Samsung Digital Imaging is claiming that its new WB500 is the world’s first 10x optical zoom and 24mm ultra wide lens digital camera no less.

The WB500 was amongst five launches set for arrival in the UK in the coming months and on show at the annual CES tradeshow in Las Vegas.

As well as its whooping lens, the 10 megapixel WB500 also offers HD movie capture so people can ‘Pause and Re-record’ high definition videos and is also the first model to utilise Samsung’s new ‘Smart Scene Recognition’ technology. This offers 11 picture pre-settings such as Portrait, Night portrait, Macro and Macro Colour.

You also get optical and digital image stabilisation, Face Detection capabilities, ISO 3200 and Samsung’s Perfect Portrait System which includes a Blink Detection Mode, Smile Mode and Beauty Shot mode.

Another nifty feature worth a mention is the Angle/Composition Guide setting which takes a ghost picture of your desired shot and displays a template when you pass the camera over to someone else.

The WB500 also has a new Digital Contents Management system (DCM) which is claimed to reduce the time it takes to find a photo.

The WB500 is expected to be priced at around £229 and will be available this month. Hit this link for more details.