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Double your podcast, double your fun: a loooong episode that includes random ramblings about the Canon EOS 7D and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, musings on manual (exposure), and encouraging an interest in infrared. Plus, we dig decay.

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EPISODE 61

(Credit: Panasonic)

Every round of releases from Panasonic's digital camera division gets more interesting. Case in point, the very compact 12-megapixel Lumix ZR1 features a 25-200mm-equivalent lens with an 8x zoom. The extended zoom is courtesy of a new aspherical lens design for digital cameras that makes the elements just 0.3-millimeter thick. This allows for a 1-inch body depth and a weight of 5.6 ounces with battery and SD/SDHC card.

According to Panasonic, the camera is very fast because of a revamped high-speed auto focus system and a start-up time of only 1.1 seconds (very good for a longzoom camera).

The ZR1 also features a 2.7-inch LCD, a battery life lasting up to 330 pictures on a single charge, and Panasonic's latest Power Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) that doubles the repression power of its MEGA O.I.S. system.

A couple of newer shooting options are thrown in as well, including its face recognition system, High Dynamic mode for evening exposure of scenes that are bright and dark, and a Travel mode that lets you organize photos with destination, time, and date. This seems like a good snapshot camera for traveling, so that last feature makes a lot of sense.

The Lumix DMC-ZR1 has a suggested retail price of $279.95 and will be available in September 2009 in black, red, blue, and silver.

Photos: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1

(Credit: Panasonic)

The 12-megapixel Lumix DMC-FP8 addresses one of the biggest complaints, according to Panasonic, its customers have with digital cameras: speed. You may think it's photo quality, but who cares about the quality if you miss what you were shooting in the first place?

According to Panasonic, the combination of a start-up time that is just less than a second, the internal 28mm wide-angle, 4.6x Leica DC lens, and a retooled high-speed auto focus system in the FP8 will keep you from missing shots. Plus, its Intelligent Auto mode will make sure you get the best settings for your subject.

You'll even get Panasonic's latest iteration of its optical image stabilization--Power O.I.S. In comparison to its Mega O.I.S., the new Power version allows for an additional two steps on shutter speed, helping low-frequency blur from handshake.

Other features include blue LED cursor buttons that glow when pressed, a 2.7-inch LCD, HD movie capture (1,280x720 pixels at 30fps), and improved image processing giving users a battery life up to 380 shots on a single charge.

The Lumix DMC-FP8 will have a suggested retail price of $299.95 and will be available in September 2009 in black, red, and silver.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8--photos

One's an easy-to-use, fashionable point-and-shoot, the other's an advanced shooter with just as many manual-setting options as auto modes. Both have 3-inch touch-screen LCDs and 10-megapixel resolutions--and you can have your pick for $220 or less each from reputable dealers.

From its stylish S series of ultracompact cameras, the Nikon Coolpix S230 is the follow-up to the very popular S210.

Its features are pretty basic, but Nikon adds the requisite face, smile, and blink detection I expect to find on cameras in its class. You also get the advantage of the touch-screen interface for things like a touch-based focusing system and writing/drawing directly on photos. The suggested retail price is $230, but it is in stores for less.

The Lumix DMC-FX500 was once the flagship FX-series compact from Panasonic and carried an MSRP of $399.95. With the FX500 follow-up coming soon, it can now be found for more or less half that price. If you like shooting flexibility and don't mind a little slow performance, this is definitely a lot of camera for the money.

Read the full reviews of the Nikon S230 and Panasonic FX500.

Nikon Coolpix S230 photos

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 photos

(Credit: Panasonic)

Panasonic's no stranger to shockproof and waterproof devices, but the new Lumix DMC-TS1 is the first of its rugged cameras to feature AVCHD Lite, which is branded for 720p video. Aside from being a 12.1-megapixel pocket camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4.6x optical zoom, the TS1 is waterproof to a depth of 10 feet, shockproof from falls up to 5 feet, and dustproof.

