March 24, 2008

Panasonic Lumix FX500 Digital Camera: Touch It!

So it's not the first, but the Panasonic Lumix FX500 is among the best with its new 3-inch LCD touchscreen. The funny shaped thing in the photo is the pen it comes with -- presumably so you don't actually TOUCH the touchscreen... It's got some similarities to the Lumix FX35 but here are the full stats:

- 10.1 megapixels
- 25mm ultra-wide-angle Lecia DC lens
- 5x optical zoom
- Touchscreen (pen included) and joystick operation
- Intelligent ISO, face detection, scene selection, digital red-eye correction
- MEGA O.I.S. -- English, please... this is Panasonic for "image stabilization"
- Continuous Auto-Focus
- Shoots HD video at 1280 x 720 dpi
- Captures still photos with 16:9 aspect ratio
- Can set manual settings for aperture and shutter

Check out the full press release. You can preorder at Amazon for $399.95, otherwise it'll hit the retail stores in May/June -- comes in black and silver.