• Panasonic claims AI expansion is rapidly pushing demand for data center backup batteries
• Customers have pre-committed 80% of Panasonic’s production capacity
• Panasonic is assessing its Kansas plant to support additional battery output for data centers

The RAM crisis has been lingering for some time, showing no signs of easing, and it is now spreading into storage, with gaming PC makers warning that CPUs could be next.

While companies struggle to address the impact of this crisis on planning cycles, the pressure is now extending into less visible parts of the data center stack.

Now, Panasonic has said demand for backup batteries is rising quickly, and it is largely driven by the expansion of AI infrastructure that requires stable, continuous power.

Batteries as critical infrastructure

Panasonic says it has already allocated around 80% of its planned output to existing customers, leaving only a limited share for new buyers attempting to scale systems.

Its batteries are designed to sit within server racks, providing short bursts of backup power that keep systems running during brief outages.

But this component now appears to be a key bottleneck, since uninterrupted power is essential to prevent costly downtime and protect critical AI workloads.

As organizations expand their data center operations and add more servers, supporting systems such as power backup are becoming harder to secure within predictable timelines.

This means buyers outside existing supply agreements could find themselves competing for a limited share of batteries, as rising AI infrastructure demand strains production capacity.

To respond to rising demand, Panasonic plans to expand lithium-ion cell production in Japan by approximately three times and adapt parts of its automotive manufacturing lines to produce data center batteries.

It is also evaluating whether its Kansas plant can support additional output for data center applications.

These moves reflect an effort to redirect capacity toward compute-related demand as AI systems continue to expand.

Alongside batteries, the company is working on supercapacitors as an alternative form of backup energy.

Unlike conventional capacitors that release energy almost instantly, supercapacitors store larger amounts and discharge more gradually.

Panasonic says these components will be used “to absorb fluctuations in power load,” with shipments expected to begin in its 2027 financial year.

The company expects battery sales tied to data centers to reach ¥800 billion, approximately $5 billion, by 2029, a figure that assumes continued growth in AI-related infrastructure.

However, meeting that demand depends on production scaling as planned, which remains uncertain given existing supply pressures.

The situation suggests that infrastructure expansion is encountering limits beyond processing hardware — although how sustained these constraints will be, and whether supply can adjust in time, remains uncertain.

Via The Register

If owning a Leica camera is a mere pipe dream for you, you wouldn't be alone. It'll cost you an arm and a leg to bag a camera with the famed red dot, so it comes as no surprise that social media is showing us another way (besides selling a kidney): faking it.

L-mount Rumors has reported a craze in China — which is one of the fastest growing markets for genuine Leica cameras — of customizing Lumix cameras with Leica branding.

One model of choice appearing on Rednote and Weibo feeds, such as those in the images above by Photographer Lifestyle at Xiaohongshu, is the Panasonic Lumix S9, which is a full-frame mirrorless camera available in multiple colors.

Some pimped Lumix S9s merely have a Leica branding sticker attached, while others go the whole way with believable engraving.

It's quite the sight, a customized L-mount camera with both Lumix and Leica branding, but in a way I'm not surprised.

Would you fake it?

Lumix and Leica cameras, especially those of the mirrorless and compact persuasion, already have more in common than you might think.

Their mirrorless cameras are both part of the L-mount alliance. The Lumix S9, which is the affordable model of choice for many camera-tinkerers, features the same 24MP sensor as the Leica SL3-S and both pair with L-mount lenses.

Meanwhile, the Leica D-Lux 8 compact is based on the Lumix LX100 II, with its 17MP Micro Four Thirds sensor and built-in 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 zoom lens.

For such models, core tech and image quality can be largely the same. However, there are many design and UI differences between similar Lumix and Leica bodies, so a customized Lumix won't feel completely like the real deal.

Asides from lacking authenticity, some of the modified Lumix S9's I've seen, including the above with wooden grip and Leica branding, look pretty good to me! Would you pick up a low-cost Lumix alternative and fake it as a Leica? Let me know in the comments below.

You've landed on our regular, once-a-week, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) round-up – a place where you can get comfortable, settle down, and have a read through the most significant tech stories that happened since this time last week.

There's been lots happening this week — as there always is — with Samsung's big Galaxy Unpacked showcase the obvious highlight. We saw three new Galaxy S26 handsets, some new wireless earbuds, and lots of AI, and you can read all the details below.

If you're not into Samsung gadgets, we've also got news on a useful Spotify playlist upgrade, a notable OLED TV first, and a tease from Apple about a series of announcements next week — which will no doubt feature in our next ICYMI collection.

7. We saw a promising, world-first OLED TV

A new series of panels from LG should mean that OLED TVs get cheaper overall – from every manufacturer – and we've been casting our eyes over the new Panasonic Z86C. At the time of writing, it's the only TV with one of LG's new panels fitted to it, and while we don't yet have pricing, we are able to share our first impressions with you.

Through demos that included space stations, galaxies, and nebulae (spot the theme), the Panasonic Z86C was definitely able to hold its own in terms of inky blacks and vivid colors. However, we also noticed some minor issues with this world-first television, which we're hoping Panasonic might be able to sort out before it actually goes on sale.

• Read the full story: I saw the first OLED TV with LG's new-gen cheaper panel, and it looks like a nice upgrade — but here's the fine print

6. Spotify got a neat new playlists trick

Spotify doesn't seem to be slowing down when it comes to adding new features inside its apps, and there's now a Smart Reorder tool for you to make use of — as long as you're a Premium subscriber. It takes an existing playlist, then rearranges it based on the beats-per-minute (BPM) of each track, for a more consistent flow from start to finish.

What you should be left with is a playlist structured in a way where every song blends neatly into the next, whether you're in the role of DJ for other people or just listening privately. We've got all the details on how Smart Reorder works, how you can find it in the app, and how it fits alongside the other playlist editing features offered by Spotify.

• Read the full story: Spotify's new Smart Reorder tool gives one of its best features a handy upgrade — and it's already saving me hours of tweaking

5. We crowned 'the best TV show of 2026 so far'

The TechRadar team is more than ready for the second season of Paradise, now streaming on Hulu or Disney+ (depending on where in the world you live). The apocalypse has happened, the survivors are surviving, and the new episodes that have now dropped take the show along new and unexpected turns that you're unlikely to see coming.

In our season two review (which doesn't contain any major spoilers for what's ahead), we praise the narrative energy, the performances of the cast, and the set pieces that pile up — and award the season 4.5 stars out of 5. This could be the best TV show of the year up to this point, so if you haven't yet dived into the Paradise universe, add it to your queue.

• Read the full story: 'Make way for the best TV show of 2026 so far' — Paradise season 2 on Hulu continues to knock an apocalyptic nightmare out of the park

4. Garmin watches got a big software boost

We know that Garmin makes some of the best smartwatches in the business, and it also does a fine job of keeping them updated with new features. The latest to arrive is the Garmin Fitness Coach, now appearing inside the Garmin Connect app and on select smartwatches too, ready to help you in improving your strength and general fitness.

The Fitness Coach has been much anticipated in recent months, and expands the structured plans you can access beyond running and cycling – and as with the previous plans, each of the new options can be adapted to suit your own requirements. There are also some more minor but still welcome upgrades to gear tracking rolling out.

• Read the full story: Huge Garmin update alert! Garmin Fitness Coach arrives in-app and on-watch — and one of my favorite features just got a big boost too

3. We tried the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro

Before we get to the flagship smartphones that Samsung unveiled earlier this week, we need to talk about the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro wireless earbuds that were also unveiled. We've already spent some hands-on time with both pairs of earbuds, and while they mostly make a great first impression, there are some niggling issues as well.

These earbuds go on sale at the start of next month, so if you're thinking about spending your hard-earned cash on them, read through our hands-on thoughts first. The Galaxy Buds 4 will set you back $197 / £159 / AU$299, while the Pro versions are retailing for $249 / £219 / AU$399 (similar to the AirPods Pro 3), so you can choose according to your budget.

• Read the full story: Hands on: 'I'm loving the audio and design upgrades, but one huge problem remains' — after using Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro for one week, there's still an issue

2. Apple teased a 'big week ahead' for launches

If you're an Apple fan, you're in for a treat next week: we're expecting multiple product launches across multiple days, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has upped the anticipation levels on social media, promising a "big week ahead" for the company. We're most likely looking at a selection of new MacBooks and new iPads, and the debut of the iPhone 17e.

What we do know for sure is that Apple has an event of some description in the calendar for Wednesday, March 4, where some of this new hardware should be getting shown off. We will of course be covering all of the announcements as and when they happen, so keep checking TechRadar for the full details of whatever Apple is treating us to next.

• Read the full story: Tim Cook teases 'a big week ahead' and it might just be the arrival of the low-cost MacBook

1.The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra landed with a killer feature

As far as tech headlines of the week go, none was bigger than the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26, led by the premium Ultra model. We've already spent some time checking out the Galaxy S26 Ultra in person, and it comes with a genuinely innovative Privacy Display option that stops other people around you from seeing what you're doing on the screen.

It's a feature that may well be adopted by other phone models going forward. We shouldn't forget the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus, which also had upgrades worthy of talking about (mostly AI-related, surprising no one). It's the first major smartphone launch of 2026, and now it's over to Apple and Google to see what they've got in return.

• Read the full story: I went hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — and it has one killer feature even Apple may want to steal

• Amazon's first major Fire TV software rework in five years
• Initially for Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023), Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED
• Rollout is currently US-only; will be expanded in the Spring

Amazon is now rolling out its most exciting Fire TV device upgrade to date, featuring the first major redesign of this software in five years, and some important under-the-hood change that promise to majorly speed up your devices.

The rollout has started in the US, and it looks like Amazon is taking it slow: it's coming to just three devices to begin with. Those devices are the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023, 2nd Gen), the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, and the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV.

The update will roll out to more countries and more devices in the Spring of 2026, with third-party Fire TV devices (such as TVs from TCL, Panasonic, Hisense, Insignia and more) getting upgraded too.

What's new in the Amazon Fire TV upgrade?

This isn't just a minor refresh, although everything has been tweaked to make it look better. There's much more room for pinned apps and subscriptions, giving you 20 slots instead of the current six. There's a new streamlined navigation bar too.

One of the key goals of the update is to reduce the amount of time you spend searching for something to watch, with improved recommendations and easier access to live content too.

The focus on watching means that less commonly used features such as games, photos, music videos and the Appstore are tucked away in a three-line hamburger menu.

Alexa+ will enable you to ask questions using natural language, ask follow-up questions and generally chat with Amazon's digital assistant. If it's as good as Amazon says you'll be able to do interesting things such as ask Alexa to recommend movies that have a similar visual style. Alexa+ is included in your Prime subscription; non-subscribers can pay separately to enable the feature.

Perhaps most excitingly, Amazon says that its reworking of the underlying code makes the update "20–30%" faster – and responsiveness has always been an area where Fire TV could use a little nudge.

This also comes hot on the heels of Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming coming to Fire TV devices, albeit not quite in the full quality that we'd hoped for – but it's still a great combo.

According to TechCrunch, the spring rollout will cover more countries and more Fire TV models including the latest Fire TV 4K streaming players, the Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series, and the Omni QLED Series. You'll also have it on the new Amazon Ember Artline TVs.

• LG Display has shown off 'OLED SE' screens – cheaper but brighter for budget TVs
• 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness
• Coming in 2026 from "major customers"

When it comes to the best TVs, you know the drill: OLEDs are revered for premium image quality, while mini-LEDs are brighter and cheaper. But LG Display may disrupt that with a new kind of OLED panel it calls 'OLED SE'.

OLED SE is designed for entry-level TVs, and while its specifications aren't even in the same zip code as the Primary Tandem OLEDs of the LG G5, it could be a game-changer for affordable OLEDs such as the LG B5.

Like the panel in the B5, OLED SE has a refresh rate of 120Hz. But it delivers a claimed 1,000 nits of brightness, which is significantly more than the 668 nits we measured on the B5.

However, I should mention here that LG Display claimed that the Primary RGB Tandem panel used in the LG G5 can hit 4,000 nits, but we measured the LG G5 at a maximum of 2,268 nits, so we'll have to see if 1,000 nits is real-world or not.

Still, this could make OLED more competitive for budget-conscious TV buyers who might otherwise go for mini-LED due to its sheer bang-for-buck.

How does OLED SE cut the cost of an OLED TV?

As LG Display explained in a Q&A at CES 2026: "SE retains OLED's pixel-level dimming and core advantages, including superior HDR picture quality, perfect black levels, and outstanding response times, enabling clearly superior image quality compared to LCD TVs in a similar price range."

So why is it cheaper? According to our colleagues at What Hi-Fi?, one of the ways in which LG Display has managed to reduce the price of the OLED SE panels is by going without the polarizer.

Polarizers reduce reflection and glare, but also reduces the amount of light that a panel emits, so by binning it you get more brightness and less cost. The downside, of course, is that you also end up with a more reflective TV.

TV manufacturers could deal with that by adding their own anti-glare layer, and that could be in the form of their own polarizer, or a matte layer like the one used in the Samsung S95F (which we've been told can be inexpensive to apply). These may affe

LG Display doesn't just supply LG: it makes panels for all kinds of manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and Philips. It said it will be supplying OLED SE to "major customers" in 2026.

LG Display told FlatPanelsHD that it will be making the OLED SE panels in five sizes to begin with: 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 77 inches and 83 inches.

Those sizes just happen to correlate with the five sizes of the LG B5, and of course they're generally the most popular sizes of mid-range or high-end TVs. So it feels like a safe bet that we'll see OLED SE in the LG B6 – but LG has told us that we won't really hear more about that TV until the spring.

It’s been an excellent year for TVs in 2025, with groundbreaking new OLED and mini-LED sets delivering better-than-ever brightness. It’s been an especially competitive year for flagship OLED TVs, with some close-fought battles between the main contenders from Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic.

I’ve been fortunate enough to test some of the best TVs of 2025, and I’m already looking ahead to 2026. With CES 2026 kicking off the first week of January, we can expect to see big news in the TV world, and I’ll be keeping a keen eye out for announcements from each brand.

In anticipation of CES, I’ve compiled a list of what I’m hoping to see from each TV brand in 2026. Some of this will be answered as early as January, but other details won’t arrive until later in the year.

(A quick note: I’ve not commented on Philips TVs as I’ve not yet had any hands-on time with its 2025 models.)

LG: brighter OLEDs

All three 2025 LG OLED TVs, the G5, C5 and B5, scored highly in our reviews, with the G5 and C5 earning 5 stars overall and the B5 4.5 stars. While I don’t have many complaints about these TVs, there's one change I’d like to see in the successors to the B5 and C5 in 2026: higher brightness.

In our testing, the LG B5 had a measured peak HDR brightness of 688 nits (Filmmaker Mode) and fullscreen HDR brightness of 172 nits (Standard mode). Both of those are average brightness results for an entry-level OLED. I’d love to see more brightness from the new B-series model, to give HDR highlights more punch, and to make it easier to view in brighter rooms.

While the C5’s peak brightness is solid, reaching 1,180 nits in our tests, its fullscreen HDR brightness is under 200 nits. As flagship OLEDs are now going past 350 nits, it would be great to see higher fullscreen brightness from LG’s C-series in 2026. Whether this will come from a new panel design – as we thought we’d be getting in the LG C5 – we’ll have to wait and see.

Samsung: lower Neo QLED pricing

Samsung OLED TVs had a fantastic year, with the flagship Samsung S95F being named TechRadar’s TV of the Year 2025. Its flagship Samsung QN90F Neo QLED (mini-LED) earned five stars overall in our review and proved itself to be a phenomenal TV.

One area where Samsung needs to improve in 2026 is the pricing of its entry-level and mid-range mini-LED TVs. The Samsung QN80F, which I awarded four stars overall in my review, cost $1,299 / £1,399 (roughly AU$1990) for the 55-inch model on release. The TCL QM7K/C7K, in contrast, cost $999 / £799 / AU$1,699 mere weeks after its release, and it was the better-performing TV of the two.

While Samsung’s TVs do carry more smart and gaming features, these often aren’t enough to justify the large price gaps between Samsung and TCL and Hisense’s sets.

TCL: gaming support

TCL’s TVs have seen consistent improvement over the past couple of years. TCL TVs were among the best I tested in 2025, particularly the mid-range C7K (QM7K in the US), but there is one area where they could improve further: gaming features.

Don’t get me wrong: TCL’s mini-LED TVs have fantastic gaming features already, with all sets supporting at least 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro and Dolby Vision gaming. However, input lag seems stuck around 13.5ms, and while Hisense TVs used to have similar performance, 2025 models like the Hisense U8QG had sub-10ms results in our testing. TCL TVs are also limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, so it would be good if that number were bumped up to four.

TCL’s TVs do still compete with the best gaming TVs and have great features for their price, but with a few improvements, they could become the ultimate budget-friendly gaming sets.

Hisense again delivered excellent TVs in 2025, with the Hisense U8QG and Hisense U75QG in particular impressing us with their staggering brightness and refined local dimming. But, there’s one area where Hisense could take notes from TCL and Samsung: viewing angles.

We measured the Hisense U75QG’s peak brightness at 3,372 nits (in Standard mode) and its fullscreen brightness at 887 nits. Such high brightness makes it a great TV for daytime viewing, including sports. However, in our testing we noted that when viewed off-axis, the U75QG’s picture quality decreases, and that’s the case for the whole Hisense range. It’s a shame that a TV with this much to offer stumbles when it comes to viewing angles.

Viewing angles used to be a problem with most mini-LED TVs, but over the years, brands, including Hisense’s major affordable rival TCL, have found a way to address it. This is one area where I’d love to see Hisense improve in 2026. I tested the 116-inch RGB mini-LED, and its viewing angles seemed better, so hopefully this can be carried over to the standard mini-LED lineup.

Sony: a cheaper QD-OLED

The Sony Bravia 8 II, which uses a QD-OLED display panel, received numerous accolades in 2025. It earned a four-and-a-half-star overall score from TechRadar’s Al Griffin in his review, and it fared well in my four-way OLED TV comparison. Sony has adopted a bi-annual cycle with its TVs, and I think it’s about time for a cheaper QD-OLED.

Sony’s previous mid-range OLED was the Sony Bravia 8. It’s a great TV, but it was released in 2024 and realistically struggles to compete with LG’s C-series. Samsung had success in 2025 by incorporating QD-OLED in its step-down Samsung S90F 65-inch model, which has brighter pictures than the rival LG C5, but for a similar price.

A mid-range QD-OLED with Sony’s built-in audio pedigree? Now that would be amazing.

Panasonic: higher brightness

I chose the Panasonic Z95B as my favorite flagship OLED of 2025 after comparing it to other models in a four-way OLED showdown. I loved its contrast-rich picture, powerful built-in sound and sleek design. But one area where I felt there was a missed opportunity was brightness.

I’m talking specifically about the Z95B’s brightness in the default Movie and Filmmaker Mode settings. While the brightness can be bumped up, I found during testing that this affected the Z95B’s picture accuracy. It turns out this was intentional by Panasonic, which decided to prioritize accuracy over brightness in the Z95B.

The Z95B uses the same Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel as the LG G5, which hit a peak brightness of 2,268 nits in Filmmaker Mode in its default settings when we tested it. The Z95B’s peak brightness in the same mode: 992 nits. At that level, the Z95B’s contrast wasn’t quite as striking as I’d have liked. A brightness boost, even a slight one, would make Panasonic’s next flagship even better.

Although ultra-light laptops exist everywhere, and while most manufacturers see around 1.2kg as light enough, Japanese PC makers have spent years shaving off every possible gram even going so far as to redesign the chassis, battery, and internal layout from scratch.

For this feature, I’ve rounded up ten Japanese laptops that all weigh under 1kg. These aren’t proof of concept devices or engineering demos either - they are real Windows laptops with proper keyboards, modern processors, and a wide range of ports that you could buy today.

Yes, some tradeoffs have been made along the way to get to the featherweight svelteness on display, but Japan has mastered the art of balancing form and function.

Some of these machines are the latest models, others are updated versions of recent lines, but all of them show how far Japanese makers are willing to go when weight is treated as one the primary aims rather than a secondary goal.

1. Fujitsu’s FMV UX-K3

The FMV UX-K3 is one of the lightest 14-inch Windows 11 Home laptops available, weighing about 634g in its very lightest configuration. It uses carbon fiber and magnesium-lithium alloy to keep weight down while still feeling solid.

The 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display has anti-glare treatment. Inside is an Intel Core Ultra 7 255U processor with 12 cores, 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. Graphics are inevitably integrated.

Ports include two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI, a microSD reader and a LAN port. It also has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

The battery can manage around seven hours of video playback, helped by a small 31Wh pack.

It is listed at around ¥280,280, which works out to roughly $1,804 on Fujitsu’s Japanese store.

2. FMV Zero Lifebook WU5/J3

The FMV Zero Lifebook WU5/J3 also weighs about 634g and employs a rugged carbon body.

It offers choices of Intel Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 processors, up to 64GB of memory and up to 2TB of SSD storage. The 14-inch 1920 x 1200 display is paired with a full-size HDMI port, two USB-C, two USB-A, Ethernet and a microSD reader.

It has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. This model trades battery capacity for weight, but still delivers a full-Windows experience.

Pricing varies with configuration at Fujitsu’s Japan-only web shop, starting around ¥154,800, the equivalent of $997, for base configurations.

3. Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N

The Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N sits just under 1kg, appealing to users who want a business-class laptop that's exceptionally light. It sports a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 display, Intel Core Ultra-family processors, up to 32GB of LPDDR5X memory and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Graphics are integrated.

It also includes Thunderbolt 4-capable USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet and a microSD reader. Wireless connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

In our review, we praised its user-swappable battery, great ports, built-in AI features, and a high durability rating, which we said made this a "serious contender in the world of portable laptops, especially for those on the go all day long."

4. Dynabook RA73/VY

This 13.3-inch Dynabook laptop weighs about 849g in its lightest configuration and uses a magnesium alloy chassis.

It offers AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processors, up to 32GB of memory and up to 1TB of PCIe SSD storage. The 1920 x 1200 display keeps things compact without feeling cramped.

Ports include two Thunderbolt 4-capable USB-C connectors, two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a microSD reader and a headphone jack. There is support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Optional security and connectivity extras like fingerprint recognition and cellular modems are available in some trims. Prices in Japan vary by configuration but are generally in the mid to high range for ultraportables.

5. iiyama PC STYLE-14FH124-C5-UCEX

This sub-1kg 14-inch laptop uses an Intel Core 5 120U processor with 10 cores and 12 threads, paired with 8GB of memory and a 500GB NVMe SSD in its base configuration.

The 1920 x 1080 display is non-glare, and graphics are handled by the integrated Intel solution.

It includes Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen2 and Gen1 ports, HDMI, a microSD slot, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth.

Prices for the base version in Japan are from the equivalent of $707 upwards.

6. iiyama PC STYLE-14FH124-C5-UCFX

This is a lightly updated variant of the previous laptop, keeping the same sub-1kg frame but with 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD.

It uses the same Intel Core 5 120U CPU and 14-inch FHD display as the base model. The port layout is identical with Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen2, USB 3.2 Gen1, HDMI and microSD.

It also has the same wireless support. Pricing for this configuration in Japan typically sits above the base model, often around $835.

7. Dynabook G8, G6, and GS

Dynabook’s G-series covers three closely related 13.3-inch laptops that all target the same goal, keeping weight around 849g without stripping out everyday features.

The G8, G6 and GS models share the same basic chassis and layout, with differences largely coming down to processor tier and configuration.

Most versions use Intel Core Ultra processors, with the G8 typically paired with Core Ultra 7 and the G6 and GS using Core Ultra 5 options. Memory is 16GB LPDDR5X, with SSD storage at 512GB. Graphics are integrated, which keeps thermals and power draw under control.

The display across the range is a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1200 non-glare panel. Despite the low weight, port selection is good. It includes two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, two USB-A ports, HDMI, Ethernet, a microSD slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Pricing varies by model and configuration.

8. Dynabook RZ/MX

The Dynabook RZ/MX differs from the lighter G-series (above) because it offers a 14-inch display. Weight is listed at around 899g, which makes it one of the lightest laptops in its size class.

The chassis uses lightweight alloys while keeping a more traditional business laptop shape.

It comes with Intel Core Ultra 7 processors paired with Intel Arc graphics, which helps it handle heavier visual workloads than most ultra-light machines.

Typical configurations include 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. The 14-inch display is 1920 x 1200 with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a non-glare finish.

Ports include two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, a microSD reader and a headphone jack. Wireless support covers Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

9. Panasonic Let’s Note SC

Panasonic’s Let’s Note SC uses a smaller 12.4-inch display but focuses on durability, battery flexibility and connectivity rather than chasing the lowest possible weight. Even so, it still comes in at roughly 900g.

The display runs at 1920 x 1280 with a 3:2 aspect ratio, which suits document work and browsing. Current configurations use Intel Core Ultra processors, including Core Ultra 5 and Core Ultra 7 options, paired with 16GB of memory and SSD storage starting at 512GB. Graphics are integrated.

One defining feature is its removable 56Wh battery, which is rare in modern ultra-light laptops. Port selection includes USB-A, two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, HDMI and full-size Ethernet.

10. iiyama PC STYLE-14FH124-i5-UXPX-CP

Another sub-1 kg configuration from the iiyama PC line. This model comes with an Intel Core i5-1335U processor with 16GB of memory and a 500GB SSD. The 14-inch Full HD display and lightweight chassis keep this model portable without trimming out everyday essentials.

Its port selection includes Thunderbolt 4, USB ports, HDMI, microSD and audio along with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth.

Prices for this specific configuration in Japan usually land in a similar ballpark to other mid-range iiyama models, at around $1,000.

I'll admit it: when I used to think of premium televisions, I'd default to big brands like LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic. It's not that I wasn't aware of the many alternative brands out there but, in my mind, if you wanted premium pictures, those mainstream brands were the ones to go for. That's no longer the case.

Increasingly, brands like TCL and Hisense have been taking the fight to the industry giants, often delivering sets that can rival them for color, clarity and brightness for less money. That piqued my curiosity, so when I saw my colleague and TV Hardware Staff Writer James Davidson had given TCL's 65-inch mini-LED screen 4.5 stars in his TCL C8K review, I decided I had to check it out.

My last TV purchase was firmly from a mainstream brand. I bought the Panasonic HX800 back in 2020 – despite a list price of £899 (around $1,200 / AU$1,810) for the 50-inch version, it was reduced down to around £650 (around $870 / AU$1,310), making it a real steal. Conversely, when I recently picked up the 65-inch TCL C8K (or TCL QM8K as its known in the US), it had a list price of $2,499.99 / £1,599 / AU$2,495, making it much pricier in terms of outlay. However, I’d argue it’s crammed with upgrades that make it worth the extra spend, especially as similar quality would cost me significantly more.

So how does it feel swapping from a mainstream TV set to a challenger brand? Pretty great, as it turns out. However, there are still one or two things I've noticed the

TCL C8K vs Panasonic HX800: bright spark

Naturally, as this was my first time owning a mini-LED TV, the first thing I noticed was that screen. Calling the TCL C8K ‘bright’ hardly does it justice – it’s incandescent. Out of the box, it can hit an HDR peak brightness of 4,500 nits. While that’s with its Boost peak brightness mode enabled, that is impressively bright for a mid-market TV, even beating the 2,086 nits of Samsung’s flagship mini-LED TV for 2025, the QN90F.

Another factor I’d say gives it the edge over my older Panasonic HX800 is its contrast. Thanks to that mini-LED tech, it offers discrete dimming zones totaling 1,680, compared to the HX800’s edge-lit design, while also rocking both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. As a result, the range between dark and light honestly blew me away – while watching Blue Planet 2, the bold contrast between a cuttlefish’s scintillating zebra stripes took my breath away. Yes, I might get an even bolder contrast from an OLED but possibly not this level of brightness, making the C8K a worthy investment.

Color is also an area in which the C8K shines – quite literally – thanks in no small part to its impressive Quantum Dot colour system. During our testing, the TCL’s color gamut was able to hit 96.8% of the DCI-P3 and 78.8% of the BT.202 color spaces, which is excellent coverage for a TV at this price point.

From my perspective, it feels like a huge upgrade over my five-year-old HX800. While the Panasonic always impressed me with its faithful color that aimed to reproduce filmmakers’ original intent, the C8K is lush and vibrant. When I watched The Green Planet, the shock of hot pink in the underwater forests of Macarenia in Colombia’s Caño Cristales really imprinted itself on my retinas – the TCL offers a lot of moments of eye candy like this.

TCL C8K vs Panasonic HX800: it’s play time

Sound still can often feel like an afterthought for many TV brands, with them offering thin, insubstantial built-in sound for their sets. Fortunately, I’ve been pretty lucky on this front – Panasonic is one of the few manufacturers that ensured its cheaper TVs produced at least decent sound.

And with the C8K, TCL has gone further: developed by premium audio brand Bang & Olufsen, its soundsystem has serious presence and impact. In fact, during late night gaming sessions, it might have a little too much oomph for its own good: it took me quite a long time to find the right combo of settings to lessen the massive thuds and smashes of spells and counters hitting during Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, for example.

Probably the only area where the C8K’s sound lets it down is in when it comes to the width and height of its soundstage. Despite the inclusion of its separate ‘sky channel’ for pumping sound vertically off the ceiling, I honestly could not hear much arriving from outside of the area of the screen. That’s not a huge failing in my book, as getting TVs to recreate convincing spatial audio effects is pretty tricky – while there are options that can smash out convincing Dolby Atmos, like the Panasonic Z95B or Sony Bravia 9, I still wouldn’t say immersive sound is a given on most sets, whether it’s from a challenger or a mainstream brand.

The C8K’s gaming features have also been a significant upgrade for me, as it’s absolutely crammed with them. Given I plug my gaming PC straight into my living room TV, features like 4K@120Hz and VRR make my games run silky smooth, while ALLM reduces how long it takes for any inputs to register on screen. While you’ll get these features from most mainstream brands, the TCL offers them across all four HDMI 2.1 ports, which is not always a guarantee with cheaper TVs. That’s fantastic, as it means if I ever want to pick up a current-gen console, I’ll be able to plug both that and my PC in at the same time without having to constantly swap cables.

TCL C8K vs Panasonic HX800: the smart set

Even compared to the Panasonic HX800, the TCL C8K is crammed full of smarts. However, some of these features aren’t quite as razor sharp as those offered by big-name brands. Unfortunately, I do feel this is one area where economies of scale can favor the mainstream brands like LG and Samsung.

First off, I’d describe the C8K’s upscaling as decent, rather than exceptional. Don’t get me wrong: HD content often looks very palatable, even if it doesn’t quite have the same gorgeous richness as 4K content. But while the HX800 made a surprisingly sophisticated stab at polishing up SD content, the C8K seems to struggle to thread the needle between poorly defined details and over-sharpening edges into cut glass.

Part of the reason for this in my opinion is that mainstream big brands have some serious AI punch to put behind upscaling. Both Panasonic and LG have spent years now honing their upscaling algorithms and it shows – there seems to be far more AI-driven interpolation going on to smooth over gaps in missing data from low-resolution sources. While TCL has done some impressive work elsewhere on boosting color and brightness, to me it seems a little bit behind on the AI arms race.

I’d also say that its operating system can be a bit of a mixed bag. It’s miles ahead of the one I’ve been used to using on the Panasonic HX800 – although that’s partly because comparing TV interfaces from 2020 and 2025 is very much comparing apples and user-unfriendly oranges. Built on the Google TV OS, it allows me to access TV shows from a range of apps on my home screen, resume previous watches and see suggestions, all things that were bafflingly lacking in the older Panasonic OS.

Unfortunately, the version of Google TV packaged up with the C8K still has odd oversights that I find surprising these days. For example, it doesn’t offer full access to the Google Play Store, meaning there were some UK streaming apps I simply couldn’t access, despite the fact their own sites listed them as available on Google TV. Yes, I could sideload these or load them onto a streaming stick but the point of a smart TV interface is to avoid this kind of hassle.

I might have found this less of an inconvenience if it wasn’t for one other issue. During setup, Google TV doesn’t shy away from talking about how seamless its AirPlay connectivity is. So I thought this would give me a handy workaround, allowing me to stream any missing apps directly from my phone. Unfortunately, try as I might I could not get AirPlay to detect the TV as a source – even once it was setup via HomeKit, all the settings were enabled and everything was on the Wi-Fi, I still could not get it to appear in the list of sources, something I’ve never experienced with AirPlay before.

This might be the biggest issue with adopting a challenger brand in my mind. TCL has made truly impressive headway in beefing up things like brightness, bold colors and bassy sound because investing in these areas are the most immediately appreciable ways it can compete with the industry giants. Most of us see a gorgeously bright and vibrant screen in a showroom and we’re blown away by the performance a challenger can eke out for a relatively modest price. By contrast, unimpeachable software and incremental AI improvements represent more marginal gains that may not be the first choice for investment when trying to create premium performance for a competitive price.

Don’t get me wrong: none of this means I don’t love my new TCL C8K. It’s truly stunning, well designed and offers many of the features I’d expect from the biggest brands at a price that’s just that little bit affordable. But the big brands still absolutely have a place in the market.

• Panasonic's longest-reaching telephoto zoom, up to 500mm
• Works with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, extending reach up to 1000mm
• Industry-leading 7EV optical image stabilization performance

Panasonic finally has a super telephoto lens in its L-mount lineup following the introduction of the Lumix S 100-500mm F5-7.1 O.I.S.

Designed to work with full-frame cameras such as the Lumix S1 II, the 100-500mm is the first lens by Panasonic that zooms up to 500mm, plus it works with Panasonic's 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, increasing that zoom range up to 1000mm.

