Panasonic

LAS VEGAS--The slim Panasonic Lumix SZ7 is intended to grab snapshooters back from the convenience of their smartphones. The main lure: an ultrawide-angle Leica lens.

The long-zoom-in-the-skinny-body thing is nice and all, but I'm more interested in the new AF system. Dubbed Light Speed AF, it promises a "superfast focus response time of approximately 0.1 second." I was able to briefly get my hands on the SZ7 and it really is impressively fast to focus and shoot. Hopefully, it won't slow down much in low light.

Other highlights include a fast, 14-megapixel MOS sensor that … Read more

LAS VEGAS--With updated naming conventions and fewer offerings than last year, Panasonic's somewhat stolid lineup resists jumping on the Wi-Fi bandwagon.

This year's camcorder lineup from Panasonic is a refreshing change from previous years. Not only did the company take the opportunity to rationalize its offerings, simplifying its nomenclature with the convention that "M" indicates the model with built-in memory, but it's also pruned the number of models. Plus, this year it joins the march of companies declaring the death of the hard-disk camcorder.

One thing that hasn't changed is Panasonic's annoying practice … Read more

LAS VEGAS--In the past, Panasonic's GT variants have been almost as good as the flagships they supported, and at much more affordable prices. We anticipate that this trend will continue with the new GT50.

The GT50 will come in four sizes from 50 inches to 65 inches and ships with an "Infinite Black Pro" panel. The full-HD 3D panel features 2D-to-3D conversion and a new louver filter designed to provide better contrast in lit environments.

With the exception of the Z1, design wasn't a key consideration for Panasonic plasmas until last year, with the "metallic … Read more

Last year, it was neck-and-neck between Panasonic's VT30 and Samsung's D8000/7000 as to the best television of the year...at least until those upstarts from Sharp spoiled plasma's party.

Currently the VT30 still stands as the best TV Panasonic has ever produced, and even if there's only a tiny improvement, the new TC-PVT50 series looks ready to take on that title.

The flagship VT50 will come in two screen sizes, the 55-inch TC-P55VT50, and the 65-inch TC-P65VT50 and features all of Panasonic's current know-how with an Infinite Black Ultra Panel and new louver filter. … Read more

In 2011, Panasonic's ST30 was our favorite TV priced at less than $1,000 and perhaps the best value of any TV we've ever reviewed, demonstrating top-of-its-class performance for the money.

But all good things must come to an end, and the ST30 is moving aside for the ST50.

The ST50 sits in the middle of Panasonic's 2012 range with four sizes starting at 50 inches and includes most of the goodies found in the more-expensive GT50 and VT50 televisions. It's the least-expensive to boast the "Infinite Black Pro" panel, which, if last year … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic has maintained that it's a plasma company for many years, resisting the urge to produce televisions that directly compete with its main business.

It seems that in 2012, all bets are off with the release of two new series at larger 47-inch and 55-inch sizes: the DT50 and the WT50.

The WT50 boasts a new look for the company with a super narrow metal frame and "crescent," or "boomerang," metallic stand. By contrast, the DT50 is a little more conservative with a narrow metal frame.

The main picture quality difference between the two is the WT50's use of local dimming in its edge-lit LED backlight.

Unlike the ET5, the two TVs use Panasonic's own active 3D system and also include 2D-to-3D conversion.

Both TVs incorporate high-speed "1920" backlight scanning for higher moving-picture resolution and smoothness during fast action scenes. The backlight scanning divides the screen into eight parts and the backlight turns off for the portions being scanned.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Envisioning 2012 as the year of Web-connected TVs, Panasonic has announced its smart TV system has exclusive deals with Flixster and Disney.

In addition, MySpace is partnering with the company for MySpace TV, a social TV service that will allow users to share the latest shows, TV, and music with their friends. None other than Justin Timberlake showed up on stage to tout the service.

The company also announced a partnership today with NBC to broadcast the 2012 London Olympics in 3D. Panasonic shared the news at its press conference at CES. Opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics … Read more

In 2011, the biggest "breakthrough" may have been that connected TVs finally got a name--Smart TV--but the year also gave us some excellent televisions.

The Pioneer Kuro has remained the standard in picture quality since the last one rolled out of the factory three years ago, but this year it received a challenger: the Sharp Elite Pro. It wasn't even a plasma, but a highly sophisticated LCD, which eclipsed every other TV released this year.

Sharp aside, there were also standout TVs from Samsung and Panasonic, and LG started what could be a significant trend with the release of the first "passive" 3D televisions.

The TVs presented here in order of greatness are the pick of the crop from 2011, and in addition to excellent picture quality also come studded with the features--3D, Smart TV, etc.--demanded of a modern television.… Read more

It's crazy just how many cameras were released in 2011 from the major manufacturers. According to camera site 1001 Noisy Cameras, the count stands at 203; the majority of those are point-and-shoots.

For us, a point-and-shoot is a fixed-lens camera (i.e. not interchangeable) that uses a 1/2.3-inch-size sensor. So, before you get all "Where's the Canon S100!" on me, we consider that and similar models enthusiast compacts because of their larger sensor sizes and target user.… Read more