Panasonic sharpened its photography range this week with the launch of the Lumix GF5, a compact interchangeable-lens snapper with the world's fastest autofocus, according to Panasonic.

The beginner-friendly GF5 - essentially an upgrade of the Lumix GF3 - snaps into action with a new 12Mp sensor and Venus, Panasonic's imaging engine, which boasts high sensitivity signal processing, the company claimed.

The standout feature here though is the ability to autofocus in 0.09 seconds, which makes it planet Earth's fastest autofocus system, Panasonic said.

Other features include an improved ISO range of 160-12800, 4fps burst shot capabilities and an all new UI.

On the rear there's a 3in, 920,000-dot LCD touchscreen, where users can access a range of different modes and tweak the digital filters including Cross Process, Selective Colour and Toy Camera.

The Panasonic Lumix GF5 will hit shelves for £449 with a 14-42mm kit lens. ®