I've used numerous telephoto zooms with this sort of focal length range before – including the Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S – and they are a versatile choice for enthusiast wildlife photography and grassroots sports.

The 100-500mm has multiple features that grabbed my attention when Panasonic presented the lens to me. For one, it is particularly compact and lightweight for this type of lens, measuring just 7.72inches / 196.1mm in length and tipping the scales at 2.83lb / 1,285g.

It also looks like it will handle really well, with a rugged weather-resistant design, an array of useful external controls for zoom and focusing, plus what Panasonic says is industry-leading optical stabilization (OIS) performance.

Thanks to a new dual-ball support, OIS is rated up to 7EV. Paired with a Lumix camera and sensor-based stabilization, I would expect unmatched image stabilization performance (in the full-frame sensor format), ideal for handheld use.

An all-new Tight-Smooth ring adjusts the zoom tension, providing the response you need based on the scenario, from delicate smooth zooms for filming to fast changes. The lens can also switch between a linear and non-linear response, meaning it's possible to manually focus while zooming.

Minimum focus is 2.62ft / 0.8m at the wide end or 4.92ft / 1.5m when zoomed in, delivering a 0.36x maximum magnification – that's some decent close focusing skills. Autofocus is supposedly quick, accurate, and silent, while focus breathing is suppressed, too.

Overall, the lens looks like it will handle beautifully for stills and video and for a range of scenarios. However, there's one major drawback for me – the maximum aperture.

At 100mm, the maximum aperture is f/5, while at 500mm it's reduced to f/7.1. I have no problem with the aperture regarding depth of field – it'll be shallow enough to isolate subjects and make for lovely background blur at those focal lengths.

The problem I have is the shutter speeds available at those focal lengths. If I'm photographing wildlife, I want the biggest possible aperture for the fastest possible shutter speeds to freeze the action, and the 100-500mm is limited in this regard.

That maximum aperture also limits the usefulness of the teleconverters, which only further reduce the maximum aperture available by 1 and 2 stops, respectively.

I've not had my hands on the lens yet, so I cannot comment on the optical quality either, but let's review its price and where it sits among the other telephoto lens options now available for L-mount cameras.

A compelling telephoto?

The Panasonic Lumix S 100-500mm F5-7.1 O.I.S lens costs $2,099 / £1,799 / AU$3,699 and sales start in October (November in Australia). That pricing, when considering the limited maximum aperture, indicates the kind of super-sharp optical quality I'd expect.

It fills a big gap in Panasonic's full-frame lens range, becoming the top super telephoto L-mount Panasonic lens, with the longest reach. However, the L-mount alliance comprises 10 members, most of which make lenses that are directly compatible with Panasonic cameras. These included Sigma, Leica, and, most recently, Viltrox.

Sigma alone offers a number of alternatives: the 500mm F5.6 prime, which is just a little heavier and longer than Panasonic's, but way pricier by 50%.

Then there's the versatile 150-600mm F5-6.3, which is much heavier and much larger, but around 50% cheaper – don't expect optical quality to match Panasonic's either.

Probably the most obvious alternative is the Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3, which costs just 10% more and has a wider zoom range. However, it is 100% heavier and 50% longer.

When you consider those alternatives, it's clear that Panasonic has prioritized a compact and rugged design and excellent handling, at the cost of a bright aperture. If that major drawback doesn't put you off, then Panasonic's 100-500mm could well be worth looking into.

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2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year for TVs, particularly for flagship OLED models. LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic have all released superb OLEDs that scored at least 4.5 out of 5 stars in our reviews, mainly for their stunning picture quality.

We were fortunate enough to have the LG G5, Samsung S95F, Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II, all under one roof in the TechRadar testing room, so we naturally had to compare them, pitting some of the best TVs of 2025 against one another.

We first held a blind OLED TV showdown with a group of casual viewers, and in that test, the Samsung S95F and LG G5 emerged as the top performers. In that showdown, we judged the TVs based on the following categories: dark scenes, color, action, upscaling and sports.

Around the same time, Value Electronics, a major US retailer, held its own blind OLED showdown using the same four TVs, but in that test, they were judged on SDR and HDR accuracy using a blend of test patterns and real-world content. The results between the two showdowns were very different (though there were similarities), with the Sony Bravia 8 II being crowned the winner in the Value Electronics test.

With the four TVs still remaining from TechRadar’s test, I decided to do my own showdown, but this time focusing mainly on movies and dark room, home theater-type viewing.

The setup

For my showdown, I put all four models in Filmmaker Mode (Professional on the Sony Bravia 8 II), but still used the out-of-the-box settings as we did in the Techradar blind showdown. As in that test, brightness optimization for each TV was turned off.

I judged the TVs on the following categories: color, brightness, shadow detail/contrast, bright room viewing and upscaling. I also used 4K discs and movie scenes that I regularly use when reviewing TVs.

In all photos, the order of the TVs from left to right is as follows: Panasonic Z95B, Sony Bravia 8 II, Samsung S95F and LG G5.

Color

To test color on the TV, I used the Wicked 4K Blu-ray, particularly the Wizard & I musical scene, as it showcases bold, vibrant colors, particularly when Elphaba stands underneath a pink tree.

This was the closest-fought category in my whole showdown. All four TVs delivered excellent colors that were not only punchy but true-to-life as well. However, the Samsung S95F had the boldest colors, doing the best job of displaying the pink flowers, Elphaba’s green skin, and blue details on the wall behind her.

Colors appeared more natural on the Sony Bravia 8 II than the other models, and I could see strong highlights in the pink flowers and Elphaba’s green skin. Colors on the Sony appeared a little more flat, with less depth than the other sets, however.

Although the S95F’s colors had the most pop, I also found myself drawn to the Panasonic Z95B and LG G5, two TVs that share the same Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel. On both, colors still had a vivid quality plus gorgeous depth. The Z95B and G5 arguably had the better balance between dark and light colors as well.

This was a tight contest between four of the best OLED TVs I’ve seen, but for my money, the Z95B delivered the best color, balancing depth and detail with a more natural profile.

Shadow detail/contrast

To test shadow detail and contrast, I used my reference 4K Blu-ray of The Batman, primarily the opening crime scene in Mayor Mitchell’s house. With low mastered brightness (400 nits compared to the industry standard of 1,000 nits), The Batman can be a real torture test for some TVs. Even on OLEDs, blacks can look washed out, and black crush (a loss of detail in dark areas) can rear its ugly head.

Viewed in dimmed lighting conditions, all four TVs demonstrated very good contrast, with a good balance between lamps and torches and the dark areas in the picture. The LG G5 and Samsung S95F had powerful contrast in this scene, while contrast on the Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II was more natural looking.

All these TVs demonstrated strong shadow detail, maintaining textures in dark areas of the picture, such as the paintings on the wall and Batman’s eye and logo as he faces away from the light. I did find that the Sony Bravia 8 II and LG G5’s black levels looked raised in places, taking on a more gray tone and the S95F exhibited some minor black crush.

In pitch black viewing conditions, all TVs once again demonstrated excellent black levels. I watched scenes from both The Batman and Alien: Romulus, and the G5’s black levels appeared more raised compared to the other sets. Of the four, the Panasonic Z95B drew my eye the most, maintaining the best contrast and black levels.

Brightness

For brightness, I watched the same Wicked scene I used for color, along with later shots where Elphaba runs through a wheat field under bright sunlight. I also used demo footage from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray.

Despite their brightness differences in HDR Filmmaker Mode (in their default settings the G5 measured 2,268 nits, the S95F 2,132 nits, the Bravia 8 II 1,439 nits and the Z95B 992 nits), all four sets displayed strong highlights. With their higher peak brightness, the S95F and G5 clearly had the advantage in both Wicked and Spears and Munsil, especially in shots with the sun on a horizon, but the Bravia 8 II, which struggled on this test when set to Cinema mode in TechRadar’s blind showdown, did a very good job too.

Shots of a snow-covered field from the Spears and Munsil disc again showed that all four TVs could handle bright whites without losing detail. As Elphaba ran across the field in Wicked, the beige hues were accurate on all four sets, though my eye was more drawn to the S95F and G5 in brighter scenes.

Bright room viewing

For bright room viewing tests, I used a darker movie, Alien: Romulus, to see how these OLEDs handled bright lighting conditions in our testing lab. I picked two scenes: one early on, where the crew takes off into space, and a second in a dark hallway near the Alien nest.

The S95F was the best at eliminating mirror-like reflections thanks to its Glare Free screen, but the Bravia 8 II also did a very good job of eliminating them. The Z95B and G5 both suffered from mirror-like reflections, with objects in our testing lab visible on screen in any darker scenes of space in Alien: Romulus.

Despite this, I found the Z95B and G5 delivered the richest black levels and most accurate contrast in bright lighting, showing a good balance between the orange of the planet and the black of space in Alien: Romulus. Black level accuracy of the S95F and Bravia 8 II, on the other hand, was impacted by the bright room lighting conditions.

Upscaling

For my final test, upscaling, I used the same The Amazing Spider-Man DVD from TechRadar’s blind OLED TV showdown.

All the sets did an excellent job of upscaling, giving the movie a detailed and 3D-like look. But the G5’s picture was significantly brighter and more eye-catching than the other TVs when displaying this DVD. The Z95B and Bravia 8 II’s upscaling did appear to be the most precise, however.

It’s worth noting that the G5 has its SDR brightness set to 80 of 100 by default in Filmmaker Mode, whereas the other TVs have much lower default brightness in that mode. Upping the brightness on the other TVs is possible, but it does affect picture accuracy. Bottom line: I found the LG G5 best for watching lower-resolution content like DVDs.

Final thoughts

It’s interesting to see how much of a picture quality difference changing a TV's picture mode can make. In TechRadar’s blind showdown, with all TVs set to Cinema mode, the Samsung S95F and LG G5 triumphed. But in my own showdown, with the TVs in Filmmaker Mode, I was most drawn to the Panasonic Z95B’s accuracy, rich contrast, and refined detail.

That’s not to say the other TVs are bad. In fact, all of them are superb. If you’re on the hunt for a premium OLED TV in 2025, you really are spoilt for choice.

Each TV in this test has its own strength: brightness and detail with the LG G5; brightness, color, and bright room viewing with the Samsung S95F; picture accuracy and refinement with the Sony Bravia 8 II. But for my personal test, which was mostly conducted in dim, home theater room lighting conditions, the Panasonic Z95B was the winner.

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It’s no secret that LG and Samsung have been battling for the title of best OLED TV ever since Samsung returned to the OLED market with its QD-OLED display panel technology. In the meantime, other OLED TV brands such as Panasonic, Sony, and Philips in the UK lag behind the Korean giants when it comes to market share.

Why is this? LG and Samsung OLED TVs offer breathtaking picture quality, but so do OLED TVs from other brands. However, LG and Samsung also offer a wider range of features compared to their rivals, such as a better smart TV interface, more gaming features, and a sleeker design. LG and Samsung TVs seem to speak more directly to consumers.

This isn’t to say that Panasonic, Sony and Philips TVs are bad – far from it. The first two brands deliver some of the best TVs for sound year-on-year, and Philips has its unique Ambilight feature to set it apart from the crowd.

An area where LG and Samsung OLED TVs have had an advantage in recent years is in their picture brightness. OLED TVs used to be almost unwatchable in bright room lighting conditions. But recent LG and Samsung TVs have been brighter than their rivals, and Samsung’s innovative OLED Glare Free screen, first introduced on the Samsung S95D, one of the best TVs of 2024, also goes far to improve picture quality when viewing in bright rooms.

But it’s not just features and brightness that have set LG and Samsung OLEDs apart. Another major factor is price. LG and Samsung have been able to consistently deliver their OLED TVs at significantly lower prices than their rivals – until now.

Past pricing

LG and Samsung both released their flagship OLEDs, the LG G4 and Samsung S95D, in March 2024. The Panasonic Z95A was released in September 2024.

The 65-inch Z95A launched at $3,100 / £3,899, but the G4 and S95D 65-inch models were both available for roughly $2,600 / £2,600 by that time. While the Z95A had the advantage of a better built-in sound system and (arguably) better picture quality, it also had an inferior smart TV platform and lacked some of the gaming features found on the other two sets. It was a tough ask for people to pay more for the Z95A, especially in the UK, where there would’ve been a huge £1,200 price difference.

Sony’s flagship TV for 2024 was the Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED TV. Launched at $2,999 for the 65-inch model (the 65-inch Bravia 9 didn’t release in the UK until much later), it was a somewhat better value, but for some, opting for mini-LED over OLED wasn’t an option. As a result, LG and Samsung won the bang for your buck battle in 2024.

Present-day prices

Turning our attention to flagship OLED TVs in 2025, the LG G5 launched at $3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299 for its 65-inch model, and the Samsung S95F launched at a very similar price of $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,295 for its 65-inch model. Prices for both TVs then quickly dropped in anticipation of sales events such as Prime Day in July.

What we didn’t foresee happening was how aggressive Sony and Panasonic would go with their pricing. The Sony Bravia 8 II, a QD-OLED TV, launched at $3,499 / £2,999 / AU$4,999 for its 65-inch model, while the Panasonic Z95B launched at $3,399 / £2,999 for its 65-inch model. Those prices are nearly identical to the Samsung and LG competition.

At the time of writing, in mid-August 2025, pricing for these TVs is as follows:

• LG G5 65-inch: $2,999 / £2,699 / AU$5,295
• Samsung S95F 65-inch: $3,299 / £2,799
• Panasonic Z95B 65-inch: $2,999 / £2,799
• Sony Bravia 8 II 65-inch: $2,999 / £2,499 / AU$5,295

As you can see, in many cases, both the Panasonic Z95B and the Sony Bravia 8 II are the same price, if not cheaper than the LG G5 and Samsung S95F. This represents a significant shift from previous years, but it still raises the question: Are LG and Samsung TVs still the better value?

What you get

To say that opinion is divided on these TVs is an understatement. Two blind tests involving these four TVs were held in recent weeks: TechRadar’s showdown with a non-expert viewing panel and Value Electronics’ TV expert showdown. The results were very different, with TechRadar’s panel favoring the Samsung S95F and LG G5 due to their brightness and punchy color, and the TV experts favoring the Sony Bravia 8 II and Panasonic Z95B (although the S95F also did exceptionally well) for their SDR and HDR picture accuracy.

While the Z95B and Bravia 8 II may be missing some of the gaming features you’d find on the G5 and S95F – specifically 4K 165Hz support, four HDMI 2.1 ports and under-10ms input lag – you’re getting much better built-in speaker systems on the Z95B and Bravia 8 II.

I compared the Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II’s built-in sound side-by-side, and while the Z95B was the winner, both still trounced the built-in sound of the LG and Samsung models. With Panasonic and Sony, you may not need to invest in one of the best soundbars, saving you money, whereas a soundbar is recommended for LG and Samsung.

Yes, the LG and Samsung still have the edge when it comes to picture brightness out of the box. But elsewhere, I’ve found during my time with these four TVs that it’s a tightly knit contest when it comes to every other aspect of picture quality.

As we get further into 2025, I think there will be furious competition between these OLED TVs. LG and Samsung will need to watch their back, and as for the OLED TV of the year, that’s going to be a very difficult choice.

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It’s no secret that most TVs don’t have very good built-in sound, even pricey models with an exceptional picture. Quite often, a TV’s speakers will sound tinny and flat, with weak bass, making a soundbar a necessary add-on.

Not every TV has bad built-in sound, however. Panasonic and Sony produce some of the best TVs for picture quality, as well as some of the best TVs for sound.

As both companies have audio running through their veins, they know good sound, and over the past few years, have released several TVs where adding one of the best soundbars becomes an option rather than a necessity. But, how do built-in speaker systems on Panasonic and Sony TVs compare?

The Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II, the 2025 flagship OLED TVs for both brands, were participants in TechRadar’s recent OLED four-way showdown test with a casual viewing panel. And since those TVs were in the same room, I had the opportunity to also put the built-in speakers of both TVs to the test.

To make this a fair test, I used the Standard sound preset at the default settings on both TVs throughout. And, before conducting tests, I used a pink noise video on YouTube and a SPL meter app to level-match them both to 70dB volume. This meant the louder of the two couldn’t influence the results. I then chose three movie scenes I frequently use in my testing, focusing on one element for each: speech, bass and surround sound.

Speech

The first aspect I analyzed is arguably the most important one: speech. Dialogue is often the main victim of bad TV speakers, and I used a scene from Oppenheimer, where Strauss and Oppenheimer first meet at the university, to test dialogue clarity and naturalness on both TVs.

The Z95B benefited greatly from its ‘soundbar’ that sits under the screen, as it provided clear, strong speech throughout the scene. It even handled whispered conversations between Strauss and Oppenheimer well, delivering a clear projection of dialogue.

The Bravia 8 II was no slouch on this scene, either. Speech and voices had a fuller sound to them than on the Panasonic, with a more bassy tone that suited Oppenheimer’s dialogue well. I found dialogue was more natural on the Bravia 8 II, too, with voices sounding a bit higher-pitched on the Z95B.

But for sheer clarity of speech, the Z95B is the winner. Its front speaker array delivered cleaner-sounding speech that was easier to hear throughout Oppenheimer, and with its wider soundstage, voices carried and filled the room better than they did on the Sony TV.

Bass

As TVs are getting thinner in design, bass from TV speakers is becoming increasingly anemic. To test bass performance on these TVs, I used the Batmobile chase from The Batman, a scene I always use to test a TV’s sound quality.

The Z95B delivered seriously punchy bass with this scene, accurately delivering the roar and rumble of the Batmobile’s engine, especially during its startup sequence. The Z95B’s bass was not only room-filling, but I could feel it rumble through the floor. Crucially, its bass was also tightly controlled, allowing other elements within the soundtrack mix to breathe.

The Bravia 8 II’s bass wasn’t as impactful as the Z95B’s. Bass still had decent weight and good heft, though it also felt contained to the screen. The Bravia 8 II is a much slimmer TV than the Z95B, which likely affects bass levels, and although the bass was clean, it just didn’t have the same impact as on the Panasonic.

I did notice that when pushed to higher volumes, 80-plus out of 100, the Bravia 8 II’s bass levels became a lot more powerful. However, I felt some of the control was lost, and sustained viewing became difficult at this volume (I initially had it set to 61, where it remained for most of the testing). For bass, the Z95B’s powerful speaker array once again gave it the win.

Surround sound

The final parameter I tested was surround sound performance. While you’re never going to get the 3D sound you’d get from one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, such as the Samsung HW-Q990F, the sound on some TVs can extend beyond the screen to provide a more immersive experience. For this test, I used two different scenes: first, the Darkstar flight test from the start of Top Gun: Maverick, and a time-bending musical sequence from Sinners.

With Top Gun: Maverick, the Z95B delivered a wide soundstage, with the sound extending beyond the borders of the screen. As the Darkstar took off over Admiral Cain’s head, the Z95B’s vivid height effects made me feel like the jet flew overhead. Wind, noises within the cockpit, and the creaking of panels were clear and precise, providing a you-are-there experience.

The Bravia 8 II didn't have the same wide soundstage as the Z95B, but it did deliver sound effects with real clarity, control, and a tighter overall balance than the Panasonic. It also did a great job with height effects, including the same sequence of the Darkstar flying overhead. Still, the Bravia 8 II couldn’t quite match the Z95B’s room-filling, immersive power.

I also used the time-bending musical performance in the barn from the movie Sinners for my comparison. During my testing of this 4K Blu-ray for TechRadar’s Blu-ray Bounty feature, I found that this scene had excellent sound positioning, with our reference Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar rendering the placement of instruments with pinpoint precision. I wanted to see how accurately the TVs could replicate this.

Both the Z95B and Bravia 8 II delivered accurate mapping of sound in the scene, but the Z95B was more precise, and it had the same wide soundstage I’d heard earlier. Neither could recreate the same 3D effect as the HW-Q990C soundbar, but the Z95B was the closer of the two.

During my testing, I found that the Bravia II had Dynamic Range settings in its menu. The Compressed setting, which was on by default with the Standard sound preset selected, made the overall sound much louder and more powerful. The Standard Dynamic Range setting felt more accurate and delivered a wider soundstage, but was much quieter. For this scene in Sinners, Standard Dynamic Range proved to be the better option. Also, setting the Sound Processing from Sony to Dolby added a slightly wider dynamic range.

Overall, however, the Z95B still delivered the more accurate surround sound in both the Top Gun: Maverick and Sinners scenes.

Final thoughts

The Sony Bravia 8 II delivers brilliant sound that’s better than what you’ll find on most TVs, but, in these particular scenes, and with these settings, I found the Z95B delivered the best overall sound, with the clearest speech, punchiest bass and most immersive surround sound.

Neither of these TVs will beat top soundbars, but most people will be happy with both the Z95B and Bravia 8 II’s built-in sound.

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2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year for OLED TVs, with new models from LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic delivering strong performance across the board.

We recently gathered four of the best OLED TVs of 2025, the LG G5, the Samsung S95F, the Sony Bravia 8 II and the Panasonic Z95B, with the intent of having a blind TV showdown. For our showdown, we opted to use a casual, non-TV expert audience.

Mere weeks before we published our showdown results, Value Electronics, a New York-based AV retailer, held its own annual OLED TV shootout using the same four models, but with TV experts making up the judging panel. Needless to say, both shootouts yielded very different results, which I’ll detail below.

The setups

Before we get into the results, it’s important to differentiate the setups used for these two showdowns.

For TechRadar’s OLED TV showdown, the TVs were compared using the out-of-the-box settings, with only automatic brightness optimization turned off. We intended to present the TVs in the same manner as if you’d just bought them from a store.

For content, we asked our panel to judge the TVs on five categories: dark movies/viewing, color, action, upscaling, and sports/motion. The TVs were set to their respective Cinema/Movie modes for all of the tests except for sports, where they were switched to Standard mode. We then asked each person to vote for their favorite TV for each category.

In the Value Electronics (VE) shootout, each TV was professionally calibrated to get an optimized picture. A combination of ‘real world’ content and test patterns was used for the evaluation. Also, two of Sony’s BVM-HX3110 professional mastering monitors were used so experts could compare each TV to a reference display.

The categories for the VE shootout were divided into SDR and HDR, and they consisted of the following: contrast/grayscale for SDR, Dynamic Range/EOTF accuracy for HDR, color, processing, and bright living room viewing. Each judge gave a score from one to five for each TV in each category, and the average of all scores was used for the final total.

So, here you have two different setups with two different methodologies. TechRadar’s shootout focused on what casual viewers found appealing, while VE’s shootout involved TV experts gauging picture accuracy against a professional reference monitor.

The results

Below are the results for the two shootouts, with TechRadar’s on top and VE’s SDR results second and HDR results third:

For our panel, the joint winners were the Samsung S95F and LG G5, with the G5 receiving a strong boost in points via its dominance in the upscaling category, where it received all 12 votes. Third overall was the Panasonic Z95B, and in last place was the Sony Bravia 8 II.

In VE’s shootout, the Sony Bravia 8 II was the overall winner. It picked up three wins in SDR, and although it didn’t win any HDR categories, it scored highly in them. Adding up the scores, the Samsung S95F took second place, the Panasonic Z95B (the overall winner of the HDR categories) came in third, and the LG G5 came in last place by some margin. Here's a link to a PDF version of VE's shootout results.

Differences of opinion

The most obvious difference between the two shootouts is that the Sony Bravia 8 II came in last in ours, whereas it came in first in VE’s test. The Bravia 8 II scored highly for its accuracy in all categories in the expert shootout, but in our out-of-the-box test, the Bravia 8 II had a noticeably dimmer and, as a result, ‘flatter’ looking picture than its much brighter rivals.

In our testing of the Bravia 8 II, we found its HDR peak brightness was notably lower than the LG G5 and S95F, with the Bravia 8 II hitting 1,439 nits to the G5’s 2,268 nits and the S95F’s 2,132 nits (with measurements made in each TV’s most accurate picture mode). This brightness deficit likely affected its chances in all of our tests.

The other big difference between the two showdowns is the G5’s placement. In our test, it was a joint winner, while in VE’s showdown, it came in dead last. I’ve mentioned how the G5 received a real boost from the upscaling test, but taking this out, the G5 still received top votes in all the other categories, especially in color and sports, where it received 5 and 4, respectively. In VE’s shootout, it didn’t win in any category, although it did well in bright room viewing and SDR color. Again, could this have been down to the G5’s high brightness giving it that eye-catching edge?

The similarities

Despite big differences in the placement of the TVs in the two shootouts, there were also some similarities. The Samsung S95F performed the best in three out of our five test categories (color, dark movies, and action) and was the strongest overall TV. While the S95F didn’t win overall in SDR or HDR in the VE shootout, it did score highly for both SDR and HDR color. So it seems both experts and casual audiences alike agree that the S95F has the best color display.

The S95F also performed well in the VE shootout for HDR bright room viewing – unsurprising given its effective Glare Free screen. Although this wasn’t an official category for us, we did view The Batman, our dark room reference scene, in a fully lit room as well as in dimmed lighting conditions, and it was obvious to our panel that the S95F did best here of the four TVs.

The Panasonic Z95B didn’t receive many winning votes in our tests, but it did receive praise during dark scenes, earning compliments for its accuracy. In the VE shootout, the Z95B won for HDR EOTF, which is essentially brightness accuracy. Accurate EOTF tracking on a TV will help to reveal shadow details in a contrast-rich movie like The Batman, and it seems our panel also appreciated the Z95B’s accuracy.

Final thoughts

While VE and other TV expert shootouts are vital for determining which TVs most closely adhere to industry standards and can also show what a TV is really capable of when professionally calibrated, we wanted to offer an alternative take. Not every TV owner will have the resources to have their set calibrated, and some will just want a plug-and-play experience. Our showdown was formulated with the latter audience in mind.

It’s worth noting that, while the results for these two shootouts are very different, 2025 has produced some exceptional TVs, and each of these OLEDs has its strengths. If you’re torn on which one to buy, check out all the opinions and resources available, and if you can, go view them in stores for yourself!

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LG and Panasonic are just two of the top brands in the OLED TV market, but unlike rivals such as Samsung, Sony and Philips, their TVs often share a lot in common, right down to using the same OLED display panels.

The LG G4 and Panasonic Z95A, two of the best OLED TVs launched in 2024, both used micro-lens-array (MLA) OLED panels manufactured by LG. In 2025, it’s a similar story as the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B both use LG’s new Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel (also known as four-stack OLED).

That means you should expect a similar picture from both, right?

As I’ve discovered when testing combinations of some of the best TVs, models that use the same display panel don’t always look the same. For example, the Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II flagship OLED TVs use Samsung’s QD-OLED panels, but when I tested them side by side, I got very different results.

The LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B were featured in our recent OLED four-way showdown with a casual judging panel, with the aforementioned S95F and Bravia 8 II rounding out the group, but I thought it would be illuminating to compare the LG and Panasonic on their own.

Brightness

With both the Z95B and G5's default Filmmaker Mode settings active, it was clear that the G5 had a huge brightness advantage – an odd result considering both use the same OLED panel. When viewing some demo footage from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray in HDR10 format, scenes with snow looked far brighter and more vibrant on the G5, with much more brilliant whites and highlights. The Z95B’s picture still looked very accurate, but dim in comparison.

Leaving both sets in Filmmaker Mode, I measured the Z95B’s peak HDR brightness on a 10% white window pattern at 1,028 nits, a significantly lower result than the G5’s 2,268 nits on the same pattern.

After a quick check of the Z95B’s picture settings, I found its Luminance Level (brightness) was set to 70/100 by default, while the G5’s was set to 100/100. After upping the Z95B’s brightness to 100, it hit 2,355 nits, making it the brightest OLED I’d measured to date on this test.

Going back to the same Spears & Munsil footage with the brightness on the Z95B set to 100, the snow scenes now showed much more dazzling whites. It looked very similar to the G5, with the only real difference being the color temperature. I did, however, feel that despite the boost in brightness, the Z95B lost a little of the picture accuracy I’d noted previously.

Color and contrast

Both the Z95B and G5 had superb color in my comparison. Watching more Spears & Munsil footage in HDR10 format, a parrot’s yellow and green feathers looked vivid on both TVs, and a field of red flowers was crisp and refined, with plenty of punch. Once again, the G5’s brightness in default settings gave colors more pop, but upping the Z95B’s brightness brought it to a similar level of vibrancy. The Z95B demonstrated richer, deeper colors, though, thanks to its stronger contrast and more refined black levels.

Switching to Wicked on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Vision, the default brightness settings were 100/100 in both the Dolby Vision Dark mode on the Z95B and Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode on the G5. This made the colors on both TVs look very similar. Elphaba’s green skin and the pink flowers and blue details on a wall in the Wizard & I scene both had the same eye-popping, vibrant color, and they also looked true-to-life.

Where the TVs differed was that the Z95B's deeper black levels made colors appear bolder and more detailed, whereas they looked brighter and punchier on the G5. This was easy to see in Glinda’s pink outfits and the greens of the Emerald City in Wicked.

As you’d expect from two top-tier OLED TVs, both black levels and contrast are excellent. Watching Alien: Romulus in Dolby Vision on 4K Blu-ray, shots of space or dark tunnels within the ship showcased rich black levels on both TVs, with excellent contrast between dark shadows and bright highlights from stars, lights and torches. The Z95B had the edge of the two TVs here with its deeper blacks, but again, both looked great.

Switching to The Batman in Dolby Vision on 4K Blu-ray, I used the opening crime scene section I regularly use for testing contrast. For this movie, I had to view in dimmed or pitch black conditions as both the Z95B and G5 struggled with the overhead lighting in our testing lab.

Interestingly, although both showcased excellent black levels and contrast, with the torches carried by detectives balancing well against the dim surroundings, I noticed that in pitch black conditions, black levels were more elevated on the G5. The Z95B’s deeper blacks resulted in stronger contrast, although there was some loss of shadow detail, specifically Batman’s eye and the logo on his chest when he looked towards the camera. Of the two, I found myself drawn to the Z95B as it felt more accurate to the movie.

Bang for your buck

It’s fair to say that in recent years, a drawback of Panasonic’s flagship OLED TVs has been their price, which is often hundreds more than that of its main rivals at launch. This year, however, Panasonic is being more aggressive with its pricing. The 55-inch Z95B is available for $2,399 / £2,299, while the 55-inch G5 is available for $2,199 / £2,299. The 65-inch Z95B, meanwhile, is available for $3,099 / £2799, while the 65-inch G5 is $2,899 / £2.899.

One thing that could swing things in the Z95B’s favor between these two TVs is sound. Panasonic’s TVs are always among the best TVs for sound, and the Z95B is no different.

Watching the Batmobile chase scene from The Batman, the Z95B stood head and shoulders above the G5 when it came to the built-in sound. The Z95B’s punchier sound and much more powerful bass better captured the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine and the crunching of car impacts and explosions. Speech was clear on both sets, but the Z95B delivered better clarity. With the Z95B, you can easily watch without using one of the best soundbars – a factor that saves you money – whereas a soundbar is more recommended with the G5.

Where the G5 has the edge is in its gaming features, which are up there with the best gaming TVs and include 4K 165Hz support on four HDMI 2.1 ports. The LG’s webOS 25 smart TV interface is also one of the best I’ve used and provides a superior overall experience to the Z95B’s Fire TV smart interface.

Both of these are class-leading OLED TVs, and both are in the conversation for TV of the year. But based on this comparison, I found myself favoring the Panasonic Z95B. Its default Filmmaker Mode brightness setting may be odd, but once adjusted, I found myself more drawn to its picture than the LG G5's picture.

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve compared TVs side-by-side, everything from flagship OLEDs to an entry-level OLED and a mid-range mini-LED TV. But one other, more ambitious test I conducted might be the most revealing of all.

TechRadar rarely gets to conduct a simultaneous test of flagship OLED TVs from every major brand, but recently we found ourselves with the Samsung S95F, LG G5, Sony Bravia 8 II and Panasonic Z95B, four of the best TVs of 2025, under one roof, which made the prospect of a side-by-side evaluation irresistible.

However, our group test was a little different than the standard expert evaluation as we recruited several colleagues to help us determine which was the best OLED TV. Crucially, this was a blind test, with each TV’s logo covered up. To identify the different models, they were referred to solely by a number: 1 (Samsung S95F), 2 ( LG G5), 3 (Sony Bravia 8 II) and 4 (Panasonic Z95B). In all photos, these numbers correspond with the placement of the TVs from left to right.

For this article, however, I will refer to the TVs by their model numbers.

Before we get into the results, these were the testing criteria and conditions. The TVs were judged purely on picture quality, looking at five areas: black levels/contrast, color, fast-paced action movies, motion (sports), and upscaling. Our testers were asked to pick their favorite for each category, and this would earn the TV a point.

For settings, all the TVs were set to the Cinema/Movie picture preset for all sections except sports, where we switched to the Standard mode. Also, other than switching off brightness optimization or ambient light settings (which automatically adjust brightness based on the room lighting conditions), the picture presets were left in their out-of-the-box settings.

Now on with the results!

Black levels/dark movie viewing

For the first test, we asked our panel to pick their favorite OLED TV for dark movie scenes, focusing on contrast, black levels and shadow detail.

The clip we chose for this was the opening crime scene from The Batman, a movie with a low mastered brightness (400 nits compared to the industry standard 1,000 nits) that can reveal issues such as black crush or raised black levels. It’s also a high-contrast scene, with plenty of light from lamps and torches balanced against dark surroundings.

This test was conducted under regular ambient room lighting conditions, with a lamp off to one side to simulate a living room. Afterwards, we turned on the overhead lights in our testing room, focusing on any screen glare caused by the bright overhead lighting.

The winner of this test was the Samsung S95F, which, with its Glare Free screen, maintained strong contrast in both lighting situations, displaying high peak brightness, deep blacks, and refined shadows. Overall, it earned nine votes out of twelve.

