Panasonic introduces 2005
mini-DVD camcorder lineup
Panasonic DVD camcorders
The product: Panasonic hasn't made any major changes to its DVD camcorder line for 2005. Like their predecessors, the three new models record MPEG-2 footage onto mini DVD-R and DVD-RAM media and offer a decent feature set for home-video makers. The top-of-the-line VDR-M95 offers a 2-megapixel sensor for improved still capture, and the VDR-M75 takes 1.3-megapixel photos. The more budget-oriented VDR-M54 uses a VGA sensor and provides a stripped-down feature set, but it improves on the higher-end models' 10X zoom ranges with an 18X lens.

The price: The VDR-M95 ($1,100 list), the VDR-M75 ($800 list), and the VDR-M54 ($700 list) will be available in April.

The prospects: Home-video makers should find these models' very compact designs attractive, although aesthetes may be lured away by Sony's more stylish DCR-DVD7. Panasonic has convinced HP to integrate DVD-RAM drives into the latter company's desktop PCs, which should help alleviate the compatibility problems that plague DVD camcorders--at least for consumers in the market for both a new PC and a camcorder.

By Aimee Baldridge, senior editor, CNET Reviews