Panasonic launches trio of compacts

Panasonic has outed three new compact cameras, in the shape of the DMC-ZX1, DMC-FX60 and the DMC-FP8.

All three 12.1 megapixel snappers share new features such as the Power OIS (optical image stabilisation), boasting twice the shake suppression of Panasonic's previous Mega OIS, an iA mode that will adjust exposure, ISO and choose a suitable scene mode that will most complement your snap, and a face recognition feature that will actually remember faces and allow you to register names to be recognised automatically in the future.

All three will also be able to take 1080p snaps, and benefit from an HDMI port so you can watch them back on your HDTV.

Individually, the skinny ZX-1 packs a 25mm wide angle lens, 8x optical zoom (which can be extended to 15.6x at 3 megapixels thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom feature) and take 330 shots with a single charge, while the FX60 also with a 25mm wide angle lens, plus a 5x optical zoom (9.8x with EOZ), and its 720p movie capability will rack up 360 shots in one charge.

Finally the FP8 with its "futuristic design" boasts a 28mm wide angle lens, 4.6x optical zoom (9.1 with EOZ), 2.7-inch LCD screen and also has 720p HD movie capability.

The ZX1 and FX60 are being listed as available in September – the former in red, white, black and silver, the latter in silver, black, violet and blue. The FP8 has no release date as yet but will hit shelves in red, black and silver.

Read more about the ZX1 and its release buddies in our blog when we got hands on with them a few weeks ago in sunny Portugal – remember to let us know what you think below.