Some comments from our testers: “I prefer the Samsung, it did best in both conditions.” Also, “Samsung had a lot more detail when it brightened up.”

The Panasonic Z95B also did well in this test, earning two votes out of twelve. Some of our testers stated that it “was the best to watch” and it “has the best balance and it’s the most accurate”.

The LG G5 earned a single vote, but multiple commenters noted that it was “too bright for the scene.”

The Sony Bravia 8 II struggled the most in this test, earning no votes. Comments included, “The Sony is way too dim,” and “The Sony is so dark you lose detail.” However, one panelist did say they “liked the contrast of the Sony when Gordon shone his torch,” indicating that it got the balance right. Despite this last comment, the Sony Bravia 8 II earned no votes.

Winner: Samsung S95F

Color

For our next test, we asked our panel to judge color reproduction based on accuracy, vibrancy, and which TV they just generally preferred.

The scene we chose for this test was from The Wild Robot. This beautifully animated movie has colors that are both eye-popping and natural-looking, making for a perfect testing scene. We chose one scene from early in the movie, where ‘Roz’ (the robot) interacts with a tree covered in butterflies that shows dazzling yellow, red and orange hues.

This was a closely fought contest between the Samsung S95F and the LG G5. One thing that was very interesting was that our panel actually struggled to tell the two TVs apart. With all TVs set to Cinema mode, our panel said the two “have a similar color profile and color range”. As a result, it was a back-and-forth, with some commenting that the Samsung “has the best colors with the most pop,” and the LG “has a glow.” It ultimately came down to the S95F earning six votes to the G5’s five.

The Sony Bravia 8 II and Panasonic Z95B struggled in this test. Commenters said, “Both Panasonic and Sony look super dull,” and “Sony doesn’t have the eye-popping color you want”. The Z95B did earn one vote in this test, while the Bravia 8 II earned none.

Winner: Samsung S95F

Action

The next test involved a fast-paced action movie, with lots of onscreen motion. We gave guidance to our panel to check which TV had the smoothest motion, but ultimately, we just wanted to see which one they preferred to watch.

For this test, we chose the dogfighting training mission from Top Gun: Maverick. This scene has a lot of quick panning shots and weaving jets, and is an excellent test for motion handling.

Once again, the Samsung S95F came out on top. Our panel commented, “The Samsung has the most fluid movement” and is “the right side of smooth,” meaning it avoided the dreaded soap opera effect. Someone also felt it “gave the most cinematic experience.” In this test, the S95F earned seven out of twelve votes.

The Panasonic Z95B also received many compliments, including ones that cited it as the “most fluid with motion” and “ the nicest on the eye.” The Z95B ended up receiving three votes, while the LG G5, which went fairly under the radar in this test, received two votes.

This was once again a tough test for the Sony Bravia 8 II, although one viewer did feel that the Sony “had the best motion.” For us as test facilitators, we ended up surprised that Sony didn’t do better, as Sony’s TVs traditionally have some of the best motion processing on the market. The Bravia 8 II received no votes.

Winner: Samsung S95F

Upscaling

To test which TV had the best upscaling, we used a DVD of The Amazing Spider-Man played through a Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player with its upscaling turned off.

In a truly dominant performance, the LG G5 earned a clean sweep of 12 votes. It easily had the brightest picture, with the best upscaling of textures, color and contrast. Our panel noted that “details such as hair are more refined” and that the ”LG is good at sharpening the background as well as faces and other textures.”

Why did the other TVs not fare as well? This was the first time that the Samsung S95F’s picture had been cited as “too dark,” and there’s a reason for this. In SDR Cinema mode (the picture mode used for this test), the S95F’s default brightness is set to 18 out of 50, which makes the picture appear a lot darker than it otherwise would be.

The Panasonic Z95B arguably received the comment of the day when someone said it looks like “deep-fried memes,” referring to the oversharpening of the image. Sony, on the other hand, received positive feedback as someone called it the “most natural looking.” Even so, it couldn’t de-throne the LG G5 on this test.

Winner: LG G5

Sports

Our final test involved sports viewing, with panelists looking at which TV displayed sports most accurately, for both with motion and color. For this test, all the TVs were set to their Standard picture mode (as some didn’t have a Sports mode), with the default motion settings active. For the test, we used a stream of the MLS All-Star soccer game via Prime Video.

This was the most evenly fought contest out of all the tests. Some complimented the LG G5, saying its “motion looked the best - it has the fluidity you want when watching sports,” and that it “looks the most crisp.” There was also criticism of the G5, with commenters saying it “was too oversaturated” and it had “too cool a color temperature.” Still, the G5 received four votes.

The G5 was actually a joint four-vote winner with the Panasonic Z95B, which received compliments such as, "It has the best color contrast,” and “it has the best pitch color.” However, other comments said it was “too dark.”

The S95F and Bravia 8 II scored two points each. The S95F was said to “look the most natural” and also that it “looks the clearest,” although there were some “obvious motion artifacts” such as the ghosting of a ball. One panelist said of the S95F, they “wished it were brighter”. The Sony Bravia 8 II was said to be “too juddery” and “not as fluid,” but was also called “the most natural” by one person.

Tie: LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B

Final results

Our test ended up being a draw between the Samsung S95F and LG G5, with both receiving a total of 24 points each. Now, the G5 is helped by its clean sweep in the upscaling test, which earned it 12 points, but by the numbers, it’s still a tie!

Without the upscaling test result, the Samsung S95F had the most consistent victories across each category, with three wins out of five, while the G5 earned two wins and the Z95B earned one.

Unfortunately for Sony, the Bravia 8 II didn’t do well in our bank of tests, and the main reason for this was its comparative lack of brightness. It’s worth noting that the Bravia 8 II’s brightness can be improved by changing Dynamic Tone Mapping in the settings to ‘Brightness Preferred,’ but this comes at the expense of picture accuracy.

Considering the Bravia 8 II uses a QD-OLED panel, we expected it to be brighter. But as these tests were done with out-of-the-box settings, the Bravia 8 II struggled against its rivals.

None of this is to say that the Sony Bravia 8 II or Panasonic Z95B are unworthy TVs (the Bravia 8 II scored an excellent 4.5 out of 5 stars in our review). But ultimately, in our casual test with these TVs in their default settings, the Samsung and LG were the victors in the eyes of our panel.

Tie: Samsung S95F and LG G5

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Panasonic Lumix S1 II: two-minute review

The S1 II is Panasonic's most powerful Lumix camera yet, debuting a partially-stacked 24.1MP sensor and an embarrassment of riches for video recording, including 19 pages of video codecs in the menus.

There are 6K and 4K options in various aspect ratios up to 60fps and 120fps respectively, plus a new open gate 5.1K option up to 60fps. Furthermore, ProRes Raw format is available in-camera with bitrates up to 4.2Gbps (that's not a typo), as is a Dynamic Range Boost mode – the latter delivers quite possibly the most detail-rich video I've seen at this price point.

The boost in performance from the partially stacked sensor extends to photography too, with up to 70fps burst shooting (or 10fps using the mechanical shutter) and an option for 1.5 seconds pre-capture.

Both photo and video capture benefit from class-leading in-body image stabilization – the Boost IS mode gave me some of the smoothest handheld videos I've shot – plus Panasonic's most effective autofocus yet, with subject-detection autofocus now extended to 'Urban Sports' such as parkour. Autofocus speed, versatility and accuracy are still not quite as complete as rival cameras such as the Nikon Z6 III, but it's impressive nonetheless.

As for the design, the Lumix S1 II's body is identical to the Lumix S1R II's – which is a good thing considering that it's the best Lumix design yet.

I've enjoyed the crisp 5.76m-dot EVF, 1.84m-dot vari-angle touchscreen, durable body and a generous handgrip, complete with vents that keep the camera cool during long record sessions.

The Lumix S1 II feels uncharacteristically expensive for a Lumix, but I'm still struggling to think of a better mirrorless camera at this price point for video-first users – it really is one of the best video cameras. As a photography-first user, the 44.3MP Lumix S1R II is the more obvious choice for me, even if it can't match the S1 II's raw power.

Panasonic also launched the Lumix S1 IIE on the same day as the Lumix S1 II. The two cameras are identical, except that the 'E' version has a regular 24MP full-frame sensor rather than a partially stacked one, which means a slower performance in a few areas and fewer video modes to choose from. It's $500 / £500 cheaper.

I feel like there's much more of a case for the S1 II than there is for the S1 IIE, especially given there's the cheaper Lumix S5 II in the picture, which is yet another 24MP Lumix. The Lumix S1 II is agonizingly close to a five-star rating, but its price point puts it among fierce competition, and takes it down a peg.

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: price and release date

• Body-only price is $3,199 / £2,899 / AU$5,299
• It was announced on May 13 2025 and is available now
• A Lumix S1 IIE version costs $2,499 / £2,399 (about AU$4,100)

The Lumix S1 II was announced on May 13, 2025, and it costs $3,199 / £2,899 / AU$5,299 body-only. The 44.3MP Lumix S1 R II costs $100 / £100 more, while the Nikon Z6 III, which is another obvious alternative, is a fair bit cheaper.

Alongside the Lumix S1 II, Panasonic unveiled the Lumix S1 IIE, which has the same skin and feature set, but a regular 24MP full-frame sensor rather than a partially stacked kind. The S1 II's partially stacked sensor delivers faster performance in several areas, and more video record modes.

Both cameras are available now.

• Price score: 4/5

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: specs

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: design and handling

• Rugged body, weighs 1.76lbs / 800g
• Clear and detailed 5.76m-dot OLED EVF
• Cooling vents for long record times without overheating

We've already reviewed the Lumix S1R II, and the Lumix S1 II's design is essentially identical. At 1.76lbs / 800g, it's a tiny bit heavier – that's because it features a partially stacked sensor – but that's the only real difference.

To briefly recap from our Lumix S1R II review, this second generation of Lumix S1 cameras is slimmed down from the first, being approximately 20% lighter and a little smaller in every dimension.

The S1 II, S1 II and S1R II trio are very comfortable to hold, and the S1 II balances really well with most of Panasonic's L-mount lenses – I had the 24-105mm F4 Macro OIS for this review.

I think Panasonic has evolved the design nicely – not only are the new S1 II / S1R II / S1 IIE models the best in the hand yet, but they're rugged, weather-proof, and feature built-in vents to keep them cool – an essential feature for big video hitters like the Lumix S1 II.

There's a slight feel of function over form here: the Lumix S1 II speaks video production work to me, rather than go-out-and-create. That said, the camera handles well in any situation.

As a hybrid mirrorless camera, no stone is left unturned – the Lumix S1 II features full-size HDMI, mic, and headphone ports, plus USB-C charging that doubles up for external SSD connection and recording.

There are twin card slots – one is CFExpress Type B, which you'll need for some of the higher-quality video codecs, and the other is SD UHS-II.

The vari-angle screen can spin around to the front for selfie recording, and the display features a helpful red border prompt during recording, together with front and rear tally lights – these are useful visual aids for busy filmmakers. There are also twin red buttons to start recording: a large one on the front of the camera, and a smaller one on the top.

Photographers in particular will enjoy the EVF – it's a bright and detailed 5.76m-dot OLED display. I also like the feel of the rear joystick, especially for navigating autofocus points and modes.

The button layout is all very sensible, and I also appreciate how simple Panasonic menus are (in general). For example, the video mode menu only has six pages in all, so features like image stabilization are easily found.

The same can't be said for video codecs – there are a staggering 19 pages of Full HD, 4K 5.1K, 5.8K and 6K video modes to choose from, with various aspect ratios, bitrates and formats.

Thankfully, it's possible to create custom profiles for your most-used settings, otherwise navigating between the options is a time sink.

• Design score: 5/5

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: features and performance

• Incredibly effective image stabilization for video
• Rapid 70fps burst shooting mode or a more sensible 10fps using mechanical shutter with continuous AF
• Average 350-shot battery life
• Panasonic's best autofocus performance to date

Panasonic stuck with a contrast-detection-based autofocus system for years when rivals had adopted a hybrid phase / contrast-detection setup, which is more effective for video. It was a big mark against Panasonic's otherwise-excellent video cameras.

Thankfully, Panasonic finally rectified the situation with the Lumix G9 II / Lumix S5 II in 2023, introducing a hybrid autofocus system which Panasonic says is now 1.6x faster in the Lumix S1 II.

Certainly, the Lumix S1 II packs Panasonic's best-ever autofocus, with an increased array of subject-detection modes. I've been shooting anything from grassroots sports to animal portraits with it, and on the whole have been really impressed.

While not scientific, my testing suggests that Panasonic's autofocus is still a little way behind the likes of Canon, Sony and Nikon, but not by much; in simple terms, autofocus performance is no longer a strike against Panasonic. You can see in the gallery below a range of subjects I've photographed, and my hit ratio of sharp shots was roughly 8/10.

What is less ideal is battery life, which is CIPA-rated at 350 shots, or up to 70 minutes record time. I've been able to squeeze more photos out of a fully charged battery than that, and there's on-the-go UBS-C charging too. However, Sony cameras, for example, boast better battery life.

Where the Lumix S1 II really shines is its in-body image stabilization, which is rated up to 7EV. In practice, I've found it to offer the most effective stabilization of any camera for video recording, especially in the Boost IS mode. There's a small crop of the image area in this mode, but handheld videos on the move are silky smooth.

There's also an extremely rapid 70fps burst-shooting mode. Personally, I find this to be overkill for the casual action photography I typically do, but to have a mechanical shutter that ticks over at 10fps for what are essentially unlimited sequences is a great to have.

Overall, the Lumix S1 II is able to sustain its high-speed performance to a level that the Lumix S1R II can't. I photographed a grassroots soccer match at last light (see below), and the camera's speed and autofocus held up well.

There's the option for data-heavy ProRes RAW video recording in-camera, which further highlights just how powerful a camera the Lumix S1 II is.

I also must commend the new(ish) Lumix Lab app, which is the most reliable camera app Panasonic has made yet. Unlike previous apps, which have frustrated me no end with my previous cameras such as the Lumix GH5, Lumix Lab provides a quick and reliable connection between camera and phone, together with remote control, image upload, and access to Lumix resources such as custom color profiles.

• Features and performance score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: image and video quality

• 24MP partially stacked sensor is a great all-rounder
• A generous range of video codecs, bitrates and aspect ratios, up to 6K 60p
• Color profiles and real-time LUTs can be imported from the Lumix Lab app

If you want the best-possible video quality, you'll struggle to find a better camera than the Lumix S1 II at its price point.

It tops out at 6K resolution, whereas high-resolution alternatives such as the Lumix S1R II, Canon EOS R5 Mark II, Nikon Z8 and Sony A1 II offer 8K, but otherwise the Lumix S1 II's video quality is top-drawer.

Not only does it offer more video formats and bitrates than rivals, but also aspect ratios which are taken from the full height and width of the sensor (open gate) and include 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 17:9 and 2.4:1.

I've shot with a wide range of the video modes, and you can see what to expect across the various resolutions and frame rates in the (lengthy) sample video, below.

Special mention goes the the Dynamic Boost mode, which delivers quite possibly the best and most detail-rich video quality straight out of the camera that I've seen from a hybrid camera. You lose various features, such as slow-motion frame rates, but for outright quality it's incredible.

Something the Lumix S1 II does better than the higher-resolution Lumix S1R II is handle rolling shutter distortion. Yes, it's a way more capable all-round camera for recording video.

There are also a range of color profiles, including V-Log, plus any number of custom profiles made by pros in the Lumix community, and which can be imported directly to the camera from the Lumix Lab app for video and photo. You can see a range of looks in the photo gallery below.

If you're mainly going to be shooting photos, and appreciate the Lumix S1 II's all-round capabilities, then the Lumix S1 IIE could be a better shout. It's widely reported that partially stacked sensors can have an adverse impact on image quality in low light versus a regular sensor; it's a subtle difference, but images can be a little noisier. I haven't made direct comparisons between the Lumix S1 II and Lumix S1 IIE, but it's something worth thinking about.

Overall, however, I have no complaints regarding the photo quality of the Lumix S1 II. I'm used to full-frame 24MP cameras; they balance speed, performance, and image quality nicely.

• Image and video quality score: 5/5

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix S1 II?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Panasonic Lumix S1 II: also consider

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix S1 II

• Panasonic loaned me the Lumix S1 II for one month, together with the 24-105mm F4 lens
• My main focus of testing has been the video modes, though I have also used the camera in various photography scenarios
• In general, I've tested the camera in fair weather and fair light

I've had a good long time with the Lumix S1 II – over one month in all. Panasonic loaned me a 24-105mm F4 lens for the test, and this was the only lens I used the camera with.

My testing reflects the typical audience for the Lumix S1 II – I've shot a lot of video with it, using the various resolutions, codecs and frame rates, and recording onto a top-spec CFExpress Type B card.

That's not to say I've neglected photography – far from it. I've shot everything from grassroots soccer at last light to animal portraits and everyday subjects, mostly in fair weather and fair light.

First reviewed June 2025

The world of the best OLED TVs can look a bit samey if you're not familiar with the latest OLED technology, and the subtleties of how companies use it. So, given that there are seven flagship-level OLED TVs in 2025, I thought I'd break down what those models are, and what to expect from them.

They're not all out yet, so we haven't tested most of them fully yet (though we have several reviews in progress), but I have actually seen every one of these TVs in action with my own eyes, at trade shows and demos.

So here are the essentials to know, the reasons why each one stands out, and some early thoughts on them.

LG G5 – LG's brightness king

Panel type: LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem; LG W-OLED (97-inch)
Sizes: 48, 55, 65, 77, 83, 97 inches
Price: From $2,499 / £1,799 / AU$4,199

The LG G5 is a big deal. It's the first TV to use LG's new-gen OLED panel – known as a 'four-stack' panel or Primary RGB Tandem OLED – which delivers better color depth and better brightness efficiency than anything LG's ever delivered before, thanks to a new structure of four layers of OLED pixels in different hues.

We measured its peak brightness at over 2,200 nits, which is the level we expect from mini-LED TVs – it's stunning for an OLED. Its fullscreen brightness is 331, which is also very high for an OLED, and means watching things like sports or playing video games in bright rooms won't feel washed out.

It's a beautiful screen, delivering natural images that still have lots of HDR pop to highlights and colors. It comes in sizes from 48 inches (in Europe only) up to 97 inches, though the 48-inch size won't be as bright as most of the range, due to the physical limitations of the smaller size; the 97-inch also won't be as bright, because it doesn't use the same new-gen panel.

There's a new polarizer to reduce the impact of mirrored reflections, which is very effective when faced straight on, though reflections look brighter and more distracting when viewed at an angle.

As with all LG TVs, the G5 is extremely well-equipped for features, ranging from a great smart TV system to having the most comprehensive gaming features you can get, including 4K at up to 165Hz on all four HDMI ports.

It's also got good built-in sound, though it doesn't match the quality of the TVs further down this list that have more elaborate speaker arrays. Also worth noting: you'll need to check if you're getting a stand or just a wall mount with this TV when you buy it – this varies from size to size, and from country to country.

The really interesting thing is the screen – a glossy next-gen OLED option. We gave the TV five stars in our LG G5 review, and it's already seeing price drops, making it an early leader among this year's contenders for our list of the best TVs.

The takeaway: LG's latest and greatest OLED panel delivers a real reason for the continued push for this tech to be brighter, because it's a stunner.

LG M5 – the wireless wonder

Panel type: LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem; LG W-OLED (97-inch)
Sizes: 65, 77, 83, 97 inches
Price: From $TBC / £3,799 / AU$TBC

This one's relatively easy to explain: it's basically the LG G5, except it comes in different sizes, and it's wireless. Easy!

The LG M5 uses the same RGB Tandem OLED screen with reflection-reducing layer, and is available from 65 inches to 97 inches – though as with the LG G5, the 97-inch model uses an older panel type that's less bright.

The M5's party piece is its Zero Connect wireless connections box (at the bottom left in the image above), which means the only cable that runs to the screen is the power. Everything else connects to a separate box that beams full-quality 4K HDR images at 144Hz wirelessly to the TV, making the M5 a dream for clean wall-mounted installation.

The Zero Connect box can be placed anywhere in the room, including inside another piece of furniture, though obviously with some limits on the distance and the type of furniture – that lead-lined cupboard you have might be a problem. We noted when the LG M5 was announced that it might oddly be the dream TV for PC gamers, thanks to this box.

The LG M5 is more expensive than the G5 unsurprisingly, but it's a fun alternative.

The takeaway: One for the tech-heads or those who just can't deal with cables. Most people should just get the G5, but it's very cool.

Samsung S95F – the reflection killer

Panel type: Samsung QD-OLED; LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem (83-inch)
Sizes: 55, 65, 77, 83 inches
Price: From $2,299 / £2,499 / AU$3,499

Samsung's flagship OLED TV for 2025 is a very interesting competitor to the G5, standing in opposition to it in two ways: it mostly uses Samsung's own QD-OLED panels instead of LG-made panels; and it has a matte screen coating to eliminate mirror-like reflections instead of a polarizer layer.

Let's start with the panel, because there's a twist. The S95F comes in sizes from 55 inches to 83 inches, and the 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch sizes all use a super-bright new QD-OLED panel that's incredibly impressive for bold fullscreen brightness that's beyond what we've seen for OLED TVs before.

However the 83-inch size actually uses the LG RGB Tandem panel – the same as the LG G5 – rather than the QD-OLED panel. Samsung says the brightness and performance of all sizes should be comparable, and we've taken preliminary measurements of this model, which delivered over 2,300 nits of peak HDR brightness, and an amazing 465 nits of fullscreen brightness, which beats the LG G5 in our testing.

We noticed some subtle differences between the 83-inch and smaller models that seem to relate to the matte Glare Free 2.0 coating, which we'll investigate as part of our long-term review testing.

So, let's talk about the anti-reflective covering. The thing about this type of covering is that it completely removes the mirror-like element of reflections, meaning they're much less distracting because your eye doesn't change its focus when drawn to the reflections.

Instead, reflections become just a haze – and this does interfere with the image a little still, adding a haze that make the images look less rich. It looks very impressive in this year's model, and impressed my colleague James Davidson during his extended demo time – and James has also been testing the S95F with super-dark movies to see the improvement of detail in black tones in this model compared to its predecessor.

Samsung TVs are also extremely feature-packed, with near-perfect gaming features (including 4K 144HZ on all four HDMI ports) and above-average built-in speakers. The S95F also has a separate connections box, meaning power and visuals are sent to the TV over a single cable, with all connections and processing in a separate box. It means the TV panel itself is super-slim, and again great for wall-mounting.

So, compared to the LG G5, the question becomes whether you want LG's glossy screen that maintains black levels and colors excellently in bright conditions but leaves you with distracting reflections; or Samsung's matte screen that's distraction-free but may reduce picture vibrancy in bright light – but has QD-OLED's awesome brightness and colors in dark rooms. Or there is a third way from Sony…

The takeaway: If mirrored reflections are distracting in your room, this is the OLED to choose. Astounding brightness, great features, and a cool design.

Sony Bravia 8 II – the picture processing master

Panel type: Samsung QD-OLED
Sizes: 55, 65 inches
Price: From $3,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,999

Sony's new flagship OLED TV might be the Goldilocks-preferred option, sitting between the two TVs above.

Want a glossy screen like LG, but with the super-rich colors of QD-OLED? That's what the Bravia 8 II offers.

It uses the same Samsung-made QD-OLED panel as the Samsung S95F, but with a glossy screen that will hold onto full depth in black tones and powerful colors in bright conditions, but that will be more vulnerable to mirrored reflections.

Of course, you'll also get Sony's fantastic image processing, which is generally considered the best in the business by connoisseurs for upscaling and motion handling, including in sports.

I've seen the Bravia 8 II in action, and it's a beautiful thing, and the TV also includes Sony's impressive speaker tech, which vibrates the display itself for a bigger sound than you get from most TVs.

However, we've measured the brightness of the Sony Bravia 8 II, and it's way lower than the LG G5: we measured just over 1,400 nits of peak HDR brightness, and 183 nits of fullscreen brightness.

The LG G5 is 57% brighter for highlights, and fully 80% brighter for fullscreen viewing, which is the really important one. If you're watching in a room with controlled light, you probably won't mind this – but the LG and Samsung options look more versatile, and so are maybe better value.

Another downside of the Bravia 8 II is that only two of its four HDMI ports support 4K 120Hz gaming, but non-gamers won't care about that. It also only comes in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes, though the 77-inch Sony A95L, the previous OLED model, is sticking around.

Compounding these issues is that in the US, it costs a lot more than the LG G5 and Samsung S95F, and I'm not sure it'll be better by a large enough margin to warrant it. In the UK, it costs more or less the same as the G5 and S95F.

The takeaway: The Sony Bravia 8 II will surely find fans who love its picture quality, but its brightness is alarmingly lower than the competition, and its US price is a mill around its neck.

Panasonic Z95B – the home theater specialist

Panel type: LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem
Sizes: 55, 65, 77 inches
Price: TBC

Panasonic's high-end OLED TVs are always at the top of the pile when it comes to image and sound quality, thanks to their use of LG's top-tier OLED panel (in this case, the same RGB Tandem panel used in the LG G5), custom-designed thermal tech so the panel can be pushed hard without risking damage, and a huge built-in speaker array that has some very smart tricks.

But these TVs come with a high price as well. We don't know how much the Z95B will cost yet, but last year's excellent Panasonic Z95A was more expensive than the LG G4, which was its equivalent rival at the time. This is likely to be one of the highest-priced OLED TVs of the year.

But it also looks set to be very special. In our early look at the Panasonic Z95B from CES 2025, we said that the extra brightness of the Z95B means that its beautifully meticulous image processing is now more visible and clearer during bright-room viewing.

Compared to last year's model, we said: "I could see a brightness advantage to the Z95B, specifically in the dancers’ bold, monochrome outfits. Equally important, I didn’t see much in the way of onscreen glare from overhead lights, an effect that can detract from picture contrast."

The Panasonic's speaker array can do some seriously impressive stuff as well, not just in terms of its Dolby Atmos reproduction (thanks to a large set of forward-firing speakers, but also upfiring and side-firing speakers), but also with its 'smart' sound option. You can, for example, make the volume seem higher in one part of the room compared to the other, for your hard-of-hearing family members.

Gamers won't like that it only has two 4K 120Hz ports, and the Amazon Fire TV operating system isn't everyone's favorite – but for home theater enthusiasts, this will be one to watch.

The Z95B will be available at some point later in 2025.

The takeaway: LG's most advanced OLED tech, tuned to be pushed even harder, and with an amazing speaker system. No wonder it'll be expensive.

Philips OLED+910 – the light fantastic

Panel type: LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem
Sizes: 55, 65, 77 inches
Price: TBC

This is a sibling to the Panasonic Z95B in many ways. It's a high-end OLED TV that uses the new LG RGB Tandem panel, and it has a very impressive set of speakers built-in, designed and engineered by British hi-fi great Bowers & Wilkins.

It also has Philips' unique Ambilight feature, which uses LED lights built into the top and sides of the TV to spread light onto your walls that matches what's happening on-screen, making the image feel larger than it is.

I saw (and heard) this TV in action, and I think it looks like a really impressive one-box home theater option, because the B&W sound system is really full, impactful and offers good spatial positioning of sound despite the lack of side- or up-firing speakers.

We don't have prices or a release date for it yet, and this model won't be available in the US, but it looks like it has great potential when it comes to sound and vision. It'll be available in 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch sizes.

Alas, it won't be quite as hot for gaming, since it will have 4K 120Hz support on only two of its four HDMI ports.

The takeaway: An all-in-one TV and sound system that makes itself feel bigger than it is – great for cineasts with limited space.

Philips OLED+950 – the double-power picture specialist

Panel type: LG W-OLED Primary RGB Tandem
Sizes: 65, 77 inches
Price: TBC

This TV is basically the same as above, except it swaps the Bowers & Wilkins sound system for a dual-chip image processor, meaning it'll have advanced image refinement techniques that no other TV in Philips' range has, and that should rank among the best in the industry.

Basically, if the TV above is for people who want nearly top-tier image quality and great sound all in one unit without thinking about any other tech being involved, this TV is for people who already have (or will buy) an elite sound system, and want the best possible image quality to pair with it, and so its built-in speakers aren't as fancy as the OLED+910's.

At the TV's unveiling, we said that the more powerful chip "allows for more advanced versions of Philips adaptive picture quality techniques, covering everything from HDR highlight adjustments to colour depth enhancement."

As above, this won't be available in the US. It'll come in 65-inch and 77-inch sizes later in 2025, at a price TBD.

The takeaway: How much cool image tech is too much image cool image tech? Philips doesn't think there's a limit…

You might also like…

• Samsung's next-gen RGB TV tech is starting production – but you probably won't like the size
• I know which TV tech is the best for watching sports, and these 3 sets are my top picks for your next upgrade
• Cheaper QLED TVs might be on the way: Samsung is developing a less expensive quantum dot layer

• Panasonic’s Let’s Note SC weighs under a kilo, yet packs a removable battery and Gigabit LAN port
• Includes a 56Wh battery held by screws, lasting up to 34.6 hours idle
• Unusual round touchpad returns, now larger and borrowed from a 14-inch sibling model

Panasonic has introduced the Let’s Note SC, a 12.4-inch notebook designed for business users, with a focus on portability, long battery life, and usability enhancements.

According to MyNavi (originally reported in Japanese), the device features a 12.4-inch LCD display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1920 x 1280 pixels.

The screen opens to 180 degrees without touching the surface beneath it, aided by a hinge design that keeps it slightly elevated.

Weighs less than a kilo and still has Ethernet and HDMI

The chassis features a pressure-resistant bonnet structure and has been tested to meet MIL standards.

Panasonic emphasizes the notebook’s durability, including resistance to both impact and vibration.

Available in Calm Gray and Black, the SC is powered by Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 processors, either the Ultra 7 255H or Ultra 5 255U, depending on the configuration.

Panasonic claims the notebook weighs 919g, though an independently tested unit reportedly came in at 901g, placing the SC among the lightest laptops in its class.

The device includes a 56Wh removable battery, now fastened with screws rather than the tool-less sliding lock used in previous models. While this improves structural integrity, it may make field maintenance less convenient.

Battery performance is rated at up to 12.7 hours of video playback and approximately 34.6 hours of idle time, according to JEITA 3.0 standards. In real-world usage, a 50% charge remained after 90+ minutes of light use and a 30-minute video call.

The keyboard retains a Japanese layout but introduces a notable change: the Ctrl key is now on the far left, having swapped positions with the Fn key. Users can revert to the previous configuration via BIOS settings.

The power button, now located behind the keyboard, is less prone to accidental presses and also functions as a fingerprint sensor.

The SC also includes a round touchpad, larger than in earlier models and borrowed from the 14-inch FC line. While still unconventional, this circular design remains a distinguishing feature of the series.

Connectivity includes a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, a rare inclusion in modern laptops and potentially appealing to those seeking robust mobile workstation capabilities.

However, the D-Sub and SD card slots have been removed, reflecting user trends toward HDMI and enhanced data security standards.

Most ports, including USB Type-A, dual Thunderbolt 4-compatible USB Type-C, and HDMI, are now positioned on the left side, helping to reduce cable clutter when using a mouse.

The starting price is approximately 295,000 yen (approx $1,880), with general sales expected to begin on June 20.

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OLED and mini-LED are the two leading display technologies, with both offering improved picture quality over standard LED TVs.

Most of the best TVs use these two technologies, but deciding which one is more suitable for you can depend on several factors. Previously, OLED was the go-to option for better black levels and contrast, while Mini-LED was better for brightness. While this remains partially the case, the differences between what each panel tech can offer have changed somewhat.

Some of the best OLED TVs, such as the LG G5, are now hitting over 2,000 nits peak brightness, which is enough to compete with mini-LED TVs. And some of the best mini-LED TVs now have significantly improved local dimming, allowing for deeper and more OLED-like blacks.

I’ve been testing the TCL C7K mini-LED TV, the mid-range model in TCL’s 2025 UK TV lineup, and decided to put it up against our reference Panasonic MZ1500 OLED TV (from 2023) to see how much the gap between the two technologies has been closed.

A quick note: these two TVs are only available in the UK, but for our US readers, the closest equivalents would be the TCL QM7K mini-LED and either the Panasonic Z85A OLED from 2024 or the LG C5 OLED from 2025.

Color: Does OLED or mini-LED produce better color?

Both OLED and mini-LED have their advantages when it comes to color. With Mini-LED TVs, colors tend to be brighter and punchier, while colors on OLED TVs tend to look more saturated and have greater depth due to OLED tech’s inherently high contrast. However, this wasn’t completely the case with the C7K and MZ1500.

Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Wicked with both TVs in their Dolby Vision Dark picture mode, the TCL C7K’s colors had a surprising amount of depth while still showcasing the punch mini-LED TVs get from their high peak brightness. The pink flowers around Elphaba during the 'Wizard & I' scene looked vibrant on both TVs, but I couldn’t help but be more drawn to the C7K.

The MZ1500 still showed the advantages of OLED’s self-emitting pixels vs the C7K’s local dimming backlight, with Elphaba’s green skin and the blue details in a design on the wall revealing better contrast, but the C7K was no slouch here.

It was also no slouch when viewing demo footage in HDR10 format on the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray. With both TVs set to Filmmaker Mode, the yellows and greens in a butterfly’s wings were brighter and seemed more natural as compared to the MZ1500’s bolder, deeper display.

Black levels: Which has better black levels and contrast, OLED or mini-LED?

One area where the C7K impressed in my comparison was black levels. Throughout Alien: Romulus, in any scene in a dark hallway or tunnel, the C7K’s black levels looked deeper and richer than I’d anticipated. Yes, the MZ1500 was better here, but it was still an excellent demonstration of the C7K’s local dimming prowess.

