The Lumix SZ10 is a £139.99 model featuring a 2.7in (460,000-dot resolution) LCD screen. Commenting on the ‘slimming mode’, Panasonic explains that the camera processes a subject’s face ‘to look slightly slimmer’.

Panasonic adds that the SZ10 is a ‘perfect camera for a night out with friends’.

The Lumix SZ10 also features a defocusing function, allowing a soft focus effect to be applied to the background, to emphasise the face in a portrait.

Creative features include 15 filter effects and a 24mm lens, plus Wi-Fi connectivity.

Also due out in March is the Lumix TZ57, a 16-million-pixel model with a 3in, 180° tilting screen (which triggers a self-shooting mode), plus Full HD video, and a 20x optical zoom (24mm at the wide end).

The TZ57 is due to cost £229.99.

Also on the horizon is the Panasonic Lumix FT30, billed as a ‘rugged camera with style for the intrepid adventurer’.

FT30_TS30a_slant.webThe ‘dustproof’ camera is built to be waterproof down to eight metres, shock-proof to 1.5m and freeze-proof down to -10°C.

Panasonic claims that the FT30 is an ‘ideal photographic companion whether you’re camping, diving, surfing, mountain-climbing or skiing’.

Armoury also includes a 4x (25mm) optical zoom and a 16.1MP imaging sensor.

The Lumix newcomers also include the Lumix TZ70 travel compact, to which AP has already been given access, for a First Look review.