Hi Jonathan,
yes, we have to wait until the end of Aug or so until both FZ50 and S6500fd are phisically introduced around that time.
From a simple spec. comparison, iirc, S6500 has a slightly larger sensor and much less Mp (6.3Mp) and has the same sensor as F30, which looks to me enjoying a high reputation for good IQ at higher ISOs. Ian posted lots of world cup photos in another board with F30. The zoom range is however shorter than FZ50 and has no OIS.
Incidentally, I found a link to this Thailand's forum. It seems this Thai cameraman/journalist visted Panny's plants in Japan around 10 days ago or so and took those sample pics with newly introduced models including FZ50.
I think, the pic at ISO500 is nice in IQ, needless to say at ISO 100.
yoshi
http://www.shutterphoto.com/review/panasonic/fz50/panasonic_dmc_fz50_sample.html