Love Lumix Leica Lenses

I'm in the process of replacing my Canon PowerShot A70 and appear to have reached an impasse! Do I stick with Canon or switch to Panasonic Lumix?

My Canon PowerShot A70 is perfectly serviceable! However, I'd like to exert a similar level of manual control, I once enjoyed at Exeter College, with PENTAX cameras! I've managed to whittle my price-sensitive choices down to the following and would welcome readers feedback:

Canon

Canon IXUS 80 IS Digital Camera
Canon proudly presents a fresh new addition to its Digital IXUS range: the Ixus 80 IS. This ultra-compact camera is available in four discreet colours that enhance the smooth curves of its casing, and is loaded with leading technologies for fun, stylish photography. The successor to the Digital Ixus 70, the Ixus 80 IS puts all of Canon's know-how to good use to bring you flawless shots. Its features include a powerful 8-megapixel CCD sensor and a DIGIC III image processor, as well as an optical stabiliser, meaning you can say bye-bye to blur. Its remarkable ISO sensitivity of up to 1600 ensures photos turn out fantastically even in low lighting conditions, while its 2.5-inch TFT screen lets you take complete control of your creations. You'll be able to explore your creative side further with its various scene modes and photo effects, including Ai-AF face detection. Thanks to this technology, the Digitax Ixus 80 IS is able to recognise up to 9 faces in a scene and smooth out shady areas. Express your creative side with professional quality snaps with the Digital Ixus 80!

Panasonic

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55EB Digital Camera
The Lumix DMC-FX55 from Panasonic is the new and improved version of the FX33, with the same Auto Intelligent technology but with a larger 3" LCD screen! Behind its stylish design, the Lumix DMC-FX55 is equipped with an 8 effective-megapixel CCD sensor and a 3.6x wide-angle optical zoom, which can be expanded depending on the photo resolution. The optical zoom efficient goes up to 5.7x for 2 megapixels, allowing you to take detailed close-ups. The DMC-FX55 also includes the renowned Venus Engine III image processor and an Intelligent ISO Control mode (up to 6400 ISO sensitivity) to guarantee bright, continuous lighting even in darker environments. Meanwhile, the Mega O.I.S. optical image stabiliser counteracts camera shake to deliver clear images every time. The Lumix FX55 is also equipped with an Intelligent Auto mode that automatically adjusts the settings according to conditions so you don't have to! With the Lumix DMC-FX55, you'll have all of Panasonic's latest technologies in the palm of your hand!

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Digital Camera
Powerful 18x Optical Zoom, 28mm wide-angle Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens and unique Intelligent Auto Mode. The perfect choice for any photographer with varied photographic needs and high ambitions - Panasonic is pleased to introduce the new DMC-FZ18 8.1-megapixel Lumix camera, featuring a powerful 18x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera), newly developed 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens and Panasonic's new and unique Intelligent Auto Mode. Panasonic's award-winning FZ series of Lumix cameras has been highly praised across the world, for concomitant realisation of both high performance and ease of use, and the FZ18 is no exception. Bridging the gap between high-end compacts and digital SLRs, Panasonic's DMC-FZ18 offers a level of control close to that of an SLR, but without the need for interchangeable lenses. Perfect for photographers on the move and families who want to shoot pictures outdoors for example, the FZ18 offers an easy way to enjoy the fun of capturing beautiful digital pictures.

Panasonic DMCFX500 Digital Still Camera
The DMC-FX500 features intuitive touch-screen operation on a large, 3.0-inch LCD to provide an advanced hybrid control system with both touch-screen and joystick control. In addition to the 25mm ultra-wide angle Leica DC lens with 5x optical zoom, manual operation controllability give users great creative freedom. A variety of advanced functions, including Intelligent Auto mode, HD motion picture recording and HD component output, together with slideshows enhanced with music, further enrich the camera and user experience.

Canon's IS range is revered, but Panasonic's Lumix line is snapping at its heals! Many Lumix models are fitted with Leica lenses that have been developed and designed by Leica's German optics engineers but are produced in Japan and some are effectively Leica branded cameras without the brand name and with different exterior styling!

It's almost a case of change for change's sake!

Room With A VIERA

Last evening I attended an open evening at shop@panasonic, located in Exeter's Harlequin Shopping Centre. Invited guests were privy to a captivating demonstration of Panasonic's latest, and finest, range of VIERA televisions and 10% discount off all products.

