Panasonic steadies its compact three-chip camcorder
Panasonic PV-GS250
The product: When Panasonic introduced the PV-GS200 at last year's CES, it--along with the step-down PV-GS120--broke new ground by putting three-CCD video capture in an extremely compact, consumer-priced MiniDV camcorder. But that otherwise excellent model turned out to have an unfortunate flaw: its electronic image stabilization didn't work very well, resulting in shaky footage. The PV-GS250 promises to solve that problem with optical image stabilization. It?s slightly larger than its predecessor but still extremely compact for a three-chip camera. Other notable features and key specs include:

• 10X Leica Dicomar zoom lens
• 2.5-inch flip-out LCD
• Manual focus ring
• Flash for low-light stills
• Accessory shoe
• SD media slot for saving stills
• MPEG-4 streaming via USB

The price: The Panasonic PV-GS250 will be available in March for a list price of $1,000.

The prospects: If the optical image stabilization works well, the PV-GS250 could end up being the model of choice for video enthusiasts who want an extremely portable camera. Consumers looking for the best combination of video and still capture are likely to be disappointed, though; that 3.1-megapixel photo resolution Panasonic advertises on the side of the camera is interpolated.

By Aimee Baldridge, senior editor, CNET Reviews