The new DMC-FX500 features a 25mm ultra-wide angle Leica DC lens with 5x optical zoom and a 10.1-megapixel sensor.

The 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens is claimed to record almost double the viewing space at the same shooting distance compared to ordinary 35mm cameras.

And in 3-megapixel resolution mode, the Extra Optical Zoom function provides additional magnification, extending the zoom power to 8.9x by using the centre part of the CCD.

The DMC-FX500 is built around a Venus Engine IV processor, which supports a shutter release time lag of 0.005s and a capture rate of around 2.5fps at full resolution in burst shooting mode, but this hits 6fps in High-Speed Burst shooting mode.

The Venus Engine IV also supports a High Sensitivity mode that lets the DMC-FX500 record at a setting of up to ISO 6400.

But it is the touch interface that stands this model apart.

The 3.0-inch LCD is combined with a joystick controller so that basic settings can be changed using the joystick; while more complex actions are carried out moving a slider on the the screen using either your finger or the stylus-pen provided.

Users can, for example, set the auto-focus and exposure at the desired part of the frame by touching the subject at that part while recording.

In manual exposure mode, aperture and shutter speed can be adjusted by moving the slider.

Additional features worth a mention are the auto-focus (AF) tracking tool; iA (Intelligent Auto) mode which leaves all of the settings to the camera; digital red-eye correction; Mega O.I.S., intelligent ISO control, intelligent scene selector, face detection and quick AF functions.

And it also delivers HD video.

The new model will be available in silver and black, but we have no price as yet.

>> Link - Panasonic UK