Panasonic Digital Camera Dmc Zs40 Owners Manual For Advanced Features

							Basics
Sequence of operationsVQT5E74
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3
Aim the camera and shoot
 ■Taking still pictures
 Press the shutter button halfway to focus  Press the shutter button fully to take the picture
Press halfway
(press lightly to focus) Press fully
(press the button all the  way to record)
 ■Recording motion pictures
  Press the motion picture button to start recording  Press the motion picture button ag ain to finish recording
 ■Holding the camera
Do not block the flash or the lamp. 
Do not look at it from close range.
Flash/AF Assist Lamp
Hand strap
Microphones
 • To avoid camera shake, hold it with both hands keeping your arms close to your body while standing with your feet slightly apart.
 • Do not touch the lens. • Do not block the microphone when recording motion pictures. • Make sure that the camera does not move at the moment the shutter button is  pressed. 
 ●We recommend using the supplied hand strap to avoid dropping the camera.
(Continued on the next page)    
						

							Basics
Sequence of operationsVQT5E74
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4
Play back pictures
  Press the Playback button
  Press   or turn the control dial to select the picture to be displayed
 ■Viewing motion pictures
Select a picture with the motion picture icon, and press .
5
Press the Camera [ON/OFF] button to turn off the camera       
						

							Basics
Using the control ring/control dial
VQT5E74- 33 -
The “Control Ring/Control Dial” is an easy and convenient way to adjust several settings, 
depending on the camera mode selected. You can use the control ring ()/control dial 
() to change the settings of the unit.
(In [Intelligent Auto] Mode)
Setting indication
Items that can be set by the control ring/control dial vary depending on Recording Modes.
Following are the pre-assigned settings.
Recording mode Control ring*1 Control dial
[Intelligent Auto] ModeStep Zoom (→83)
[Program AE] ModeProgram Shift (→45)
[Aperture-Priority] ModeAperture adjustment  (→106)
[Shutter-Priority] ModeShutter speed adjustment  (→107)
[Manual Exposure] ModeAperture adjustment 
(→106)Shutter speed 
adjustment*2 (→106)
[Panorama Shot] ModePicture effects change (→119)
[Scene Mode]Scene change (→123)
[Creative Control] ModePicture effects change (→110)
*1 When Manual Focus  is set, the control ring is assigned to focus adjustment.  (→96)*2 Press  to switch between aperture adjustment and shutter speed adjustment. • The control ring/control dial can be used to change to your preferred settings.  (→134)       
						

