FX FZ LX LZ TZ - what do they all mean?

[MacBook]

I looked for Panasonic's explanation of the labeling and did not see it. Can anyone explain the meaning of these five different?

[Riley]

you want a reason ?
i dont think there is one
maybe they just look pretty in Japanese

cheers

[John_Reed]

I looked for Panasonic's explanation of the labeling and did not see it. Can anyone explain the meaning of these five different?"Traveling Zoom." "FZ", I can only surmise, may mean "Far Zoom," since they use it on all their ultra-zoom cameras, and Olympus has the copyright on "UZ" for that ilk.

It may be as Riley says: The letters just looked good in the Asian calligraphy. Trans-cultural labels may not even make sense in a culture different from where they originated. Need I mention the name of an old, long-forgotten Mitsubishi model - "Starion?"

[Mike63]

I'm sure it is meant to distinguish the different lines somehow. For example when a new FZ comes out I automatically know which type of camera it is, same with the TZ. Imagine if they numbered each in order of release such as Panasonic 1,2,3,4,5, and so on. I for one would have no clue what was what without reading all the info of a particular camera. With the system they have now when the next FZ hits the air waves I know I want to check it out because I have an FZ (ultra zoom prosumer??) myself.

[MacBook]

I like the idea of Traveling Zoom and Far Zoom, John, but that leaves the FX and LX sort of unexplained. I also like Mike's idea of consistency, of a sort, of a series such as the FZ.

The Starion mention brought up my childhood, when my dad was still alive and exotic cars (for the 1950s in the US) populated our household, including a very early Porsche, an Alfa Romeo, a DKW Special, and later a Lancia Appia (for just a few days). In the 1960s, his cars were fairly normal (his last car being a 1964 Corvair) but his cameras were extraordinary, which helped spur my interest in photography.