The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 is a 7.2 megapixel sensor with a 3x optical zoom lens, optical image stabilizer and a 2.5 inch LCD display.

The FX12 also features wide-aspect VGA video at 30 frames per second and will be available in blue, silver or black.

Panasonic, a leader in standardizing optical image stabilization across its full camera line with Mega Optical Image Stabilization (MEGA O.I.S.), now adds Intelligent ISO to create the Intelligent Image Stabilization System. While MEGA O.I.S. compensates for the effects of hand-shake, making it possible to capture clear, crisp photos indoors, at night, or when taking macro close-ups, it cannot suppress the motion blur caused by a subject moving as the photo is taken. With Intelligent ISO, the camera's image-processing engine detects if the subject is moving and automatically raises the ISO setting and shutter speed according to the light conditions and the speed of the movement.

"Consumers want compact, easy-to-use cameras that take crisp, clear and beautiful pictures all the time," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Corporation of North America. "At Panasonic, we aim to deliver just that by offering a full line of cameras - from compact to SLR - eliminating the effects of hand shake and motion blur with the Intelligent Image Stabilization System, which offers the industry's most advanced countermeasures against blurring."

The DMC-FX12 and the DMC-FX10 accept large-capacity SDHC memory cards, giving users more flexibility in shooting and recording. Additionally, the camera menu and graphical user interface have been redesigned, with brightened colors for easier viewability. Fitting with the stylish reputation of the FX- series, the DMC-FX12 will be available in silver and black, and the DMC-FX10 in silver, pink and blue.

The FX12 and FX10 also feature:
-- Power LCD: Boosts the backlighting of the 2.5-inch LCD screen by 40
percent, bringing ease to outdoor shooting in the bright sunshine

-- High-Angle Mode: Accessed quickly and easily via a dedicated button,
makes the LCD screen extremely easy to view when the camera is held
high, such as to shoot over a crowd.

-- Quick Setting: Lets users quickly and easily access and set the
functions used most often.

-- Date Stamp: Allows users to utilize the Lumix date stamp feature in
three ways: (1) Simply stamp the date on photos, (2) Stamp the day of
a trip or event on the photos, and (3) For those precious baby photos,
stamp the child's age in months on the image itself.

-- Direct Print Mode: Brings immediate printing to users with one turn of
the mode dial and quick USB cable and a Pictbridge-compatible printer
connection.

-- Wide-Aspect VGA Motion Images: Records standard VGA (640 x 480) motion
images at 30 frames per second, and each camera records stunning wide-
aspect VGA (848 x 480) motion images at 30 frames per second.

-- Added Scene Modes: Adds new Pet and Sunset modes to make it easy to get
beautiful photos in a range of photographic situations.

PhotographyBLOG has a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 and writes, "Image quality is improved since the last generation of Lumix models. Panasonic have improved noise performance, so that ISO 400 on the FX12 is about equal to ISO 200 on the old models, which increases the cameras low-light capabilities. ISO 100-400 still isn't particularly versatile, but the usual excellent optical image stabilisation system makes the FX12 a more adaptable camera than its predecessors, as you can take a photo at a slower ISO speed and therefore a slower shutter speed, and still get sharp results, without adversely affecting the battery life too much. The High Sensitivity mode provides a fastest ISO speed of 3200, but the image resolution is automatically reduced, resulting in smaller print sizes. The extension of the ISO range up to 1600 at full image resolution is even worse, in that you won't want to use the noisy ISO 800 and 1600 settings unless there is no other alternative. The inability to alter sharpness in the camera is also frustrating, as the images are soft by default. So overall, the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 is an easy-on-the-eye, intuitive, point-and-shoot digital camera with improved image quality and an attractive price-tag"