Panasonic goes ultra-zoom, full manual with Lumix DMC-FZ50

Myself, I just picked up a Canon S3 IS, so I can understand the appeal of having plenty of zoom and a few prosumer manual controls for good measure. Panasonic recognizes this increasingly crowded market as well, announcing the Lumix DMC-FZ50, a 10.1 megapixel camera that comes with an intense 12x optical zoom. Like the others in this segment, the FZ50 appears to have some form of image stabilization (the spec card says that it’s “shake-free”), but it also boasts “full manual operation for fine control over your photography.” No word on price, but if I had to guess, I’d say $600.