Here are my VIERA television recommendations for your delectation:

LCD

Panasonic TX-32LZD85
* Superb Moving Picture Quality with 100Hz Motion Picture Pro 2 and 24p Film
* 178° Wide Viewing Angle with IPS Alpha Full HD Panel
* 10,000:1 High Contrast with Intelligent Scene Controller
* x.v.Colour
* Smart Networking with VIERA Link and SD Card Slot (JPEG)
* V-Audio surround with BBE ViVA HD3D Sound

Panasonic TX-37LZD800
(Same specifications as TX-32LZD85)

Plasma

Panasonic TH-46PZ80B
* 100Hz Double Scan
* 24p Playback
* Full HD (1920x1080p)
* High Contrast Native 20,000 : 1
* 4,096 Equivalent Steps of Gradation
* 2 x HDMI
* 2 x Scart

When Panasonic first introduced their award-winning VIERA range of televisions, the aim was to give consumers the pinnacle of a viewing experience – an experience so real, so true-to-life, that viewers would unwittingly feel themselves to be almost part of the on-screen action. Now in 2008, the year of the summer Olympic Games, no other company is better placed and able to deliver every second of the action from the stadia into your living room than Panasonic.

Panasonic has been responsible for relaying the Olympics to our homes for the past 20 years. Since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Panasonic has exclusively provided professional broadcast cameras, editing consoles, monitors, and recording media to the international Olympic Broadcast Centres which beam images of the games around the world. 2008 will mark the first time that the entire production of an Olympic games will be done in High Definition – meaning that viewers will be able to experience all the events with unparalleled clarity and crispness thanks to Panasonic technology.

Thanks to Panasonic HD technology and the highly developed motion technologies in our VIERA TVs, millions of people around the world will be able to follow the ceremony and the proceeding games as intensely as if they were there in person – without missing a moment!

Cats, Jelly Babies, FeedBurner and an iPhone wallpaper!

The last few days have been particularly manic!

Since Friday I've embarked on the process of updating Nick Smith's blog template and publishing his Blogger hosted site to a custom domain name using GoDaddy (you can register domain names from any of a number of different registrars). This is no mean feat when you factor in html coding, FeedBurner, AdSense and Google Webmaster Tools amongst others!

Cat City Online
Cat City Online is the weblog of Nick Smith, author of "Scriptwriting: The Secrets Unleashed," "Milk Treading," "The Kitty Killer Cult" and "Undead on Arrival."

Drop by Nick's new and improved site and leave a comment. He's a good friend and a creative chap...

Memorial
Making further progress with my mother's memorial project! Today Shop@Panasonic, Harlequins Centre, Exeter, pulled through with a Plasma HDTV TH-37PX70, which will be installed at Lucerne House once the refurbishment work on the Alphinbrook Unit is complete! And a Shop@Panasonic staff member recognised me from myentertainmentnews.co.uk (formerly Unit News)! Always a pleasure to meet a fellow Doctor Who/Torchwood fan!

In addition to the plasma television, we've bought a PC, widescreen monitor and a Nintendo Wii (includes Wii Sports)!

The next steps include researching the needs of each resident and costing the peripherals and software needed to facilitate the highest level of transparency! At this stage I have no idea of the total cost - anywhere from £300 to £3000 and beyond! I'll give serious consideration to approaching disabled charities, for extra funding, if my mother's memorial fund falls short.

FeedBurner Help Group
Be sure to visit the brand new official FeedBurner Help Group, which launched last night (GMT), where I'm a Community Expert! I'll help out as much as possible along with my fellow Community Expert peeps Improbulus, Charles LaPage, Mathaba and Franklin Tse.

One last thing...

"Peek-a-boo" wallpaper
I was inspired to create a wallpaper for the iPhone (and it looks cool on iPod touch too)!

"Peek-a-boo" is my cheeky homage to the Apple logo and started life as my Twitter avatar!



More wallpapers to follow.

December Duet Online Premiere

It only took 12 years (the original Star Wars trilogy appeared on DVD before it)! Now, thanks to an afternoon spent in my Panasonic VHS to DVD transfer suite, for your pleasure and delight, is my video major 'December Duet' (1996).

I co-wrote (with novelist and friend Nick Smith - 'Milk Treading'), produced, directed and edited (non-linear for the final EDL) 'December Duet' (shot on Beta SP format), which was the culmination of the (BA Hons) Media Production course at the University of Bournemouth.



This 10 minute drama starred Bob Sessions, who has appeared in numerous films including Clive Barker's 'Night Breed', 'Hackers' (starring Academy Award® winning actress Angelina Jolie) and portrayed Batman/Bruce Wayne in BBC Radio One's, episodic audio adaptation, 'Knightfall' (1995).

