Panasonic: Flashing Up with Camera

Panasonic introduced a line of Lumix cameras along with a 3D high-definition camcorder, which is first from this brand. Panasonic's new offerings also include the brand’s first pocket camcorder and an ultracompact HD camcorder, both of which shoot in 2D.

Panasonic HDC-SDT750

The 3-CMOS Panasonic HDC-SDT750 HD camcorder has a dual-lens setup to capture 3D video footage. The 3D conversion lens in the camera is detachable, and the dual-lens 3D attachment mounts onto the HDC-SDT750's F1.5, 12x optical zoom Leica lens. With the 3D conversion lens attached, the HDC-SDT750 shoots 960-by-1080 video with each of the two lenses, and records separate footage for the left-eye and right-eye channels. Viewed on a compatible 3D HDTV with active shutter 3D glasses, videos and 14-megapixel stills shot with the camcorder will show a three-dimensional effect.

The "side-by-side 3D" method of composing and playing back 3D video, that the camera is processed to follow, ultimately results in the horizontal resolution for each 3D frame being cut in half when viewed on a 1920-by-1080 HDTV.

According to Panasonic, there are a couple of notable changes to the camera's performance with the 3D lens attached: the camcorder's maximum aperture setting dips to F3.5 with the lens attached, and only white balance adjustments could be controlled when shooting in 3D.

Without the 3D lens, the camcorder shoots 1920-by-1080 full HD video at 60 progressive frames per second at its highest-quality video setting. The camcorder also records 1920-by-1080 HD video at 60 interlaced fields per second in AVCHD format at a bit rate of 17mbps. The footages then get saved to a user-supplied SDHC or SDXC card.

Other notable features in the camera comprises of a revamped Hybrid OIS image-stabilization system, manual controls, Intelligent Auto mode, motion-tracking autofocus, a 3-inch-diagonal flip-out touchscreen LCD, and 5.1-channel surround sound recording. This camcorder will hit the market in October with a price tag of $1400.

Panasonic HM-TA1

The HM-TA1 is Panasonic's first foray into high-definition pocket camcorders. It shoots 1080p MPEG-4 video at 30 frames per second and 8-megapixel still images; both are stored to a user-provided SD, SDHC, or SDXC card. The HM-TA1 can also be used as a Webcam and microphone when connected to a computer via an included USB cable, and Panasonic says the camcorder is Skype- and video-chat-ready as soon as it's connected to a computer. HM-TA1 will be available in the market in August for $170.

Panasonic HDC-SDX1

Panasonic HDC-SDX1 is bigger than a pocket camcorder in size. This camera offers a full stock of features to go along with its 16.8x optical zoom, F1.8 lens. The single-CMOS HDC-SDX1 shoots 1920-by-1080 high-definition video at 60 interlaced fields per second in AVCHD format at 17mbps. This camera can also be used as a Skype-friendly Web cam when connected to a computer, and it offers easy video uploads to YouTube and Facebook. This camera will be in the market in September for $500.