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Panasonic Debuts New AVCHD Camcorders
1080i High Definition Video Capture for the Consumers
Panasonic HDC-SD1 and
HDC-DX1 3CCD Camera with Optical Image Stabilization
Ultra Slim Lightweight HD digital
Video Cameras that fits comfortably in your hand!
Mr. Akihiro Nakatani, Business Unit Executive for Panasonic’s Global Camcorder business
demonstrates the new HD camcorder.
The HDC-SD1 records onto high capacity, solid-state SDHC Memory Cards.
This tough, compact model debuts as the world's smallest and lightest 3CCD High
Definition video camcorder. Because there are no moving parts in the recording
section, the HDC-SD1 is also exceptionally resistant to impact. The user can
count on reliable, virtually error-free recording.
The HDC-DX1 records onto convenient DVD discs. There is never a need
to rewind or fast-forward, so users can play back a scene immediately after
recording. The video image and sound data are recorded directly onto the disc
for easy storage.
Both models use the high-resolution AVCHD format and
feature the kind of 3CCD video recording system used in many professional
broadcast cameras. The HDC-SD1
provides about 1
hour of High Definition recording on a 4GB SDHC
Memory Card and the HDC-DX1 provides about 40 minutes of High
Definition recording on a dual-layer DVD-R disc.
Panasonic, which has
devoted extensive research and development to improving the image and sound
quality of home-use video cameras, believes that the 3CCD camera system is
essential to creating High Definition video cameras with the level of image
quality demanded by consumers today. In a 3CCD camera system, the light
received through the lens is split into its three primary color components
(red, green and blue), and the signal from each is processed by one of the
three CCDs (charge-coupled devices or chips). Compared with conventional 1CCD
camera systems, Panasonic's 3CCD system provides more vivid, true-to-life
colors, greater detail and richer gradation.
These two new models also incorporate Panasonic
revolutionary Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) that minimizes the effect of
the slightest shake of the hands, resulting in crisp, clear images that are
beautiful on a large screen. Because this system is optical and not digital,
there is no loss of quality and images are captured in all of their original beauty.
O.I.S. is truly necessary in the age of large-screen, high-resolution TVs, when
every image imperfection is easily visible.
The HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1 feature the world's first 5.1-channel surround sound
system with 5 microphones. When recordings
made with these models are played on a 5.1-channel home theater system, viewers
are surrounded by a clear, detailed sound that makes them feel as if they are
right in the middle of the action. A Zoom Mic
function links the microphone's action to the camera's action. When zooming in
on a subject in the distance, for example, the microphones also zoom in and
record the sounds specific to that subject. When recordings made with the HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1 are
viewed on a large- screen, high-resolution TV with 5.1-channel surround sound,
the result is the kind of detailed, vibrant images and acoustic performance
that make High Definition a truly revolutionary technology.
The Leica Dicomar lens featured in the HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1 has
13 lens elements in 10 groups, with 21 multi-coated surfaces, and uses low-dispersion optical glass to
reduce chromatic. This advanced lens also minimizes harmful reflections, so
images are crisp, clear and free of flare and ghosting.
With the HDC-SD1 and
HDC-DX1, Panasonic has set new image and
sound quality standards for today's video cameras, while giving home users a
tool for making their own High Definition recordings.