The same was true when watching The Batman. Shadow detail on both TVs was excellent in the opening crime scene sequence, and the C7K showed vastly improved black levels compared to some mini-LEDs I’d tested in the past.

Contrast was another area where competition was closer than expected. The C7K displayed a great balance between light and dark tones in the bright lights punctuating gloomy surroundings in both Alien: Romulus and The Batman, holding itself up well against the MZ1500.

As with color, the MZ1500 OLED gave textures greater perceived depth and detail, creating a more 3D-like quality. But the same textures, such as skin and facial features, were displayed with a lifelike quality on the C7K as well.

Screen uniformity: How does OLED and mini-LED screen uniformity compare?

The C7K had impressed me during my comparison so far, but there’s one area where the Panasonic OLED triumphed: screen uniformity.

Screen uniformity refers to a TV's ability to evenly display large areas of the same color, such as black. OLED panels use self-emitting pixels instead of a backlight and, as a result, they can deliver uniform tones across all areas of the screen. But as mini-LED TVs use backlights to produce light, insufficient control of backlight local dimming zones can create uniformity issues.

Watching black and white scenes from Oppenheimer, the C7K did a great job of accurately displaying black and white tones, along with a good range of grays, but I also noticed streaks of brown underneath the black letterbox bars in these widescreen scenes – a sign of sub-par screen uniformity. This wasn’t an issue on the MZ1500 OLED.

Conclusion – OLED vs mini-LED: Which technology should you buy?

Ultimately, the MZ1500 OLED had the superior picture in my comparison, thanks to its self-emitting pixels. But, there’s a key thing to remember here: price.

For a 65-inch C7K at launch, you’d be paying £1,399 ($1,499 for the QM7K in the US, and roughly AU$2,326) whereas the MZ1500 65-inch at launch in 2023 was £2,900 (roughly $3,700 / AU$5,400).

Panasonic’s OLEDs are notoriously pricey, but even a new mid-range OLED such as the LG C5 costs $2,699.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$4,299. That is one heck of a price gap.

So yes, while the MZ1500 does come out on top, the C7K (and the QM7K, which earned four and a half out of five stars in our review) demonstrates the solid level of performance you can now expect from a mini-LED TV, along with its comparatively high value when pitted against an OLED TV.

You might also like

• I tested a premium and budget mini-LED 4K TV side-by-side – here are the real-world differences
• OLED vs Mini-LED: which TV type is best?
• How far mini-LED TV tech has evolved in 9 years and the 'dark side' of Netflix – what I learned on my visit with TCL

Panasonic has announced its 2025 TV lineup, and there’s something for everyone, from flagship OLEDs to entry-level LEDs, gaming TVs and more. I recently got to see the full range at an event, and it featured in-depth demonstrations of particular sets.

Panasonic is known for making some of the best TVs on the market, with its flagship Panasonic Z95A scoring four and a half out of five stars in our review and earning a place on our list for best OLED TVs. 2024 was an exciting year for Panasonic as it not only began to use Fire TV as its new smart TV platform but it re-entered the US market for the first time in almost a decade.

We’d already seen the Panasonic Z95B, the 2025 flagship OLED, in action at CES 2025 and were suitably impressed with its picture quality. Now that I’ve seen the 2025 range in action, I’ve picked three models that I think you should get excited for.

1. Panasonic Z95B

Panasonic’s OLED TVs rank among the top TVs every year for their picture quality, dynamic sound and full array of features. The Panasonic Z95B, the company's new flagship OLED, looks to take things even further.

Seeing the Z95B in person, it demonstrated the vibrant colors and rich blacks I’ve come to expect from Panasonic’s flagship OLEDs, but it also showcased stunning new brightness levels. The Z95B features a new Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel, the same used in the LG G5, and seeing it next to its predecessor, the Z95A, which uses a micro lens array (MLA) OLED panel, the brightness boost and improved color was obvious.

A clip of dancers in colored outfits showed the Z95B's extra vivid punch compared to the Z95A, and the white droplets of water reflecting light demonstrated its brightness boost in areas around the screen. Even black levels were deeper.

The Z95B also features a new ThermalFlow cooling system to regulate airflow, which Panasonic says allows for better brightness retention on screen.

Even the Z95B’s audio system has been tweaked. Although still the same 5.1.2 channel speaker array from the Z95A, the rear effects have been more accurately positioned, and an audio demo proved this. During the demo, where the same clips were played through the Z95B and Z95A, it was clear that the Z95B had a wider soundstage and a more dynamic sound. It also felt more powerful, which Panasonic explained was thanks to the new, larger drivers and side-firing and up-firing speakers.

The Z95B has also gone through a design change, taking on a more uniform look across the whole unit. It uses fabric around its frame and across its front external speaker array, and the corners have been rounded to give it a more premium look overall.

Put all this together with a list of gaming features expected from the best gaming TVs (4K 144Hz, VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia GSync, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM) and you have one powerhouse OLED TV. Get the price right, Panasonic, and this could be a TV of the year contender!

2. Panasonic Z90B

The Z90B, the step-down OLED model from the flagship Z95B, doesn’t have that model's Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel, but it still has the Z95B's HCX AI Processor MK II and the same list of gaming features. It also comes in a wider array of sizes.

In Panasonic's demo, the Z90B sat amongst the Z95B and Z80B OLEDs in different sizes, and still showed exceptional contrast, dynamic colors and solid brightness. A clip of colored glass showed the Z90B's precise detail and accurate color, along with its inky black levels.

Where the Z90B gets interesting, though, is in its smaller 42 and 48-inch sizes. That OLED size range is usually dominated by the LG C-series OLEDs, but the Z90B includes a front speaker array that could give it the edge over its LG rivals. The LG C5 earned five out of five stars in our LG C5 review, but the built-in sound was its biggest disappointment. If Panasonic can get the Z90B's price right, then it could give the C5 a run for its money.

It’s worth noting for our US readers that the Z90B is only available in the UK and Europe, so if you’re looking for a mid-range OLED, the C5 is likely to be your best option. Just add one of the best soundbars to make it a more complete package.

3. Panasonic W95B

The last of the three models is the Panasonic W95B, the brand’s only mini-LED offering for 2025. In an extremely competitive market, the best mini-LED TVs are often made by brands like Samsung, TCL, Hisense and even Sony. Panasonic is not a company that immediately comes to mind, as it's often known for OLED TVs.

The W95B is a feature-stacked mini-LED that again comes with the flagship HCX AI Processor MK II, a comprehensive list of gaming features, and the new Prime Video Calibrated picture mode and Calman Ready AutoCal (both in the Z95B as well).

Seeing the W95B next to its predecessor, the Panasonic W95A, it showed better backlight control with less blooming (an artifact of LED TV tech) and better black levels with more accurate colors. A demo of a fire handler showed brighter oranges and reds on the W95B than on the W95A. Not only were colors and contrast more powerful, but the W95B had brighter highlights, as seen in the ball on the staff at the center of the flame (shown in the picture above).

From the demo I saw, the W95B could be a great entry in the Mini-LED TV market.

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• Panasonic unveils its full 2025 TV range, with OLED, mini-LED and LED models
• The lineup is led by the Panasonic Z95B OLED TV
• The Z95B could be the brand's best OLED TV yet

Panasonic has revealed its 2025 TV lineup, which features several OLEDs and a wide range of LED models, including a mini-LED TV.

The latest OLED lineup has been trimmed down from last year for both the US and UK markets. It consists of the flagship Panasonic Z95B, successor to the Panasonic Z95A, one of the best TVs of 2024; the Panasonic Z90B, a mid-range model; and the entry-level Panasonic Z80B.

The LED lineup consists of the Panasonic W95B, a flagship mini-LED model; the Panasonic W85B, a model with premium features; the Panasonic W80A, a QLED set; the Panasonic W70A, an LED model; and the entry-level Panasonic W61A 4K LED TV.

The US lineup consists of the flagship Panasonic Z95B OLED, the flagship Panasonic W95B mini-LED, and the entry-level Panasonic W70A LED, which is exclusive to the US and sits between the W80A and W61A.

There are currently no confirmed prices or release dates for any of the above TVs, but once we have this information, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Most of Panasonic’s new TVs will use the Fire TV smart TV platform, except for the entry-level models, which will use TiVo. The Panasonic Z95B and Z90B OLEDs and the W95B mini-LED will support a new Prime Video Calibrated Mode, which was first introduced in Sony’s 2024 TVs and also appeared in last year’s Panasonic Z95A.

Another exciting new feature in the Panasonic Z95B and W95B TVs is Calman Ready, which allows users to easily calibrate their screens using Calman’s new AutoCal feature (set to arrive in a software update to the Calman Color Calibration software during the Summer).

OLED TVs

Panasonic Z95B

Available in 55, 65 and 77-inch sizes, the Panasonic Z95B features the same Primary Tandem RGB, or ‘four-stack’, OLED panel used in the LG G5, one of this year’s best OLED TVs. It also uses a new ThermalFlow cooling system that Panasonic says increases panel efficiency, resulting in higher brightness and better overall picture quality. The Z95B will support Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats and use the HCX AI Processor MKII.

Similar to its predecessor, the Panasonic Z95A, one of the best TVs for sound, the Z95B has a 5.1.2-channel speaker array. Panasonic has upgraded this sound system, however, moving the virtual positioning of the rear channels and boosting the size of the side and up-firing speakers.

Elsewhere, the Z95B is packed with gaming features including 4K 144Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync supported), ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming. Its game control board (part of Game Master Extreme) has also received new features, including a 60Hz refresh mode designed for older consoles. There will still only be two HDMI 2.1 ports.

Finally, the Z95B gets a design update via a fabric material for the front speaker array and surround frame. The corners have also been rounded to give it a more uniform appearance compared to previous generations.

Panasonic Z90B & Z80B

The Panasonic Z90B will be available in 42, 48, 55, 65 and 77-inch sizes. It will support Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range and provide many of the same features as the flagship Panasonic Z95B, including the same HCX AI Processor MKII.

Audio features include Dynamic Theater Sound Pro with a built-in 30W subwoofer and Dolby Atmos support . The Z90 B is also well equipped for gaming, with 4K 144Hz, AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync VRR and ALLM, as well as Panasonic’s Game Control Board. Once again, there will only be two HDMI 2.1 ports.

Finally, the Panasonic Z80B is the entry-level model in the OLED lineup, and will be available in 48, 55 and 65-inch sizes. It will support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and use the step-down HCX Processor. It has Panasonic Surround Sound Pro and Dolby Atmos audio, and for gaming supports 4K 120Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium) and ALLM.

Mini-LED and LED TVs

Panasonic W95B

The Panasonic W95B is Panasonic’s only mini-LED TV for 2025 and will be available in 55, 65, and 75-inch sizes, plus a new 85-inch size. It will use the same HCX AI Processor MKII as the OLED TVs and support Dolby Vision and HDR10+, along with improved Hybrid Tone Mapping for better backlight control over its predecessor, the Panasonic W95A.

For audio, the W95B will support Dynamic Theater Surround and Dolby Atmos. Gaming features include 4K 144Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium included), and ALLM, as well as Panasonic’s Game Control Board.

Panasonic W85B, W80A, W70A and W61A

The W85B is a QLED TV that will be available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inch sizes and use the HCX Processor. It will support Dolby Vision and HDR10+, Surround Sound Pro for audio and, 4K 120Hz, VRR and ALLM as well as Game Mode Extreme for gaming.

The Panasonic W80A and W70A carry over from 2024. The W80A uses a QLED panel, is available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inch sizes, and supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. Gaming features include 4K 120Hz, VRR, ALLM, and Game Mode Plus.

The W70 is an LED model available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inch sizes. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and 4K 60Hz, VRR, and ALLM for gaming.

Finally, the entry-level W61A LED TV will be available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inch sizes. It will use TiVo as its smart TV platform and support 4K 60Hz and ALLM for gaming.

Panasonic Z95B: a potential TV of the year?

The Panasonic Z95A was an impressive TV when we reviewed it in 2024, thanks to its dynamic sound, gorgeous picture quality, and improved smart TV platform. Its successor, the Z95B, looks set to be even more impressive.

It will use the new Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel for higher brightness and bolder colors, and has a fine-tuned speaker system and new cooling system to improve peak brightness. Plus, it has a sleeker and more uniform design, which I found to be more visually appealing when I saw it in person.

The flagship OLED market will be a real battleground in 2025, with the excellent, five-star LG G5 currently setting the bar. But both the Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II also looked to be real contenders when we saw them earlier this year. The Panasonic Z95B is set to take the fight to all of these TVs, and if the price is right, it could be a TV of the Year candidate.

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• Panasonic just launched its new RB-F10 earphones
• They'll cost just £79.99 (around $110 / AU$165)
• They boast Bluetooth 5.4, a seven-hour battery life, and solid audio

Panasonic has just announced a new pair of cheap wireless earbuds with its open ear Panasonic RB-F10 earphones.

Like other open ear designs, rather than sitting inside your ear, these earbuds sit over your ear canal. This allows you to hear your music clearly, but also, because your ear isn’t blocked, you can hear what’s going on around you.

The Panasonic RB-F10s specifically come with a few handy features.

They boast Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, so you can easily switch their connection between two different devices. They also feature built-in microphones for voice calls with automatic background noise removal, allowing you to be heard more clearly.

Additionally, they have a seven-hour battery life, which can be extended by a further 18 hours using their charging case.

Lastly, because open ear headphones are usually a little bigger than earbuds, they can boast bigger drivers, which should lead to a richer sound than you might be used to. At least, that’s what Panasonic is promising from its new RB-F10s.

Best of all, they come in at just £79.99 (around $110 / AU$165) which makes them one of the more affordable options in the open ear space – and if they can stick the landing could help them secure the best budget option spot in our pick of the best open ear headphones guide.

Open ear headphones are the best

I adore open ear headphones, and recently converted my fiancée to the lifestyle as well.

We love to watch videos or listen to music on our phones, but it’s easy for it to become a competition as we each try to drown the other’s audio out by turning up our speakers louder and louder. We’ve tried using over-ear noise-cancelling headphones, but then it’s impossible for us to talk to one another, especially if one of us is trying to shout for the other from another room.

Open ear headphones strike the perfect balance because we can enjoy our own private audio, but still call out to each other or easily come in and start chatting without having to compete with noise cancelling tech.

They’re also ideal for working out (especially running, as you can enjoy your motivational audio and still hear what’s going on around you), or while traveling, as you can keep an ear out for any public transport announcements that you might miss if ANC is turned on.

I’ve also found that they’re hooked design is generally comfortable yet secure. I’ve tested several open ear headphones designs, and I frequently forget to take them off even when I’m not playing any music because I just forget I have them on.

Lastly, as is true for other earbuds, their small case makes them so easy to carry with you. Unlike a pair of headphones, you can get away with your pockets rather than needing to bring a bag as you can transport your cans when you aren’t wearing them.

Now we haven’t yet tested the Panasonic RB-F10 earphones, but they look like they tick a lot of essential boxes on paper, which could make them a solid choice if you’re after the convenience of open ear headphones that I and others are already enjoying.

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OLED is a much-desired screen tech thanks to its deep, accurate black levels, rich contrast and seriously punchy colors – and image quality has only improved with the introduction of new tech, such as LG’s Primary Tandem RGB OLED, or ‘four-stack’ OLED.

The TV LG has chosen to introduce this new panel tech on is the LG G5, one of its flagship OLEDs for 2025. We’ve fully tested the LG G5 and it’s already one of 2025’s best TVs, earning a full five-out-of-five stars in our LG G5 review, thanks to its full feature-set, snappy performance and most importantly its superb picture quality.

We here at TechRadar have been using a Panasonic MZ1500 OLED TV, released in 2023, as our reference TV for a while now (it’s a trusty assistant in my monthly Blu-ray Bounty feature), thanks to its brighter-than-average panel, super-accurate colors, and natural image processing.

And this got me thinking; how does the MZ1500’s OLED EX panel (a brighter version of the standard W-OLED) compare to the G5’s ‘four-stack’? I put the two side-by-side and played the same movies on each one, using our trusty Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player, one of the best 4K Blu-ray players around, with the output mirrored to both TVs.

I know the MZ1500 was a great TV – that's why we kept it around – but I was surprised just how well it held up to the latest and greatest model.

Filmmaker Mode; a close contest?

Although the G5 has a significant brightness increase over the Panasonic MZ1500, with the G5 hitting 2,260 nits and the MZ1500 hitting 1,000 nits peak brightness respectively (measured on a 10% white HDR window), I found that the two both showed similar pictures in Filmmaker Mode; both Dolby Vision and HDR.

Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Wicked, an extremely bright and colorful movie, in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode (and Dolby Vision Dark on the MZ1500) looked excellent on both sets (as expected), but the MZ1500 showed essentially as vibrant and vivid colors as the G5 to my eyes.

A scene where Elphaba enters a colorful room showed glossy HDR highlights on both screens, with colors showcasing a nice, vivid punch.

Switching to a 4K Blu-ray of La La Land, again in Filmmaker Mode, the MZ1500 demonstrated excellent color reproduction and accuracy with colors as visually striking as the G5. There was a boost in peak brightness in some areas on the G5, but not to the extent I expected.

Naturally, both these screens demonstrated their superb handling of high contrast, dark scenes as well, showcasing deep, accurate blacks. In The Batman, any scene with bright lamps against dark skies or gloomy surroundings was displayed effectively with true-to-life accuracy.

Shadow detail was also incredible, with no visible loss in textures or details in even the darkest of scenes. Again, I expected the brightness to be boosted on the G5, with maybe higher contrast demonstrated – but was surprised when this wasn’t the case. To be fair, this movie was only mastered at 400 nits, so perhaps similar performance is less of a shock in this mode with minimal processing.

Finally, in Oppenheimer, both TVs displayed brilliant, bright whites and inky blacks, while showing a full range of gray tones on the black-and-white scenes, such as Admiral Strauss’ tour of the University with Oppenheimer early in the movie.

Although, in this, where the sunlight shines through into the white reception room was one of the first hints of the G5’s higher fullscreen brightness (331 nits on the G5 to the MZ1500’s 186 nits, measured on a 100% white HDR window pattern).

Needless to say, I was surprised at just how close the two TVs were matched in their respective Filmmaker Modes; I anticipated a much higher jump in brightness on the G5 that would lead to bolder colors and brighter contrast.

The G5 shines in other modes

However, a switch to other picture modes on both screens was where the G5 really shone. Switching both the G5 and the MZ1500 to their respective Movie/Cinema modes is where the G5’s new OLED panel got to flex its brightness prowess.

In Wicked, when Elphaba sings on a clifftop after running through a field of wheat, the G5’s peak and fullscreen brightness increase over the MZ1500 is evident. The sun, clouds, clifftop (also white) and the wheat itself all have a punchier, brighter look thanks to the G5’s brightness boost. Even Elphaba’s green skin is given more perceived depth thanks to the higher brightness and richer contrast.

During the bomb test in Oppenheimer, with the close-up shot of Oppenheimer’s face reflecting the brightness of the bomb, in the same Cinema/Movie modes on both screens, once again the G5 demonstrates how much brighter its panel is.

Even during The Batman’s darkest sequences, such as the opening crime scene investigation, the dim, warm lamps had more of a shine against the murky surroundings and dark wood interior on the G5 when it was in Dolby Vision Cinema and the MZ1500 was in Dolby Vision IQ (a brighter mode than Dolby Vision Dark).

The increase in brightness also meant small details such as the whites of Batman’s eyes were more visible against his black mask when viewed in these picture modes.

Reflecting on progress

Although I was surprised by the results of these two OLED powerhouses in Filmmaker Mode, it was encouraging to see just how far OLED has progressed, especially when it came to reflections. The best OLED TVs now have a much better handle of annoying mirror-like reflections.

Seeing the G5 and the MZ1500 side-by-side, it was hard to look past just how obvious reflections were on the MZ1500 in comparison to the G5. The G5 wasn't free from reflections, but it was certainly an improvement.

And with other sets such as the Samsung S95D introducing OLED Glare Free anti-reflection measures to OLED, which has been further improved in its successor the Samsung S95F, OLED now has started to nullify its main weakness. But for this test, this was one area where the G5 couldn't be matched by an older, dimmer OLED.

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Panasonic Lumix ZS99: One Minute Review

The Lumix ZS99 (called the Lumix TZ99 in some markets) is a relatively rarity in modern times – a brand new compact camera.

Only stop right there, most of it isn’t new at all. It uses the same sensor and lens combination as its predecessor, the ZS80D / TZ95D, only really adding the mandatory USB-C charging functionality that affects all new devices sold in the EU.

Worse still, Panasonic has seen fit to remove the small (but useful) viewfinder found in the previous incarnation. The screen remains the same as before, only now you’ll be completely reliant on it for every shot – shame.

This is not a bad camera by any stretch, but its highly versatile zoom is pretty much its only winning technical ability over your smartphone in 2025. You can get some good shots if you need to zoom, but pictures taken at the wide angle end are pretty much the same as any half-decent smartphone is capable of these days.

If you really want a separate device, and want to be able to zoom in close on distant subjects, then it’s a good choice – but don’t be surprised if you go back to using your phone in conditions such as low light.

Is the Lumix ZS99 one of the best compact cameras? Technically no, but it's one of the only travel zooms available, for a competitive price.

Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99: release date and price

• $499 / £469 / AU$999.95
• Available to buy now
• All black or black and silver colourways available

These days, paying $499 / £469 for something that your smartphone can (sort of) already do might seem like a lot of cash to part with.

However, cameras such as this have had a resurgence in recent times, largely thanks to the influence of, er, influencers. Last year, such was the popularity of the ZS80D / TZ95D that you could expect to pay double the list price of the ZS99 / TZ99, with even second-hand prices being off the charts.

So the ZS99 / TZ99 is far from cheap, but there’s really not much to compete with it in today’s market – if it’s something you want, it’s reasonably well priced. That said, if you’re happy to live with a smaller zoom (10x), you can get hold of the Panasonic TZ200 for about the same price as a TZ99. You’ll lose the zoom reach, but you’ll get a one-inch sensor which produces better quality images, so that’s worth thinking about.

• Price score: 4/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99: specs

Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99: design and handling

• Small, smartphone-sized sensor with 30x zoom
• Front-facing touchscreen
• No viewfinder
• Lots of physical buttons

At the heart of the Lumix ZS99 sits a 20MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. It’s about the same size as those you’ll find in modern smartphones – in fact some smartphones are packing even larger sensors these days.

Disappointed? Well, don’t be too much – it’s what gives the ability to zoom to 30x, something which your smartphone definitely can’t do, optically at least. The biggest downside of a small sensor tends to be a loss of detail in low light conditions – which for travel might not be too much of a bugbear.

That 30x lens gives you 24-720mm in full-frame terms (the common reference for lens focal length), and just as with the sensor, it’s the same as found on the ZS80 / TZ95D, so there isn’t any improvement in image quality (see the next section).

If you want a camera that fits neatly into your pocket and that isn’t your smartphone, then this should fit the bill. It’s fatter than the average camera phone, but it’s not quite as lengthy. There’s grips on the front and rear of the camera which makes it feel a bit more secure than a slippery phone, too.

Settings changes can all be made via actual, physical controls. A tactile rarity in today’s modern screen obsessed world.

There’s a mode dial giving you access to full manual control, for example, while the zoom is controlled via a rocker switch around the shutter release. Several of the buttons can be customized to suit the functions you use most, which is helpful – and there are some additional touchscreen settings you can use too.

One function which is particularly useful is the Zoom Compose Assist button. Handy for when you lose track of your subject while shooting at a long focal length – such as a bird in flight – it'll quickly zoom out so you can relocate the subject, and then the lens zooms right back in to your last setting when you let go of the button. Nifty.

The screen is also the same as found on the predecessor. It flips forward for selfies and video and has 1.84m dots. It’s detailed and bright enough for most uses, and it’s touch-sensitive too. In the bright sun it’s harder to see, which is why it’s disappointing that Panasonic has removed the viewfinder, found in the previous model. That said, it’s probably true to say that anybody coming from a smartphone won’t be used to a viewfinder and is unlikely to miss the option.

• Design score: 4/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99: performance

• Good for zoom shots
• At wide-angle, image quality similar to a smartphone
• Low light quality is less impressive

We already knew what to expect from the camera, considering it uses the same sensor and lens as its predecessor.

In short – it’s good, but not great. At least, not by modern standards anyway. There’s only so much that a small sensor can realistically deliver, and while there are some things that this camera can do that your phone can’t, sometimes even a budget smartphone will outperform it.

If you find yourself shooting in good overall light, which isn’t too harsh, and you’re shooting a still or fairly placid subject then you’ll get some nice images. There’s a good amount of detail, colors are realistic (if a little dull), and exposures are well balanced. At the wide-angle end of the lens, your smartphone probably achieves the same results.

However, it’s when you engage that zoom that the magic happens. So long as you can keep the camera fairly steady, even shooting at that far 30x zoom can leave you with nice close-ups of distant subjects.

There’s in-built 5-axis Hybrid optical image stabilization (OIS), which works fairly well, but once you’re shooting at 20-30x, any additional steadiness you can provide will go a long way too.

As for tracking of subjects – there’s no way you’re going to follow a leopard or a motorcar, but for more predictable and slower wildlife you stand a fighting chance of capturing the subject, sharply focused.

Now for some bad news – low light. Smartphones do pretty well at this subject by taking lots of pictures and merging them together. Here, you don’t get that, so even when it’s only as low light as indoors, you will notice a fair amount of smudginess. Avoid using this camera inside buildings or after dark, and you’ll be golden.

• Performance score: 3/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99

• I used it in a variety of different shooting conditions
• I took pictures at different focal lengths
• I tried the different shooting modes

I tested the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 over two weeks, in a range of different locations and across different shooting conditions.

I used it to photograph landscapes and typical travel subjects, taking pictures at a variety of different focal lengths. I also took photos of animals to test the focus tracking.

I took the ZS99 indoors to evaluate what happens when light is low, as well as shooting in very bright sunlight and more overcast conditions.

First reviewed April 2025

Are you growing tired of your TV’s sub-par audio? Well I promise you this, you’re not alone. A lot of TVs – yes, even some more expensive models – are guilty of plating up unclear dialogue, tinny treble and thin bass. But since I added a soundbar to my setup, I’ve freed myself of such issues and watching my favorite movies or TV shows never felt better.

But a lot of you may be thinking that a good soundbar will set you back quite some way. And OK, if you want the crème de la crème, you’re right; some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, for instance, won’t come cheap. Having said that, I’ve tested some of the absolute best cheap soundbars on the market and now I’m convinced – there’s an option for everyone, whether your budget is around $300 or under $100. So, I’ve collected a list of five budget bars that will take your viewing experiences to the next level. Let’s take a look…

Sony HT-SF150

I’d like to begin with a real favorite of mine, the Sony HT-SF150, or HT-S100F for those of you in the States. This isn’t the newest soundbar on the market – there’s nothing flashy like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X support, but it just nails the basics.

Firstly, it’s ultra-cheap, often appearing on sale for less than $100 / £90 / AU$180 – that’s a phenomenally low price. But don’t be deceived: that low price is not indicative of the bar’s quality. The HT-SF150 also offers up clear dialogue, meaning you can keep those pesky subtitles turned off. And you can adjust audio to suit whatever content you’re viewing by switching between the soundbar’s Standard, Cinema, Music, Night, and crisp-sounding Voice modes.

On top of all of that, the HT-SF150 harnesses the power of Sony’s S-Force Front Surround virtual processing, which aims to emulate “cinema-style surround sound”. Now that might be a bit out of reach for this bar, but still, I was impressed by the width of audio and felt on-screen action was mapped pretty effectively to boot. Pair that with the soundbar’s surprisingly sleek looks and you’re staring at a value champion.

Read our full Sony HT-SF150 review.

Hisense HS214

But hold on: let’s say you’re working with a bit less space. Well, the Hisense HS214 could be the perfect option for you. This is another sub-$100 option, coming in at $99 / £79, but unlike the Sony HT-SF150, this is a mini soundbar.

The HS214’s diminutive build makes it is ideal if you live in a dorm room or small-sized apartment and want a soundbar that seamlessly slots into your TV setup. But despite its truncated size, this thing is able to pack quite the punch. It boasts a maximum power output of 108W and has a built-in subwoofer for some added weight in the low-end. Does it dish out truly booming bass? Not quite. But if will be a significant step-up on a lot of TVs – especially smaller models that often serve up disappointing sound. Yep, that even includes some of the best small TVs.

What’s more, this soundbar comes with EQ options of its own, is simple to setup and has every connection type under the sun – including HDMI ARC. It can’t create quite as broad a spatial impression as the HT-SF150, though. That’s partially inherent to its more restricted width, but its included Surround Mode also sounds a bit tinny – so if you want truly expansive audio, the Sony alternative may be a better fit. But all in all, this surprisingly powerful soundbar is a super solid option if you’re looking for a quick and cheap upgrade on plain TV audio.

Read our full Hisense HS214 review.

Panasonic SC-HTB100

And for my next trick: a UK exclusive. Sorry, US folk. I’d like to shed some light on the Panasonic SC-HTB100, which sees us return to full-sized soundbars once again. This model is ultra-cheap, often retailing for less than £80, but I was surprised to find that out myself.

Why? Well, above all, I was impressed by how clear and well-positioned vocals sounded with this soundbar. Both higher and lower-pitched voices are pretty neatly separated, rarely sounding muffled or disrupted in the overall mix. Sure, this isn’t the most powerful bar and bass isn’t going to blow you away – but if you listen to a lot of radio or documentaries, for instance, the crisp reproduction of vocals makes this bar worth it alone.

Another reason to choose the Panasonic SC-HTB100 is its Bluetooth connectivity. This bar uses Bluetooth 5.0 – more up-to-date than the previous two’s Bluetooth 4.2. And of course the big win there is you can seamlessly connect your phone up to the soundbar and play your favorite tunes from Spotify, Apple Music and the like. I found music quality to be pretty decent on the SC-HTB100 – not as good as the best Bluetooth speakers or anything – but still clear and tonally accurate, especially in Music mode.

Read our full Panasonic SC-HTB100 review.

Bose Solo Soundbar 2

Another small-sized option I enjoyed using was the Bose Solo Soundbar 2. I’ll come clean from the get-go… there’s no HDMI connectivity option here, so you’ll have to use the included-remote to adjust volume output. But picture this: you have a Playstation 5, a Nintendo Switch and a Blu-ray player. Oh no! You have no more HDMI ports remaining. But the optical connection will render that insignificant. So, if you don’t want to keep swapping out one of your consoles or accessories, the optical route may be a better fit for you anyway.

Regardless, let’s talk about the soundbar itself. Again, it’s surprisingly powerful for such a tiny model, with a maximum power output of 100W. It also has adjustable bass levels, so you can get fairly meaty low-end audio – a big plus when watching movies with dark, imposing soundtracks. On top of that, there’s Dialogue Mode, which is effective at lifting speech out in busier scenes, or just giving crisp clarity when streaming podcasts, for example.

Like the Hisense HS214, you can’t expect particularly striking expansiveness from this soundbar, in part down to its small size. But a more positive similarity is that this is again, a pretty attractive-looking model, with a responsive remote and straightforward setup process. It’s not too expensive for a Bose product either, carrying a list price of $199 / £179.95 / AU$359.95 – and it’s sometimes available at a cut-price too.

Read our full Bose Solo Soundbar 2 review.

Sony HT-S2000

Maybe I’m being a bit cheeky here, but I just have to circle back to Sony and shout out the HT-S2000 model. In honesty, this bar isn’t quite as cheap as the previously mentioned soundbars, but still, it’s by no means super-expensive. We’ve even seen it drop to less than $300 in the US and that’s unbeatable value as far as I’m concerned.

That’s because this soundbar packs almost everything you need into one comprehensive package. And I mean that literally: this is a standalone 3.1 soundbar that can play Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks to a high standard and deeply immerse you in the action, courtesy of Sony’s proprietary processing tech. It’s quite rare, in my experience, to find a more budget-friendly soundbar that can do Atmos justice. But when I tested this bar myself, I was really impressed by the verticality on offer – sounds can easily exceed the height of your TV screen, making for significantly more engaging viewing.

Again, you can expect the HT-S200 to handle the fundamentals – be it crisp dialogue, neat aesthetics and a straightforward setup. But it even gets trickier things right too, be that deep bass output, adept music replication or accurate mapping of on-screen activity. It’s worth noting that this is a chunkier bar than some of the alternatives I’ve listed above, so make sure you have plenty of space on your TV unit – that is if you don’t fancy setting it up on a rack.

Read our full Sony HT-S2000 review.

So, there you have it. My picks for the best soundbars if you’re on a budget. As you may have noticed, a lot of these models sit closer to the $100 side of the spectrum, which really goes to prove that stepping up from TV audio doesn’t have to be a crazy expensive endeavour.

Of course, some of these options won’t rock your world with booming bass or the delights of Dolby Atmos – but I can still vouch for their impressive sound quality. If you’re looking for a real top-tier performer, check out our guide to the best soundbars, where we’ve curated a list of the most elite options available today.

You might also like

• Want something a little different? Check out our list of the best stereo speakers
• I tested an ultra-cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar against a premium alternative, here's why it's worth spending the extra cash

Panasonic RP-TCM225 review

If you’re on the lookout for some ultra-cheap wired earbuds, the Panasonic RP-TCM225 may well catch your eye. They carry a temptingly low price tag of just £11.99 / AU$34.25 (about $15) and promise both “rich sound” and “clear calls”. But in reality, these buds show that sometimes, what you get is what you pay for.

But before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s start with what’s in the box here. You’re getting a pair of wired earbuds that weigh a standard 17g, a collection of different sized eartips, an in-line mic and a controller. Now, for some buds that cost about as much as three cups of coffee, that sounds like a sweet deal to me.

