Panasonic launches compact integrated 3D camcorder

With the stated aim of bridging the gap between the amateur and professional user both in terms of quality and cost, it’s doubtful whether Panasonic’s new HDC-Z10000 will be seeing much action at next year’s Olympics. But as the world’s first integrated twin-lens 2D / 3D camcorder that is officially compatible with the AVCHD 3D / Progressive standard, it certainly fills a gap in the market.

The camcorder mounts two 3MOS sensors (with an effective pixel count of 6.57 megapixels) for what’s billed as superb colour and detail reproduction. The two large-diameter F1.5 lenses independently mounted on the left and right are treated with Nano Surface Coating, for the first time on a camcorder, significantly reducing ghosting and flare to produce crisp, clear image rendering.

Three independent rings adjust zoom, focus, and iris control, while the Intelligent Auto (iA) function and a powerful new image stabiliser, HYBRID O.I.S+, lets users capture beautiful and steady images even when shooting on the fly.

A wide range of shooting situations are covered by the Twin-Lens, from 32mm wide-angle shooting (29.8mm for 2D) to 10x optical zooming (12x for 2D, 23x for shooting with Intelligent Zoom). This significantly extends the range of uses, from shooting in tight spaces to shooting situations where the user and the subject are far apart.

The 3MOS System additionally provides the same effects for 2D, achieving precise and sharp image quality in combination with progressive recording. The twin-lens truly stands out when shooting in low-light conditions and enables the user to record bright images with minimal noise in low-light situations.

Utilising the ultra-high-speed of the newly developed Crystal Engine Pro II, with its enhanced resolution and noise reduction, optimal Full-HD image quality is achieved even in detailed image parts. The same level of performance is also realised for 2D image quality in combination with Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 50 progressive recording.

In addition to built-in microphones for recording Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound / 2-channel stereo, the HDC-Z10000 features two XLR audio inputs with a 48-V phantom power supply for external microphone use. Clear audio is recorded with minimal noise.