Panasonic expands line of high definition camcorders, including model with world’s highest total pixel count*

Two New HD Camcorders Feature Advanced Optical Image Stabilization and Intelligent Auto Technologies

Amsterdam, the Netherlands (February 24, 2009) – Panasonic announced that it will expand its 2009 High Definition (HD) camcorder line with two new semi-professional full-HD models. The new models, the HDC-HD200 and HDC-SD200 feature a newly developed 3MOS chip system and incorporates the company’s first camcorder touch-screen that allows icons displayed on the LCD to be easily operated by touching them with a fingertip.

The new 3MOS system available in the HDC-HS200 and HDC-SD200 assures high image quality for both motion and still images by using three full-HD MOS sensors to provide the world’s highest total pixel count of 9,150,000 pixels (3,050,000 pixels x 3)*. These two semi-professional camcorders are equipped with a newly developed, large-aperture Leica Dicomar lens (filter diameter: 43 mm) and a 1/4.1-inch image sensor. The camcorders also record still images with a 10.6-megapixel resolution and feature an 8.3-megapixel resolution for still images when simultaneously recording with video.  The HDC-HS200 and HDC-SD200 have a luminance of 1.6 lx, allowing users to shoot video in very low-light conditions.

The two compact camcorder models feature more advanced Intelligent Auto (iA) technologies, making them intuitive to use to help users more easily create high-quality video.  Panasonic’s iA features include:

• Shooting Mode: Chooses the most suitable shooting mode based on the subject.
• Auto Focus (AF) Tracking: Once the user touches a selected subject on the touch-screen – the subject can be at the centre of the screen or at an edge – and locks the focus on the subject, AF Tracking keeps the subject in focus even if it moves or turns to one side. This records the subject with the optimal AF/AE (auto focus/auto exposure) settings.
• Scene Detection for Motion and Still Images: The iA automatically selects the most suitable settings from Portrait, Scenery, Macro, Night Portrait, and Night Scenery modes.
• Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S): Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and a lens unit shifts to correctly align the optical axis, so that images are sharp and help reduce blur. The corrections happen at a remarkable rate of 4,000 times per second. Users can capture clear, sharp images even when shooting long-distance zoom shots at times when hand-shake is typically a big concern. These models also have two O.I.S. modes designed exclusively for still-image shooting. 

The HS200 features an 80-GB HDD for a long 33 hours and 20 minutes of recording (in HE mode). When combined with a 32-GB SDHC Memory Card (optional), these camcorders provide an additional recording time of 12 hours. The camcorder can copy recorded video images from the SDHC/SD Memory Card to the hard disk, or vice versa, with easy operation. Users can easily transfer finished recordings onto whichever media best suits their intended use.

The SD200 records directly onto SD and SDHC Memory Cards and thus has no drive mechanism. This combines with its compact size makes the SD200 ideal for easy shooting while walking around. It also supports the VIERA Image Viewer function, so, after a day of shooting, users can simply take the SDHC/SD Memory Card from the SD200/SD20 and slip it into the card slot on a Panasonic VIERA TV for playback on its large screen.

Other new features include:

• Highlight Playback – This new feature is designed for users who want to view recorded images as quickly as possible. It detects zooming, panning, scene changes, increases and decreases in sound level, faces and more in recorded images as "highlights" by using Panasonic’s Intelligent Index System.
• Auto Power LCD – Automatically adjusts the brightness of the LCD screen according to the shooting conditions.  In indoor dark places, it reduces the LCD brightness to 1/3 the normal level to conserve energy. While in well-lit outdoor locations, the LCD is twice as bright as normal level to make the image on the LCD easier to see in the bright surroundings.  Manual adjustments are also possible if the user desires.
• 1.9-sec** Quick Power On – Helps Catch Sudden Shooting Opportunities - When the camcorder is switched on, it is in recording standby and ready to shoot in just 1.9 seconds. This quick power-on time allows the camcorder to stay in standby mode, thus saving energy. When added to the Quick Start mode, which allows the camcorder to start up in just 0.6 seconds, this is an extremely fast camcorder.
• 5-Microphone, 5.1-Channel Surround Sound System – The camcorders feature a 5.1-channel surround sound system with 5 microphones. When the recording is played on a 5.1-channel home cinema system, viewers are surrounded by 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.
• Networking – The camcorder is compatible with Panasonic's VIERA LinkÔ. Connect it to a VIERA HDTV via an HDMI mini cable, and operate the camcorder using the TV remote control and following on-screen prompts. This adds extra ease and convenience to the fun of viewing full-HD videos.
• SD Networking with VIERA and Blu-ray Disc™ Player – The VIERA Image Viewer Function lets the user view recorded images on the large screen of a Panasonic VIERA Series Plasma or LCD *** HDTV by simply inserting the SD Memory Card into the SD Memory Card Slot on the TV. This allows instant playback of video clips recorded in the AVCHD format in full-HD quality. Similarly, video recordings can be easily played by using a Panasonic Blu-ray Disc™ Player****.

* For home-use camcorders, as of January 7, 2009. Effective motion image pixels: 6,210,000 (2,070,000 pixels x 3).
** Recording onto an SDHC/SD Memory Card or built-in memory only.
***P54Z1/P65V10/P58V10/P54V10/P50V10/P50G15/P46G15/P42G15/P54G10/P50G10/P46G10/P42G10.
**** BD80/BD60/BD70V.

For more information on the products presented at the Panasonic Convention 2009, please visit: www.panasonic.eu.

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