Overview:

Every Scene Deserves the Beauty of High Definition
The HD Advanced Pure Color Engine is a special image processing circuit for the 3CCD HD video camera. Able to process large amounts of data with high speed and precision, this engine achieves truly superb color reproduction for high quality pictures. And with High 6lux Sensitivity, the pixels are more than twice the ordinary size, so you can shoot in light as low as 6lux, achieving natural-looking shots even in dim rooms or at dusk.

Rich, Vivid Colors Take HD to a Beautiful New Level
HD is especially good for scenes with rich, vibrant colors. And Panasonic HD camcorders provide the best in color reproduction, thanks to the use of an advanced 3CCD camera system. This system, which uses the same technology used in Panasonic professional broadcast cameras, helps reproduce high-resolution HD images with magnificent color by using three distinct CCDs for processing, so there is absolutely no light loss.

Suppress Camera Shake — Even on a Big-Screen TV
Imagine taking video shots on a moving boat and then viewing them on a large-screen TV. They're likely to appear blurry from the boat's movement and from your unsteady hands. Panasonic solves this problem with O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), which minimizes hand-shake in situations where it is most often a problem, such as with zoom shots — or on a moving boat. The system is optical, so there is no quality loss, and images look clear and beautiful on a big-screen TV.

Capture Voices Over a Wide Area for Lifelike Sound
Panasonic high definition video cameras have five electret condenser microphones, one each to capture sounds from the front, back, right, left and center. The center mic helps capture the sound source and distance more accurately. This provides a more three-dimensional effect than conventional systems, which only capture sounds from the front. The Dolby 5.1-Channel Surround Sound system creates a true-to-life sound space that's a great match for the HD image quality.

Easy Shooting, Easy Viewing
When it comes to shooting videos, simpler is better. Panasonic DVD Palmcorders make it exceptionally easy to capture your precious memories directly onto several DVD formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R/DL). The camera automatically finds a blank section on the disc for recording so there's no need to rewind or fast-forward, and an index screen makes it easy to search for a particular scene. When you finish shooting, just take the disc out of the camcorder and slip it right into your DVD player or recorder for immediate playback — there's no need to connect any cables. 

Features:

• Records onto: 8cm DVD Disc
• Recording Format: AVCHD
• Image Sensor (Total): 1/4" CCD (560K x 3 pixels)
• Image Sensor (Effective): 16:9 -- 520K x 3 (Moving Picture/Still Picture)
• F Value: F1.8 (Wide) / F2.8 (Tele)
• Optical Zoom: 12x Variable Speed
• Focal Length: 4.0 - 48.0 mm
• Filter Diameter: 43mm
• 35mm Film Camera Equivalent: 16:9 -- 38.5 - 462mm (Moving Picture/Still Picture)
• Lens Type: Leica Dicomar
• 3CCD Camera System: Yes
• Image Stabilizer: Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.)
• Minimum Illumination: 2 Lux (Magic Pix®)
• White Balance: Auto/Indoor/Outdoor/White Set
• High Speed Shutter: 
  • 1/60 - 1/8,000 sec. (Moving Picture)
  • 1/60 - 1/8,000 sec. (Still Picture)
• Iris: AF/Manual
• Backlight Compensation: Yes
• Electronic Viewfinder (EVF): 0.44" wide (183K pixels)
• LCD Monitor: 3.0" wide (250K pixels)
• Manual Focus Ring: Yes
• Soft-Skin Mode: Yes
• MagicPix Images: Yes
• Microphone: 
  • Stereo 5ECM
  • 5.1ch Surround Sound
  • Zoom Mic
  • Wind Noise Reduction
• Date Recording: Auto Date (in Date Code)
• Wide Mode (16:9): Yes
• On-Screen Display Language: English / Canadian French / Spanish
• Digital Zoom¹: 30x - 700x
• Flash: 1m - 2.5m (approx.)
• Quick Start: No
• Web Camera Function²: No
• Applicable Disc: 
  • 8cm DVD-RAM Ver. 2.1
  • 8cm DVD-R for General Ver. 2.0
  • 8cm DVD-RW Ver. 1.1 2x-speed (2x/1x)
  • DVD-R for DL Ver. 3.0
• Cue and Review: Forward/Reverse
• Skip: Forward/Reverse
• Recording Mode: 
  • HF (13Mbps/CBR)
  • HN (9Mbps/VBR)
  • HE (6Mbps/VBR)
• Still Picture: JPEG Picture Size: 2.1 MEGA: 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
• Built-in SD Slot: Yes (SD/SDHC)
• DPOF: Max. 999 stills
• PictBridge Compatible: Yes
• S-Video Out: No
• Mini DV In/Out (IEEE 1394): No
• Video Output: AV out
• HDMI: Out
• USB: 2.0 High Speed (mini B)
• Microphone (stereo mini): No
• Headphone (M3): No
• Accessory Shoe: Cold
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 3.60'' x 3.55'' x 6.40''
• Weight: 1.50 lbs

Footnotes:

1. As digital magnification increases, resolution significantly decreases.
2. System Requirements: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition/Professional, Windows®ME, Windows® 98 Second Edition (WebCam Driver is supported by Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition/Professional SP1 or later.) The supplied software is not compatible with Macintosh Operating Systems. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.