Shop@Panasonic

For my birthday, last Wednesday, I received a Panasonic DMR-EZ47:

*2-in1 DVD & VHS Combi
*Full HD 1080p Up-Conversion
*DVB-T Tuner and 7 Day EPG
*HDMI with VIERA Link
*Super Multi Format - Record and Play ALL DVD Formats
*Super Easy GUI
*Dual Layer Compatible
*16X - R Compatible
*DV-in
*MP3, JPEG from -R
*500 Line LP Mode
*1 Sec Quick Start and Record
*VHS to DVD Refresh Dubbing

Ultimately, I decided that a built-in HDD was overkill! As it was my birthday, the sales person made the recorder multi-region and included a HDMI cable/DVD-R pack gratis! That puts Shop@Panasonic on a par with the Sony Centre for customer service.

My various College and University video productions will be transfered from VHS to iTunes via this paradigm:

VHS > DVD > HandBrake > iMovie > iTunes!

Next month Apple will start shipping Time Capsule 1TB and my pre-order is in! Review to follow.

Have a great weekend... I'll be clearing out clutter from the garage! It's surprising how much junk gets accumulated!

I Do Blu

Since Sony's PS3 opened my eyes to the joie de vivre known as Blu-ray, I've been smitten!

Whether it's watching Spider-Man scale the heights of a New York skyline or Spielberg's majestic encounter with visitors from a distant star, Blu-ray excels.

Now a proponent of Blu-ray, here are my aStores, which feature my recommendations:

I Do Blu Shop UK
I Do Blu Shop USA
I Do Blu Shop Canada

Sensing the need to step up promotional efforts behind the Blu-ray Disc format heading into the critical holiday selling season, a group of hardware manufacturers and studios have pooled their resources on a "multimillion-dollar" television, print and online advertising campaign, billed as the largest for the format so far.

The effort, called "I Do Blu," quietly kicked off its prime-time TV portion with a spot on "Dancing With The Stars," and will continue through the Super Bowl.

Companies backing the project include hardware manufacturers Sony, Panasonic and Philips, and Blu-ray-backing studios include Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lions Gate and Warner Home Video. While they declined to reveal the exact size of the budget, they say it is the largest to date for the Blu-ray Disc format.

"Before we were really targeting the early adopter [with Blu-ray] but now the time is right to really go broad," said Rich Marty, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment new business development VP. "The [PlayStation3] is coming out at $399 now, and while some of purchasers will be into games, we believe a lot more of them will also really be into movies."

"There are 35 million HDTV sets out there in U.S. homes now, and they need to be informed that if they want to maximize their high-definition movie playback, they really need a Blu-ray player," said Lexine Wong, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment marketing VP.

The ads don't focus on any particular brand to remain fair to the three supporting equipment manufactures.

"It was agreed that we can get a bigger and better message out there if we all do this together," Marty told TWICE. He added that some companies were invited to participate but opted out at this time.

Movies featured in the 30-second TV spot include some of the biggest releases of the fall, including "Spiderman 3," "Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer," "Live Free or Die Hard," "Ratatouille," "Wedding Crashers," the "Harry Potter" series, "300" and others.

HD-what?

XMB and then some

Looks like my Panasonic TX-32LXD700 HD Ready LCD television has arrived just in the nick of time! Sony has finally lifted the wraps off the feted 2.0 PS3 firmware update!

Latest PLAYSTATION3 System Software Update Allows PSP to Turn PS3 On and Off from Internet Connection for Enhanced Remote Play

Ability to customise XMB™ and add personalised playlists for both music and photos also enabled

London, 8 November 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced today the availability of the latest version of the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) system software. Version 2.00 features the ability to turn a PS3 system on and off remotely, using a PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) system via the Remote Play1 function, allowing for a truly mobile partnership between the two systems.

Building on the success and potential of the Remote Play functionality, Version 2.00 will cement the partnership between PS3 and PSP and create a truly global experience. With the ability to turn your PS3 on and off from Wi-fi connection, there is now the opportunity to listen to the music, look at the photos and watch the videos saved on the PS3 Hard Disk Drive, anywhere in the world.

To further enhance the PS3 offering, Version 2.00 allows for the creation of personalised playlists in both the music and photo sections. This simple to use function gives users an opportunity to create unlimited music playlists for all occasions, as well as sharing favourite photos in glorious high definition.

Continuing with the idea of a personalised PS3, Version 2.00 allows for customisation of the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) menu screen. Change the colour and brightness with the greatest of ease or have something completely different by setting a custom theme. With the potential for new backgrounds to become available on PLAYSTATION®Network in the future, Version 2.00 truly opens up a whole raft of options.

A host of other enhancements includes the addition of an Information Board on XMB to keep people up to date on the latest PlayStation® news, the inclusion of a new PLAYSTATION Network category and logo for easier navigation and Trend Micro Web Security, a free2, state of the art internet security system, designed to give parents peace of mind.