The $399.95 camera is available in April in silver, green, or orange models and will also feature many of Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) operations that automatically adjust things like ISO, contrast, focus, and exposure. Plus, it'll have the company's latest iA feature, face recognition, which "remembers" faces from previous shots so it can prioritize focus and exposure for them when in frame. The iA features are now available in both still and movie modes.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

(Credit: Panasonic)

The new Lumix DMC-FX580 is a lot like the FX48 (that Panasonic also announced Tuesday). Both are 12.1-megapixel cameras (up from the previous gen's 10.1 megapixels) with a wide-angle 5x f2.8-5.9 25-125mm-equivalent lens with optical-image stabilization. Many other features are the same, too. Well, except for one big one: the FX580 has a 3.0-inch touch screen.

A refresh of the FX500, the FX580 has what Panasonic calls a "hybrid operating system," which lets you use a standard cursor key system for some settings, while leaving shooting options for touch control. Things such as adjusting white balance or selecting subjects to focus on are done by touching the screen.

You'll also find all of Panasonic's Intelligent Auto features, including the new facial recognition system, which allows you to register frequently snapped faces with names so that the camera will properly expose and focus on who's important.

Look for it in April in black and silver for $399.99.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580

(Credit: Panasonic)

At only 1.3-inches thick, it's pretty great that Panasonic was able to pack in a 12x optical zoom to its new 10.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-ZS3 and DMC-ZS1 cameras. The lens is wide angle to boot at 25mm. But a bigger draw for some will be the 720p video recording abilities in AVCHD Lite. (This, and the rugged TS1 will be the first cameras to be stamped with that branding--a format Panasonic jointly developed with Sony.)

The new cameras replace the TZ-series megazoom camera that featured a 28mm lens with 10x optical zoom. The ZS1 has a lot in common with its line mate, but the ZS3 gets more of Panasonic's new technologies, such as its facial recognition system, which allows you to register frequently snapped faces with names so that the camera will properly expose and focus on who's important. It has 26 scene modes for photos and 17 scene modes for video.

Also, the camera is driven by dual image processors to manage the load of HD recording and its HDMI output. There was no mention if the 12x zoom works while shooting video (my money is on "yes" though), but it does support the use of Panasonic's Mega O.I.S. optical image stabilization.

The ZS3 will sell for $399.95 and comes in red, blue, black, and silver. The ZS1 (available in black and silver) is $100 cheaper at $299.95, but loses the AVCHD Lite, drops down to a 230,000-dot, 2.7-inch LCD (from a 3.0-inch LCD with 460,000 dots on the ZS3), and doesn't have the face recognition system. Look for them in April.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and DMC-ZS1

(Credit: Panasonic)

For the reasonably low price of $249.95 this April, Panasonic will be offering up a 12.1-megapixel ultracompact camera with a 5x f3.3-5.9 29-145mm-equivalent lens, a large, 3.0-inch LCD that automatically adjusts to lighting conditions, and optical image stabilization.

Dubbed the Lumix DMC-FS25, it's the top-of-the-line camera in the company's slim-and-stylish FS series. The camera, which will be available in gold, silver, and black, is loaded up with Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) features including autofocus tracking, exposure, ISO, and scene selection control, and face detection (but sadly not the new face recognition system).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS25

(Credit: Panasonic)

Coming to a store near you (or possibly far if you shop online) in April is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48, an ultracompact camera with a wide-angle 5x f2.8-5.9 25-125mm-equivalent lens. The 12.1-megapixel camera also has the company's Mega O.I.S. optical image stabilization and new face recognition technology.

Yes, that's right, face recognition--not detection. As part of Panasonic's suite of Intelligent Auto features, the system allows you to register a face once it's been shot several times. It'll then pop up the name of registered faces when they appear in the frame, and then prioritize those people for focus and exposure. If it's a child less than three-years-old is the subject, it'll automatically switch to Baby scene mode.

Available in silver and black, it'll sell for $349.95.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48