The DMC-FZ40 is a 14.1-megapixel hybrid digital compact camera that combines a powerful optical zoom and creative options including manual operation. The developed LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens in the DMC-FZ40 extends its optical zoom range from 25mm to 24x, 600mm equivalent. The manual control of FZ40 elevates the operability even higher with the incorporation of the jog dial. A focus button lets users change its settings quickly according to the shooting condition. Users can enjoy creative shooting not only in photo but also in movie, utilizing a host of options including creative movie mode and my color mode. The FZ40 features a high-quality LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 25mm ultra wide-angle lens with a 24x optical zoom. This advanced lens unit realizes the outstandingly compact body while passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver exceptional optical performance suppressing distortion at wide end and color bleeding at tele end. Thanks to the incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology, the intelligent zoom is available with the FZ40 which extends the zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the picture quality even combining a digital zoom. Furthermore, the extra optical zoom function extends zoom power to 50.6x by using the center part of the large CCD to bring subjects even closer. The DMC-FZ40 is capable of recording high quality HD movie in AVCHD Lite. The AVCHD Lite features almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional motion JPEG and excels in the compatibility with TV and other AV equipment. The picture quality is greatly enhanced thanks to the Intelligent resolution technology. The DMC-FZ40 also features Dolby Digital Creator to record high quality audio.