Instead of using the same plain ol' 14-megapixel CCD, Panasonic swapped in one of its 12-megapixel high-speed CCD sensors and backed it with its Venus Engine FHD processor. This combo, which is also in the rugged Lumix TS3, allows it to shoot at up to 3.7 frames per second at full resolution and record full HD video in AVCHD. Panasonic also promises faster start-up and response times.
Panasonic says it improved the camera's zoom mechanism to keep it quiet while shooting movies, too. The FZ47 also has full manual control of shutter speed and aperture for video capture.
Much of the rest is the same as the FZ40, though, including the 24x, f2.8-5.2, 25-600mm lens (35mm equivalent), and 3-inch LCD, though its resolution goes up to 460K dots from 230K.
The Panasonic Lumix FZ47 will be available in black for a suggested retail price of $399.99 in August.