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Panasonic

Best Buy has the Panasonic - Lumix DMC-FS5 (Red) 10.1MP Digital Camera - Red for $149.99, after $50 savings, plus free shipping.

Save $50 on the Panasonic - Lumix DMC-FS5 (Red) 10.1MP Digital Camera - Red from Best Buy >> Regular price is $199.99 >> Sale price is $149.99 >> Savings $50 (25.00%) >> Click here for deal

A timely warning about digicams and cables

Since it's likely that many people will be getting new digital cameras during the holiday season, this warning about a USB Faux Pas from EDN's Brian Dipert is timely.

Dipert reports that different brands of cameras have micro-USB-style connectors that look compatible but aren't--and he found that the combination of a Panasonic camera with a Kodak cable damaged the camera.

I can't agree with Dipert that there ought to be a law, but I wouldn't mind a court ruling that Kodak and Panasonic are at fault here.

Companies that need a USB-like connector with additional … Read more

Panasonic LX3 will get updated firmware

Panasonic has announced a firmware update to its 10.1MP DMC-LX3 digital camera. The firmware will be available worldwide on December 15, 2008. The update, which is version 1.1, improves auto white-balance performance under different lighting conditions. It also features a compatibility update for the optional FL220 flash unit. This new firmware will be available on Panasonic's support site.

We generally recommend installing the latest firmware updates for your camera, so you can get the most out of your gear. For more information on firmware updates for a specific camera, visit the manufacturer's Web site. Before installing … Read more

Best Buy has the Panasonic - Digital Camcorder SDR-H40 with 40GB Hard Drive - Black/Silver for $279.99, after $120 savings, plus free shipping.

Save $120 on the Panasonic - Digital Camcorder SDR-H40 with 40GB Hard Drive - Black/Silver from Best Buy >> Regular price is $399.99 >> Sale price is $279.99 >> Savings $120 (30.00%) >> Click here for deal

Panasonic pro plasma provides prodigious PQ

Panasonic markets its professional monitors, like the TH-50PF11UK I just reviewed, to hospitals, TV studios, and airports, but these displays will serve just as well in your own home. In fact, in past years they've delivered better picture quality and better value than the company's line of mainstream "consumer" models.

That's no longer the case--the company's best consumer plasmas, like the TH-50PZ800U, performed better than the TH-50PF11UK we tested--but the pro model still has excellent picture quality. In addition, its styling is about as compact and unassuming as you can get and makes a … Read more

A view on EVFs

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 has made history as the first non-SLR digital camera to sport interchangeable lenses. And while it exceeds my expectations with respect to speed and photo quality, it lives down to them, unfortunately, with respect to the shooting experience, thanks to its use of an electronic viewfinder. (For the uninitiated, an EVF is a little LCD display used for eye-level shooting.) While EVFs aren't new--they're a staple on megazoom cameras and camcorders with eye-level viewfinders--I realized I'd never cohesively stated why I dislike them.

Some people have no problem with EVFs, and I daresay … Read more