							Basics
Using the control ring/control dialVQT5E74
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Using Quick menu
During recording, you can easily call some of the menu items and set them.
Press [Q.MENU/ ] button
Press   to select menu items
 • The menu items and setting items that are displayed dif fer depending on the 
Recording Mode.
Turn the control ring or control dial to change the setting
Press [MENU/SET]       
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings   
[Intelligent Auto] ModeVQT5E74
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 ■Recording mode: 
This mode is recommended for those who want to point and shoot or beginners as the 
camera optimizes settings to match the subject and recording environment.
Set mode dial to [  ] ([Intelligent Auto] Mode)
Take a picture
Press halfway
(press lightly to focus) Press fully
(press the button all the  way to record)
Focus display
( When focus is aligned: illuminated 
When focus is not aligned: flashing)
AF area
Using flash
Press 
 to select [  ] or [  ].
 ●When [  ] is selected, the setting switches to [  ], [  ], [  ], or [  ] according 
to the subject and brightness.
 ●When [  ] or [  ] is displayed, the  [Red-Eye Removal] function is activated to 
automatically detect red-eye and correct the picture data.
 ●When [  ] or [  ] is selected, the shutter speed is red uced.    
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings  [Intelligent Auto] Mode VQT5E74
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Automatic Scene Detection
Camera reads scene when pointed at subject, and makes optimum settings automatically .
The icon of scene 
detectedWhen taking pictures
[i-Portrait][i-Night Portrait]*2 
(Only when [  ] is selected)[i-Baby]*1
[i-Scenery][i-Night Scenery]*2
[i-Sunset][i-Handheld Night Shot]*3
[i-Food][i-Macro]
When scene does not correspond to any of the above
When recording motion pictures  (→48)
[i-Portrait][i-Low Light]*4
[i-Scenery][i-Macro]
When scene does not correspond to any of the above
*1   When children (that are registered in the camera with Face Recognition) under 3 years old are 
recognized.
*2   We recommend using a tripod and the self-timer.*3   When [iHandheld  Night Shot] is [ON].*4   [i-Low Light] will be s elected for nightscapes and other dark scenes.
 ●Depending on recording conditions, different scene types may be determined for the 
same subject.
 ●If desired scene type is not selected, we recommend manually selecting the 
appropriate Scene Mode.
 ●When [  ], [  ] or [  ] is detected, Face Detection is activated, and the focus and 
exposure are adjusted for the recognized faces.
 ■About Backlight Compensation
Backlight compensation is automatically activated in [Intelligent  Auto] mode. Backlight 
is a condition where a light shines from behind a subject. When there is a backlight, 
the subject appears darker and the camera will automatically attempt to correct it by 
increasing the brightness of the picture. When the camera detects backlight, [
  ] is 
displayed on the screen (depending on the backlighting conditions, backlighting may 
not be detected correctly).    
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings  [Intelligent Auto] Mode VQT5E74
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Defocusing the background
You can also use [Intelligent Auto] Mode to adjust background defocusing easily, as with 
in [Aperture-Priority] mode.
Press 
Turn the control ring or control dial to adjust background 
defocusing
Defocus background 
condition Defocus the backgroundFocus the background
 • [AUTO] is displayed in the icon during automatic adjustment. • Y
ou can also make adjustments with  .  • T
o return to automatic adjustment → Press [Q.MENU/ ] button.
Press [MENU/SET]       
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings  [Intelligent Auto] Mode VQT5E74
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 ●When you record motion pictures, the camera performs aperture control within the 
appropriate exposure range, and the background defocusing may not change for 
some subject brightness.
 ●You can use [Intelligent Auto Plus] Mode to adjust brightness and coloring.  (→41) ●If the camera is turned off or the Recording Mode is changed, the background 
defocusing setting returns to [AUTO].
[Motion Deblur]
[Motion Deblur] automatically sets the optimum shutter speed in accordance with the 
movements of the subject to minimize the blur of the subject.
It is preset to [ON] with this unit.
 ■Settings 
 Press [MENU/SET]  Press     to select [Rec] menu and press [MENU/SET] Press   to select [Motion Deblur] and press [MENU/SET] Press   to select either [ON] or [OFF] and press [MENU/SET]
 ●When [Motion Deblur] is set to [ON], [  ] appears on the screen. ●The subject may be recorded in a picture size smaller than the number of pixels that 
has been set.    
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings  [Intelligent Auto] Mode VQT5E74
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[iHandheld Night Shot]
If a night scene is detected automatically while the unit is being handheld, [iHandheld 
Night Shot] can record a still picture with less jitter and less noise without using a tripod 
by combining a burst of pictures.
It is preset to [ON] with this unit.
 ■Settings 
 Press [MENU/SET]  Press     to select [Rec] menu and press [MENU/SET]  Press   to select [iHandheld Night Shot] and press [MENU/SET]  Press   to select either [ON] or [OFF] and press [MENU/SET]
 ●When the camera is fixed in place on a tripod or by other 
means, [iHandheld Night Shot] will not be identified.
 ●The angle of view becomes narrow slightly.
The portions displayed 
in gray are not recorded.
[iHDR]
When there is, for example, strong contrast between the background and the subject, 
[iHDR] records multiple still pictures with differing exposures and combines them to 
create a single still picture rich in gradation.
It is preset to [ON] with this unit.
 ■Settings 
 Press [MENU/SET]  Press     to select [Rec] menu and press [MENU/SET]  Press   to select [iHDR] and press [MENU/SET]  Press   to select either [ON] or [OFF] and press [MENU/SET]
 ●This function is automatically activated only when [  ] is displayed on the screen. ●In the case that a single picture is going to be composed from a burst, a message 
indicating that multiple pictures are to be recorded appears on the screen and burst 
recording is carried out. Note that burst recording will not take place if the camera 
determines that it can compensate for the difference in contrast without composing 
the picture from a burst.
 ●The camera does not combine pictures in the following cases: • When the zoom ratio exceeds the maximum optical zoom ratio • [Burst] mode • When the flash fires ●In the case of composition from a burst, afterimages may appear if the subject was 
moving.    
						

							Basics
Taking pictures with automatic settings  [Intelligent Auto] Mode VQT5E74
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AF Tracking
This function enables the camera to continue to focus on the subject and adjust the 
exposure of the subject even when the subject is moving.
Press  to set [AF Mode] to AF Tracking
 • To cancel AF Tracking → Press .
Align the AF Tracking frame with the subject and press the 
shutter button halfway to lock
 • To cancel AF Lock → Press [MENU/SET].
AF Tracking frame
( AF Lock successful:  Yellow 
AF Lock failed: Red)
 ●The optimal scene for the AF locked subject is automatically identified. ●Face Recognition will be inactive while using AF Tracking. ●Under certain recording conditions, such as when the subject is small or when it is 
dark, [AF Tracking] may not operate correctly.