Panasonic Announces HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700 Digital Camcorders

PANASONIC’S NEW FLAGSHIP 3MOS HD CAMCORDERS PRODUCE TRUE-TO-LIFE COLOUR AND EXCEL IN LOW-LIGHT ENVIRONMENTS

New 35mm Wide-Angle Leica Lenses, 18x Intelligent Zoom and Manual Controls Make HS700 and TM700 Perfect for Professional-Quality Video Shooting

MISSISSAUGA, ON (February 11, 2010) – Panasonic Canada Inc. today announced two additions to its 2010 line of camcorders, the Panasonic HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700, both Full High Definition (HD) 3MOS camcorders with 1920 x 1080 resolution. The new Panasonic HD camcorders combine 1080/60p (28 Mbps) recording – allowing them to capture expressive video without detail loss or flickering – with an advanced 3MOS system that produces vivid, true-to-life colours and excels in low-light environments. The new HDC-HS700, records to its large 240 GB¹ Hard Disk Drive or to an SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card. The HDC-TM700 has 32 GB of built-in memory as well as the capability to record to SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards, and is the successor to last year’s popular and award-winning HDC-TM300. Both models have a 35mm wide-angle Leica lens and a manual ring for creative flexibility.

“For video enthusiasts looking for a feature-rich, high-performing, yet affordable High Definition Camcorder, Panasonic’s new TM700 and HS700 3MOS models will be the ideal solution this year,” said Sean Clayford, Product Manager, Camcorders, Panasonic Canada Inc. “Last year’s TM300 was extremely popular and won several honours and awards for its video quality and performance, so with the improvements we have made with the TM700/HS700, including extended zoom, wider-angles and a more advanced image stabilization system, we are excited to give consumers the ideal tool they need to capture their memories with superb quality.”

The high-sensitivity 3MOS system provides an effective video image pixel count of 7,590,000 pixels (2,530,000 pixels x 3) and separates the light received through the lens into the three primary colours – red, green and blue – processing each independently. The sensor shoots 14.2-megapixel still images (in Still Image mode) and 13.3-megapixel still images simultaneously with video. Even with this high pixel count, newly developed technology increases sensitivity and reduces noise by one-half to achieve vivid images with minimal noise.

As a result, Panasonic’s 3MOS system enables excellent colour reproduction, high resolution, rich gradation, and lets the user capture vividly coloured images in bright or dimly-lit places.

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 and HDC-HS700 HD camcorders feature the newly designed, large-diameter F1.5 (46mm) Leica Dicomar lens, which provides superb image rendering and not only suppresses ghosting and flaring, but also minimizes the distortion and degradation of contrast and resolution. In addition, its 35mm² wide-angle capability makes it ideal for many different shooting situations, such as self-portraits, group photos, and landscape shots.

Both models feature a 12x optical zoom lens, which is further enhanced by Intelligent Resolution Technology to extend the zoom to an 18x Intelligent Zoom. The Intelligent Zoom corrects image degradation in ordinary digital zooming, extending the camera’s zoom ratio to approximately 1.3x, while maintaining the image quality, thus delivering stunningly clear full-HD images³.

Both models feature a 3.0” touch-screen LCD that allows users to navigate by selecting icons on the display. These models also have a manual ring allowing creative flexibility, so users have intuitive control of the zoom, focus, aperture, shutter speed and white balance. An Electronic View Finder, headphone terminal and microphone terminal allow for even more control. The HDC-HS700 records to its 240 GB HDD, which can store 102 hours of recording (in HE mode). When combined with Panasonic’s new 64 GB SDXC Memory Card, the camcorder provides an additional recording time of 27 hours and 30 minutes. The HDC-TM700 has a 32 GB built-in memory for 13 hours and 40 minutes of recording (in HE mode).

Other features of the Panasonic HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700 include:

• Power O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) – Uses gyro sensors to detect hand-shake to reduce blurring. When the camcorder is held, it moves at low frequency due to the breathing of the operator or other slight movement. POWER O.I.S. corrects even the slightest movement approximately five times more effectively than the previous version.
• iA (Intelligent Auto) – Function that automatically selects the most suitable shooting mode at the press of a button, and this year iA adds Face Recognition, which finds the faces of registered people and automatically optimizes the focus and exposure for them. In addition, the camcorder continues to track this subject as the person moves anywhere within the LCD frame. Up to six faces can be registered.
• Smile Shot – Automatically takes a still photo during video recording when it detects a smiling face.
• 5.1-Channel Surround Sound System with Zoom Microphone – Uses five microphones so when voices/sounds recorded from front, right, left and back are played back on a 5.1-channel home theatre system, viewers are surrounded by clear, detailed sound. The Zoom Microphone lets users zoom the sound only to hear the subject while continuing to record a wide-angle shot.
• Wind Noise Canceller – An evolution from the previous Wind Noise Canceller, this advanced function automatically detects and suppresses wind noise only, to ensure only the natural sounds of the shooting environment remain.
• Auto Power LCD – Automatically adjusts the brightness of the LCD screen according to the shooting environment. In dark places, the screen brightness is reduced to 1/3 the normal level to minimize the possibility of disturbing nearby people. In bright outdoor places, the screen brightness is increased to twice the normal level.

Pricing and availability for the Panasonic HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700 will be announced at a later date. Both will be available in black.

¹ GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Usable capacity will be less
² 35mm-lens equivalent
³ Approximately 810 TV lines. 1920 horizontal pixels x 1080 vertical pixels

Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Leica is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystems IR GmbH.
The LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and quality assurance systems that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company’s quality standards.

Panasonic products are marketed in Canada by Panasonic Canada Inc. (PCI). PCI is an affiliate of Panasonic Corporation (PC) of Japan, one of the world’s largest producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business, and industrial use. Consumers seeking more information on the company’s products can call Panasonic’s Customer Care Centre at 1-800-561-5505 or access Panasonic’s home page at www.panasonic.ca.