Panasonic unveiled today its first touchscreen digital camera. It is called the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 and pricing is set at around $400.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 sports a three-inch display which serves double duty as a LCD touchscreen. From this touchscreen one access the bulk of control options this camera makes available. It also makes use of joystick control for selection of options.

Panasonic announced the DMC-TZ5 as another Lumix camera heading for shelves soon with very similar features to the DMC-FX35 model including a wide-angle lens and high-def video recording. The TZ5 loses a little in megapixels compared the FX35 with 9.1, but gains in just about everything else.

The DMC TZ5 Lumix has a 10x optical zoom, generous 3-inch LCD display and a 28mm wide-angle lens that can get almost twice as much panorama compared to typical lens. It also features Panasonic’s big 5 Intellegent Auto features for automatic adjustments for exposure, scene selection, image stabilization, facial detection of as many as 15 faces and ISO Control to adjust shutter speed for moving images. This model can also record video with 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30 frames per second with an HD out component cable port.

Panasonic is expecting to have the TZ5 available by the end of March with a retail price of just under $350. More detailed release information below:

Among the many shooters hitting the market today from Panasonic, the latest added to the Lumix lineup was announced as the DMC-FX35. This model has Panasonic’s first wide-angle lens at 25mm giving the ability to get almost double the width into the picture.

The Lumix DMC-FX35 takes photos at 10.1 megapixels with a 4x optical zoom, and can also recored 720p high-def video 1920 x 1080 ready to play on your widescreen at home. If pictures are too slow and high-def video is just too much this Lumix also has a high-speed burst of photos that can take up to 6 per second and go non-stop, limited only by the size of the memory card.