch LCD that flips all the way round to face the front for selfies.
The 4K Photo modes on both new models also now sport an Auto Marking feature, which is said to help the user better identify the image they want to keep from a burst of images.
The FZ1000 II will be available at the end of March, priced at £769.99 in the UK and $897.99 in the US, while the TZ95 will be available in the UK from the end of April in black and black/silver finishes, priced at £399.99. A US on-sale date for the ZS80 is yet to be confirmed.
In Australia, both the FZ1000 II and the TZ95 will be available in from April, with a price tag of AU$1,399 for the former, while the smaller travel zoom will cost AU$699.
