Low-Cost Panasonic and Canon Camcorders Redefine HD Recording Performance

Panasonic and Canon have taken the wraps off low-cost HD camcorders that continue to redefine HD recording performance standards in ultra-compact form factors.
Billed as a prosumer product (although various professional applications are obvious), Panasonic claims its new 1.1 pound AG-HSC1U 3CCD AVCHD 1080i camcorder is the world’s smallest 3-CCD HD camcorder. It includes a Leica Dicomar f1.6 lens system and optical image stabilization.

With no moving parts, the file-based camcorder stores 41 minutes of “best quality” video and about 88 minutes at lower resolution on a high-speed 4 GB SDHC memory card. It also comes with a tiny portable 40 GB hard drive (the size of a cigarette pack) that’s capable of receiving and storing the contents of ten 4 GB SDHC cards in the field. Transfer speed is slightly faster than real time.

The impressive camcorder, with a list price of $2,099, has a built-in 5.1-channel surround sound system with five tiny microphones. A zoom microphone function helps focus the desired sound to the camera’s recorded image. For “pros” there’s also a 3.5mm diameter external mini-stereo jack and some limited audio settings (auto gain control, manual audio adjustment, and a “SET + AGC” setting which helps reduce distortion).

The camcorder uses the H.264-based Advanced Video Codec High Definition (AVCHD) video format. It comes with “HD Writer” version 1.0 software for performing simple edits, but Panasonic said more sophisticated editing software is due from third-party NLE companies such as Avid (and maybe Apple) in the spring.

In the meantime, Canon USA announced the $1099 HV20 HDV consumer camcorder. Improvements over the current HV10 model include a horizontal form factor, a HDMI connection, mic and headphone jacks, a 24P frame rate, Cinema color, a hot accessory shoe, and improved low light performance.

The HV20 features a 1/2.7-inch CMOS imager with a minimum three lux (at 1/30th shutter speed), down from five lux in the HV10. A “24P Cinema mode” includes a true 24p frame rate and circuitry that shifts colors to appear more like film.

Both camcorders are due in the spring.