Panasonic has introduced the industry’s first two AVCHD camcorders to use a 3MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) sensor system. At the same time, it unveiled a new suite of Lumix digital still cameras with enhanced CCD technology, and two new SD Memory Cards optimized for high-definition camcorders.
To be available in September, the HDC-SD100 Memory Card-recording unit ($1,099.95), and the HDC-HS100 ($1,299.95), which records to both Memory Cards and to an internal 60 GB hard drive, both feature the 3MOS system, which builds upon the company’s earlier 3CCD technology. But the new sensors boast almost two times as much light-receiving area as before, the company said, for greatly improved performance in low-light circumstances, operating in lighting as low as 2 lux.
The camcorders also carry Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto Mode – a technology first used in the Lumix still camera line – but, to appeal to the fussy prosumer, there are also a wide array of settings that can be manually fine-tuned. Also part of the models’ feature sets are Panasonic’s HD Advanced Pure Color Engine, Advanced O.I.S. (optical image stabilization), which expands the stabilization area threefold, and the new Leica Dicomar lens, which improves optical magnification from the 10x rating of earlier models to 12x.
The new four-model Lumix line, according to Yukio Hirose, general manager of the Network Business Group for Panasonic AVC Networks Co., embodies Panasonic’s “innovation from essence” design philosophy – and he said that he expected the range’s new features to help Panasonic maintain its more-than-10 percent global market share in the DSC category.
Advances in the line include the use of Leica DC Vario Summicron lenses, high-sensitivity CCD sensors and the fourth generation of the company’s Venus Engine LSI.
The flagship 10.1-megapixel DMC-LX3, which will succeed the Lumix LX2 when it is released in August at $499.95, uses a 1/1.63-inch CCD developed especially for it, which, in combination with the Leica lens system, makes the camera appropriate for a broad variety of shooting conditions.
The Lumix DMC-FZ28 ($399.95; August) offers an 18x zoom for super-telephoto shooting, and a high-speed “burst” shooting mode for clearer motion photography.
Model DMC-FX150 ($399.95; late August), clocking in at 14.7 megapixels, wins the specs race as the highest-megapixel camera on the market – a feature that David Briganti, national marketing manager for imaging at Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co., said is for photographers who “opt to shoot first and crop later.”
And Model DMCFX37 ($349.95; late August), available in blue and white besides the traditional silver and black color choices, offers pinhole and film grade modes for special-effects fanciers – and a “10 pounds lighter” function (Transform Mode) for subjects who want to appear slimmer.
All models can record in 720p high-definition video, he added.
The new SD Memory Cards, with 6 GB and 12 GB storage capacities (available in September), are line fill-ins that address storage capacity needs between 4 GB and 8 GB; they are designed for resistance against sudden power stoppages that can result in broken data or writing and playback errors, said Nick Terai, general manager for Panasonic’s Media Business Unit Group.
