What's the latest gadget to jump on the touch-screen bandwagon? Why, that would be your humble digital camera... the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500. And it's not all that humble, either.
What you've got here is a 10.1-megapixel point-and-shooter with a 25-125mm wide angle lens, equipped with a 5x optical zoom. That's serious business right there. But notice the general lack of controls in sight on the front? That trend continues on the back, though there's still a clickwheel and Mode/Display buttons as backup. Mostly, there's a 3" touch-screen, from which you can do things like set the Auto-focus and exposure, or adjust shots on the fly with your finger or a LUMIX stylus pen that's
hidden somewhere in the casing. Damned if we can figure out where it goes on the
camera.
Similar to its TZ5 cousin, the FX500 also notches up a video feature that clocks 1280 x 720 movies at thirty frames per second. Not bad at all.
And the whole thing is eligible for a SquareTrade digital camera warranty when it arrives in May, with or without Accidental Damage coverage. At a retail price of $400, you could cover it for three full years for almost half what a retail store would charge you.
Somebody got aggressive about camera development over at Panasonic, because we're seeing some nice toys coming from them lately. But we're still waiting for our touch-screen HDTV.
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