Panasonic

Best mirrorless cameras for less than $1,000

Editors' note: This story was originally published in January 2012. The latest update reflects the addition of the Sony Alpha NEX-6 and NEX-5R.

The category of interchangeable-lens cameras subsumes a variety of capabilities and designs. There's the familiar dSLRs, large-bodied models that use a reflex mirror to enable the use of a through-the-lens optical viewfinder. Then there are Sony's SLT (Single Lens Translucent) models, which incorporate the same phase-detection autofocus system as dSLRs, but whose fixed mirror requires the use of an electronic viewfinder (EVF) rather than an optical one. And then there are the mirrorless models, which … Read more

Quick Take: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS9

Available only at Amazon.com, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS9 is nearly identical to the Lumix ZS8 we reviewed earlier. The only difference between the two models is the ZS9's stereo mic; the ZS8 records movie audio in mono only.

The ZS9 is also available only in black.

Dear gadget makers, we're not dumb

LAS VEGAS--I have come to the conclusion that I am stupid. Dumb as a post. Thick as two short planks. Four chips short of a circuit board.

What has finally brought this grim realization? All these nerds telling me how smart they are.

The nerds who have squeezed the final milliliter of self-confidence from my pores are the ones who make the gadgets here at CES.

Because they keep on telling me how smart they are. Which must mean that I am a blunt pencil. Everywhere I look around the Vegas exhibition halls, the word "smart" strikes me … Read more

Panasonic releases more Blu-ray players than anyone else

Most manufacturers have made a marked effort to pare down the number of different Blu-ray player models they make, but not Panasonic.

Panasonic announced six new Blu-ray models at CES 2012, with separate 3D and 2D lines, plus the ultraslim DMP-BBT01. Half of the models also feature Panasonic's new touch pad remote, which might make it easier to navigate online content.

Panasonic's line of 3D Blu-ray players breaks down as follows:… Read more

RIP standard-def camcorders

LAS VEGAS--Standard-definition camcorders should have died a while ago, but the manufacturers kept them around because they were still selling. That changed this week at CES when all the major manufacturers--Canon, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and Samsung--announced nothing but high-def models and confirmed there would be no more SD models coming in the future.

Now, I know some of you out there have or had SD camcorders that produced great video, but manufacturers stopped making high-quality SD models a long time ago when HD took over.… Read more

The 404 at CES 2012: Where we put it all on black (podcast)

LAS VEGAS--Day 1 of the Consumer Electronics Show has begun, and we're broadcasting another live show straight from the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

We'll begin by wrapping up yesterday's press conferences with a lukewarm announcement from Panasonic and Justin Timberlake, then throw it over to our guest of the day, Kevin Pereira from G4's Attack of the Show!

But first we have to make fun of Panasonic's lukewarm announcement with Justin Timblerlake about MySpace TV. The idea of social networking isn't new, and Panasonic was hazy on the details, but basically it allows couch potatoes to share what they're watching, assuming it's something you want to share with the world.… Read more

Timberlake tries to revive MySpace

Dish launches the "Hopper," with the first live kangaroo ever on stage at CES; Steve Ballmer explains why this is Microsoft's last CES keynote; and Justin Timberlake takes the stage at Panasonic's press event to announce MySpace TV.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded, from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

Timberlake presents MySpace TV Dish Network's Hopper and Joey multiroom DVR service The battle of the 55-inch OLED TVs First 3D TV shipping to the US that doesn't use glasses The Galaxy Note is a smartphone tablet hybrid Microsoft says so-long … Read more

Getting a feel for Panasonic's touch-pad remote

LAS VEGAS--LG has its Magic Motion, and Sony has its Google TV nub. And until now, Panasonic hasn't had an effective way to navigate Web content. Enter the new Panasonic touch-pad remote control.

Available on Panasonic Blu-ray players--DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320--and select televisions, including the WT50 and the VT50--the new remote offers a simple touch-pad surface, with a couple of additional buttons.

This year's Viera TVs and Blu-ray players feature a beefed-up Viera Connect smart-TV service and an onboard browser, and the touch pad is designed to make it easier to navigate around Web pages and services like … Read more

Panasonic converters push Lumix lenses long and wide

Panasonic announced four converters at CES to make its Lumix G series lenses photograph subjects that are farther, closer, and wider.

The four converters increase the flexibility of the lenses--and of Panasonic's Lumix G series of Micro Four Thirds. These cameras, one of the early entrants and now strong players in the interchangeable lens camera (ILC) market, forsake SLRs' reflex mirrors for a smaller design. So far even relatively strong ILC companies like Panasonic can't match the range of lenses available to SLR leaders Canon and Nikon.

Enter the converters, which will ship sometime in 2012 for as-yet … Read more

Panasonic flirts with irrelevance with MySpace TV partnership

Just because you bring out a superstar like Justin Timberlake doesn't mean anyone is going to care about what you announce.

At the end of a long and droning CES press conference today, Panasonic tried to pull off a little Steve Jobs "One more thing" magic by announcing its partnership with and support for what's being called MySpace TV.

With rock and movie star Timberlake taking the stage to explain the service, the audience laughed at the mere mention of the MySpace name. Still, what the service--and Panasonic--is attempting is ambitious: a truly social integrated TV … Read more