Panasonic unveils FX-series Lumix with touchscreen

Reuben Lee | Mar 19, 2008

The Japanese electronics giant has just announced that it will be introducing the DMC-FX520, its second compact Lumix camera with 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens. Its first 25mm lens offering, the FX36, was unveiled at the PMA Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. For those new to lenses, a wide-angle lens typically offers a larger capture view compared to cameras with conventional lenses. Panasonic claims its FX520's 25mm lens can capture almost twice the viewing space compared with standard 35mm cameras.

What's new on the FX520, however, is that in addition to the conventional joystick navigation controls, it also comes with a 3-inch touchscreen display, which is a first on a camera for Panasonic. This combination of two different user interface on one camera should give users a lot more flexibility when operating the device. It will be interesting to see how this hybrid system will fare against the popular T-series touchscreen Cyber-shots from Sony.

In terms of features, the 10-megapixel FX520 is pretty much on par with the FX36. Other than its longer 5x optical zoom lens (25mm to 125mm), the FX520 also features Leica optics, an improved Intelligent Auto mode with Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction, 720p HD video recording, component video out and the new Venus Engine IV.

Panasonic has not given the FX520 a price or firm launch date for Asia, but it should be safe to assume a slight premium for this flagship FX-series Lumix over its FX36.

Update: Panasonic Singapore has confirmed that the FX520 will launch in Asia by the second quarter of 2008. According to a report from our sister site CNET.com, the FX520 (also known as the FX500 in the US) will retail for about US$400 in May.

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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