And I won’t deny that there are some real positives here. The buds offer a snug in-ear fit and the choice of large or small-sized eartips, meaning everyone can find a feel that suits them – something that many of the best wired earbuds deliver on. I did discover, though, that the default medium size worked perfectly for me. I also liked how cable noise wasn’t all too prominent with these buds. Sure, you’re going to hear some, but this can be almost unbearable with other budget models. Pair that with their fairly lightweight feel and the Panasonic RP-TCM225 are a pleasingly comfortable pair of in-ears.

In addition, the attached controller is both attractive and easy-to-use, with a sleek metallic-looking finish and satisfyingly shaped buttons. Its central button can be used to control playback or even pick up calls, which is handy.

Overall, I’d say these earbuds are pretty decent-looking. The rounded cable doesn’t bend too easily and the USB-C connector has the same finish as the nifty controller. Casing around the buds, unfortunately, isn’t so nice. This is plasticky and sticks out from the ear a fair bit – making for a less discreet look than I’d like.

But reader, I don’t want to get too caught up on design here. I think it’s time for the main event – sound quality. Now, Panasonic promises both “rich” and “superior” sound from the RP-TCM225, but as you may suspect, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. The first thing that struck me about these buds is that they offer relatively hard-hitting bass given their budget cost. When tuning into Come On Back With Your Love (Sunrise Mix) by Kolter, low-end output resonated with significant clout and impact – essential for a dance track like this.

Having said that, you’re not going to get the most dynamic, responsive sound in the world here across the frequencies. For instance, when tuning into Black Eye by Allie X, the depth of the drum machine was actually impressive, but the agility you’d get from more sonically astute buds was missing, meaning the track lacked its nimble, rhythmic edge. Perhaps a larger issue, though, was that sound quality in the mid-range and above was a little underwhelming. The dramatic strings at the beginning of the track sounded restricted and higher-pitched vocals could sound abrasive at high volumes.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however, as these buds did have some redeeming features. For instance, I occasionally picked up on some neat details, like more subtle, background samba drums in SAMBA DO MARCOS by Sadao Watanabe, which played into the tune’s funky vibe nicely. But unfortunately, I did find the lead percussive elements sounded a little harsh, which didn’t exactly entice me to lock in for long listening sessions.

Ultimately, the soundstage can get a tad cluttered too. I found that vocals in the mid-range could often get lost in the mix, since these buds put almost all of their focus on deep bass and clear – albeit sometimes harsh – treble. In general, you can’t expect a brilliantly balanced sonic experience with the Panasonic RP-TCM225. If you’ve got a pair of the best wireless earbuds and they’re all out of battery, then sure, these will get the job done – just don’t expect above-average audio.

Although the sound quality is flawed, there are some redeeming factors. I’m afraid the same can’t be said about the inbuilt microphone. Whether I was on a phone call or taking a voice recording, my voice sounded tinny, unclear and sometimes a little choppy too. That’s pretty disappointing given a model like the JBL Tune 310C – which has a very similar price – includes a mic capable of plating up clean, distinct vocals.

One aspect that is decent overall, though, is passive noise isolation. You’re not going to get that near-silent effect that the best noise cancelling earbuds can muster – or even some elite wired options, like the Shure Aonic 3, are capable of. But sounds like my colleagues typing or people speaking in my local town centre were dulled effectively simply because of the fit of the buds.

All in all, the Panasonic RP-TCM225 don’t really live up to the expectations they set for themselves. Bass output is nothing to be sniffed at, but otherwise, audio is average at best and lacks the control needed for anyone hoping to engage in a longer, more indulgent listening session. Microphone quality is poor too, meaning you’ll likely just be better off using your phone’s mic as is.

And in the end, even these earbuds’ low price didn’t wow me. That’s because there are rivals in the same ballpark that far outperform the RP-TCM225. The JBL Tune 305C and 310C, for example, have cleaner audio, EQ options and stronger mics. Given they’re only a few pounds more, there’s not much of a reason to recommend these Panasonic buds. Yes, if you need a quick fix in a situation where you’ve lost your Bluetooth earbuds or they’re out of juice, these would suffice as a short-term stand-in, but there are better alternatives out there, unfortunately.

Panasonic RP-TCM225 review: Price and release date

• £11.99 / AU$34.25 (about $15)
• Launched in 2024

The Panasonic RP-TCM225 sit in the uber-cheap bracket for wired earbuds. They’re available now in the UK and Australia for £11.99 / AU$34.25, but I’ve previously seen them go for less than £10 at Amazon UK, so keep your eye out for a sale.

Competitors in this bracket include the massively popular Sony MDR-EX15AP and the fairly modern JBL Tune 305C. Both of these, like the Panasonic RP-TCM225 will totally get the job done, but neither plate up particularly great audio – something quite commonplace in this price range.

Panasonic RP-TCM225 review: Specs

Should I buy the Panasonic RP-TCM225?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Panasonic RP-TCM225 review: Also consider

Panasonic RP-TCM225 review: How I tested

• Tested for one week
• Used in the office and while on walks
• Predominantly tested using Tidal

I tested the Panasonic RP-TCM225 across a week-long period. I used them for a range of activities including music listening, watching YouTube videos and taking phone calls. I mainly had these buds connected to the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, but I also tried them out with my Windows Laptop.

When listening to music, I made sure to run through tracks in the TechRadar testing playlist, which contains songs from a variety of genres – read our guide on how we test earbuds for more. I did, however, also spend hours tuning into songs from my personal library. For the most part, music performance was tested via Tidal. I also took the RP-TCM225 with me everywhere for this review, whether on walks near busy roads or while cracking out some reviews in the office.

• First reviewed: March 2025
• Read more about how we test

Panasonic RB-M600: Two-minute review

Japanese everything-maker Panasonic may release most of its best headphones and earbuds under its Technics brand, but now and then it keeps its own name in play for audio gadgets.

Meet the Panasonic RB-M600… or the RB-M600B, or the RB-M600BE-K, depending on where in the world you live. These are the company's latest attempt to find a space in our rankings of the best cheap headphones, and were launched towards the end of 2024 alongside the RZ-S500W earbuds.

These embody the traits I like to see in low cost headphones: they're cheap and cheery. Panasonic isn't trying to fool anyone into thinking these are the best noise-cancelling headphones ever made; instead, they're affordable enough for the average buyer, and offer one really useful feature.

This feature is the battery life. The RB-M600 can last for 65 hours between charges, a lovely long amount of time that makes them suitable for long trips or forgetful chargers. It's not best-in-class, but it's still really good.

Beyond that… these are budget headphones, and hit the goal of being good value. You're not getting class-leading audio, or many features (there's not even a phone app) or a carry case, but it's totally fine for people who haven't become accustomed to the best headphones on the market.

One real annoyance though is the lack of mobility in the headphones' design. They don't fold down for portability and the cups only swivel and tilt around a fairly limited range. It makes it slightly hard to wear the headphones if you have a certain-sized head, and impossible to wear them around your neck comfortably.

Plus the headphones don't have any water resistance or IP rating, which makes them feel a little fragile.

So they're not perfect, and I'd probably steer people mainly to the Earfun Wave Pro or the Sony WH-C720N. But they're decent for the price and nothing to turn your nose up at.

Panasonic RB-M600: Price and release date

• Released in September 2024
• Sold under slightly-different names
• Cost around £79.99 / AU$140 (around $100)

The Panasonic RB-M600 were put on sale in September 2024, although at time of writing six months later, the headphones aren’t on sale in all regions that Panasonic sells its audio gear. Making things more confusing, the brand sometimes tweaks the name between regions.

You can buy the cans for £79.99 in the UK under the name RB-M600B (and sometimes sans the latter ‘B’) and for AU$140 in Australia as the RB-M600BE-K). I couldn’t find them on sale in the US although the RB-M500 and RB-M700 are. For context, that price converts to around $100.

That price cements these as relatively affordable headphones – you can find cheaper of course, but I’d advise buying anything that costs much less than that.

I should flag that at the time of writing I’ve found a few sales on the headphones: in the UK they’re £20 cheaper and in Australia they’re $30 off, and it didn’t seem to be a temporary price cut either. So you could easily pick these up for less than the official price if you shop around.

Panasonic RB-M600 review: Specs

Panasonic RB-M600: Features

• Impressive 65-hour battery life
• ANC is fine, but sits well alongside passive noise blocking
• No phone app or smart features

The killer feature on the Panasonic RB-M600 is its battery life, and this aspect alone will be enough to convince certain users to buy it.

With noise cancellation turned off, the headphones will last for a whopping 65 hours between charges – as Panasonic makes sure to point out in its marketing material, that’s longer than it’d take to fly around the world. A great figure, especially for people who do go on long-haul flights (or trips) a lot.

The brand doesn’t provide an official quote for battery life with ANC turned on, but I’d estimate it to be at least 40 hours based on relative battery drain on other headphones I’ve tested. That's far longer than the premium Sony WH-1000MX5 headphones, to give you an example of why I'm impressed by it. If you want to save charge, the natural padding of the RB-M600 will cancel out some noise passively anyway.

Noise cancellation was pretty solid for this reason – the pads alone cut out a fair amount of noise. There’s active noise cancellation (ANC), and this is okay at reducing the potency of intrusive sounds to an extent, though no more than other headphones I’ve tested at this price. There’s also an ambient mode which is supposed to let certain sounds through, but I didn’t find it particularly effective at doing so – everything still felt suppressed.

There’s no app to download on your phone to enhance the RB-M600 with more features, so don’t expect any ‘find my headphones’ or gaming latency modes – given the price of these cans, I can easily forgive the lack of certain features.

And for what it’s worth, the Bluetooth pairing was quick and reliable (both for the initial and subsequent connections), and the connection was always reliable.

• Features score: 3.5/5

Panasonic RB-M600 review: Design

• Lots of controls on right cup
• No waterproofing
• Limited cup mobility

The Panasonic RB-M600 are pretty standard-looking headphones, with perhaps the most distinctive design feature being that the cups are more perfectly rounded than most other headphones I’ve tested.

The right cup is the important one, as it has a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm port for wired connections, two LED indicators, a volume rocker with central power button, a noise-cancellation toggle and a bass-boosting button. Finding the right button by touch is pretty hard until you’re used to the headphones, which is exacerbated by how they don’t stick out from the body much.

I found the RB-M600 to have a fairly limited design. The extendable head band can be stretched far enough, but the cups only swivel around 90 degrees and tilt over an even limited angle, so you’ll have to hope they fit your head comfortably or you’re out of luck. You can’t fold them down to transport them either.

When I’m not listening to headphones, I like to wear them around my neck with the cups pointed inwards below my collar bone – it’s a pretty normal way to wear them, I’d say. Unfortunately the RB-M600 cups can only rotate over a right angle in the opposite direction, making this impossible.

At least the headphones are comfortable to wear: they’re lightweight at just 256g (according to my scales; Panasonic doesn’t list its own figure), and they don’t squeeze your head too much when you’re wearing them. I didn’t have trouble wearing them for long periods of time, which helps that ‘long-haul flight’ use case.

You can pick them up in black or beige, the latter of which is what I used, but both are identical beyond the color. There’s no waterproofing or IP rating to speak of though, so you’d better avoid getting these things wet…

• Design score: 3/5

Panasonic RB-M600 review: Design

• Hits expectations for price
• Nice and bassy, but missing mid
• Limited max volume

You probably have certain expectations of the Panasonic RB-M600’s sound quality based on the price. You’d probably be right, as long as your expectations aren’t too low. They’re fine for the price, but nothing special.

The cans tote a 30mm driver, which isn’t as big as on some similar-priced rivals, and it’s most telling in the volume department. The Panasonics go fairly loud, but not to the energetic extremes that some might like in their cans. I often wished they went just one or two ‘volume up buttons’ higher to give songs an extra dose of oomph.

I’d characterise the audio as being V-shaped, with treble and bass sitting distinctively apart in the mix but with mids left by the wayside. The audio spread isn’t fantastic beyond that – guitars are guitars instead of six-string harmonies – but it's acceptable for the price. I wish the sound didn’t get as tinny as soon as you started getting to the higher volumes, but it’s not awful.

Panasonic’s marketing material is quick to tell you that the cans offer XBS Deep (or Extra Bass System Deep), which is a system that allows for deep bass playback. The brand offers it on a range of products from its priciest cans to its cheapest wired headsets. Here, it’s activated using a button on the cup.

I toggled this non-stop to see whether it worked, and it returns some ropey results. On some songs, the extra bass its palpable, adding some warmth and fire to songs. On others, I couldn’t notice a difference. It varies quite a bit.

Happily, the RB-M600 have pretty distinct and clear bass by default, so I never felt like the sound quality was poor when XBS Deep was turned off.

• Sound quality: 3/5

Panasonic RB-M600 review: Value

The Panasonic RB-M600 are a mixed bag, but it's pretty easy to overlook many of their flaws when you consider the value-for-money proposition here.

The headphones don't sound amazing, but they're audibly better than the super-cheap options right at the far end of the market, plus they come with loads of features and a longer battery life than you often find in Amazon's bargain basement.

So they do offer good value, but the only thing to query is whether they offer better value for money than some close rivals at this same point in the market.

• Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the Panasonic RB-M600?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Sony LinkBuds Speaker review: Also consider

• Panasonic's president is considering a sale of its TV business
• The manufacturer is struggling in a crowded TV market
• No interested buyers have been confirmed so far

Panasonic is one of the best TV makers on the market today – but given how crowded that market has become, even Panasonic is having to consider whether its TV business is sustainable in the long term.

According to a report in Nikkei (via FlatpanelsHD), the Japanese electronics manufacturer is considering a sale of its TV business, after company president Yuki Kusumi declared on an online earnings call that "We are prepared to sell it if necessary, but we have not yet decided on a plan."

The news comes only months after Panasonic confirmed an 80% sale of its projector business with financial services group ORIX, suggesting more measures may be required to balance the company books.

But given the sheer quality of so many Panasonic TVs – many of which I've had the pleasure of reviewing – it'd be a true shame if we had to say goodbye to its TV lineup as we know it.

What's the issue?

Panasonic is a name of some prestige in the TV market, thanks partly to the company's great history in plasma TVs, partly to glowing reviews of models such as the Panasonic Z95A, and partly to its close links with Hollywood colorists, with Panasonic touting its OLED TVs has being used as master monitors during film production.

Panasonic TVs tend to excel at accurate color reproduction and good motion processing, and have often led the way with high-end features such as automatic brightness adjustment (Dolby Vision IQ) or advanced built-in Dolby Atmos speaker systems, resulting in its TVs ranking among the best TVs for sound.

Panasonic's MyHomeScreen smart platform has often lagged behind other TV operating systems such as Samsung's Tizen or LG's webOS, but its products are still a consistent contender among elite TVs.

However, despite its commercial connection to Hollywood, Panasonic TVs haven't been on sale for US citizens in around a decade. The company pulled from the US consumer market in 2016 in the face of widespread, low-cost LCD production, which coincided with flagging sales of the plasma TVs Panasonic had become synonymous with.

These days, Panasonic makes some of the best OLED TVs, but then again so does LG, Sony, Philips, and even the long-time OLED detractor Samsung.

And while Panasonic has since re-entered the US market, and released a series of OLED TVs featuring Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, it may be a little too late for the company to catch up with the competition.

A new era?

Of course, a sale of Panasonic's TV business could see the line-up continue under the guidance of another electronics company – and it's possible that the Panasonic name could continue to be used on TVs under license, much as with Toshiba or Sharp TVs today.

As a fan of Panasonic's TVs, I'd certainly be concerned of a drop in quality in this case, or a pivot away from Panasonic's blockbuster OLED reputation – the models it makes feel so uncompromized, and it's hard to imagine them staying that way if another company took over.

By the sounds of it, there isn't a confirmed buyer yet for Panasonic's TV business, and executives are looking to address several areas of Panasonic's expansive electronics empire, including consumer appliances, industrial devices (motors, sensors, compressors) and mechatronic systems – meaning the TV business might not be the first thing on the auction block.

But Kusumi spoke of "drastic measures" to come by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, so it's clear that everything is on the table. I just hope that the fruits of Panasonic's TV labor won't disappear in the process.

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Panasonic Lumix G97 two-minute review

The Panasonic Lumix G97 is effectively an updated refresh of the 2019 Lumix G95/90, with a higher-resolution rear screen, the video recording limit removed, and a new USB-C port for charging and power. Granted, that doesn’t sound like much of an update – but when you use the G97 you realize just how responsive, well-made and powerful this camera still is, even by todays’ standards.

It does have a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, which is half the size of the sensors in its APS-C rivals, which also offer more resolution at 24-26MP+. This has some effect on the ultimate image quality, but perhaps not as much as you might expect, since the G97’s sensor has no anti-aliasing filter in order to maximize fine detail; and while there is more digital noise at higher sensitivities, you have to push the ISO quite a long way before it shows (and APS-C cameras also produce noise, of course).

And then there’s Panasonic’s somewhat controversial DFD contrast AF – the G97 does not employ Panasonic’s latest hybrid phase/contrast tech. Is it a problem? Not in stills photography, where the AF is extremely fast and responsive. You might notice the difference in video, though, where many users report the AF hunting or ‘pulsing’ as it keeps re-checking even stationary objects. It will depend on what you film, and how.

Let’s look at what this camera delivers elsewhere. You get an extremely effective in-body image stabilization system (the smaller sensor helps here), a good-quality EVF where most rivals at this price don’t have one at all, a 1.84m-dot vari-angle touchscreen, a twin-dial control system (three dials, if you count the one on the back) and, if you go for 12-60mm lens bundle, one of the best kit lenses out there, both for zoom range and for real-world image quality. Really, this is an enthusiast-level camera at a beginner-level price.

Panasonic Lumix G97: Release date and price

• $850 / £799 with Lumix G 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6
• £699 body only (UK)
• £899 with Lumix G 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 II (UK)

At launch, the Lumix G97 is being offered only as a bundle with the Lumix G 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens in the US, but in the UK you can buy it body-only or with the Lumix G 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 10x zoom. They’re all great deals, but the 12-60mm bundle looks the best for new users.

It’s worth pointing out that this is a 24-120mm equivalent 5x zoom that goes well beyond the range of most kit zooms, and it’s also rather good.

At these prices, the Lumix G97 is just about the cheapest new mirrorless camera on the market, matched closely on price by the OM System OM-D E-M10 Mark IV. The Canon EOS R100 is cheaper still, but does not have IBIS, has weak 4K video features, and does not come with a lens to rival the Panasonic’s excellent kit lens.

• Price score 5/5

Panasonic Lumix G97: Specifications

Panasonic Lumix G97: Design and handling

• DSLR-style design with twin control dials
• 1.84m-dot vari-angle touchscreen
• 5-axis 5-stop IBIS

The Lumix G97 looks and handles like a small DSLR. It might seem unnecessarily large for a camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor, but the fact is that there is a limit as to how small you can make a camera that still fits a human hand properly – especially one which takes interchangeable lenses.

Where you do see an advantage from the smaller sensor is in the smaller and lighter lenses this system uses. The 12-60mm (24-120mm equivalent) kit lens is a great example – it offers a 5x zoom range in a lens that’s little larger or heavier than a 3x kit zoom on a larger-format camera.

There’s a decent-sized grip on the right side of the body that provides a secure hold, leaving your other hand free to operate the lens or the flip-out touchscreen. If you prefer to use the EVF, that's bright and clear, and has an eye sensor to switch from the LCD to the viewfinder automatically.

The main mode dial is clearly labelled and has a firm, positive action. There are two control dials on the top, one around the shutter release and the other at the rear, right where your thumb lies. These do different things in different modes; in Manual mode, for example, the front dial adjusts the lens aperture and the rear dial changes the shutter speed. These dials are firm, positive and perfectly weighted. In between them is a prominent red Record button for video.

Round the back there’s a useful three-position focus mode lever with an AF-L/AE-L button in the center and a four-way controller with a rotary dial around the outside – though this does not have the same feel as the control dials on the top.

Overall, this feels an extremely well-made camera for the money, with all the controls right where you need them – there are buttons for white balance, ISO and EV compensation on the top, and a Q.MENU button on the back to bring up an on-screen display with more camera settings.

A focus-point joystick would have been nice to make setting the focus point easier, but you only get these on more advanced semi-pro cameras, so you can’t really complain – and you can always use the touchscreen to set the AF point.

• Design and handling score 4/5

Panasonic Lumix G97: Performance

• Excellent definition and contrast from 20MP sensor and great kit lens
• Very fast AF for single-shot stills photography
• Continuous AF less good, and occasionally some ‘pulsing’ with video

The Lumix G97 delivers first-rate detail rendition. The lack of a low-pass filter and a kit lens that delivers super-sharp detail right across its focal range makes for a combination that plenty of APS-C cameras can’t match. Higher ISOs do show noise quicker, it’s true, but not by much. Besides, today’s AI noise-reduction tools can make an ISO 6,400 image look practically like ISO 200.

The G97’s video looks good too, though with only 8-bit internal capture there’s a limit to how far you can push things if you want to grade your footage heavily later. It does come with Panasonic’s V-Log profile, a paid add-on for many Lumix models, but this really needs better-quality 10-bit 4:2:2 capture to work on, and you can only get that with the G97 via an external recorder. It’s fine for basic use and if you’re just starting out vlogging, but it’s not a serious filmmaking tool.

The autofocus is a mixed bag. For stills photography, it’s extremely fast and responsive. In burst mode, it’s a little less positive, though given that the G97 can only manage 6fps with continuous autofocus, it’s not really intended to be an action specialist.

The AF generally does a good job for video, refocusing smoothly as your subject distance changes or you reframe the shot. Its characteristic ‘pulsing’ effect is often hard to see, but if you’re filming a static subject and background it can be quite annoying. One solution is to switch to single-shot AF and simply tap the rear screen while filming to refocus – carefully!

The IBIS is excellent. It’s only rated at five stops, but this is actually a consistent and achievable figure, unlike the bigger numbers often quoted for larger-sensor cameras – which are often absolute best-case figures you can rarely approach.

• Performance score 4/5

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix G97?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix G97

• I spent two weeks photographing and filming a variety of subjects
• I tested the 5x zoom kit lens across its range of focal lengths
• I checked if the 5-stop IBIS lived up to its claims
• I tested autofocus performance for stills and video AF/tracking
• I assessed the image detail and quality against APS-C rivals

I tested the Lumix G97 and its 12-60mm kit lens on many different subjects including outdoor still images, action sequences (with a very excited dog), close-ups and indoor shots, and in a variety of lighting conditions.

Panasonic’s DFD autofocus has not always had the best reputation, so I particularly wanted to find out if and when it struggled, and what to look for.

I also wanted to check the definition of Panasonic’s 20MP MFT sensor, which has no low-pass filter, to see how it stacked up against larger-sensor APS-C rivals. The 12-60mm kit lens is particularly interesting because it offers a 5x zoom range compared to the 3x zoom of most kit lenses, and I did want to see how the image quality varied across the zoom range, and whether it declined at all at longer focal-length settings.

Lastly, the IBIS system in the G97 is only rated at five stops of compensation, so I wanted to find out just how achievable that was in real-world shooting.

The best cheap soundbars offer you an easy way to get clearer, bolder sound from your TV than its built-in speakers are capable of. Small and budget TVs especially have very little effort and physical space given to their sound output, which often leaves the sound feeling thin, artificial and sometimes straight-up hard to hear.

The best cheap soundbars won't give a big home theater experience like the best soundbars at higher budgets, but they'll solve those problems – they'll make dialogue clearer, give movie soundtracks some extra thump, and deliver higher volumes without becoming grating and unpleasant. And we know this because we've tested every model we recommend here – along with plenty of others we haven't recommended that aren't as good.

What are we classing as cheap soundbars? We're going from models that cost under $100/£100 up to $400/£300 for our top pick, the Sony HT-S2000. However, every model here is regularly discounted, and the Sony HT-2000 can be found for under $300 – our automatic price-finding tools on this page should help you find the lowest prices whenever you're looking.

We tested these cheap soundbars in the real world, in our homes, and in comparison to built-in TV speakers as well as each other – so these really are the choices that we're happy to live with ourselves.

The quick list

Here's our quick run-down of the best budget soundbars, based on our testing – all with different needs in mind. You can click through for a more in-depth write-up for any of them.

The best cheap soundbars: the list

The best cheap soundbar overall

What you need to know: By striking just the right balance between impressive sound quality, strong Dolby Atmos performance and at a more than reasonable price point, there's no better-value affordable soundbar than the Sony HT-S2000 in our book. Comfortably superior to pretty much all built-in TV speakers (and definitely all budget or mid-range TVs), Sony’s soundbar is terrific value for money, which is why we can quite easily look past its very limited issues.

Audio performance: The audio the 3.1-channel Sony HT-S2000 produces sound that can full small and mid-size rooms, though it may struggled in big rooms. Its clear strengths are the sharp and clear dialogue it delivers, while we’re also big fans of its virtual surround sound that does a good job of mimicking a multi-speaker setup. Dolby Atmos performance also punches well above its weight for the money Sony is asking for the HT-S2000, and bass levels are also pleasingly punchy – though not at the level a dedicated subwoofer delivers.

Design: Our favorite design feature of the HT-S2000? That would have to be the cool visual feedback you get when using its remote control (a feature that’s rarely seen in budget soundbars). On top of that, the general look of this bar is assured, and we’re quite taken with its sturdy metal grill on its front. The sturdy plastic casing that houses its speakers also feels reasonably premium for a cheap soundbar.

Value: While it obviously can’t quite cut the mustard against more premium soundbars, the HT-2000 provides excellent value at around $349 / £299 /AU$695. The fact it hands in confident Dolby Atmos performance is what just edges it as our favorite cheap soundbar of the moment.

Read our full Sony HT-S2000 review

The best super-cheap soundbar in the US

What you need to know: Officially priced at $65 but often found on sale for less than $50, the Majority Naga 60 is almost absurdly cheap. Normally, budget soundbars selling at the most affordable level like this would be blighted by subpar audio, yet that’s simply not the case with the Naga 60. Capable of surprisingly clear – not to mention loud – sound, the fact it comes with a built-in bass system and 3D audio support round off a quality soundbar that belies its meager price.

Audio performance: The Majority Naga 60 is ideally suited to pair with a second/bedroom TV, because you’ll notice a significant jump in quality over your set’s speakers. Does the Naga 60’s audio dip in quality played at its highest volume? A little. But at this price, that’s a relatively minor quibble we can overlook. This soundbar’s outward-pointing tweeters power the Naga 60’s admittedly limited 3D audio processing, yet it’s still nice that such a cheap bar has this feature in the first place. With defined and clear highs and a reasonably full-bodied mid-range performance, there’s quite a lot to like about the Naga 60’s audio performance, even if it obviously lack detail and soundstaging compared to more expensive soundbars.

Design: The Majority Naga 60 has a basic, no-frills design with four top surface control buttons that let you tweak the soundbar’s volume and turn it on or off. Though it may look basic, it hides a small subwoofer and side-firing tweeters under that workmanlike shell. It also sports a relatively generous variety of connections on its rear, including an HDMI ARC, optical digital port, 3.5mm analog audio input and separate subwoofer output.

Value: At just $65, the Majority Naga 60 offers superb value for money. If you’re looking for a solid 2.1-channel soundbar that offers an effort at 3D audio at a super-affordable price, there’s plenty to love about the Naga 60 despite some audio shortcomings.

Read our full Majority Naga 60 review

The best super-cheap soundbar in the UK

What you need to know: An aggressively priced, full-sized soundbar that you can often find for £79 or under, making this one of the best cheap bars for UK buyers. Alright, so the sound quality of the Panasonic SC-HTB100 isn’t exactly mind-blowing, yet it’s more than respectable when it’s going for such a bank balance-friendly price tag. And the SC-HTB100’s biggest strength? It’s confident clarity when it comes to handling voices, which is what a lot of us want most compared to budget TV speakers.

Audio performance: At such an affordable price point, it’s tough to overly grumble over this soundbar’s lack of support for Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Considering it’s a 2.0-channel bar, it also lacks a subwoofer or rear speakers. Still, its three main EQ modes – Movie, News and Music – provide well-rounded sounds, whether you’re watching your favorite blockbuster on a 4K Blu-ray or catching up with the latest (no doubt gloomy) breaking headlines. Sure, bass isn’t going to shake your room like the T.rex approaching in Jurassic Park, but speech is handled with impressive clarity.

Design: While the Panasonic SC-HTB100 is far from ugly, it has some design flaws (such as its slightly plasticky outer casing) that can prove distracting. But the worst aesthetic offender? That would be the underwhelming front display on this soundbar. Instead of a full LED display, Panasonic has gone with a difficult to make out and annoyingly small LED light that requires you to read the manual front and back to get a good grip on its functions. And while the included remote is welcome, the buttons are a little sluggish, especially when trying to tinker with the soundbar’s volume.

Value: There’s a lot to commend about this sub-£100 soundbar. On the audio front, you’re unlikely to feel short changed if you pick up the Panasonic SC-HTB100. Vocals are clear, connectivity options are fairly impressive, it’s easy to set up, and its three main sound modes do a decent job whether you’re listening to music or watching your favorite flicks. Build quality feels a little cheap, but overall this bar represents good value.

Read our full Panasonic SC-HTB100 review

The best cheap soundbar for surround sound

What you need to know: A four-box soundbar system that provides plenty of bang for your buck. Though it’s not all that fancy, the surround sound it offers at such an ultra-low price point isn’t to be taken for granted. Though general audio could use a bit of a bass boost, it's way beyond what cheaper TVs can provide. It has an easy setup process, and once you’ve got it going, proves itself a good performer across movies, TV shows and games.

Audio performance: Like every other soundbar on this list the Ultimea Poseidon D50 offers a superior audio experience than you’re likely to get from your TV’s speakers. Also, the fact it has a name that evokes a 1970s disaster flick is a big bonus. Thanks to its claimed 400W power output, it packs considerable oomph that offers both a meaty and wide soundscape. A lack of Dolby Atmos or DTS: X means spatial audio is off the table, yet its Ultimea BassMax tech provides decent bass levels. Alright, so the rear speakers are a tad quiet, yet the Poseidon D5 still provides a commendable surround sound package for folks on a budget.

Design: The Ultimea Poseidon D50 is roughly as sexy as a celery salad… though that doesn’t mean it’s flatout ugly. Though it’s on the cheap-looking side, it certainly doesn’t look bad for a budget piece of audio tech. While it looks more plasticky than we’d like, the fact it comes with a remote (even if Ultimea skimps on the batteries) is appreciated.

Value: If you’re in the market for a super-budget 5.1 soundbar, you can't do better than the Ultimea Poseidon D50. Its surround sound is more than adequate and despite lacking Dolby Atmos support and not boasting the beast rear speakers, we'd still say it's a strong $129 / £99 / AU$180 surround sound bar.

Read our full Ultimea Poseidon D50 review

The best cheap soundbar for music

What you need to know: The cheapest soundbar Sonos currently makes, the Ray is gorgeous and compact, and will deliver a massive upgrade on your TV’s built-in speakers. Though it’s a shame there’s no HDMI ARC port, but the fact it uses an optical digital connection ensures it will work with any remotely modern TV – but means its volume isn't automatically controlled by your TV. However, Sonos' setup process adds remote control setup as part of its steps, and it was fast and seamless for us, and then you never think about it again. Its four-speaker driver setup and bass ports deliver clear, impactful dialogue and power for movies, but are also excellent with tunes, unlike most soundbars here. The fact the Ray is so small also makes it a great choice to pair with a TV from 24 to 55 inches.

Audio performance: While it’s a shame the Sonos Ray doesn’t support Dolby Atmos like the more expensive Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Beam (Gen 2), it still delivers the sort of top-tier sound quality you’d expect from Sonos. The Ray’s two drivers provide width to this little bar’s soundscape, and when it comes to listening to music or squeezing the most out of an epic movie soundtrack, the Ray absolutely shines. This pocket rocket delivers full and bassy audio that also provides clarity from angles. It's so well-balanced, delivering impressive low-end as well as solid treble performance – instruments pop and dialogue is detailed, ensuring the Ray is a great choice for listening to basically anything.

Design: Available in either black or white, the Sonos Ray is understated and solidly constructed. Its flat front grille is mercifully resistant to dust and its touch controls on the top of the soundbar make using the Ray as a smart Sonos speaker a doddle when you want to tweak the volume of your tunes or pause them mid-action. The Ray is unfussy and adorably proportioned.

Value: The Sonos Ray provides good value for money… just not quite great value at $169 / £149 / AU$250. Cheaper rivals offer HDMI connections, and this may frustrate some people. And if you’re looking for Dolby Atmos support and can spare a little more money, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) might be a better option. When it comes to playing music, though, you won’t find a better cheap soundbar.

Read our full Sonos Ray review

How to choose the best cheap soundbar for you

When it comes to buying one of the best cheap soundbars, as clichéd as it sounds, beggars can’t afford to be choosers – but that doesn’t mean you have to abandon hope of good sound quality. It's just about prioritisation.

The key factors to consider are size, features and connectivity. If you own a TV that’s less than 42 inches, you’ll want a compact bar. After all, there’s no point in owning a soundbar that’s wider than your TV.

The next consideration should be whether you want surround sound tech, such as rear speakers, or Dolby Atmos support. Atmos should be considered optional – it requires additional speakers and processing to do well, and having it in a bar that can't really do anything with the positional audio data won't improve anything. But some budget bars can get good effects out of it.

Connectivity is the other major factor. Though once again, when you’re dealing with a limited budget, you can’t be too choosy. Ideally, you want a bar with HDMI ARC (audio return channel), but as you go down the price bracket, this becomes less common. The advantage of it is high-quality sound and the bar will be automatically controlled by your TV's remote over the cable – and this is necessary for Dolby Atmos. Soundbars that don't have this will use an optical digital connection, which is high-quality, but doesn't have the smarts and simplicity of HDMI – to control the soundbar's volume with your TV remote, you'd need an infrared learning process.

