Not many changes for Panasonic's prosumer camcorders

Panasonic's prosumer camcorders (photos)

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LAS VEGAS--CES is usually so crazy that I don't bother doing my full-blown treatment, with tables, when covering the new products. But I had so much trouble trying to spot the differences between last year's and this year's lineups for Panasonic's camcorders that I built tables for my own sanity. And confirmed that there's not a lot different between the new and the old.

One major change is in the top-end TM900/HS900 models, which support the 3D add-on lens for which Panasonic had previously created the TM750. (The lower end SD800 lacks the manual ring on the lens and built-in memory.) There's also (theoretically) enhanced low-light shooting capability for all these models, and the addition of touch shutter and touch zoom features. The lens and sensors seem to be the same.

As is annoyingly usual for Panasonic, there's no pricing or shipping information. So just assume that they're overpriced and won't ship until the week after you've already bought something else. Or that they'll cost the same as their precessors and ship in the first quarter of this year. Pricing is pretty much the same as their predecessors, and they're slated to ship in March.