Hey there.
I'm Josh Coleman, senior editor with CNET and this is the very first look.
It's the Panasonic Lumix DMC VS20.
That's the company's top of the line compact mega zoom featuring a 20X zoom that goes from an ultra wide angle, 24 mm.
and extends to 480 mm.
in a body that's just 1.1 inches thick which for right now is the world's fittest, bidding out Canon's Power Shot SX260HS at 1.3 inches.
Of course the VS20 is more than just a long lens and a skinny body.
It's got a new 14 mega pixel high sensitivity (mock?) sensor and Venus engine image processor that will burst shoot at up to 10 frames per second at full resolution and let you capture full HD video at 60P in AVCHD format.
And those are joint by new modes for easy panoramic capture.
Just shoot in pan and the camera handles everything else.
And high dynamic range mode for a more balanced exposures than you typically get with the point shoot.
Other features include a 3 inch, 460K dot resolution touch screen, LCD, USB charging so no more taking the battery out to charge it.
And an enhance built in GPS.
Now there's a map data that's included on the bundled DVD which can be installed on the camera giving you more precise details world wide maps in prior GPS modes.
It'll be in stores in March for about $350.
But we still have to do our hands on testing before we know if it's worth picking up.
Stay tuned for a full review.
I'm Josh Coleman and that's the Panasonic Lumix VS20