Of all the features added during this year's firmware updates. DVD upscaling adds the most value! Watching Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace revealed copious amounts of detail, not clearly evident in standard definition, and the patent fact that the CGI has not endured the test of time! Presumably ILM is hard at work retooling all the special effects in Lucas' six-part opus for its Blu-ray debut next year! May I suggest that you use the 'normal' setting for upscaling as this can have an adverse effect on source material! It's not a panacea.

Unreal Tournament PS3

My PS3 has been up and running since the weekend, and I have to say that the build quality is on a par with Apple and Panasonic (two of my favourite brands)! I adore the retro future look and feel.

The picture quality, via composite video connection, is surprisingly vivid and crisp! Heaven knows how good Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection will look when my Panasonic TX-32LXD700 arrives in November and I can switch to HDMI 1.3! Panasonic's black beauty won plaudits in both What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision and Which? magazines. Believe the hype!

Sonically, the PS3 is no slouch and effortlessly extracted every last essence of musicality from Timbaland's celebrated contributions to Justin Timberlake's Future Sex/Love Sounds CD. Therefore I'm compelled to replace my current ailing Sony amp with its newer HDMI-equipped sibling - STR-DA1200ES! It's cheaper and prettier than Onkyo's impressive TX-SR605.

Sony’s plans to clear the retail channel of 60GB PS3s appear to be well on course following the unit’s recent price cut in the UK!

As reported in the mainstream press earlier this week, the aggressive price cut to the 60GB PS3 and the introduction of an entry-level 40GB unit sans SACD playback and multimedia card reader saw weekly PlayStation 3 sales jump 178 percent. According to sales monitor ChartTrack, sales of the 60GB model accounted for 89 percent of PS3 sales last week.

“PS3 went up by 178 percent over the previous week, which puts it third in terms of overall hardware sold behind DS Lite and Wii,” ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch told MCV. “It was PS3’s biggest week since weeks one and two in March.”

“As expected, everyone’s buying the 60GB PS3 as it is such a bargain – the split is about 89 percent to 11 percent in the 60GB console’s favour.”

As I said in my previous post; there really is no contest between the 60GB and 40GB models! The 60GB is unassailable in terms of technological prowess and value for money! I encourage any reader, who is considering a pre-Christmas PS3 purchase, and that includes any prospective Blu-ray consumers amongst you too, to buy the 60GB model before it's sold out! Incidentally, Sony has introduced an 80GB model, in the USA, based on the reduced functionality of the 40GB machine. If you need a larger HDD, it's very easy to swap!

I can't wait to finally see Pan's Labyrinth (Blu-ray) as it promises to be the most audacious movie presentation released on a silver platter to date!

Stocking Fillers

Christmas comes even earlier this year! Cards, decorations and seasonal promotions are already hitting high street shelves and QVC!

Without further ado, here's my official top 20 holiday gift ideas, traversing books, toys, music, video games and electronic gadgets for all ages:

Please note that these are affiliate links.

1). Nintendo Wii
2). Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3). iPod nano 8GB
4). iPod touch 16GB
5). iPod classic 160GB
6). Xbox 360 Elite
7). Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
8). PSP Slim and Lite
9). PS3 (60GB Premium Version)
10). Panasonic TX-32LXD700 - 32" Widescreen Viera HD LCD TV
11). Sony KDL32D3000 - 32" Widescreen Bravia HD LCD TV
12). The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)
13). Transformers Movie - Leader Optimus Prime
14). Be Bratz
15). Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
16). Change Sugababes
17). iLife '08
18). iMac 24" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz/1GB/320GB/ SuperDrive
19). Doctor Who: The Key to Time (Limited Edition 7-Disc Box set)
20). The Making of "Star Wars"

Newer readers may wish to read:

Review of the Year 2004
Review of the Year 2005
Review of the Year 2006

Stay tuned for Review of the Year 2007 coming this December. Why not subscribe?

The audience is listening

Discovering Dolby NR on my parents' Panasonic Direct Drive tape cassette player embarked me on a lifelong sonic odyssey. From vinyl to DAT and SACD to AAC, I've marveled at and treasured the capture of indelible audio recordings. Late 2004 Sony BMG piloted the DualDisc format to test audiences. In 2005 the CD/DVD hybrid goes mainstream with the release of Rebirth from Jennifer Lopez.

MAME fans can grab 0.92 now, but 0.93 will include Aaron's sound system changes for end user testing. Audiophiles rejoice.

Looks like sky multiroom is coming to my Mum's nursing home soon. Mum adores movies and digital satellite will augment the extensive DVD catalogue that I'm currently building.

I'm not particularly averse to confessing my fandom of Dawson's Creek (S1 - 4) and, by extension, Katie Holmes. And Amazon UK is now offering S2 at a sub £20 sweet spot! I'll complete my collection over the coming months.