The 14.1-megapixel DMC-FZ45 features a 25mm wide-angle 24x optical zoom f/2.8-5.2 LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens. The 25mm wide-angle lens has about twice the shooting area of the standard 35mm lens. The powerful 24x optical zoom can be used both in still and motion picture recording. The Extra Optical Zoom function uses the center part of the CCD to extend this 24x zoom ratio to powerful 50.6x zoom at a resolution of 3-megapixel or less in still picture recording.

The DMC-FZ45 can record HD movie in AVCHD Lite with high sound quality of Dolby Digital Stereo Creator. Motion JPEG format is also available (1,280 x 720 pixels). Just press the Motion Picture Button, and shooting begins. In the Creative Movie Mode, the shutter speed and aperture can be adjusted. The iA Mode can also be activated in motion picture recording. When the DMC-FZ45 is connected to a Panasonic VIERA via an optional mini HDMI cable, the TV's remote control unit can be used to enjoy playing back with greater convenience.

The POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) nearly doubles the hand-shake correction power of conventional MEGA O.I.S. So you can take beautiful night shots without blurring. Activating POWER O.I.S., Intelligent ISO Control, Face Detection AF/AE with Face Recognition, Intelligent Scene Selector, Intelligent Exposure and AF Tracking, the camera does all the work in the iA Mode. And Happy Mode optimizes colour saturation and brightness for vividly memorable scenes.

With the Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas – outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas – are automatically detected. Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, this technology precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel in the most effective way according to the area. As a result, images are clear and crisp in both photos and movies. The Intelligent Zoom extends zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the image quality even combining a digital zoom. 24x optical can virtually extend to 32x equivalent.

The excellent manual controllability is the advantage of DMC-FZ45. The jog dial enhances ease of use. My Colour Mode and Film Mode make it easy to customize colour effects to suit your mood. The Advanced Scene Mode lets you quickly set the frequently used Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, or Close-up Modes with the mode dial. The DMC-FZ45 also features a 3.0-inch 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD with wide-viewing angle.