Touch-screen highlights new Panasonic DSC

Panasonic joined the touch-screen ranks of Sony and Apple yesterday with its new Lumix FX500 digital camera. If you're going to substitute poking a screen for pushing buttons, you'll need a large display and the new Lumix FX500 has one--a three-inch LCD with a resolution of 230,000 dots and 100 percent coverage. It can be prodded with a finger or a stylus packaged with the unit.

The 10.1 megapixel pokecam with a 1/2.33-inch sensor also has a 5x Leica DC "ultrawide" optical zoom lens that's the equivalent of a 25-125mm zoom in 35mm format, as well as a 4x digital zoom. For macro shots, the F/2.8-5.9 lens can get as close as 1.9 inches to a subject.

The unit's face detection technology can manage as many as 15 mugs in a frame.

Compact--the DSC measures 3.7-by-2.2-by-0.9 inches--and lightweight--it tips the scales at 6.2 ounces with rechargable lithium ion battery--the camera has a respectable sequential shooting speed of 2.5 frames per second at full resolution, as well as a high speed burst mode of 6 fps for 2MP shots.

In addition to allowing an operator to modifty the exposure compensation for a shot, the unit allows them to fine tune the white balance, too, in ±10 step increments. Of course there are also programmed WB settings like cloudy, shady, daylight and such.

The point-and-shooter also supports 1280-by-720 HD video capture at 30 fps.

Other features include a high ISO auto mode (1600-6400), as well as "intelligent" ISO support; 50MB of internal memory and support for SD, SDHC and MMC memory cards; title editing with an onscreen keyboard; 21 scene modes, as well as intelligent scene selection for scenery, portrait, macro, night portrait and night scenery modes; AF tracking; digital red-eye correction; and advanced image stablization using gyrosensors.

The camera is expected to hit the shelves in May and sell for $399.95.