Design should probably be your least important consideration when choosing a cheap soundbar, but obviously it does matter to people. Most will be plain black lozenges, though – it's usually a matter of build quality. We think if you focus on sound first, most of these devices will just disappear the way they're meant to.

How we test the best cheap soundbars

We've tested all of these soundbars ourselves, and we tested them in real-world conditions – ie, in the homes of our writers, where we can use them day-in and day-out to get a feel for what they're really like to live with, and to compare with the speakers of TVs to see how much of an improvement they are.

Our testers have experience with soundbars of all different kinds, ranging from powerful Dolby Atmos beasts to super-small and cheap options, so they know which budget soundbars cheaped out too far and aren't worth the price, and which actually offer a good-value upgrade.

We test the soundbars with all the things people usually watch – big bold movies, quiet dramas, talk TV, and music – and make notes of where they stand out, and where they might muddy things. For example, dialogue might actually be less clear than a TV's built-in speakers, or they might struggle with clarity when turned way up due to limited amplification or speaker size.

We also run through the whole setup process to see how it works, including any extra features that are promised, and how easy they are to use. If they connect to devices other than the TV, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for music streaming, we'll test that too, since it can often have a very different sound balance compared to an HDMI or optical digital connection.

Best cheap soundbars FAQs

Latest updates to this guide

24 January 2025
Totally overhauled our old budget soundbars recommendations with this new-look guide, based on our latest reviews.

As CES 2025 draws to a close, there are a few key takeaways in the world of TVs including brighter OLEDs, like the LG G5, bigger screens, like Hisense's mammoth 136-inch and 163-inch micro-LED TVs, as well as the introduction of new technologies like Samsung's 8K TV with an RGB micro-LED backlight.

One market, however, looks like it'll be just as competitive if not more so than it did in 2025; and that's mini-LED TVs. Some of the best TVs on the market are mini-LED TVs. Highlights from 2024 included the Samsung QN90D, Hisense U8N and the ground-breaking Sony Bravia 9, but there were so many more models that could count themselves among the best mini-LED TVs.

2025 looks set to be another big year for mini-LED TVs, with some exciting tech innovations introduced at CES. Mini-LED TVs from Samsung, Hisense, TCL and Panasonic have been confirmed – and Sony hasn't even announced its sets yet!

The state of mini-LED in 2025

Samsung revealed its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup and the most eye-catching news was the introduction of Glare Free tech to the Samsung QN90F and QN990F, its 2025 flagship 4K and 8K models. The reflection beating tech (which is a matte screen) was first introduced in 2024 on the Samsung S95D, one of the best OLED TVs on the planet.

We were blown away by the effectiveness of the Glare Free tech on the S95D, so adding it to the QN90F – which we expect to have high brightness levels and great motion processing like its predecessor the QN90D – is likely to make it one of the best TVs for sport. This is one for sports fans to keep an eye on.

One of the other major reveals at CES was the introduction of Hisense's RGB mini-LED backlit TV, the 116-inch UX. Hisense says the new tech will provide bolder, more vibrant colors and 10,000 nits of peak brightness, while also being 10% more energy efficient. We saw the 116UX in person and its as vibrant as promised.

This is likely to be a super-premium TV, with the 110-inch UXN with a standard mini-LED backlight retailing for a hefty $15,000 / £20,000 (roughly AU$24,000) so you can expect the 116UX to be even pricier, but its still an exciting new tech.

TCL also revealed a new type of mini-LED backlight, which demonstrated more precise backlight control and higher brightness of up to a mind-blowing 50% increase in its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, without compromising the image's darker areas.

Panasonic introduced the W95B in its 2025 TV lineup, while LG announced two mini-LED sets, the QNED99 and QNED92, into its 2025 QNED TV lineup. While these didn't quite have the same headline-grabbing innovations as the sets above, they are still set to be packing with excellent gaming features and upgraded processors promising higher brightness once again and better contrast.

These are just some of the mini-LED TV models we can expect in 2025. We're waiting to hear about Sony's 2025 lineup, which could include the successor to the brilliant Sony Bravia 9. The Bravia 9 is a mini-LED TV with OLED-rivaling contrast and black levels, so could Sony look to one-up it?

We're also still waiting to hear about Hisense's latest ULED lineup, which follows on from last year's Hisense U8N, U7N and U6N, and these along with TCL's other sets are sure to make up the backbone of the mid-range and budget mini-LED sets in 2025.

The battle rages on and we're spoilt for choice

While these brands will be looking for mini-LED supremacy, we're the real winners. These brands are looking to make their TVs faster, brighter, more colorful and detailed than ever before – and they'll be looking to offer the best prices they can to tempt us into choosing a mini-LED over an OLED.

Brands are starting to invest in bigger screens through their lineups too, with Hisense's 116-inch UX, Samsung's 115-inch QN90F and the TCL 98-inch QM6K just some of the larger mini-LED sets on offer. While these screens will exceed most people's budgets, does this mean we could see a price drop on smaller sizes? Hisense is most likely to offer this, but we'll be keeping an eye out on prices as they are revealed over the coming months. Plus, we can all still dream of a cinema sized screen and having the option is always going to get a thumbs-up from me.

It's also great to see so many tech innovations coming through for mini-LED TVs as well. A common problem for mini-LED TVs is backlight blooming (where light surrounds brighter objects on dark backgrounds, creating a halo effect) but if these new innovations can reduce this issue altogether, then that just means better TVs for us.

Higher brightness, both peak and fullscreen, is always a theme in new mini-LED TVs. While the numbers are reaching eye-watering heights of 10,000 nits plus, it means more eye-catching pictures and less reflections for those of us with bright rooms. Yet another positive thanks to the spirit of competition.

2025 is shaping up to be the most hotly contested year for mini-LED TVs in years and I can't wait to find out who's going to come out on top. Thankfully for us, it looks like we're going to be spoilt for choice.

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• Big-screen TVs are everywhere at CES 2025, but I doubt they'll replace projectors anytime soon
• Samsung’s massive 115-inch mini-LED TV is its largest yet – but there’s an even bigger one at CES 2025

• Panasonic reveals its 2025 TV lineup
• The range is headlined by the flagship Z95B OLED TV
• The lineup includes the W95B mini-LED and W70B LED TVs

Panasonic has revealed its 2025 TV lineup at CES 2025. The reveal consists of three TVs – the flagship Z95B, the W95B mini-LED, and the W70B, a more entry-level LED TV. There is currently no pricing info or release dates for these models.

The Panasonic Z95B, successor to the Panasonic Z95A, one of 2024's best OLED TVs, is the flagship set in the 2025 lineup. It will use a new 'Primary RGB Tandem Panel' instead of the micro-lens array (MLA) OLED panel used in its predecessor, which Panasonic says will result in higher brightness, better detail and greater color volume.

The Panasonic W95B will have an improved mini-LED panel with up to 2.5x more dimming zones compared to last year's W95A, which will result in improved contrast and better black levels.

The entry-level Panasonic LED series will support HDR10+ (decode only), HDR10 and HLG formats and will have a slim-bezel design.

All three sets use Fire TV as their smart TV platform. Both the Z95B and W95B will feature a new Prime Video Calibrated Mode, a picture mode optimized for watching Amazon Prime Video content, as well as Calman and ISF calibration tools to fine-tune picture settings, a first for a Fire TV model. In the US, both the Z95B and W95B will also feature an ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV tuner for broadcast TV.

The Z95B and W95B will be available in both the US and the UK, while the W70B will be available in the US only. Scroll down for more detailed information on each TV.

Panasonic Z95B OLED TV

The Panasonic Z95B will be available in 55, 65 and 77-inch sizes, with the smallest and largest models available for the first time in the US (the Z95A was only available in a 65-inch size last year).

The Z95B's biggest upgrade over its predecessor, the Z95A, is a new quad-layer Primary RGB Tandem Panel, which is coupled with Panasonic's own ThermalFlow cooling system. Panasonic says this will make the Z95B bolder, brighter, more colorful and more detail-rich than the Z95A.

The new panel is in place of the micro-lens-array(MLA) OLED panel used in the Z95A, as well as the LG G4. It's not officially confirmed whether this quad-layer panel is the same 'four-stack' panel set to feature in the LG M5 and G5 OLEDs, but this seems likely.

The Z95B features an HCX Pro AI Processor MK II, which will support both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ HDR formats. There is also a Precision Detail feature, designed to "unlock more from Dolby Vision content".

The Z95B's built-in speaker system has been re-designed to allow for a wider soundstage and improved processing for spatial audio. It will support Dolby Atmos audio format as well. If its speaker system is anything like the Z95A's, which was arguably the best TV for sound released in 2024, we have high hopes.

The Z95B supports gaming features you'd expect to find on the best gaming TVs, including 4K 144Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync), ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming, as well as a True Game Mode.

Panasonic W95B mini-LED TV

The Panasonic W95B is the mini-LED entry in Panasonic's 2025 TV lineup. It will be available in 55, 65, 75 and 85-inch sizes in both the US and UK.

The W95B features a mini-LED panel that will deliver enhanced contrast, better black levels and better detail than previous mini-LED models, according to Panasonic. With 2.5x more local dimming zones than the W95A (this depends on screen size), the W95B promises better backlight control, resulting in an overall better picture.

The W95B will feature the same HCX Pro AI Processor MKII found in the Z95B. It will support Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ formats, along with a Precision Detail feature that "unlocks more from Dolby Vision content".

The W95B is also well suited for gaming, with 4K 144Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming, which is also supported at 144Hz.

The W95B's built-in sound system has yet to be confirmed, but we do there is a 20W subwoofer included.

Panasonic W70B LED TV

The Panasonic W70B will be available in the US in 43, 50, 55, 65, 70, 75 and 85-inch sizes.

The W70B uses an LED panel and supports 4K HDR formats including HDR10+ (though this is decoded), HDR10 and HLG. It will also feature MEMC for fast-paced images and sports viewing.

There are four HDMI ports for connectivity, though there is no confirmation as to whether any of these will support HDMI 2.1 for gaming.

The W70B will feature voice control as part of Fire TV, which can be exectuted using the Alexa voice remote.

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• LG unveils 2025 flagship OLED TV line-up, including brightest-ever models, and smarter wireless 4K video tech
• Samsung announces 2025 OLED TVs, with next-gen Glare Free tech and 165Hz gaming support
• Hisense’s 2025 TVs go real big, including a 116-inch mini-LED TV – the largest one yet

We’re covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

• Toughbook 33mk4 features MIL-STD 810H military standard certification
• Advanced 5G connectivity ensures seamless data transfer in the field
• Extended 15 hours battery life promises long-life usage

Panasonic has announced the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4, a new rugged tablet promising 2-in-1 functionality and enhancements in performance, connectivity, and screen technology.

The device was designed to for the needs of mobile workers across various industries, meeting both the MIL-STD 810H military standard developed by the US Department of Defense as well as the IEC 60529 industry standard for electronic devices.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 integrates Intel's 13th-generation processors, advanced 5G connectivity, and a unique 12-inch Quad High Definition (QHD) display that boosts usability in field environments.

Toughbook 33mk4

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor from the 13th generation, featuring Intel vPro Technology, also known as "Raptor Lake." This device also has an optional upgrade which uses the Intel Core i7 processor which offers greater computing power and is for users with more demanding tasks.

The 12-inch QHD screen of the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is not the largest around, but does come with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 3:2, offering more vertical space compared to the traditional 16:9 seen in many larger 14-inch models.

This improvement in display design meets a shift in user preference, where larger and more detailed screens are necessary for increased productivity in the field. Panasonic believes that for professionals in industries such as utilities, automotive, and defense, this display means easier navigation and interpretation of complex visual information.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 supports 5G connectivity out of the box, offering mobile workers faster data transfer speeds, ultra-low latency, and improved reliability in various environments. It also supports standalone (SA) 5G networks enabling users to securely transfer large amounts of data while in the field. Moreover, the device’s optional GPS and improved Bluetooth technology further increase its connectivity flexibility.

This notebook is also rated IP65 for dust and water resistance making it suitable for use in harsh conditions, and also boasts 15 hours of battery life, making it suitable for long work shifts where charging may not be immediately available.

With certification for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is ideal for businesses that require secure, Linux-based solutions, expanding its appeal to more sectors where security and compatibility are paramount.

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• The Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 updates the ZS80 / TZ80 with USB-C charging
• It features a massive 30x optical zoom, and shoots 20MP photos and 4K video
• Panasonic also announced the Lumix G97 mirrorless camera, designed to replace the cheap Lumix G95

One thing I didn't have on my 2024 bingo card was a new Lumix point-and-shoot camera, even though it's a trending market. But Panasonic just surprised us by announcing the Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 (it's called the former in the US and the latter elsewhere), which will be available from February 2025.

The Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 packs a Leica lens with a whopping 30x optical zoom – a 24-720mm range that's way more versatile than your smartphone, and which can be doubled digitally to 60x using Panasonic's iZoom feature.

It's a pocketable snapper that weighs just 11.35oz / 322g and features a 1.84m-dot tilt touchscreen, plus a new quick-send image button for smartphone uploads via Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth v5.0.

You can shoot 20.3MP photos, 4K video up to 30fps, and HD video 120fps, plus there's a new vertical video mode, all supported by Panasonic's 5-axis Hybrid Optical image stabilization, which should ensure crisp detail even when you're zoomed right in.

However, we've seen virtually all of this tech before in the Panasonic Lumix ZS80 / TZ80, the 2016 model that the new ZS99 / TZ99 essentially replaces. So why are we getting a new Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 all these years later? Well, crucially the new camera supports USB-C charging, thus adhering to the EU's Common Charger Directive that comes into force in 2025. We saw a similar move by Panasonic earlier in the year when it revived one of its bridge cameras.

Panasonic keeps point-and-shoot alive, just

The USB-C charging port is the only significant update in the Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 that I can see over the Lumix ZS80 / TZ80 model it replaces. That predecessor is now almost 10 years old, although, as is the case with other Lumix point-and-shoots, you'll struggle to find one new to buy, especially since they will all eventually be pulled from the shelves.

Panasonic has even downgraded the newer model by removing the predecessor's electronic viewfinder, presumably in order to squeeze in the new USB-C port and buttons. That's a real shame, and it hardly fills me with excitement for the new model.

While I would have preferred meaningful updates and certainly no downgrade, it's good to see Panasonic keeping the Lumix point-and-shoot line alive. The Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 on-sale date is set for mid-February 2025, and it'll cost $499 / £469 / AU$999.

Might we see a properly upgraded point-and-shoot in the future? I hope so. For now, though, I can recommend the Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 for those looking for a decent cheap compact camera.

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TechRadar Pro was recently invited to the 50th anniversary of Panasonic’s Cardiff factory, where the company revealed a new leap forward for sustainability.

By retrofitting the site with pioneering hydrogen cell technology, Panasonic has built a fully self-sufficient production line.

Panasonic’s microwave oven assembly factory on the outskirts of Cardiff has been running since 1976, and is now being fitted with state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cells, dubbed Panasonic HX, powered by green hydrogen, solar PV, and battery storage - just in time for its 50th birthday.

The first of its kind in Europe

“This is very much a beacon project for us and as far as we're aware, we are the only ones really with such an initiative with hydrogen fuel cells in using it with our proprietary EMS system,” Managing Director Robert Blowers told TechRadar Pro.

The technology is only currently in use in Japan, where Panasonic has already invested over £100 million into renewable energy projects. The project in Cardiff was a £20 million venture, and comes with significant education investment for the 400 employees already working on-site.

“I think that this facility could be used as a very strong education conduit, not necessarily just (for) today and business leaders today, but (for) the next generation. Panasonic has a very ambitious green impact target, so by 2030 all 250 global plants are planned to be net zero,” noted Blowers.

Production at the plant is set to be much greener, with electricity sourced renewably, from both in-house solar energy and from UK produced hydrogen.

The introduction of Panasonic HX is part of wider commitments by the company to sustainable and green energy, and one it hopes will be introduced in manufacturing sites around the world.

Ultra-efficient

The plant is powered by solar panels and green hydrogen, which is obtained through the process of the electrolysis of water. The key to this is the process is entirely powered by renewable energy, so is non-polluting and is the cleanest form of hydrogen.

Panasonic’s 21 5KW fuel cells have a 95% energy efficiency rate when converting green hydrogen into electricity and heat energy.

Efficiency is the name of the game all round, as the heat generated by the hydrogen cells, as a by-product of the electricity production, will be used to heat spaces and domestic hot water - and with the onsite electricity production, the factory will benefit from a more reliable electricity supply.

Why Wales?

If you’re raising your eyebrows at the thought of solar panels in Wales, you’re not alone. But Cardiff’s volatile climate is a feature, not a bug - "If you can succeed in Wales, you can succeed anywhere in the world," joked Hiroshi Suzuki, the new Japanese Ambassador to the UK.

There are a few reasons Panasonic chose Cardiff, Blowers adds. There’s an image of sustainability that is tied to new contemporary buildings, so the transformation of a 50 year old site into a beacon of green energy is helping Panasonic create a framework for others to follow.

South Wales is also home to a ‘green hydrogen cluster’, meaning the hydrogen can be sourced from a local partner, minimising the carbon footprint of transportation. There’s a ‘movement’ in the UK and Europe, Blowers says, that values sustainability, an appetite for renewables that makes Cardiff the perfect fit.

Building a ‘hydrogen society’

Whilst this is only a proof of concept so far, Panasonic is so confident in the tech, that it already has plans to retrofit a similar site in Germany, and is scouting for potential partners in Europe.

As well as its commitment to renewables, Panasonic is working towards reducing its CO2 emissions from its operations to ‘virtually Net Zero by 2030’, and aims to contribute a total of 110 million tonnes of its own emission impact through reduction and avoidance of CO2 emissions.

“This decentralised approach to energy demand management increases the company’s energy resilience in a volatile market. By integrating an energy management system and storage batteries, the factory will be able to scale its energy needs when ramping up productions, for example,” the company said.

Construction for this Energy Management System (EMS) started in August, and the proof of concept is already in operation, so although it’s not ready for a full-scale roll out, it can be adopted quickly.

Could this be the future of sustainable manufacturing? Panasonic certainly seems hopeful. CEO Masahiro Shinada hopes the site will be seen as a ‘birthplace of innovation’, and that Panasonic can lead the way in building a ‘hydrogen society’ and laying a foundation for a decarbonised future.

“So by 2050 we want to help society reduce 300 million tonnes of carbon emissions through new and existing technologies," Blowers concludes. "Now that's not only about building a group of concepts here, that's about educating the next generation of business leaders and the next generation of students in sustainable technologies. So I think that's an area where it's very exciting honestly speaking from a developmental point of view.”

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Panasonic Z95A: Two-minute review

The Panasonic Z95A is the company’s flagship OLED TV, sitting above the company’s mid-range Z90A and entry-level Z85A in the company’s 2024 OLED lineup. There are two big changes for Panasonic TVs this year. The first is that the company has switched from its own My Home Screen smart TV interface to Amazon Fire TV. The second is that Panasonic has re-entered the US TV market, though the selection of models and screen sizes is more limited in the US than in the UK and Europe.

The Panasonic Z95A arrives stateside exclusively in a 65-inch screen size, though a 55-inch model is also available in the UK. Pricing is set at $3,100 / £3,899, putting the Z95A very much in the premium TV camp, but if you have the cash, its performance and features rank it among the best OLED TVs.

The Z95A’s 'Master OLED Ultimate' display panel uses the same micro lens array (MLA) tech found in the flagship LG G4 OLED TV and features a new HCX Pro AI Processor MK II to enhance HDR tone mapping, color accuracy, detail, and motion handling. Images on the Z95A are bright, with strong contrast and rich color – it looks every part the premium TV.

Sound is also a standout Z95A feature. It has a 5.1.2-channel 160W speaker system with front and side-firing speakers, along with up-firing ones to deliver Dolby Atmos height effects. The Z95A’s sound is powerful and immersive enough that you could easily get away without using one of the best soundbars, and there’s also a clever and effective Sound Focus mode to ensure people sitting off-center still get great sound. It's probably the best TV for sound if money is no object. Packing in so many speakers adds to the TV’s bulk, but its design is otherwise appealing and it sits on a sturdy circular stand that can swivel in either direction.

The Z95A’s Fire TV interface isn’t the best smart TV platform, because it’s edged out by more sophisticated systems like LG’s webOS and more streamlined ones like Roku, but it gets the job done for streaming and features a new Ambient Experience that displays a wide range of pre-installed images when the TV is in sleep mode and also lets you upload your own images as well as create new ones using AI. There are plentiful settings to dial in the TV’s picture and sound – perhaps too many depending on your level of patience for tweaking.

Gaming is well represented on the Z95A, which has two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 144Hz, VRR (including Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium), and Dolby Vision Gaming (up to 144Hz). A Game Control Board menu overlay lets you make quick gaming-related settings, and it can be assigned to the remote control’s My App button for easy pop-up access.

The Panasonic Z95A earns its high price compared to even the best TVs, and if you want a single unit that delivers elite sound as well as pictures, it's hard to beat. But the magnificent Samsung S95D is available for a lot less, so you need to want its particular mix of sound and visuals.

Panasonic Z95A review: Price and release date

• Release date: 4 September 2024 
• 65-inch: $3,100 / £3,899
• 55-inch: NA / £2,999

Panasonic’s Z95A is the company’s flagship OLED TV for 2024. It is available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes in the UK and 65 inches in the US. Panasonic TVs are not sold in Australia.

The Z95A series sits above the company’s Z85A series, which is available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes in both the US and the UK, with the 65-inch model priced at $1,799 / £2,499. 

As a flagship OLED TV sold in both the US and the UK, the Z95A’s key competitors are the Samsung S95D ($3,399 / £3,399) and LG G4  ($3,399 / £3,299) – however, both those TVs are available for much less than their asking price now. You can find them both for around $2,600 / £2,600, so they offer a big saving compared to the Z95A.

Panasonic Z95A review: Specs

Panasonic Z95A review: Benchmark results

Panasonic Z95A review: Features

• MLA OLED panel and HCX Pro AI Processor MK II
• Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ adaptive HDR
• Two HDMI 2.1 inputs with 4K 144Hz support

The Panasonic Z95A features a 'Master OLED Ultimate' display panel equipped with the same brightness boosting micro lens array (MLA) tech used in LG’s G4 OLED TV, along with a heat-management configuration developed in-house by Panasonic engineers. It also has Panasonic’s new HCX Pro AI Processor MK II, which uses dynamic 3D LUTs (Look-Up Tables) to display accurate colors in bright and dark images and a 4K Fine Remaster and Smooth Motion Drive Pro feature to enhance detail and motion clarity.

The Z95A has comprehensive HDR support, with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, and HLG all accounted for. In the US, this is the only OLED TV range to offer both advanced HDR formats (in the UK, Philips does as well). A Filmmaker Mode with intelligent sensing optimizes that picture mode for a range of room lighting conditions using the TV’s built-in sensors, and there’s also a Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode that’s meant to accurate display programs streamed from Netflix.

Sound quality is given special attention on the Z95A, which features '360 Soundscape Pro tuned by Technics.' This basically is a built-in 5.1.2-channel 160W speaker system with a dedicated center speaker and up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects. There are extensive settings for tuning the Z95A’s sound, and it has a beam-forming feature that lets you direct the TV’s sound output with Pinpoint, Area, Spot, and Ambient modes.

For its new TVs, the Z95A included, Panasonic has swapped its unloved My Home Screen smart TV platform for Amazon’s Fire TV. This uses a Voice Remote with Alexa for control, and it now features the Fire TV Ambient Experience, which lets you add various information widgets to the TV’s ambient mode screensaver, and even create your own custom images using generative AI.

Gaming is also a highlight of the Z95A, which supports 4K 144Hz, VRR (including Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium), and Dolby Vision Gaming (up to 144Hz) and also has a Game Control Board pop-up menu for making quick gaming-related settings. The Z95A only has two HDMI 2.1 inputs, however, which is less than the four HDMI 2.1 ports we look for on the best gaming TVs.

• Features Score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Picture quality

• High brightness for an OLED TV
• Excellent overall picture quality
• Anti-reflection screen

With an OLED MLA panel similar to the one used in the LG G4 OLED TV, I expected the Panasonic Z95A to have similarly high brightness and my measurements proved that. Brightness on a 10% HDR white window pattern in Filmmaker Mode was 1,495 nits and a full-screen pattern measured 221.8 nits. Those numbers match what we measured on the G4, though they fall a bit short of the Samsung S95D’s 1,688 nits and 318 nits in the same picture mode.

In other measurements, the Z95A’s UHDA-P3 color gamut coverage in Filmmaker Mode was 97.0 and its BT.2022 coverage was 72.5%. Again, those results match what we measured on the LG G4, though the Samsung S95D with its QD-OLED display panel managed full P3 coverage and an impressive 87.9% BT.2020 coverage. Grayscale and color accuracy  (see “How I tested” section for details) in the same mode were 3.3 and 1.7, respectively – again matching the G4’s performance.

The Z95A did a good job upconverting standard-definition broadcast TV channels, and high-definition ones looked super-clean and finely detailed. The TV’s anti-reflection screen also effectively reduced glare from overhead lights in my room when I had them switched on. With sports such as football, the Z95A displayed punchy colors and crisp-looking highlights, though I preferred the TV’s Normal picture preset here rather than Filmmaker Mode, which looked comparatively muted with non-HDR content including broadcast TV.

One note about Filmmaker Mode on the Z95A: The intelligent sensing feature it uses automatically turns on the TV’s ambient light sensor for adjusting picture brightness based on room lighting. For this reason, I preferred to use the True Cinema preset when available, which has similar settings to Filmmaker Mode minus the intelligent sensing.

Another picture mode worth discussing is Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, which needs to be enabled in the TV’s picture setup menu. When streaming Ripley from Netflix, I strongly preferred the TV’s Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode to its Dolby Vision Dark mode, which compressed highlight and shadow detail to a degree. Otherwise, I used Dolby Vision Dark for viewing most programs with Dolby Vision HDR, making tweaks to the Black Level and Black Expansion adjustments in the Brightness menu to optimize pictures.

The Z95A’s bold, detailed color reproduction is beautiful for movies such as I Saw the TV Glow, which regularly uses a neon-like color palette in dark, nighttime scenes. Watching one such scene where smoke billows out from an ice cream truck, the bright green of the truck and the lurid purple smoke looked vivid and intense.

Motion handling is also impressive on Panasonic’s top OLED TV. When I watched a scene from No Time to Die where James Bond traverses a rocky hilltop cemetery, there was only a faint level of judder visible as the camera tracked his motion, and details in the landscape remained intact. And the same thing held for sports, with a Bills vs Ravens football game looking completely solid and blur-free.

As you’d expect from a flagship OLED TV, blacks looked deep and there was a high level of shadow detail visible in dark images from shows like The Penguin on Max. As mentioned above, I found myself regularly making adjustments to the TV’s advanced brightness settings to dial this in just right, but even without making black-level tweaks, shadows generally were well-defined. 

• Picture quality score: 5/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Sound quality

• 5.1.2-channel 160W speaker system
• Effective Dolby Atmos presentation 
• Sound Focus mode

Panasonic calls the Z95A’s built-in speaker system '360 Soundscape Pro tuned by Technics.' This is a 5.1.2-channel 160W array that uses dedicated left, center, right and side-firing speakers, along with a pair of up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects and a built-in subwoofer plus two passive bass radiators. A subwoofer output jack is also provided on the TV if you want make a hard-wired connection to an external sub.

Packing that many speakers into the TV’s frame adds to its depth and height, with a thick grille running beneath the full width of the screen where the front speaker array is located. And while it increases the TV’s bulk, the benefit to the Z95A’s audio hardware is that it can play loud and clear enough that you can easily do without a soundbar. 

Dialogue is consistently clear, and Atmos soundtracks have a true sense of spaciousness, with sound effects such as rain falling in a scene from I Saw the TV Glow literally sounding like they were falling from the ceiling. Bass depth and impact is very good for a TV, and it noticeably improved after running Space Tune, a feature that uses the mic built into the remote control to analyze your room’s acoustics and adjust the sound accordingly.

Along with Space Tune, another key audio feature is Sound Focus, which lets you adjust the direction of the sound for off-center seating. There are four settings, Pinpoint, Area, Spot and Ambient, which each one providing a different range of soundfield width. To test it out, I selected Pinpoint and adjusted it to align with a seating position at the far end of my sofa, and the TV’s sound clearly shifted 30 degrees over from the center. Impressive!

• Sound quality score: 5/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Design

• Sturdy, swiveling stand
• Wide array of input and control ports
• Flimsy remote control

OLED TVs typically have a thin form factor, but at 2.7 inches (69mm),  the Z95A’s frame is necessarily deep owing to its built-in 5.1.2-channel speaker array, and there is a wide grille running along the bottom of the screen where the TV’s front-firing speakers are located. It’s balanced on a sturdy, swiveling stand, which is a great feature if you want to position the TV’s screen to accommodate different seating situations.

The Z95A has an impressive array of input and control ports. There are four HDMI ports (including two HDMI 2.1), optical digital and 3.5mm headphone/subwoofer audio outputs, two powered USB, and an antenna input for the TV’s ATSC 3.0 digital TV tuner (US-only). On the control side, it has an Ethernet port and IR blaster output.

Panasonic’s remote control is disappointing given the Z95A’s otherwise premium build quality (and price!). It’s the same type you’d get with any cheap Amazon Fire TV set, with a thin plastic case, limited button array, and no backlighting. Its main feature is a blue button at the top to summon Alexa for voice commands, which, to be fair, is a key feature of the Fire TV smart TV platform.

• Design score: 4/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Smart TV and menus

• Amazon Fire TV is great for streaming service support
• Fire TV Ambient Experience with AI image generation
• Extensive picture and sound adjustments

Amazon’s Fire TV smart TV interface hasn’t changed much since we reviewed the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. The home screen is divided up into a top panel with ads, mostly for shows on Amazon’s Prime Video and Freevee free TV platforms and other streaming services, while a grid of recommended movies and TV shows takes up the bottom half. In between is a horizontal bar with a row of apps that you can customize, along with Inputs, My Stuff, Search, and Live tabs.

When on the Live screen, you’ll find a wealth of options, including news channels and other live TV programs that are free to stream. You can also select a grid format that displays a cable TV-style time-based guide that can be populated with programs available on local broadcast TV channels when using an antenna.

The Fire TV Ambient Experience is a recent addition, and it’s one of the platform’s most appealing features. When the TV hasn’t been in use for a certain period of time (you can specify how long in the setup menu) it will display a curated range of images and artworks, or your personal photos (via the Fire TV Photos app after uploading using the Amazon Photos app on your phone). You can add weather, news, sticky notes, and other widgets to the Ambient screen, and even create your own images using AI. Be careful with this, however: I prompted Amazon’s AI with “clowns juggling pineapples on a soccer field,” and the terrifying image it generated cannot be unseen.

One area where Fire TV on the Panasonic goes well beyond Amazon’s own TVs is the picture and sound settings, which can be accessed by pressing a gear icon button on the remote control. There are extensive picture presets, including numerous ones to adjust HDR tone mapping and black detail in dark images. The same goes for sound settings, which include a range of Sound Field Creation options, Space Tune room EQ, and the Sound Focus mode described above in the Sound Quality section. If anything, there may be too many options provided for tweaking the TV’s picture and sound.

• Smart TV & menus score: 4/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Gaming

• Two HDMI 2.1 ports
• Game Control Board menu
• 12.6ms input lag

The Panasonic Z95A provides two HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 144Hz, VRR (including Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium), and Dolby Vision gaming (up to 144Hz). While we generally look for four HDMI 2.1 ports on high-end TVs to accommodate multiple gaming consoles plus a soundbar connection, the Z9A’s excellent built-in sound makes its limited HDMI 2.1 port count less of an issue.

A nice gaming feature on the Z95A is its Game Control Board pop-up menu. This can be activated via the setup menu when in Game mode (it can also be assigned to the remote control’s My App button), allowing you to make gaming-related picture adjustments such as Dark Visibility.

The Z95A’s input lag as measured with a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag meter was 12.6ms. That’s a perfectly good result, although the best TVs for gaming typically yield a result under 10ms.

• Gaming score: 4/5

Panasonic Z95A review: Value

• Priced higher than premium OLED competition in practice
• Good mid-range OLEDs available for much less
• Great performance and features enhance the value

At $3,100 / £3,899 for the 65-inch model, the Panasonic Z95A sits at the premium end of the TV price spectrum, beyond even the LG G4 and Samsung S95D due to their price cuts.

You can now buy a mid-range 65-inch OLED TV such as the LG C4 for around $1,699, and it will also have great picture quality plus a better overall set of gaming features. Paying more for a flagship OLED TV such as the Z95A will get you better picture brightness, however, and that’s going to make a difference when viewing in rooms with a high level of ambient lighting, and it also gives 4K movies with HDR a more dynamic look.

Ultimately, the Z95A ranks the same for value as its flagship OLED competitors. Like them, it has powerful built-in audio for a TV – but here it's further cut above the rest – and when you combine that with its top-notch picture quality and features, it’s a sound investment if you can afford it.

• Value score: 4/5 

Should I buy the Panasonic Z95A?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if…

Panasonic Z95A review: Also consider...

How I tested the Panasonic Z95A

• Tested over the course of two weeks
• Measurements were made using Calman color calibration software
• A full calibration was made before proceeding with subjective tests

When I test TVs, I first first spend a few days or even weeks using it for casual viewing to assess the out-of-box picture presets and get familiar with its smart TV menu and picture adjustments. I next select the most accurate preset (usually Filmmaker Mode, Movie or Cinema) and measure grayscale and color accuracy using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software. The resulting measurements provide Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for each category, and allow for an assessment of the TV’s overall accuracy.

