Panasonic HDC-SD1 Camcorder

The new HDC-SD1 records beautiful, detailed High-Definition video images and clear, high-quality sound that make for exceptional viewing on today’s most advanced home theater systems. The HDC-SD1 records AVCHD video and audio directly onto high-capacity SDHC memory cards.

This tough, compact model debuts as the world's smallest and lightest 3CCD High Definition video camcorder. Because there are no moving parts in the recording section, the HDC-SD1 is also exceptionally resistant to impact.

HDC-SD1 Highlights

Superior color, detail, and gradation Most professional broadcasting cameras use the 3CCD system. In a 1CCD system, all of the incoming light information is processed by the same CCD. The more advanced 3CCD system uses three distinct CCDs for processing, so there is absolutely no light loss. You can see the results in beautifully rendered images with vivid color, fine detail, and rich gradation:

Beautiful color
Noise can greatly diminish picture quality. Panasonic's 3CCD system reduces noise by about 30 percent compared with 1CCD systems, helping deliver stunningly beautiful images with clear, natural colors.

Beautiful detail
Horizontal resolution in color is 150 percent compared with that of 1CCD systems. The greater color pixel density means that even finely nuanced colors are rendered distinctly.

Beautiful gradation
The dynamic range to express luminous gradation is 130 percent compared with that of 1CCD systems. This helps produce subtle contrast to create a wide palette of colors.

Suppresses hand-shake in both motion and still pictures Panasonic's O.I.S. minimizes the hand-shake that can be such a problem with handheld shots. Because Panasonic's system is optical, there is no image quality degradation. When you're shooting a still picture, the Mega O.I.S. system automatically activates, doubling the corrective power. With O.I.S. and Mega O.I.S., the HDC-SD1 is equipped for clear, beautiful shooting of both motion and still pictures.

Superior Leica-certified image quality Leica AG of Germany is the manufacturer of fine cameras and lenses favored by photographers everywhere. The Leica Dicomar lens featured in the HDC-SD1 was developed specifically for HD digital camcorders, these lens systems are made using a multi-coating process that prevents light reflection and glare, which can make colors bleed and images appear washed out. It also prevents rings of light, or "ghosts".

Special high-performance imaging engine The HD Advanced Pure Color Engine is a special image processing circuit for the 3CCD HD camcorder. Able to process large amounts of data with high speed and precision, this engine achieves truly superb color reproduction for high-quality pictures.

Pull distant subjects right up close with 12x optical zoom Distant subjects can be enlarged so they appear to be right up close. This allows dynamic shots of both motion and still pictures.

Experience real presence in sound Panasonic HD camcorders have five electret condenser microphones which separately record sounds from the front, sides, and back. When played on a Dolby Digital 5.1-channel home theater system, the resulting sound is incredibly lifelike. When zooming in on a subject, the sound also focuses on the area right around the subject.

Shoot wide, view wide This model offers the high-quality wide images that make for beautiful, dramatic viewing on a wide-screen TV. The image is processed on 16:9 area of the CCD. Because the image decoded has the same proportions as your wide-screen TV, there is virtually no picture quality degradation. You get beautiful images and all the excitement and dynamism on either a wide 16:9 screen TV or a conventional 4:3 TV. This model also features a high-density, 250,000-pixel, wide 3.0-inch LCD, making it easier to frame shots when you’re shooting in 16:9 mode.

Sharp focusing even up close with Tele Macro Using the zoom at full magnification, you can shoot macro close-ups while maintaining a distance of 60 centimeters from your subject. This makes it much easier to capture extreme close-ups without your body or camera casting a shadow on the subject and while keeping the background in soft focus.

Adjust the focus easily with Focus Assist This function enlarges the center of the image, making it easier for you to get a clear, sharp shot when focusing manually.

Additional Features

• One-touch navigation and joystick control

• Quick Search and access with thumbnail view

• Instant on/off

• Prevent unintended shooting with AGS (Auto Ground-Directional Standby)

• 0 Lux Magic Pix High 6 Lux sensitivity

• Auto lens cover

About AVCHD

"AVCHD" is a new high-definition (HD) digital camcorder recorder format that Panasonic and Sony jointly established. This format allows for the recording and playback of high-resolution, digital HD images using 8cm DVD media or SD/SDHC memory card. The two companies have started licensing the format to extensively promote it throughout the industry.

The "AVCHD" is an HD digital camcorder format for recording 1080i and 720p signals onto 8cm DVD media or SD/SDHC memory card by using highly efficient codec technologies. The format employs MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) codec for video compression, and Dolby Digital (AC-3) or Linear PCM for audio codec. This makes it possible to develop HD camcorder recorders which achieve compact size as well as high-quality video and audio.

The MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) codec is a promising technology which is over two times more efficient than MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 codec technologies. By adopting this technology, an "AVCHD" camcorder recorder can record high-quality HD video images onto 8cm DVD media or SD/SDHC memory card.