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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 rugged camera early review: Two tough

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 is the second generation of Panasonic's rugged cameras. We got so close we could smell the mix of chest grease, Brut and sheer manliness

Richard Trenholm
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Richard Trenholm
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It's time to talk tough. Among the new cameras at this week's Focus On Imaging is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2, follow-up to the Lumix FT1, which was Panny's first foray into the tough camera market.

The FT2 is a 14-megapixel roughty-toughty rugged snapper. It sports a 4.6x optical zoom, with a 35mm-equivalent wide angle of 28mm. As well as firing 1.8 frames per second in burst mode, the FT2 shoots 720p video, recorded as QuickTime Motion JPEG or AVCHD Lite.

It's also nigh-on indestructible. This camera is waterproof to 10m, shockproof to 2m, freezeproof to -10C, and dustproof. Handy for when you're free-diving, rock-climbing, tundra-traversing or dusting.

Other cameras with which it's perfectly acceptable to fall in the sea include the Olympus mju Tough range and the Canon PowerShot D10. We didn't jump in any rivers, but we did fire off a few snaps of the FT2. Click 'Continue' to see it in action, and find out the price.

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The FT2 sports a 69mm (2.7-inch) screen and rugged metal frame.
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Even the hatch for the memory card could kill you. So watch it. The Panasonic FT2 is available for pre-order online now, for around £350. As well as this radioactive yellow, it comes in high-visibility-vest orange, and blue.

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