Along with those tests, I make measurements of peak light output (recorded in nits) for both standard high definition and 4K high dynamic range using 10% and 100% white window patterns. Coverage of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space is also measured, with the results providing a sense of how faithfully the TV can render the extended color range in ultra high-definition sources.

I used the Calman ISF workflow, along with the TV’s advanced picture menu settings, to calibrate the image for best accuracy after I'd assessed its out-of-the-box performance. I also watched a range of reference scenes on 4K Blu-ray discs to assess the TV’s performance, and 4K HDR shows streamed from Max, Netflix, and other services.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at TechRadar for more information.

• First reviewed: October 2024
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Panasonic has officially launched the world's smallest and lightest zoom lens with autofocus for full-frame cameras – the Lumix S 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 – and it's an ideal pairing with its Lumix S9 mirrorless camera, for which Panasonic has also released a big firmware update, available from October 9.

With those two moves, Panasonic has made big strides in improving its polarizing Lumix S9 for content creators, a camera that we labeled "small, simple, powerful, flawed" in our Lumix S9 in-depth review. With firmware version 1.1 installed, the S9 could be realizing its potential as one of the best YouTube cameras, with the option to remove recording time limits, improved compatibility with the Lumix Lab app that now includes remote shooting, plus handy frame markers to show what's in your shot for up to three aspect ratios simultaneously.

Alongside the new lens and firmware update, Panasonic has announced a 'Smokey White' colorway for the Lumix S9 (see below) for the same list price as other colors ($1,499 / £1,499), as well as a low-cost variation of the Lumix S5, the Lumix S5D. Let's unpack the key bits you need to know about all these releases.

New lens and new firmware – a new experience?

When I reviewed the Lumix S9, I felt that Panasonic had missed a trick by creating a mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses, rather than a fixed-lens compact camera with a large sensor, like the Leica Q3 or Fujifilm X100VI. That's because with no obvious L-mount lenses in the Lumix S-series to complement the tiny S9, the camera's compact form felt rather redundant. Panasonic hopes to remedy that with the new 18-40mm lens, which is the world's smallest and lightest autofocus zoom lens for full-frame cameras.

The 18-40mm, which costs $499 / £499 / AU$899, weighs just 0.34lb / 155g and measures just 40.9mm in length when retracted. And despite its tiny proportions, the lens packs a decent array of features, including a wider than average 18mm perspective that's ideal for video creators, weather resistance, focus breathing suppression, plus decent close focusing capabilities – just 0.15m / 0.49ft.

However, the maximum aperture of the lens could be enough to put off serious creatives who want the creamy shallow depth of field that a compact prime lens with a wider maximum aperture could deliver – for example, there are many small and cheap f/2.8 aperture prime lenses kicking around already, while the aforementioned Leica and Fujifilm cameras have even faster built-in lenses.

If I was looking to buy the Lumix S9, which has some amazing video features such as 6K open gate recording and Real-Time LUTs, I'd still be hoping that a compact and wide aperture lens is also on the horizon.

That said, Panasonic has addressed many of the Lumix S9's cons with a decent firmware update. No longer is there a tight cap on video record times, while the addition of more subject detection autofocus modes is welcome, and the inclusion of remote shooting in the Lumix Lab app feels like an obvious win. Before the update, Panasonic's app and camera functionality felt too limited to really resonate with young content creators.

Panasonic should be commended for improving its Lumix S9 through a decent firmware update and a complementary compact lens. It's an excellent value video camera that with these improvements makes more sense for its intended users.

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The Panasonic Toughbook 40 is a fantastic, rugged laptop designed for professionals operating in the most extreme environments. While many computers boast portability, lack of bezels, thin form factors, lightweight design, and sleek designs, the Panasonic Toughbook is the opposite. It has a fully rugged MIL-STD-810H and IP66-certified build, offering extreme durability.

We've reviewed the best rugged laptops, and while most people won't need this kind of laptop, for those who do, such as military, emergency services, fieldwork, and so on, this is a great option. The Toughbook 40 stands out due to its modularity, ability to expand internal storage, built-in IO ports, etc.

When I see large and bulky laptops, I immediately flash back to my old Dell laptop from 2010. It was clunky, had a terrible battery, would sound like a fighter jet taking off when I launched a program, and would scorch my lap if I had it on there for too long. This bulky laptop is helping me refine that mindset. Bulky doesn't mean slow here, it just means durable. And the Panasonic Toughbook 40 is a great example of that.

Panasonic Toughbook 40: Pricing & availability

The Panasonic Toughbook 40 starts at $4,899 for the base model, including an Intel Core i5, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD. The Toughbook 40 can be upgraded up to an Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and 4TB of storage if desired, obviously jumping the price up quite a bit as well.

Uniquely to this laptop, the Modular xPAK expansions allow for additional storage, optical drives, security card readers, and more. This helps the Toughbook 40 become a truly all-in-one beast of a durable machine with over 6,000 possible configurations through modular components.

The Panasonic Toughbook 40 can be purchased on Amazon, Panasonic's website, and other Toughbook/rugged book retailers.

Panasonic Toughbook 40: Unboxing & first impressions

The Toughbook 40 arrives in minimalist packaging, focused on protection and durability rather than aesthetics and portability. Unboxing this computer feels like taking a warhead out of top-secret packaging it's so intense. Opening up the packaging reveals what looks like it could be another case, except this time it's the laptop in all its glory. I will say, that Panasonic, even with the painfully obvious rugged design, has tried to make it a bit more portable with the inclusion of a carrying handle. However, the need for a carrying handle to add portability is also an admission of the lack of portability in the first place.

My first impressions of this machine are similar. The highlight is that this laptop has a robust magnesium alloy build, reinforced with bumpers and protective port covers. This isn't your ordinary business laptop that you throw in a backpack. This is the laptop you bring in the field knowing that it will get beat up and (probably) being okay with that.

Panasonic Toughbook 40: Design & build quality

The Panasonic Toughbook 40's bulk is prominent, but also necessary for its incredible durability. This design adheres to the MIL-STD-810H and IP66 standards, ensuring that it can withstand nearly any brutal environment when it comes to rain, dust, shock, and extreme temperatures. The included modular components are something that I don't see very often on even the best business laptops as most of those are resorting to thin and streamlined form factors and minimalist ports, relying on Thunderbolt to push dongles and adapters for those needing legacy ports. With the Panasonic Toughbook 40, however, Panasonic has included xPAK slots that allow users to swap out whatever combination of additional accessories they so choose, making this one of the most customizable rugged laptops on the market. Further, integrated port covers ensure that the internal components remain protected, and the laptop’s physical build, including a reinforced magnesium alloy chassis, feels indestructible.

Panasonic Toughbook 40: In use

As I briefly mentioned, I have a bad habit of feeling like bulky laptops are slow. It's a terrible bridge in my mind that I need to remove, but bulky laptops make me feel like the laptop is going to be sluggish, overheat, and underpowered. The Panasonic Toughbook 40 is the laptop that is destroying that mindset for me. So far, I have been blown away at just how powerful this laptop is. My unit has 64GB of RAM and an Intel Core Ultra 7 165 Processor. This thing is nowhere near sluggish. In my daily tasks, it excels, and even in 3D rendering, and 3D Modeling software that I played around with on here, there was not even a moment of hesitation with the files I was using.

Panasonic is also thinking ahead with the Toughbook 40, as its dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) enhances AI capabilities, making it ideal for real-time data analysis, especially in remote or disconnected environments. Essentially, this laptop is not built for "just in case this computer goes into a rough environment" it's built for those people who will, without a doubt, be in those rough environments and need the power to work through their needs.

The 14-inch FHD display with 1200 nits brightness ensures clear visibility even in outdoor environments which continues the tale of this laptop being built for outdoors. Power is great, durability is great, but if that is paired with a dim screen that can only be seen inside, then that power is wasted.

Somehow, Pansonic has made the touchscreen work with gloves and even while wet. While I was able to test this with gloves on, and I can attest that the touchscreen still works as it should, I did not take my laptop into the shower, nor did I go swimming with it, however with the IP66 rating, this laptop is noted to be protected from splashing, sprays, ocean waves, and heavy rain, but it is not technically waterproof. So, consider that before you bring your Toughbook 40 deep sea diving, or before you try and consider any other laptop for your ocean-side exploration.

The base configuration provides up to 12 hours of battery life, with the option to extend to 24 hours using a second, hot-swappable battery. This battery life is huge for those who are working in remote areas, or perhaps are just on the move for their job.

Lastly, this laptop has a great port offering. Especially since you can add whatever IO you want through the modular xPAK system.

Panasonic Toughbook 40: Final verdict

The Panasonic Toughbook 40 is an impressive choice for professionals who need both computing power and extreme durability. Its modular design makes it highly adaptable, while its performance and rugged good looks set it apart. Though its size and weight might not appeal to every user, this is a tool built for serious, high-stakes environments.

For more durable devices, we tested the best rugged phones, the best rugged tablets, and the best rugged hard drives.

Many readers may remember the 2020-release Panasonic RZ-S500W, Pana's first true-wireless earbuds, which the company launched and then inexplicably dropped in price, to offer never-before-seen ANC quality in the budget earbuds space. I loved them – I helped review them for TR's sister publication, What Hi-Fi? and gave them five sweet stars under intense examination. 

Why tell you this? Because now Panasonic is back with new buds, called the RZ-B120W. Yes, it's a resoundingly forgettable name, but if their older siblings are anything to go on, the sound will not be forgettable. 

The RZ-B120W offer up to 6.5 hours of battery life in the headphones themselves and an extra 19.5 hours in the charging case, plus Siri and Google Assistant compatibility that's accessed by simply tapping the side of an earbud and proclaiming your wake word.

There's no active noise cancellation listed on the spec sheet, but you do get something that Panasonic is calling "Clear Stereo Sound with XBS for extra deep bass" from the 7mm dynamic driver in each earbud, an IPX4 rating for heavy workouts, and up-to-the-minute Bluetooth 5.3.

We don't have pricing yet. My advice? It's not a cutting-edge premium offering, perhaps, but if you just want buds that fit well and get the job done, I'd look out for these. 

Panasonic over-ears just landed too

Panasonic also just unveiled the RB-M600B wireless over-ear headphones, which feature a more extensive battery life of up to 65 hours of playtime – with six hours extra available after 15-minute quick charge. 

Active noise cancellation is also here, with integrated feed-forward and feedback mics, that same XBS Deep tech for super-low bass, multipoint connectivity to two devices, ENC tech (aka Environmental Noise Cancellation, for clearer calls) plus access to your voice assistant and Windows Swift Pair/Google Fast Pair for quick pairing to your devices.

One for inclusion in our best wireless headphones roundup? Time will tell – we'll have to review them (and get confirmation on how much they'll cost) first. 

Oh, one more thing: my favorite flagship earbuds, the Technics EAH-AZ80 (Technics is a Panasonic brand) are now available in a 'Midnight Blue' hue. Never heard them? Believe me, you should – they're sitting pretty at the top spot in our best earbuds guide with good reason. 

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• See our roundup of the best budget wireless earbuds
• These elite headphones mix planar magnetic and dynamic drivers for hi-res, noise-cancelling audio nirvana
• Bang & Olufsen unveils 'most advanced and luxurious' headphones yet, with Dolby Atmos, double the noise cancellation, and user-replaceable parts

Sigma has announced two new lenses, the all-new 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN available for L-mount and Sony E-mount and the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN for Canon's RF mount. 

We've already reviewed the latter 10-18mm in Sony's E-mount – it's a stunner designed for crop-sensor (APS-C) mirrorless cameras such as the Sony A6700, with a 15-27mm equivalent focal length ideal for photo and video. And it's an excellent addition to the otherwise sparse range of lenses for Canon's best (crop-sensor) cameras like the EOS R7 and EOS R10. 

However, the 28-105mm lens will grab the attention of professional photographers, many of whom rely on a fast-aperture standard zoom lens for a lot of their work, and for whom Sigma's latest creation appears to offer added versatility.

Sales start for both lenses on September 26, with the Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN's list price being $1,499 / £1,399, while the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN costs $599 / £649 (bear with us while we get Australia pricing).

The new professional zoom lens on the block

Like many pros that shoot a mixture of portraits, weddings, sports, and events, I heavily rely on my 24-70mm f/2.8 professional-quality lens. It boasts excellent sharpness from center to edges, a moderately fast aperture that's great in low light and for shallow depth of field, and is consistent across the zoom range, while the 24-70mm range is highly versatile. 

Sigma's new lens is a slightly different prospect, favoring those who typically like to zoom a little closer. You lose the wide 24mm end – 28mm doesn't fit nearly as much in your frame and is less versatile for run-and-gun video work for which the wider perspective can often be super helpful. 

However, you get a whole load extra reach as the telephoto end: 105mm to the traditional standard zoom's 70mm. Sigma's lens offers a compelling middle ground between 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, and for many users, I can see it doing the job of both.

All the while you still get that f/2.8 aperture across the entire zoom range, unlike other popular standard zoom lenses like the 24-105mm f/4, which sacrifice the wider aperture in favor of zoom versatility and a compact form factor.

Sigma doesn't skimp on quality with its lenses: the 28-105mm is dust and splash-resistant, plus it's packed with external controls such as a clicked / de-clicked aperture ring. 

Although we haven't tested the lens, which weighs 2.19lb / 995g, its construction of 18 elements in 13 groups and 12 aperture blades bode well for sharp detail and attractive bokeh, as does its High-response Linear Actuator (HLA) inner focus system for fast and reliable autofocus.

There's no word yet if the 28-105mm will be made in Nikon Z or Canon RF mounts. Can I see it replacing my 24-70mm? I'm not completely sure because I do shoot at 24mm a lot. However, it's a cool news lens that I see being extremely popular, especially given Sigma's typically competitive pricing versus proprietary lenses.

You might also like

• Best Canon RF lenses 2024: the best lenses for Canon's mirrorless EOS R cameras
• Sigma announces the world’s first f/1.8 full-frame zoom for mirrorless cameras – and it looks a treat for filmmakers
• Best Sony lenses 2024: top lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras

Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D: One-minute review

The Panasonic FZ80D / FZ82D (Confusingly, Panasonic seems to call it the latter, but it most retailers call it the former) is an updated variant on the Lumix FZ80 bridge camera launched back in 2017. The new version has been refreshed with USB-C charging and improved resolution for the EVF and rear screen. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same camera, so it’s more of a relaunch than a new camera.

The specifications look pretty spectacular on paper, including a huge 60x zoom, a very useful 20mm equivalent wide-angle capability, 4K video, and Panasonic’s clever 4K Photo modes, which can grab an 8MP still from a continuous 4K video sequence, or focus on a subject after you’ve shot it by capturing a short video sequence with multiple focus points.

They key drawback with cameras of this type, though, is the sensor size. The FZ80D / FZ82D uses a tiny 1/2.3-inch sensor no bigger than those in a smartphone, as it’s the only way to get this incredible zoom range in an affordable, portable camera.

This impacts heavily on the image quality, and it’s compounded by a drop-off in lens performance at long zoom settings. At short-to-medium zoom settings images are about as good as those from a smartphone, but by the time you reach the longest zoom setting – which is probably one of the reasons why you bought the FZ80D / FZ82D – the definition has fallen through the floor, and is not really adequate.

The FZ80D / FZ82D delivers a huge list of features for the money, but its plasticky build quality, and especially its variable performance, could leave you disappointed. It does an awful lot, but it does none of it very well.

Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D: Price and availability

• $478 / £429 / AU$699
• Available now

The Panasonic FZ80D / FZ82D is priced at $478 / £429 / AU$699, and is available now. That puts it at a similar price to some of the cheaper best beginner mirrorless cameras, but none of these will come with zoom lenses that match the Panasonic’s zoom range – such lenses don't exist for mirrorless cameras, although of course you can swap lenses on a mirrorless camera, and there are telephotos available that give you something like the same reach. The difference is the image quality – images from the Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D do not approach the quality of those from the best mirrorless cameras, and you don’t need to be an expert to see the difference.

Quick specs

Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D: Design

• Same shape and size as a beginner DSLR

• Distinctly plasticky feel overall

• Disappointing fixed rear screen 

The Panasonic FZ80D / FZ82D definitely looks the real deal. It’s the same size and shape as an old-school beginner DSLR like a Canon EOS Rebel, for example, with the same rounded corners and big viewfinder housing on the top. The difference is apparent when you turn it on and use the zoom lever to extend that huge 60x zoom – you could never do that on a DSLR.

The body does have a plasticky feel, though the dials and buttons work pretty well. There’s only one control dial rather than two, which is often the case with beginner-oriented cameras, and there’s no spinning dial around the four-way pad on the back, which is actually a bit of a relief since these seldom work well.

While the FZ80D / FZ82D does have improved EVF and rear screen resolution compared to the original FZ80, it’s not all good news. For a start, there’s no eye sensor to detect when you’ve taken the camera from your eye – if you want to compose a shot on the rear screen instead you have to press a button next to the viewfinder.

Worse, the rear screen is fixed – it doesn’t even have a tilt mechanism. That’s a real surprise in an era when just about every camera has some kind of rear screen articulation, and it’s going to make the FZ80D awkward for low-angle shots or video. Cheaply made but not cheap – that’s not a good combination.

Happily there’s not too much else to complain about. The menus are big, clear, and easily navigated, and the main mode dial has custom settings for those who like to shoot with specific setups. The memory card slot is next to the battery in the base of the camera, which is always a bit of a nuisance, but pretty normal in a lower-end camera.

Design-wise, the FZ80D / FZ82D is a mixed bag. It’s a good size and fits your hand well, but the finish and controls have a budget feel, and the viewing system is primitive.

Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D: Performance

• Fairly snappy autofocus

• Reasonable high-ISO quality

• Very weak stabilization at full zoom

The major disappointment with the Panasonic FZ80D / FZ82D is its performance at longer zoom settings, which is especially annoying because the huge zoom range is probably what convinced you to buy this camera. It does indeed zoom to an amazing 1200mm-equivalent (in full-frame terms) focal length, but by this point the image detail is very soft and there’s visible color fringing around object outlines. In fact, judging by the processed look of fine details and textures, it looks as if there’s some heavy image processing going on at the long zoom settings to try to compensate for the lens’s limitations.

This doesn’t just affect the maximum zoom setting. You can see the fine detail rendition starting to fall away even at 400mm-equivalent, and it just gets worse from there. I wouldn’t use the FZ80D / FZ82D past its 400mm setting for this reason, which means a lot of the focal range would be wasted for me.

There’s another issue with shooting at the 1200mm-equivalent maximum zoom: camera shake. The FZ80D / FZ82D does have image stabilization, and this works well at shorter focal lengths. But at 1200mm, it just can’t cope – if you try to shoot handheld the viewfinder image leaps all over the place, and even if you brace the camera against a wall or railing, getting a sharp-ish shot at this focal length is a lottery.

At shorter focal lengths and for everyday subjects, the FZ80D / FZ82D performs pretty well. Images look sharp, crisp, and clear, though highlight detail in bright skies is often lost, and the camera does not have the HDR modes that smartphones have. You might think it’ll be a step up if you switch from a smartphone to a bridge camera like this, but in some respects it’s a step down.

The autofocus is nice and snappy, and there’s a macro mode for close-up shots, which makes this camera even more versatile. The 4K Photo mode is good for extracting single frames from extended bursts, and the Post Focus mode is almost uncanny in the way it lets you choose the focus point after you’ve taken the shot. In fact, here the camera is capturing a short video with a focus that shifts from near to far, so it’s not magic after all – it just feels like it. 

The issue with the 4K Photo and Post Focus modes is that they're based around 4K video capture, which means the images you extract are just 8 megapixels. If you want to capture a full-resolution sequence you’ll need to switch to the high-speed shooting mode, which tops out at 10fps, and that’s with the focus fixed on the first frame. 4K Photo mode aside, the FZ80D / FZ82D is okay for action sequences, but not great.

It did okay in my ISO tests, though. You can see fine details and textures start to slip away by ISO 400, but even at ISO 3200 images look reasonable as long as you don’t blow them up too much. This is where the FZ80D’s small sensor really holds it back; on a DSLR or mirrorless camera you'd be able to go way beyond these ISO settings before starting to lose quality.

Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D: Sample images

Here’s a gallery showing our penguin at different focal length settings: 1200mm, 800mm, 400mm, 200mm, 100mm, 50mm and 20mm, moving the tripod nearer each time to keep the penguin more or less the same size in the frame to check for image quality at different zoom settings.

Here are some more sample images shot at a range of focal lengths, and which are more representative of casual day-to-day photography.

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D

• I shot the same subject at different zoom settings with the camera on a tripod and the ISO set to 80 for absolute best quality

• I also tested the camera’s ISO performance using a tripod

• I checked the image stabilization across the zoom range

• I shot a range of subjects at different zoom settings handheld to get a feel for the kind of results average users can expect

The key feature of the Panasonic FZ80D / FZ82D is its massive 60x zoom range, but this is of limited use if it can’t maintain a good level of image quality at longer zoom settings. This is a regular failing of long-range bridge cameras, and likely to be a major disappointment for users who bought the camera specifically for that range.

It was also important to check the overall image quality and ISO performance. The FZ80D / FZ82D has a 1/2.3-inch sensor that's far smaller than the sensors in even cheap mirrorless cameras, and this can be a serious limiting factor.

Panasonic Lumix GH7: one-minute review

At first glance, the Panasonic Lumix GH7 is identical to its predecessor, the Lumix GH6. The two cameras’ bodies and control layouts may be the same, but Panasonic has spent the two years since the GH6’s arrival working out any kinks and building on its strong showing. The result is the GH7, a multi-talented mirrorless camera with no great weaknesses.

The GH6 had a dizzying range of video options, plus a built-in cooling system that allows for unlimited video recording; great connectivity, fast continuous stills shooting and incredibly effective in-body image stabilization. All of these things remain the case with the GH7, but its new sensor improves image quality, and its new phase-detection autofocus system fixes the one area where the GH6 felt noticeably behind the times.

It’s not the perfect camera, of course. The cooling setup makes it fairly bulky by Micro Four Thirds standards, with its body weighing more than the full-frame Panasonic Lumix S5 II, and its battery life still feels a bit stingy by modern standards. But it’s tough to find any truly significant faults, and given that the price is the same as the GH6’s was at launch in 2022, it feels like great value for money too. Bang for buck, the GH7 is one of the best video cameras available. 

Panasonic Lumix GH7: release date and price

• Available now
• $2,199 / £1,999 / AU$3,899 body only
• Also sold in a kit with 12-60mm lens

The Panasonic Lumix GH7 is available now, with a list price of $2,199 / £1,999 / AU$3,899 body-only. It can also be purchased in a kit with a Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm F2.8-4 zoom lens for $2,799 / £2,499 / AU$4,899. That’s the same list price at which the GH6 was launched a couple of years ago, so I have no complaints about Panasonic’s pricing decisions here.

• Price score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Lumix GH7: design and handling

• Body and control layout virtually identical to GH6
• Fairly bulky for Micro Four-Thirds camera
• Articulated swivel-and-tilt touchscreen
• Built-in fan cooling system

If you’ve used the GH6 you’ll find the GH7 pleasingly familiar. In fact, the two camera bodies are essentially the same – put them side by side and the name tag on the front is the only way to tell the difference. That’s not a bad thing by any means, although I will say that the GH7, like its predecessor, is bulky by Micro Four Thirds standards. At 25.4oz / 721g, the body is heavier than the full-frame Lumix S5 (26.1oz / 714g); it’s a chunky 138.4 x 100.3 x 99.6mm in size too. So, if you’re expecting its small sensor to result in a lightweight and easily portable camera, you’re going to be disappointed.

Still, I found it manageable, and it’s also important to note that MFT lenses are generally much lighter and smaller than full-frame L-mount lenses, so you’ll likely be reducing the overall weight by opting for the GH7 over a full-frame model. I also like the fact that it remains dust- and splash-proof, if not officially IP-rated or guaranteed to remain undamaged if it does get wet or sandy.

The built-in cooling system is the main culprit for the bulky build. As with the GH6, it sits at the rear of the camera, behind the screen, and uses a fan to suck in cool air and blow out warm air. This system is essential for one of the GH7’s key selling points, though: its ability to record unlimited 4K 60fps video clips. With many cameras limiting 4K clip duration due to overheating (and some requiring a lengthy cooldown period after the forced shutdown), I think the advantage of that cooling setup is a fair trade-off for the extra weight and size.

As with the GH6, the 3-inch screen is excellent: not only does it flip out and swivel, it also features a two-stage tilting mechanism that enables you to move it away from any cables that might be plugged into the camera. Even if it didn’t originate on the GH7, it’s still probably the most flexible screen design I’ve seen on a mirrorless camera.

The control setup is great too, with plenty of easily accessible buttons. The highlight for me is the fact that there’s an extra record button on the front of the camera, which is something content creators who spend a lot of time filming themselves will appreciate. There are also front and rear tally lamps, making it immediately clear if you’re recording or not.

Connectivity remains as impressive as on the GH6. There’s a full-size HDMI output (capable of carrying 5.8K RAW video to an external recorder), USB-C (capable of recording directing to an SSD right out of the box), 3.5mm mic in and 3.5mm headphone out. There’s also a hot shoe for flashguns and accessories, while the dual-card storage setup has one CFexpress Type B slot (required when recording videos with 800Mbps or higher bit rates) and one SD slot.

There’s no USB-C webcam function here, which seems to be a Panasonic quirk, but you can live-stream directly from the camera to YouTube Live or other RTMP-based services if you wish. Both the USB-C and Wi-Fi connections support this.

• Design score: 4/5

Panasonic Lumix GH7: features and performance

• New phase-detection autofocus system
• Excellent in-body image stabilization
• 14fps continuous shooting
• Short-ish battery life
• 32-bit float audio recording (with XLR2 mic adapter)

Perhaps the biggest feature improvement in the Lumix GH7 is the addition of a hybrid autofocus system that includes phase-detection autofocus, replacing the pure contrast-based autofocus setup of the GH6. Where the GH6 could still hunt somewhat when attempting to lock on to a subject, the GH7 is deadly accurate; it locks on quickly and stays locked on, making life for vloggers and YouTubers who self-shoot significantly easier. It’s a major improvement over the GH6, bringing the GH7 in line with its competitors on the autofocus front.

The autofocus system can be set to recognise and stay locked onto humans faces and eyes, humans in general (which includes body shapes), animals, cars, motorcycles, trains, and airplanes. The menu gives additional control over how it behaves too, and overall it feels like a great system for content creators.

The GH6’s in-body image stabilization system was excellent, and the GH7’s is just as good; and if you don’t mind a slight crop to your video, the additional electronic stabilization improves things further. Mount a lens with built-in OIS and things gets even better, with the systems combining to deliver an almost gimbal-like experience when shooting handheld. Again, it’s something vloggers and content creators will adore, as they can self-shoot beautifully stable walk-and-talk videos with little more than a GorillaPod or similar handle.

Another strong area of performance is shooting speed. When you’re shooting stills using its mechanical shutter, the GH7 can capture continuously at a brisk 14fps – and that’s with autofocus enabled. Switch to the electronic shutter and the speed goes up to 75fps with manual focus and 60fps with autofocus. That’s very fast indeed.

Battery life, on the other hand, is one of the GH7’s weaker aspects. In my experience, a fully charged battery was only good for around an hour of video recording, so you’ll want to pack extras if you’re planning a long day of shooting, although it’s worth noting that the USB-C port allows for easy on-the-go recharging and constant power supply too.

There’s another feature which I think deserves mention, even if it’s only available for users who buy the optional XLR2 microphone adapter: the ability to record in 32-bit float audio, which is a world-first on a mirrorless camera. 32-bit float is an audio format with much wider dynamic range, making it less prone to clipping and much more flexible when it comes to post-production adjustment. What shooting in raw is for images, 32-bit float is for audio.

• Features and performance score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Lumix GH7: image and video quality

• Same 25.2MP CMOS image sensor as G9 II
• 5.7K 30p ProRes RAW HQ internal recording
• 4K 120p and FHD 240p slow-motion video
• Supports real-time LUTs

It wasn’t long ago that journalists and influencers in certain quarters were declaring Micro Four Thirds dead, but the GH7’s image performance is definitive proof of life. Like the triumphant Lumix G9 II launched earlier this year, the GH7 uses Panasonic’s new 25.2MP CMOS sensor, and its imaging performance appears to be largely identical.

In spite of its relatively small size, this sensor delivers excellent quality for both video and stills. While I’d still opt for a full-frame camera like the Lumix S5 II over the GH7 if I was primarily shooting in low light, the GH7’s Micro Four Thirds sensor feels like it can go toe-to-toe with the best APS-C cameras in any lighting condition, mostly thanks to a Dynamic Range Boost setup that captures and merges two outputs in parallel.

The GH6’s sensor had the same Dynamic Range Boost setup, and while I personally encountered no great issue with it during my own review of that camera, many users complained of major problems in very high-contrast conditions. This seemed due to the fact that the base ISO started too high, and the result was the appearance of unsightly horizontal streaks. That’s been fixed now, thankfully, and you can pretty much shoot in any situation without experiencing anything except a mild bit of noise at higher ISOs.

Whether you’re recording video or snapping photos, there’s a huge dynamic range here considering the sensor size. Images are bursting with detail in both bright and darker areas, and the general color science and look of Panasonic’s standard shooting modes is as good as ever. For users who want to wring every bit of dynamic range from their videos, shooting in V-log gives you a whole extra stop according to Panasonic, taking the full range to over 13 stops (it’s over 12 in standard modes).

I don’t have the space here to detail every one of the plethora of video shooting modes available on the GH7. What I will say is that it’s a truly impressive lineup that caters to all levels of video creator (as was the GH6’s before it), including 5.7K 30p Apple ProRes RAW (with a staggering 4.2Gbps bitrate), 5.8K 30p/5.7K 60p 10-bit 4:2:0 MOV and C4K 120p 4:2:0 MP4. Like many Panasonic cameras it also offers ‘open gate’ recording, which captures video using the entire surface of the sensor – all the better for cropping to your desired aspect ratio in post-production.

The camera can also record 4K at 120fps and Full HD at 240fps for smooth slow-motion playback, both with audio included – although users should note that the Dynamic Range Boost is disabled for any recordings over 60fps, which does detract slightly from the image quality of high-speed recordings.

Panasonic has made it easy to apply LUTs in-camera too, allowing you to ‘bake-in’ LUTs to your photos and video as you shoot them. You can use the preset LUTs that come on the GH7 or add your own. The easiest way to do this is with a smartphone and the Lumix Lab app – the app lets you download LUTs made by Panasonic or other users and transfer them to the GH7, where they can then be accessed via the menu system.

• Image quality score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Lumix GH7: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix GH7?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Panasonic Lumix GH7: also consider

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix GH7

• One week review period
• Vlogging plus run-and-gun videos
• Used with two lenses: Leica 12-60mm F2.8-4 and the Leica 9mm F1.7

I tested the Panasonic GH7 for a week, using it in a wide range of scenarios: vlogging at home with a tripod and while walking around town with the help of a Joby GorillaPod; taking snapshots and landscape photos; and capturing b-roll footage in a range of different formats and frame rates. I used two Panasonic lenses during the review process: the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm F2.8-4 zoom and the Leica DG Summilux 9mm F1.7 wide-angle prime.

First reviewed July 2024

Well, we didn't expect this: after years of dormancy, a new bridge camera is hitting the shelves – the Panasonic Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D. It replaces the Lumix FZ80 / FZ82, which is the top cheap option in our guide to the best bridge cameras, with the new model delivering 2024-friendly features. 

Despite the years between cameras, most of the key specifications for the travel-friendly superzoom are the same, including the 20-1200mm f/2.8-5.9 lens – that's a mega 60x zoom that'll cover you for anything from wide vistas to closeups of distant wildlife in a flash.

Like before, the 60x optical zoom is equipped with an optical image stabilizer to steady your shots at the telephoto end, and the zoom can be further doubled to 120x using an Intelligent Zoom mode, or by another 4x using a lesser-quality digital zoom.

There's also the same 1/2.3-inch 18MP sensor – that sensor size is around the same as a regular smartphone but smaller than 2024's flagship handsets: bridge cameras offer unrivaled versatility over outright image quality. 

You can shoot 18MP single-shot stills, 10fps at full quality, 30fps bursts at 8MP, plus 4K video up to 30fps. The body and handling of the Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D is largely the same as the Lumix FZ80 / FZ82 too, with macro focusing down to 1cm being another handy feature. 

So if all those key features are the same, what exactly is new?

A modest refresh, despite the years

It's been over seven years since the FZ80 / FZ82 first came to market in January 2017. By the end of 2024, new EU regulations demand a common USB-C charging port for all mobile devices and cameras. The FZ80D / FZ82D does indeed feature a USB-C socket.

Both electronic viewfinder (EVF) and LCD displays have been upgraded, too. The 3-inch LCD touchscreen receives a boost in resolution, up from 1.04m-dots to 1.84m-dots for crisper detail. Sadly, the display is still fixed – we would have liked to see a flip-out screen.

The EVF is an updated unit with 2.36m-dot resolution and 0.74x magnification – that's both larger and more detailed than before.

That mega 60x zoom is now equipped with a new Zoom Compose Assist function. At the push of a button, the FZ80D / FZ82D will quickly zoom out, enabling you to locate your subject once more and recompose your shot: losing your subject is a common issue at such telephoto zoom settings.

Otherwise there's not a lot else that's new in the FZ80D / FZ82D, besides the fact that presumably it will be readily available once it hits the shelves later this month, which is more than can be said for the aging Lumix bridge cameras like the FZ80 / FZ82 that are now hard to find.

