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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from CNET Asia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Panasonic's 2006 imaging lineup
By Juniper Foo
16/02/2006 URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39001469,39311059,00.htm
Though offering no straight answer to CNET Asia's query other than perhaps to "restart the series", his men in black on Wednesday similarly kept the Global Press Launch in Sydney lighthearted enough to counter the daunting onslaught of its Spring 2006 lineup. Journos were not only fed well during the day-long event, they were also fed with a plethora of data for 17 new products. For Asia, these are slated to roll out some time in March/April. Digital audio players and DVD recorders appeared to be absent from its Spring lineup, but there was certainly no dearth of digital still cameras and digital camcorders, with Panasonic also unveiling a photo printer capable of 16:9-wide printouts as well as possibly the industry's first all-purpose digital SD slide projector. Of digital cameras, Panasonic's much-anticipated digital SLR debut failed to make an appearance. Prices were not available as at press time. The Spring rollout, said Nakahara, is in line with the company's vision to "create a new photo culture in the digital age".
Digital cameras With Panasonic aiming to double its global market share to 8 million this year, comprising 10 percent of the digital still camera market, six appeared to be the magic number at the launch. Not all were simply upgrades. Featured at the Sydney event was the brand new DMC-TZ1, a camera which Panasonic is targeting at the huge travelers' market, and which lays claim to being the smallest shooter available with a 10x optical zoom. In hand, the 6-megapixel TZ1 felt solid and compact. When put to use during our day-long trial, it proved to be simple to operate and as speedy as it claimed, thanks to the new Venus Engine III image processing LSI and its adoption of a Linear autofocus system to boost AF response time. True to its vacation camera label, onboard are a world time mode tied in with a travel date setting, a new calendar display feature that groups images under days so a trip can be more easily followed, and 18 scene modes covering just about every shooting situation, including Beach and Underwater. The DMC-FX01 added an unexpected twist to the anticipated naming convention for the FX range. What the 6-megapixel shooter also brought to the table which was new to the series was its ability to snap 16:9 wide aspect images equivalent to that of a film camera's 28mm lens. Other notable highlights that Panasonic talked about included a new dual image stabilization system which utilizes the company's MEGA O.I.S to compensate for hand shake, and a High Sensitivity mode for shooting up to ISO 1600 which deals with subject movement. The company also claimed it was first to market with a High Angle LCD function that makes it easy to view the display when shooting from a high angle position. Besides showcasing the megazoom FZ7, DMC-LZ3 and DMC-LZ5, the Japanese vendor also unveiled the DMC-LS2 which is now being powered by off-the-shelf AA batteries. More details for all six cameras can be found in the table below.
Printer Claiming to be the smallest and lightest A6 printer in the industry, this dye-sub offering is meant to pair up with the new LUMIX cameras that are equipped with 16:9 wide aspect capability. While portable due to its compact size, it's clearly intended for home use as it relies on mains to work. Panasonic has built some smarts into this little inkbox. It's capable of taking the image data and analyzing for backlit compensation, color correction and noise reduction. Speed is touted at 65 seconds for a postcard-sized printout.
Projector Remember ye old slide projectors for those larger-than-life vacation slide shows to share? Apparently, so did the Panasonic team. The result is what it claims is the one and only all-purpose digital SD slide projector that hails as a modern day model that replaces the slide, overhead and 8mm film projectors. In line with its strategy to create a photo culture in the digital age, the SD slide projector synergizes the whole photo-taking experience by providing the ability to throwing your images from an SD card onto a big projector screen. The only catch: It'll accept only SD cards as there is no optional adapter to read other media or a USB port for drag-and-drop options.
Camcorders Panasonic clearly has its sights set on extending its camcorder market share in 2006, with the announcement of nine enhanced video cameras, among which include DVD, MiniDV and SD offerings. Of particular interest is the VDR-D300 which the company claimed is the world's first DVD camcorder to feature both 3CCD and O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) technology. Its sister model, the VDR-D250, also comes equipped with a 3CCD sensor, while the VDR-D150 caters to those who prefer more optical zoom with its 30x zoom lens. As with last year's lineup, the MiniDV camcorders have been split into two main categories. The 3CCD offerings, which comprise the NV-GS180, NV-GS300 and NV-GS500, deliver a choice of higher-quality image capture with the improved sensor. The Powerful Zoom series (NV-GS27 and NV-GS57) give users more flexibility when framing shots with their 30x optical zoom lens. Also showcased at the launch was Panasonic's smallest 3CCD video camera to date, the SDR-S100. Released in 2005, the SDR-S100 is touted to be the world's first SD recording MPEG-2 video camera with both O.I.S. and a 3CCD sensor.
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