14 DAY TRIAL // Panasonic was the first-ever consumer electronics manufacturer to come up with a mainstream-oriented Full HD 3D camcorder solution, and for this reason, it should come as no surprise that they've prepared no less than three new such products for CES 2011, namely the HDC-TM900, HDC-HS900 and HDC-SD800 3CMOS camcorders. As Panasonic informs us, the three cameras feature 1920 x 1080 resolution with 1080/60p recording, and can record 3D footage only when used with Panasonic’s optional 3D Conversion Lens (VW-CLT1), announced back in 2010.
Moreover, they come equipped with the Panasonic high-sensitivity 3MOS sensor with 7.59 million effective motion image pixels (2.53 megapixels x 3), enabling good-quality video recording even in low-light conditions, as well as a large diameter (46mm) F1.5 Leica Dicomar Lens and the Crystal Engine PRO image processor.
Additional features worth mentioning about the new camcorders from Panasonic include a manual ring (TM900/HS900 only) for enhanced creative control, a 20x zoom and a 3.5” touch-screen LCD on the TM900 and HS900 (3-inch on the SD-800).
Furthermore, all three models can record to SDXC/SDHC/SD Memory Cards, while the HDC-TM900 also has 32GB6 of internal memory and the HDC-HS900 has a 220GB hard disk drive.
“We expect that the new Full-HD 3MOS camcorders will be our best yet, with image quality that rivals professional video equipment and further advancements on last year’s award-winning predecessors,” said Chris Rice, senior product manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company.
“The full-HD camcorders not only have that added wow-factor – with 3D video shooting capability – but consumers can also capture amazing 2D videos, easily with our larger, more intuitive touch-screen LCDs,” Mr. Rice added.
Unfortunately, Panasonic provides very little information on the exact moment when we should expect these things to hit the shelves, but they do reveal the fact that pricing and availability for the Panasonic HDC-TM900, HDC-HS900 and HDC-SD800 camcorders will be announced 30 days prior to shipping date and that all models will be available in black.