The DMC-FP3 features a 4x optical zoom LUMIX DC VARIO lens (35mm camera equivalent: 35-140mm). The folded optics technology makes it possible to fit the high performance lens in futuristic, flat body. The lens cover can be opened and closed with the touch of a finger, and also serves as a power switch. The Extra Optical Zoom function uses the center part of the CCD to extend this 4x zoom ratio to powerful 8.4x zoom at a resolution of 3-megapixel or less.

In iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode, 4 detection functions work automatically and simultaneously to optimize your settings, making it easier than ever to take beautiful photos every time. The iA Mode includes MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) to detect hand-shake, Intelligent ISO Control to detect subject movement, Face Detection AF/AE to detect faces in the frame and Intelligent Scene Selector to detect scene conditions. Sunset Mode has been added to the Intelligent Scene Selector.

The DMC-FP3 incorporates a 3.0-inch, 230,000-dot touch-screen interface. While shooting, auto focus and exposure can be set by simply touching the subject at that part to activate the AF/AE. While playing back, you can quickly select an image to view by scrolling images. The DMC-FP3 also features Intelligent LCD. It automatically adjusts the brightness in 11 steps according to shooting conditions. This LCD provides sharp, clear images in virtually all shooting situations, ranging from nighttime to bright daylight scenes.

To realize the Sonic Speed AF, a number of re-engineering and improvements are made including the adaptation of higher-speed actuator, the optimization of algorithms and the parallelization of software processing element. The result is ultra high speed yet accurate AF performance for you to enjoy the airy shooting that has experienced never before. Panasonic also replaced its linear program processing with parallel processing to achieve an ultra high-speed start-up time.

The DMC-FP3 can record motion pictures in high-definition (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps in Motion JPEG format). The pixel mixed readout method enables bright motion-picture recording even in low-light settings. The DMC-FP3 can also record stunning full-size motion pictures in WVGA (848 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) or standard motion pictures in VGA (640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) and QVGA (320 x 240 pixels at 30 fps).