Panasonic FX500 : Panasonic launches a new flagship model for its Lumix slim and stylish FX series

published : Tuesday, March 18, 2008 | model : PANASONIC Lumix DMC-FX500

Theme : Digital Photography | Compact digital camera

Panasonic launches a new flagship model for its Lumix slim and stylish FX series. The new 10.1-megapixel DMC-FX500 features a 25mm ultra-wide angle Leica DC lens with 5x optical zoom, touch-screen operation on a large, 3.0-inch LCD. The FX500 also offers a variety of advanced functions, including Intelligent Auto mode, HD motion picture recording with HD component output, and slideshows with music.

Panasonic FX500 : Panasonic launches a new flagship model for its Lumix slim and stylish FX series

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 Digital Camera

Circuit City

399.99 $

Amazon

399.95 $

J&R Music and Computer World

349.88 $

Extrawide angle of Panasonic FX500 lens

The newly developed Leica DC lens with 5x optical zoom boasts an 25mm ultra-wide angle of view that captures almost double the recording area at the same shooting distance compared with a conventional 35mm lens. This advanced lens system includes 4 aspherical lenses with 6 aspherical surfaces, and a newly developed, unevenly thick concave meniscus Extra High Refractive Index Aspherical (EA) lens, fitting an unprecedented level of wide-angle performance into a slim camera assuring minimal distortion even at its 25mm wide end, resulting in high picture quality.

New touch screen operations

For more intuitive operation, the DMC-FX500 has a hybrid control system that combines joystick control with touch-screen operation. Basic settings can be directly controlled by the joystick, and others extensive ones are finely adjusted by touch or by moving a slider on the screen with the finger or an included stylus-pen. Users can set the auto focus and exposure at the desired part of the frame by simply touching the subject at that part while recording. In manual exposure mode, aperture and shutter speed can be adjusted by moving the slider. In playback mode, a new Easy Organization menu is provided to simplify image organizing. The user can quickly select an image to view by scrolling the thumbnails located below the main window, and then edit the image using the same touch menu interface.

Other specs of the FX500

Auto focus (AF) tracking is also new with the DMC-FX500. It continues tracking the subject even if it moves after the AF is set, which is especially helpful for catching active children or pets. The iA (Intelligent Auto) mode is a shooting assist function that lets the user leave all the settings to the camera. Taking maximum advantage of this iA mode, users can go a step further to set auto focus and exposure on the desired subject by simply touching it on the screen. This kind of quick, easy rational operation is given form by the new touch-screen interface.