Panasonic has brought 3D recording to the consumers, the company said in its announcement late Tuesday. Its first two camcorder “world”s first consumer 3D camcorders” will be capable of recording in 3D with just the addition of a lens adapter. The company has brought the 3D revolution right into the living rooms of people along with other the HDTV and Blue-ray players. The video recorders are just like any other camcorders in looks and appearance and also capture 2D images like others but the change is seen once the lens adapter is added to it.
The model named HDC-SDT750 will put the company in the front row of the home 3D market with this release. Just the matter of addition and removal of a special 3D conversion lens will make the camcorder from a savvy 3D camcorder to a regular 2D video recorder. The device will go on sale in Japan by 20 August as said by the company. No pricing details have yet been finalized but it is expected that in US the device will make its appearance by October at a price of$1,400. By the end of the year the company plans to release the device in all the international markets.
In a statement senior product manager for imaging Chris Rice, Panasonic, said “Incorporating Panasonic’s professional broadcast technology and bringing it to an easy-to-use consumer model, the SDT750 makes high-quality 3D video content a reality in the home,”
The 3D lens is added on top of the 2D 12X optical zoom lens and the camera is turned into recording separate images for the left and right eye giving the video a 3D look. Otherwise the camera comes with a good range of features, it is capable of shooting 1,920 by 1,080 HD video at either 50 or 60 frames per second (for NTSC or PAL) or 60 frames per second for AVCHD. The video can then be saved on to SDHC/SDXC cards. The list of the features continues as the camera has both an intelligent auto mode as well as manual controls, along with this it includes a 3-inch flip-out touchscreen LCD display and 5.1-channel audio recording that uses five built-in microphones to record multi-directional sound. The sound systems are further improved with the Focus Microphone feature that lets the user pick up more concentrated sound. The microphones, as mentioned by the company, “allow footage recorded in 3D to be enjoyed with lifelike and dynamic sounds.”. The camcorder boasts of a new version of Panasonic’s Hybrid IOS optical/electronic image stabilization system that greatly improves the recording experience.
The camera records two images 960 by 1,080-pixel at the same time. This video can then be seen in a 3D enabled HDTV with a suitable shutter glasses. But with the good features there is the presence of some drawbacks as well. The device lacks sensitivity to light, and another problem with it is that the control ring can only be used to control white balance in real time.