It’s not going to compete against the real digital SLRs on the market, the newly announced Panasonic LX3 certainly brings a lot to the table for “just” a point-and-shoot. For starters, this is one of very few P&S cameras that comes with F2.0. Even my Canon S3 IS can only go as far as F2.8, so this is quite the improvement.

The Panasonic LX3 maintains the same 10 megapixel count as its LX2 predecessor, but you do get 40% better sensitivity and 35% greater saturation. The 2.5x 24mm ultra-wide angle lens is a definite plus, as are ISO 3200 (in full res), ISO 6400 (at reduced res), full manual controls, RAW output, Intelligent Scene Selector, and HD video recording.

Look for the Panasonic LX3 digital camera to launch next month with an MSRP of $499.