Compact cameras come in all shapes and sizes, but very few feature Wi-Fi connectivity. However, Panasonic has bucked the trend and launched a snapper with integrated 802.11b/g support.

Panasonic's Lumix TZ50: Wi-Fi on board

The TZ50 enables you to transfer images from the camera’s 50MB internal memory or SDHC card directly to your PC. You can also do the reverse and transfer images from other wireless gadgets onto the TZ50.

The camera has access to Panasonic’s own online photo sharing portal, which is a little like Flickr and comes with free web storage space. Before uploading your pictures, you can view snaps on the camera’s 3in LCD.

HD-quality video can also be captured, at a resolution of up to 1280 x 720, and then uploaded to the web or transferred onto another wireless device.

The camera has a 9.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and 10x optical zoom. If you’re no Ansel Adams then Panasonic has built a wide range of automatically set image modes, such as Party and Starry Sky, into the camera.

The camera has the customary USB 2.0 port and sends snaps straight to a printer using PictBridge technology.

Panasonic’s Lumix TZ-50 is only available in Japan so far, where it costs about ¥50,000 (£250/€320/$500). A European release date or price hasn’t been streamed over yet.