New Panasonic Lumix FS45 and Panasonic Lumix FS40 offer 25mm lens with 5x optical zoom

Panasonic has announced two new compacts, the Lumix FS45 and Lumix FS40, offering wide angle lenses and impressively resolute sensors. The FS45 boasts a 16MP sensor where as the FS40 has a 14MP option, which is the only major difference between the two.

Elsewhere the optical zoom is 5x, from 24-120mm, with an aperture at the wide angle of f2.8. This allows images to be bright and the camera to focus rapidly, in theory, with the MEGA O.I.S handling stabilization duties. Only the HD movie mode is something of a marginal letdown, being only 720p rather than the full 1080p resolution. The FS45 has a slightly larger screen at 3inches, where the FS40 uses a 2.7inch.

Both cameras are available from March with prices yet to be confirmed. For more info head to Panasonic.com.