It'll also be the cheapest bridge camera once it replaces the FZ80 / FZ82 in our guide to the best bridge cameras after review, with a list price of $479 / £429 / AU$849.

It's shame that the Lumix FZ80D / FZ82D is just a modest refresh of its seven-year-old predecessor, but the move by Panasonic shows that there is still a place for these superzooms in 2024.

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Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS: Two-minute review

It has been said in the past that the selection of lenses for the L-Mount is too limited, however that can no longer be argued. Alongside the wide range of prime lenses, macro lenses, and high-performance zooms, there have been some key releases that have solved a real-world problem for everyday photographers. The Panasonic 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro OIS is just such a lens: it has come in as an answer to all of the photography enthusiasts and wanderlusters that want one lens that is compact, durable, versatile and affordable.

In all honesty, I have a rather low opinion of super-zooms as I feel they tend to sacrifice everything on the altar of versatility. This lens has somehow avoided that, maintaining impressive sharpness, autofocus performance, stabilization and build quality, despite its huge zoom range and compact size. Instead of sacrificing all of these things, Panasonic made the decision to make one key compromise: the aperture speed.

In a world of lenses like the Sigma 50mm f/1.2, many people will look at the range of f/4-7.1 and dismiss the 28-200mm out of hand, but that would be a mistake. The poor low-light performance is mitigated by the excellent Panasonic camera bodies, which offer Dual Native ISO and internal stabilization that means both photos and videos can be well exposed in low light without the issue of noise creeping in.

The only thing that cannot be overcome is the lack of subject separation at most focal lengths, meaning that this lens will not produce a large amount of bokeh unless you are taking advantage of the compression at 200mm.

So, portrait photographers aside, this lens will cater to a wide range of people, from landscape photographers to travel enthusiasts who don’t want to have to spend $2,000 / £2,000 / AU$3,500 on lenses to get the coverage they need. With dust- and weather-sealing included, there is little reason not to get this lens for your next holiday, and leave the rest at home.

Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS: price and availability

• Costs $899 / £899 / AU$1,599
• Available to buy now
• Lens hood is supplied

The Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS was announced on March 26 2024, and costs $899 / £899 / AU$1,599 – a reasonable price for such a versatile lens. 

There's no real Panasonic alternative that covers both wide and telephoto focal lengths, with the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 covering the wide to standard end, and the 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 the telephoto end. The 24-105mm is a decent alternative for pros, but it's an altogether proposition, being weightier and pricier. 

Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS: design

• Decent balance with Lumix cameras
• 7x optical zoom
• Optical image stablization included
• Rubber-sealed and weather resistant

The small size and light weight of the Panasonic 28-200mm is immediately noticeable, and it balances very comfortably on cameras like the Panasonic Lumix S5 II. It is primarily a plastic build; however it doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy, with smooth resistance on both the focus and zoom rings. 

There are just a couple of switches on the lens, including one for the OIS, which provides an excellent 6.5 stops of stabilization, coupled with an AF - MF selector switch. The metal mount and weather seal further enhance its credentials as a one-and-done travel lens. 

I like the fact that the lens is slimmer than many zooms, with just a 67mm front thread, much like my beloved Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8. I find the large diameter of lenses like the Panasonic 24-105mm F4 to be unwieldy and uncomfortable, making you feel like you are carrying a far bulkier setup when travelling. Whipping my Lumix S5 II in and out of my side bag with this lens on was quick and easy, and it encouraged me to take more photos without feeling conspicuous. 

Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS: Performance

• Just 14.6oz / 413g
• Impressive closeup photography ability with up to 0.5x magnification
• Moderate flare and ghosting

Panasonic has been clever here: by offering what could be described as an unimpressive aperture range, f/4-7.1, it has allowed the lens to not only be compact, but also sharp and free of most image quality issues. 

Professional photographers know that prime lenses are almost always sharper than zooms. However, their f/1.4 or f/1.8 apertures also cause chromatic aberration and fringing, as well as softness in the corners that is expensive to correct for. These are a non-issue with the 28-200mm, as the aperture range allows the lens to remain sharp from corner to corner, with no chromatic aberration or unwanted rendering elements that I could find.

The fact that this lens also offers macro capabilities is remarkable, and I was pretty stunned to see how close I could get to a subject while still being able to focus. At 28mm, I could capture something just 1.2in / 3cm away from the front element, which created sharp images with wonderfully soft out-of-focus areas.

Of course this won’t be the lens for serious macro photographers who need the reproduction ratio of lenses like the Panasonic S 100mm F2.8, but it is a great added feature for those who want one lens to cover all their bases.

Autofocus speed and accuracy has been one of the key upgrades to the newer Panasonic line of cameras, and this lens doesn’t let down the team here either. Although it uses a linear motor, instead of the smoother stepping motors found in some of Panasonic’s other lenses, it snaps to the subject quickly and holds focus very well when zooming in and out.

I did have a few issues with unpleasant flaring and ghosting when shooting into the sun, which is common in super-zooms, so I would make sure to use the included lens hood when in those situations.

Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS: sample images

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro OIS

• A mixture of landscape, wildlife and portrait photography
• Used in changeable weather

Panasonic was kind enough to let me take this lens around southern Egypt, where I put it through its paces for real-world travel photography on my Lumix S5 II. From the desert to the Nile, it came with me on boats, camels, to the hotel poolside and through the local streets and markets. For the days I was testing it, I didn’t use any other lenses and relied solely on it for all the moments I wanted to capture. While I take care of my kit, I certainly don’t baby it, and I got to test the ruggedness of the lens along with its performance. 

• First reviewed in June 2024

Anyone looking for the best laptop or the best business laptop will likely have come across some of Panasonic's designed-for-experts models, including the Let's Note series, which is extremely popular in Japan. 

We last met the Panasonic Let's Note in 2023, specifically the Let’s Note SR 12.4, which launched in October 2023 with a lot of very interesting features, most notably a circular trackpad that breaks a lot of the conventions of Western laptop designs. 

And now Panasonic is out with a brand new refresh (webpage in Japanese) to the iconic Let's Note lineup, bringing them squarely into 2024.

New cards, new colors, same circular trackpad 

The new models, named the Let's Note FV5, Let's Note SR4, and Let's Note QR4, will be available starting on June 14 in Japan, costing upwards of around £1,500 (or $1,900).  

Availability outside of Japan is often very limited, especially for new models. Older models do appear on eBay and other third-party sellers, however, although the default version of Windows 11 is in Japanese. 

All of the Let's Note models come with Windows 11 Pro as standard, something you would expect from a business-focused device. In terms of the design, Panasonic has retained the boxy chassis and circular trackpad that makes the laptop so iconic. 

On the inside of the device, everything has been refreshed: all of the models get Intel's new Core Ultra 7 processors (except the low-end model, which gets Core Ultra 5), and the bundled Intel Arc GPU. Users can choose between 16GB and 32GB of RAM, and there are 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB SSD configurations. 

Panasonic has retained the 14-inch 2160 x 1440 resolution display for all models, and as such the weight of the laptops is kept relatively low at around 1.1kg. There is also Wi-Fi 6E, a nano SIM card slot, and SD card slot, which are nice additions in our MacBook-dominated lives. 5G connectivity also is there for the ride. 

The company says users can expect battery life of around nine hours of typical usage, which is fairly good, and since most users are likely to be using a Let's Note in the office, and then occasionally in a car or on a train, that is likely to be enough. Battery life does vary by each model and its respective CPU and GPU versions. 

As a final flourish, Panasonic is also rolling out two new colors – Floral Gold and Matte Violet – to compliment the very business-like grey colour of old. 

In Japan, Panasonic is running a variety of discounts (webpage in Japanese) at launch, offering money off for those who complete a quiz, and off the price of Microsoft Office. 

More from TechRadar Pro

• Meet Japan’s weirdest laptop — Panasonic’s extraordinary 1kg Let’s Note takes two SIMs, has a round touchpad, and holds on to a 35-year-old tech so that you can run four monitors
• Check out our full Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 review
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Laptops are essential to most jobs these days in one way or another. However, one similarity spans most laptops—they are fragile. Sure, a few are more durable than others, but the fear of breaking your expensive laptop will remain unless you have a rugged-style laptop. 

Like many of the best rugged laptops we've tested out, that's where Panasonic's line of Toughbooks comes into play. Several large laptop companies have a rugged laptop line-up. Still, Panasonic has recently updated theirs with the release of the Toughbook 55 Mk3, pushing their performance beyond what was previously attained in the rugged laptop world. But can it protect against the bumps, knocks, and scrapes of day-to-day use? We put the laptop through its paces.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Unboxing and First Impressions

From the beginning of my experience with this laptop, it became evident that the focus was on rugged durability. The laptop's packaging is a Pelican-style case with locking hinges, custom-fit padding, and more protection than I have ever seen with a computer's packaging.

The laptop covers all the ports that can be covered and closed to protect the port and computer from whatever elements you may be experiencing that day. Additionally, several modular bays on this laptop allow for expansion and customization.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Design and Build Quality

Panasonic's Toughbook 55 MK3 is a semi-rugged laptop, meaning that while it is not the most rugged option available, it's still durable enough to take a few hits and be okay. This laptop is rugged and durable for most scenarios, and the power is impressive, too. Something about large and rugged tech immediately makes me feel like it will be slow and unresponsive. However, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 proves that thought wrong. 

The Toughbook is Panasonic's line of laptops built for the outdoors. It is not just durable for a heavy set down in the office like most laptops, but durable for a drop out of a truck, knocked around at a construction yard, fumbled on a trail, or bumped at a factory. These laptops even have mounting grids for desktops or vehicles (such as a police cruiser or work truck). To help with traveling and mobility, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 also has a built-in handle that can expand when used and tuck back away when not needed.

To touch on the modular design, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 has six user-removable areas that can house a plethora of upgrades such as expanded RAM, Memory, batteries, optical drives, barcode readers, authentication readers, and other I/O.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: In use

I've used a laptop heavily for nearly two decades now, and with my role reviewing gear over the last several years, I have used not only a single laptop but many laptops. I have always babied my laptops, protecting them in every way I can by using a laptop sleeve in my backpack, cases, sleeves, docks, and cleaning materials. I remember the one time I dropped my laptop; I was devastated because there was now a mark and slight dent in my beloved computer.

The Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 is a different breed. While still as fast as the other incredible laptops I am testing, it is also unbelievably durable and ready for anything. While I am not taking this laptop to the top of a mountain, nor am I in construction, I did feel its durability and ruggedness even when used just for daily use. I brought this laptop with me everywhere for a while during testing, and it was all without any worries or concerns. 

While durable, this laptop is also remarkably capable. It makes other laptops feel limited because of their lack of modularity. I appreciate the ability to swap in and out modular pieces depending on what is essential. You can add more if you work on the go and need a massive battery. If you need a disk drive, you can add a disk drive. For both examples, if you'd rather have a different piece or a lighter overall machine, you can choose not to have those pieces, too.

This Toughbook is an excellent laptop for many reasons, such as its modularity, ruggedness, and battery life. However, there are some downsides. For one, it is significant and does not fit in my backpack's laptop sleeve or any of my backpacks. It could be more sleek, understated, and minimalist than most laptops. It doesn't fit in laptop sleeves or docks easily, either. 

But that's the point. It's designed to be used differently than most laptops. While it's more challenging to take with you places, it is specifically made for specific environments. This is different from the computer you take to get some light writing done at a coffee shop or one that you would buy for your admin job or remote work. This laptop is specifically for those who work in hazardous or outdoor scenarios and need one that can withstand such environments without needing to be babied, as most laptops do.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Final verdict

If you are in the market for a semi-rugged yet high-powered laptop, consider the Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3. It is a highly functional, powerful, and all-around fantastic computer with a rugged exterior. While, as mentioned, it may not be an excellent option for an admin computer, one frequently used in an office, or one that is going to be used as a traditional laptop, it will be great for those who value durability as much as they value performance.

We've tested the best rugged tablets and best rugged phones for durability in the field.

Panasonic Lumix S9: two-minute review

There's much to like about the Panasonic Lumix S9. It inherits superb video features from its pricier sibling, the Lumix S5 II, and squeezes them into a smaller, colorful body. 

It boasts a 24.2MP full-frame sensor, open gate 6K video recording (taken from the full height and width of the 3:2 aspect sensor), the option to automatically set a 180-degree shutter angle, and one of the best performing image stabilization systems for shooting video on the move. 

Beyond its bigger sibling, the Lumix S9 also brings Panasonic's lesser-known Real Time LUTs color profiles to your fingertips. Fujifilm's Film Simulations have been trending, but Real Time LUTs color profiles are next-level, with no restriction on the look you want. 

Once you're connected to the new Lumix Lab app, you can import a number of Real Time LUTs profiles directly on to the Lumix S9, including a variety of excellent looks made by Panasonic's network of professional creators. This is color grading made easy for photo and video. 

Design-wise, the Lumix S9 is primarily a video camera, and at $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,699 it offers incredible bang for buck. The reason Panasonic has been able to drop the price from the $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$2,989 Lumix S5 II is simple – this is a much simpler body, and a colorful one at that, designed to appeal to young creatives. 

This is no photographer's tool, despite the excellent-quality 24MP stills: the Lumix S9 doesn't have a built-in viewfinder, or a hotshoe for mounting optional accessories, such as a flash or EVF. The coldshoe is instead limited to other accessories such as an external mic, or even a top handle.  

I missed having a viewfinder. Much of my testing was conducted in bright sunny weather and the flip-out touchscreen isn't the easiest to see under such conditions. 

In bright conditions you can't be fully sure if the Lumix S9 has locked focus on to your subject, you just have to trust it does. To be fair, for the best part it does – the S9 has Panasonic's best ever autofocus system, with human and animal subject detection and both with options for face and eye detection only, or for bodies, too. 

We're missing a headphone jack to monitor audio, which feels like a misstep for a video-focused shooter. You can activate on-screen audio monitoring which gives some indication of audio levels, but there's no easy way to properly monitor sound.

In essence, this is a full-frame camera for beginner filmmakers who want to point-and-shoot and trust that the camera will capture excellent visuals and audio, and for the whole experience to be as close to using a smartphone as possible.

To an extent, the Lumix S9 is successful in its mission. It's visually appealing, small and simple, brings lovely photo and video color profiles to your fingertips and the app is a nice touch, even if it could do with some refining.

However, considering the target market, I'm not entirely convinced this should be an L-mount interchangeable lens camera, rather a fixed lens compact with a tiny wide-angle fast aperture prime lens – much like the Fujifilm X100VI.

It's really hard to make tiny full-frame lenses, and the new pancake lens announced on the same day as the S9, plus the compact zoom in the pipeline, hardly excite. The smallest fast aperture L-mount prime lenses dwarf the camera and I'm not sure beginners will want to mess around with multiple lenses in the first place.

Design-wise, Sony's ZV-E10 feels like a better bet – with its smaller APS-C sensor and lenses, plus a decent grip. All being said, the Lumix S9 does a lot of things really well, new things, too, and we'll have to wait and see if it hits the mark with young creatives.

Panasonic Lumix S9: release date and price

• Body-only price is $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,499
• Available from June 2024
• Launched alongside the Lumix S 26mm F8 pancake lens, which costs $219 / £219 / AU$349

The Panasonic Lumix S9 is available in four colors: Dark Olive (pictured, below), Classical Blue, Crimson Red and Jet Black, and costs $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,499 body-only, or $1,799 /£1,799 / AU$3,299 with the decent 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and $2,249 / £2,249 when bought with Panasonic's new travel lens, the 28-200mm f/4-7.1 (This kit option is not available in Australia at the time of writing). The camera is available from June 2024. 

There's no word yet if the Lumix S9 will be available as a bundle with either of the newly announced lenses, the new 26mm f/8 pancake lens or the 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 compact zoom in development. The pancake lens, which only weighs 2.04oz / 58g, costs $219 / £219 / AU$349 and also ships from June 2024, while the compact zoom is coming later.

At launch, the Lumix S9 is Panasonic's cheapest full-frame camera yet, although the Panasonic Lumix S5 II / S5 II X that shares much of the same tech but in a higher-spec body, is often on sale for a similar cost.

• Price score: 4/5

Panasonic Lumix S9: design and handling

• Newly designed body is Panasonic's smallest full-framer yet
• No viewfinder, hotshoe or headphone jack
• Vari-angle touchscreen
• New compact lenses on the way

The Lumix S9 is Panasonic's smallest full-frame camera yet, measuring 126 x 73.9 x 46.7 mm / 4.96 x 2.91 x 1.84 inches. It's not the smallest full-frame camera around – that award goes to the Sigma FP, plus the Sony A7C II is smaller by a whisker.

The body might barely be a handful, but it still needs a lens, and even the smallest full-frame L-mount lenses currently available – excluding the new 26mm F8 pancake – dwarf the Lumix S9. Throw on the excellent 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and the depth is increased to 133.9mm / 5.28-inches. 

A thumb grip goes some way in providing a secure hold, but with no hand grip you'll probably need to support the camera with both hands, or kit it out with a third-party grip. Relatively chunky lenses are the challenge in handling small full-frame cameras like this – the all round feel is better with a camera like the full-size Lumix S5 II. 

In an ideal world, the Lumix S9 would have a fixed prime lens around the size of Panasonic's new pancake lens, but with a much faster maximum aperture – the Fujifilm X100VI approach. Panasonic could then also install a built-in ND filter, and ultimately create a truly compact video camera that also shoots much better video than your phone.

Still, if you don't mind the size of lenses like the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F1.8 – both of which I had with the camera for this review – then you can make some excellent quality video.

There's the question of which tasteful color variation you will pick: green, red, blue, or an all-black option for those playing it safe. For now, Panasonic's lenses remain all-black; there's no color-matching kit lenses.

Control layout is super simple and beginner-friendly: on the top there's a shooting mode dial, video record button, exposure compensation, shutter button and control dial. We get a limited number of ports: mic, USB-C and mini-HDMI, but no headphone jack.

As a small, video-focused camera, there's no viewfinder nor the option to add one, while the coldshoe mount can hold an accessory like an external mic, but it won't connect directly to a hotshoe flash.

The 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen is decent, albeit hard to see in bright light. I couldn't find the option to activate a red border to clearly indicate when the camera is recording video, or even a tally lamp – inexplicable omissions for a small, video-focused camera.

In-camera menus are fairly-well laid out. If you select the video mode on the top dial, then all of the photography settings disappear in the menu, helping you access video options much quicker.

You'll want to customize video options to get started, for example setting the 'Shutter Speed / Gain Operation' to prioritize shutter angle to automatically apply the 180-degree shutter angle for smooth video footage. This handy option is not available on a lot of other pricier video cameras.

A new LUT button on the rear gives quick access to the unmatched variety of color profiles, which can be uploaded to the camera via the Lumix Lab app in addition to those already included. I went for 'Platinum Steel' by Sam Holland for a moody vibe with soft skin tones, among others.

Panasonic wants to create a camera and app experience that's easier than ever. From my brief time using the Android version of the Lumix Lab app, the jury is still out. Connection is faster than most, but the app can still be awkward to navigate, and appears to be limited to file transfers and uploading LUTs profiles. There could be more than this, including remote control.

• Design score: 3/5

Panasonic Lumix S9: features and performance

• Superb in-body image stablization
• Panasonic's best phase detection autofocus
• Battery life is a respectable 470-shots (depending on lens)
• Single UHS-S II SD card slot
• New Lumix Lab app

The Lumix S9 is well supported by Panasonic's best ever autofocus and image stablization performance, both inherited from the Lumix S5 II. 

The S9's bigger sibling was the first Panasonic camera to utilize a hybrid autofocus system, with snappy contrast detection autofocus primarily for stills, and smooth phase-detection autofocus for video, featuring subject detection modes that cover human, animal, car and motorcycles. 

Human and animal detection autofocus can switch between prioritizing face and eye only, or face, eye and body, and in general works really well. 

Image stabilization performance is outstanding. It's possible to shoot sharp photos handheld with shutter speeds in the seconds, while handheld video footage on the go is super smooth – smooth enough for moderate action that you can avoid using a gimbal. 

There's just a single SD card slot with support for the faster UHS-II type, and you can capture up to 120 images in the continuous high burst shooting setting, which maxes out at 8 frames per second with continuous autofocus employed. This is no action photography camera, but it's hardly a slouch. 

Battery life is also decent, especially considering the diminutive size of the camera. According to its CIPA rating, the S9 can squeeze out up to 470 shots from a fully charged battery, or 100 minutes of continuous 4K / 60p video recording. 

Then there's the Lumix Lab app, which at the time of writing is compatible only with the Lumix S9. In my experience using a Google Pixel 6 and the Android version of the app, pairing the camera is quicker and more reliable than most other rival apps. 

In the app you get quick access to a range of Real Time LUTs color profiles. A number of Panasonic's creators have loaded some of their own publicly available and free to download LUTs in the app's Creator gallery, and I've found a look for just about every scenario. 

I've included a high-contrast street photo taken in London with the Lumix S9's standard color profile, and then applied a free 'Platinum Steel' LUT which suited the scene (see above).

Sadly, video capture times are severely limited, capped at just 15 minutes, and further reduced to 10 minutes when shooting in 6K. This is presumably to avoid overheating given the Lumix S9 lacks an internal fan, as opposed to any limitations in the camera's performance, including its processor power and card's read and write speeds.

Most people won't shoot individual clips for longer than 15 minutes, but knowing that you can in any situation is one less thing to worry about, whether that's recording speeches at an event or lengthy vlogs.

• Features and performance score: 3.5/5

Panasonic Lumix S9: image and video quality

• Superb video features including open gate video recording up to 6K / 30p
• Real Time LUTs color profiles are supremely versatile
• New MP4 Lite file format
• Up to 14-stops dynamic range in V-log color profile

With practically the same sensor and video spec as the Lumix S5 II, you can be assured that the Lumix S9 captures superb quality video, plus sharp and punchy 24MP stills. You can read more about the image and video quality to expect in our Lumix S5 II review.

What the Lumix S9 tries to do differently is bring Panasonic's Real Time LUTs to the fore, through quick access via a direct button on the camera's body and the Lumix Lab app, through which you can easily upload any one of a vast array of color profiles for just about any shooting scenario. 

You can create your own color profiles and save them to the camera, or simply take advantage of the profiles already available through the Creator's gallery in the app.

There's also the matter of a new MP4 Lite video format (see sample video, below). It maxes out at 4K, 10-bit 4:2:0, but produces files that are around 40% smaller than regular MP4 files, which are also available in the S9. However, for best quality video, you'll probably want to shoot in .MOV format in 4K 4:2:2 10-bit or 6K 4:2:0 10-bit, even if the file sizes are much bigger. 

Whether it's a light and easy ready-made MP4 Lite video with Real Time LUT applied, or 6K 10-bit video in the V-log color profile with 14-stops of dynamic range that needs to be graded afterwards, there's video quality for every level of ability and shooting scenario. 

• Image quality score: 4.5/5

Panasonic Lumix S9: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix S9?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Panasonic Lumix S9: also consider

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix S9

• Brief pre-launch session with street photography walk, followed by one week review period
• Paired with the 26mm pancake, 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F/1.8 lenses
• Synced with the Lumix Lab app

I've had two periods with the Lumix S9 so far; an afternoon event ahead of launch that included a London street photography walk, plus a more leisurely one week review period. 

I've been shooting both photos and videos, and tried pairing the S9 with the Lumix Lab app to play around with various Real Time LUTs color profiles and making quick edits to photos, among other things. 

During the London session I was briefly able to use the S9 with the only copy of the pancake lens available in the UK, plus I've had more time using the camera with the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F1.8 Panasonic Lumix L-mount lenses at home. 

First reviewed May 2024

Speculation is mounting that Panasonic is preparing to announce a ‘new kind of Lumix camera’, with rumors pointing to a premium large-sensor compact camera with fixed lens. 

Should such a camera be on the way, it would be a rival to the Fujifilm X100VI and Leica Q3, and I’m all for it – and Panasonic is the perfect company to break into this digital compact camera space. 

These days Panasonic is better known for making the best video cameras for consumers, like the excellent Lumix S5 II, but it also has a decent track record in making premium compact cameras such as the Lumix LX100 II. However, enthusiastic forum comments responding to the Panasonic speculation focus on an all-new full-frame compact, rather than a replacement for the micro four thirds (MFT) model or indeed any other existing Lumix. 

Fujifilm and Ricoh produce crop-sensor (APS-C) compacts, while Leica is the only company actively producing a full-frame compact, with the Sony RX1-series of full-frame compacts appearing to be dead in the water despite the cult following they gathered – the latest RX1R II model is almost 10 years old. 

Premium compact cameras have gained popularity over the last few years, and it's become increasingly difficult to acquire one of the leading models such as the Fujifilm X100VI, my personal favorite camera in 2023 the Leica Q3, or Ricoh’s GR III / GR IIIx. And with its track record in producing high-quality and affordable MFT and L-mount full-frame cameras, Panasonic could be best placed to offer a fresh alternative.

I don’t think Panasonic can rival the Leica Q3 for looks and handling, and to an extent it doesn’t need to. What it needs to create is a low-cost alternative to the $6,000 / £5,300 / AU$10,300 out-of-stock red-dot compact. Sony tried its luck with the RX1 series, but its cameras were always too close in price to the Leica Q series to tempt enough people away.

As to affordability, it would make more sense that a potential Lumix full-frame compact camera has the same 24MP sensor as found in the S5 II, rather than the pricier higher-resolution 47.3MP sensor in the Lumix S1R.

However, if Panasonic could sell a premium compact with the higher-resolution full-frame sensor for under half the price of the Q3, that would be enough of a saving to opt for Lumix instead.

There’s no word on potential product specs – there’s not even a suggestion of a name for what would be a totally new Lumix camera. But a feature-set somewhat in the mold of the Leica Q3, with its 28mm f/1.7 lens, without the hefty price tag, would have me on board.

A full-frame fixed lens Lumix compact could be extremely popular, especially if it adopts the kind of retro-looks that clothe cameras like the rangefinder-style Lumix GX9 too.

In general, camera rumors and speculation are usually based on what has come before – updates of current models and so on. This rumor is a little leftfield, and feels more like wishful thinking – but I’ll certainly be having my fingers crossed.

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I love Fujifilm. Anyone that has followed my work in recent years will have heard me raving about it as the ideal ecosystem for travel photographers. The compact size of cameras like the X100VI, stylized film simulations, the wonderful selection of small and sharp lenses: all of it is perfectly targeted at enthusiasts and global nomads looking to express their creativity and share the places they’ve seen. So why on earth did I sell all my Fujifilm gear and change systems?

For all of Fujifilm’s appealing aesthetics and features, there are a number of compromises that come with it, which can make things challenging for those of us who make our living with our cameras. First of all, the Fujifilm X-Series cameras are exclusively cropped sensors, which means less dynamic range, less subject separation (bokeh) and worse performance in low-light situations when compared to full-frame sensors. Although Fujifilm has done a lot to improve the autofocus in its cameras in the past two years, the phase-detect systems of other brands have proven to be notably faster and more reliable. 

One thing that no one else could compete with, however, was Fujifilm’s highly-customizable film simulations, allowing you to get beautifully stylized images straight out of camera. Nikon and Ricoh have had stabs at it, but no one could top Fujifilm on this…until now.

When Panasonic announced the new Lumix S5 II, hybrid shooters were once again thrilled to be given such a feature-rich camera for such a competitive price. Alongside open gate video (being able to record from the full width and height of the sensor) and all-new autofocus system, Panasonic snuck in a little feature which got very little attention: Real Time LUTs. 

A LUT (Look Up Table) is similar to a preset or filter which changes the colors and tones of an image. They are typically used in video editing to create the final look of the film, however Panasonic has allowed LUTs to be applied in real-time as you take photos or videos. 

The difference between this and Fujifilm’s system though, is that you can apply any LUT you like, without being limited to just tweaking existing simulations in your camera. Once you’ve got them set up, you have all the joy of producing images and videos that are ready to post, but with all the added benefits of a full-frame sensor.

To some of you, this may not seem like a crucial feature, and that’s fine: we all use different tools to inspire us creatively and to produce the results our clients are looking for. In my work, Real Time LUTs allows me to load my signature styles into the camera and then see the final image come to life so I can decide exactly when to press the shutter. No trying to guess what it will look like after 30 mins in Photoshop.

Real Time LUTs also allows me to show photos to clients and talent during shoots, straight on my camera, and it never fails to make an impact when they see something that looks so cinematic coming together on the spot.

For those of you concerned about baking a look into your files, you can shoot RAW + JPEG (just like with Fuji) and keep an untouched RAW for you to edit separately if you decide to go a different way with it. In short, this Lumix-exclusive feature could help you develop your own signature style which will make your work unique and recognizable.

How to get started with Panasonic's Real Time LUTs

If you already own a Panasonic camera with Real Time LUTs, which includes the full-frame Lumix S5II, Lumix S5IIX and now the MFT Lumix G9 II, simply follow the steps below and you can start working with real-time LUTs as well.

Choose your LUTs 

Much like presets, there are a huge number of LUTs available online for each camera, some free and some paid. If you’ve got the budget for it, the Kinetic Pack by Gamut is absolutely fantastic, in fact, every photo in this article was taken using a LUT from this collection. 

Once you have downloaded your favorite choices, they will show on your computer as .cube or .vlt files (LUTs meant for other brands will require you convert them using LUTcalc). Copy them onto an SD card, then pop it into your camera.

Save it to your camera

Navigate to Image Quality settings, and you will see “LUT Library” appear as the second item on the list. Click into it, and you will see the standard Vlog_09 LUT that comes built into the cameras, followed by 10 empty slots for your own files. Select an empty slot and it will take you to the files on your SD card, where you can choose which LUT you want to load. Once selected, it will be saved to your camera, and you can switch SD Cards without it disappearing.

Shoot with it

In both photo and movie modes, you can access “Photo Style” in the menu, and toggle across until you reach “Real Time LUT” which will set the standard colors as V-Log and allow you to choose which LUT to use. From there on, it will be baked into your JPEGs and video files, just like Fujifilm. If you want to have even more control, you can go back to the “Photo Style” menu and scroll until you find “My Photo Style 1” where you can choose a LUT as well as control which base profile you have (ie. Vivid or Natural), which will open up a whole new variety of contrast and saturation levels for you.

There you have it. My full-frame Panasonic Lumix S5 II packed with hybrid shooting options, and the ability to produce stunning images and videos without a minute spent on editing. Fujifilm, I still love you, but I’m afraid it’s Lumix that takes this round. 

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Blackmagic Design quadruple-dropped product announcements at the world's leading broadcasting show, NAB 2024. First, a Sony and Panasonic-rivalling Pyxis 6K modular camera for indie filmmakers; the latest version of its popular video editing platform Davinci Resolve 19 – which we rate as the best free video editor; the superb Ursa Cine 12K for pros; and finally a headline-grabbing concept 17K pro camera with particularly large 65mm sensor – yes, 17K video. 

That's a lot of product to cover here and we're going to focus on the sub $3,000 / £3,000 Pyxis 6K, but first it's worth commenting on the 17K camera, which is a higher-resolution version of the Ursa Cine 12K. It isn't ready yet, but is set to rival the hire-only Arri Alexa 65, and is the kind of gear that only a select few people will get to use for real. 

That said, Blackmagic regularly prices aggressively – sub $15,000 for the new Ursa Cine 12K boasting 16-stops dynamic range (a first for Blackmagic) is testament to that – and Arri will be shuffling uncomfortably at the news of the upcoming Ursa Cine 17K. 

For the rest of us mere mortals, the Pyxis 6K looks like a tempting customizable alternative to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, which we have dubbed one of the best video cameras for the money. 

6K video chops to rival Sony and Panasonic

The new Blackmagic Pyxis 6K is a 'box' camera – a modular design previously seen in the rival full-frame Panasonic Lumix BS1H 6K (available for $2,699 / £2,699 at CVP ) that followed up the BS1H with micro four thirds sensor. The concept is to deck out the Pyxis 6K with compatible accessories to create your perfect setup. Before you do that, you select which lens mount version of the Pyxis 6K you'd like, from L-Mount, Canon EF mount, or PL mount options. The latter is a particularly popular mount for cine lenses. 

The lightweight and durable CNC machined aerospace aluminum body is decorated with numerous 1/4inch and 3/8inch mounting points and side plates to attach accessories such as mics, handles, external SSDs, screens and viewfinders. Plus, it can easily be rigged to a crane, gimbal or drone. 

For filmmakers who often find handling grievances and limitations with complete cameras like the Cinema Camera 6K (below), a customizable box camera makes a lot of sense because it's up to the user to configure the setup how they like. Being able to remove parts that you don't need for certain shoots can slim down and simplify your setup, too.

Hardware-wise, the Pyxis 6K's full-frame sensor has a native 6048 x 4032 pixel 'open gate' output up to 36fps, or 2.4:1 aspect 6K video up to 60fps, with up to 13 stops of dynamic range, plus dual native ISO for a clean image whether you're in bright or low light conditions. 

You can record video using the popular Blackmagic RAW color profile and simultaneously capture smaller proxy files for a speedier workflow – the latter is a feature that was recently added to the Panasonic Lumix S5 II / S5 IIX through a major firmware update. 

There's also a larger-than-normal 4-inch touchscreen with full HD resolution, which is almost as big as some popular external screens from the likes of Atomos. You might not need to opt for an additional screen here, like you do with mirrorless cameras which pack a smaller 3-inch LCD display.

The Pyxis 6K costs from $2,995 / £2,910 (Australia pricing TBC) and it's already available for preorder from CVP. It goes toe-to-toe with the Panasonic Lumix BS1H 6K and is a compelling Sony alternative, too. For more info, please check out the Blackmagic website. 

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