Merely having a long zoom isn't enough for a camera to succeed these days - big lenses have to be squeezed into stylish packages to raisethe pulses of increasingly fussy consumers

The five-megapixel Lumix DMC-LS2 replaces the DMC-LS1 in Panasonic's range of mid-level compacts, and brings much-needed updates to the budget model.

Now that some digital SLRs offer live LCD framing, and given that some compact cameras can capture 10Mp RAW files, the gap between 'serious' SLRs and 'simple' compact cameras has started to narrow

Whether the extra 2 million pixels is an advantage is a moot point, partly because smaller pixels bring more noise (and more noise reduction) and partly because this 25% increase corresponds to only 2% more pixels in width...

Why not buy a digital SLR? That's the question Panasonic is hoping to answer with its latest super-zoom bridge camera. Like recently announced budget DSLRs from Canon and Nikon, it has a 10MP sensor, mechanically linked lens and RAW capture.

To some, Panasonic's first-ever D-SLR might appear as though it's been cobbled together from the entrails of an Olympus E-330... but it would be wrong to draw such a conclusion.

The innards and guts of the Lumix DMC-L1 may have been transplanted directly from an Olympus E-330, but the heart and soul of this brand-new, 4/3 digital SLR is definitely pure Panasonic

Forget the maxim that 'less is more', Panasonic is going all out for'more is less'. The 'more' in this particular case is a 10x Leica zoom, optical image stabiliser and ISO 1600.

There are many attractive credit card-sized compacts jostling for market share, so what makes the DMC-FX01 special? Easy: the inclusion of 28mm wide-angle Leica optics makes it useful for group photos...

The 6MP FZ7 is a refresh of previous success in the series with an unchanged core surrounded by more technology to improve image quality and extend the feature set.

Panasonic is now a serious player in the prosumer arena. The latest attempt to take the casual user by storm is the DMC-LZ5, a camera that sits among the bigger compact cameras and has more than enough headline features to pull its weight

The LS2 is one of those cameras that looks more expensive than it actually is. The build quality and finish are exemplary and easily good enough to embarrass some cameras costing twice the price

Renowned as a manufacturer of quality kit, encompassing everything from vacuum cleaners to TV sets and beyond, Panasonic is nevertheless not one of the names that first springs to mind when you're thinking of cameras.

Digital camera makers badly need unique selling points in a crowded and madly competitive market, and Panasonic's latest wheeze is to put a 16:9 sensor in a compact camera - enabling it to take shots in widescreen...

There's a wider range of 5-megapixel cameras available at the momentthan any other resolution, and the reasons for this are clear. Five-megapixels is a large enough resolution to print well at A4 size...

Panasonic has really got the hang of this digital camera lark. Whetheryou're an experienced amateur photographer, an enthusiast or simplysomeone who's looking for a compact digital snapper...