Panasonic has released the Lumix DMC-FZ38 12.1-megapixel camera featuring HD movie capabilities, a 27mm wide-angle, 18x optical zoom lens and upgraded optical image stabilizer (OIS) technology.

The FZ38 has two HD movie options: HD Motion JPEG format and ACVHD Lite mode. In Lite settings, the camera can record twice the amount of footage. Video clips can be recorded at three speeds: SH (17 Mbps), H (13 Mbps) and L (9 Mbps). Sound is recorded in Dolby Digital stereo.

For wide-angle zoom photos, the FZ38 contains a 27mm, wide-angle Leica DC Varo-Elmarit lens with18x optical zoom. Both photos and video can be shot under these settings. The camera can achieve an even greater, 35.2x magnification in Extra Optical Zoom mode.

In addition to the improved OIS offered with this camera, the FZ38 contains Face Recognition, Intelligent ISO, Intelligent Scene selector and Intelligent Auto mode. With this particular camera, iA mode can register frequent names and ages for frequent photo subjects.

The FZ38 retails for around $659.