Both high definition camcorders will be available in March 2007
HDC-SD1 $1,499.95 SRP
HD-DX1 $1,399.95 SRP
HDC-SD1 Specifications Power source DC 7.2 / 9.3 V Power Consumption 8.0 W Signal system 1080 lines, 60fields Weight (w/o Battery) 430g Dimensions (W x H x D) 74 x 69 x 142 mm Image Sensor 1/4-inch 3CCD image sensor Total pixels approx.560 K x 3 Effective pixels Motion Picture: Approx.520 K x 3(16:9) Still Picture: 520 x 3 (16:9) Lens Auto iris, 12X power zoom F 1.8 to 2.8 (f = 3.0 to 30.0mm) 35mm equivalent Motion picture: 38.5 to 462 mm (16:9) Still picture: 38.5 to 462mm (16:9) Filter diameter 43 mm Zoom 12X optical zoom, 30/120X digital zoom Monitor 3'' wide LCD monitor (approx. 250K pixels) Microphone Stereo 5ECM, 5.1-ch Surround Sound, Zoom Microphone, Wind Noise Reduction Speaker Dynamic type White balance adjustment Auto / White Set / Indoor / Outdoor (with IR sensor) Standard illumination 1,400 lx Minimum required illumination 6 lx (2 lx in Color Nigh View mode) High-speed shutter 1/60 - 1/8000 (Motion Picture), 1/60-1/8000 (Still Picture) Recording media SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card USB Card reader / writer function (No copyright protection support) High-Speed USB (USB2.0) (miniB) Pict Bridge-compliant Flash Available flash range: approx. 1m to 2.5m Standard accessories AC Adaptor, Battery Pack, IR Remote Controller, USB Cable, D component Cable, AV / S-Cable (Multi- cable), SDHC Memory Card (4GB), CD-ROM (HD Writer Ver1.0E for SD1) Motion pictures Compression MPEG4-AVC / H.264 (AVCHD standard Compliant) Transfer rate HF: Approx. 13 Mbps (CBR) HN: Approx. 9 Mbps (VBR) HE: Approx. 6 Mbps (VBR) Audio compression Dolby Digital (Dolby AC3), 5.1ch or 2ch Still pictures Compression JPEG (DCF/Exit2.2 compliant) Picture size 1920 x 1080 / 2.1MEGA (16:9) HDC-DX1 Specifications Power source DC 7.2 / 7.3V Power Consumption 11.4W (EVF)/ 8.3W (LCD) (HN mode using for RAM disc) Signal system 1080 lines, 60fields Weight (w/o Battery) 680g Dimensions (W x H x D) 92 x 91 x 174(163 without Battery) mm Image Sensor 1/4-inch 3CCD image sensor Total pixels approx.560 K x 3 Effective pixels Motion Picture: approx.520 K x 3(16:9) Still Picture: 520 x 3 (16:9) Lens Auto iris, 12X power zoom F 1.8 to 2.8 (f = 3.0 to 30.0mm) 35mm equivalent Motion picture: 38.5 to 462 mm (16:9) Still picture: 38.5 to 462mm (16:9) Filter diameter 43 mm Zoom 12X optical zoom, 30/120X digital zoom Monitor 3'' wide LCD monitor (approx. 250K pixels) Microphone Stereo 5ECM, 5.1-ch Surround Sound, Zoom Microphone, Wind Noise Reduction Speaker Dynamic type White balance adjustment Auto / White Set / Indoor / Outdoor (with IR sensor) Standard illumination 1,400 lx Minimum required illumination 6 lx (2 lx in Color Nigh View mode) High-speed shutter 1/60 - 1/8000 (Motion Picture), 1/60- 1/8000 (Still Picture) Recording media 8cm DVD-RAM Ver2.1 / DVD-R for General Ver2.0 / DVD-RW Ver1.1 2x-speed (2x / 1x) / DVD-R for DL Ver3.0 / SD/SDHC Memory Card USB Card reader / writer function (No copyright protection support) High-Speed USB (USB2.0) (miniB) Pict Bridge-compliant Flash Available flash range: approx. 1m to 2.5m Standard accessories AC Adaptor, Battery Pack, IR Remote Controller, USB Cable, D component Cable, AV / S-Cable (Multi-cable) Motion pictures Compression MPEG4-AVC / H.264 (AVCHD standard compliant) Transfer rate HF: Approx. 13 Mbps (CBR) HN: Approx. 9 Mbps (VBR) HE: Approx. 6 Mbps (VBR) Audio compression Dolby Digital (Dolby AC3), 5.1ch or 2ch Still pictures Compression JPEG (DCF/Exit2.2 compliant) Picture size 1920 x 1080 / 2.1MEGA (16:9)
About Panasonic
Consumer Electronics Company
Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer
Electronics Company is a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America,
the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Ltd. (NYSE: MC - News) and the hub of Panasonic's U.S.
marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information about Panasonic
and its products is available at www.panasonic.com.
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