Panasonic Pops Out Five New Cameras, Two With Monster 24x Zoom

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As if their already prodigious line of cameras wasn’t enough, Panasonic has bolstered it with five new models today, including two with a paparazzi-worthy 24x zoom lens, and another built for covert-op, low-light situations with an f2 lens and a high-sensitivity sensor.

The two 24x zoomers are really aimed at two different mediums. While both are hybrids able to capture still photos and high-def video, the $400 FZ40 caters to the traditionalist photographer with features like dials for manual control and rapid autofocus; the FZ100 ($500), on the other hand, is aimed squarely at the video-oriented, with the ability to shoot in 1080, Dolby Digital stereo sound and an input for an optional stereo microphone.

The $500, lowlight LX5 mates a wide-angle 24mm, wide-open f2 lens — impressively fast for a point-n-shoot — with digital photographic voodoo like a high-sensitivity, triple-CPU imagining sensor to reduce noise; the combo should provide enough oomph to shoot good-looking stills and video in conditions where most PnS cameras would produce a noisy mess.

The remaining two are: the TS10, which becomes their least expensive ruggedized, waterproof model at $250, and the slim, feature-packed — 5x zoom, 1080 video, 24mm wide-angle lens — FX700, stickered at $400. All five should arrive late August.

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