Panasonic firmware lets night owls ditch the tripod

posted Monday, September 10, 2012 at 1:06 PM EDT

Panasonic Corp. has today released firmware updates for four of its Lumix-series digital camera models that promises better image quality in one specific shooting mode.

The new firmware for the Panasonic ZS20, SZ7, and several closely-related models is said to improve the cameras' Handheld Night Shot mode, which lets you take low-light shots without a tripod. The mode captures a burst of several high ISO still images with a high shutter speed to freeze motion, then microaligns them in camera, and merges them to create a single image with reduced noise levels. No further detail is given as to what the change entails, but presumably it improves the underlying algorithms to yield a better final image.