Panasonic HD Camcorders

Shop All Panasonic Digital Camcorders Online

Panasonic HD Camcorders Feature Comparison Chart

Video Direct also carries Panasonic Standard Definition Digital Camcorders.

Click on model number in the chart below to see photo and features.

Click on any underlined feature on this chart for a more detailed explanation.

Key Features	Panasonic HDC-SD80K Panasonic HDC-SD80S Panasonic HDC-SD80R	Panasonic HDC-TM80K Panasonic HDC-TM80S Panasonic HDC-TM80R	Panasonic HDC-SD90K	Panasonic HDC-TM90K	Panasonic HDC-HS80K	Panasonic HDC-SD800K	Panasonic HDC-TM900K	Panasonic HDC-HS900K
Color	Black Silver Red	Black Silver Red	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black
1920 x 1080 Full-HD Recording 1	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
High-Resolution AVCHD Format 2	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Recording Media 3	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card and 16 GB Built-in Memory	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card and 16 GB Built-in Memory	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card and 120 GB HDD	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card and 32 GB Built-in Memory	SD/SDHC/SDXC Card and 220 GB HDD
3MOS Sensor Imaging System 4						x	x	x
Variable Speed Zoom Lens 5	34x optical, 37x enhanced	34x optical, 37x enhanced	21x optical, 26x enhanced	21x optical, 26x enhanced	34x optical, 37x enhanced	12x Leica	12x Leica	12x Leica
Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) / Power O.I.S. / Hybrid O.I.S. 6	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid
Pre-Rec Function 7	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Intelligent Contrast Control 8	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
HD Crystal Engine / HD Crystal Engine PRO 9	PRO	PRO	PRO	PRO	PRO	PRO	PRO	PRO
Minimimum Illumination, MagicPix® Images / Color Night Rec 10	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux	1 Lux
Manual Ring 11							x	x
Key Features	Panasonic HDC-SD80K Panasonic HDC-SD80S Panasonic HDC-SD80R	Panasonic HDC-TM80K Panasonic HDC-TM80S Panasonic HDC-TM80R	Panasonic HDC-SD90K	Panasonic HDC-TM90K	Panasonic HDC-HS80K	Panasonic HDC-SD800K	Panasonic HDC-TM900K	Panasonic HDC-HS900K
On-Screen Asist 12						x	x	x
Intelligent Zoom 13	42x	42x	40x	40x	42x	20x	20x	20x
Large Wide-Screen LCD 14	2.7-inch	2.7-inch	3.0-inch	3.0-inch	2.7-inch	3.0-inch	3.5-inch	3.5-inch
iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode 15	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
60 Frames per Second High-Speed Burst Shooting 16	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
0.6-Second Quick Start 17	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Accessory Shoe			Cold	Cold			Cold	Cold
Face Detection Function 18	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
5.1-ch Surround Sound, Zoom Microphone, Focus Microphone 19	2-ch, Zoom Mic	2-ch, Zoom Mic	2-ch, Zoom Mic	2-ch, Zoom Mic	2-ch, Zoom Mic	2-ch, Zoom Mic	x	x
Touch Screen Operation 20	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Intelligent Resolution Technology 21	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
1080/60p Recording 22			x	x		x	x	x
Shoot True-to-Life 3D Images 23			with optional lens*	with optional lens*		with optional lens	with optional lens	with optional lens

HD Camcorders Feature Explanations:

1 - 1920 x 1080 Full-HD Recording

Images recorded by conventional HD camcorders have only 1,440 horizontal pixels, while full-HD camcorders have 1,920. In terms of total pixels, conventional HD camcorders record images with 1.55 million pixels, while those from Panasonic full-HD camcorders have around 2.07 million pixels -- about 30 percent more. The result is a level of detail and resolution that goes beyond anything you've experienced before. And because full-HD recordings contain a vast amount of picture information, they look beautiful not only on high-definition TVs, but on conventional (standard-definition) TVs as well.

HD images contain 4 times as much information as conventional standard-definition images. HDTV has 1,080 horizontal scan lines, standard-definition TV has 480. That translates into much higher resolution and much finer detail. Pictures are so clear and sharp, you can see the textures in an image. Also, HD uses a 16:9 aspect ratio, so the pictures you record have proportions that more closely match the human field of vision. This means that viewing is more natural and comfortable.

2 - High-Resolution AVCHD Format

AVCHD is a standard developed jointly by Sony and Panasonic for HD digital camcorders. Using highly efficient codec technologies, it records 1080i highdefinition signals onto media such as 8-cm DVD discs and SD/SDHC Memory Cards. AVCHD allows an HD camcorder to make long-time recordings of high-density video information onto a DVD disc or SD/SDHC Memory Card.

3 - Recording Media

Panasonic SD card/hard-drive camcorders are ideal for travel and event shooting because they eliminate the constant need to change media. They can hold many times more data than an 8cm-DVD disc. To ensure continuous recording under rough conditions, the hard drives are protected by a floating, anti-shock damper system and an automatic sensor that detects falls 20cm and higher, automatically disengages the hard-drive write heads, and instantly transfers the video stream to the unit's buffer memory.

Panasonic's twin memory high definition camcorders can record to their built-in memory or to an optional SDHC/SD Memory Card, and feature a Relay Recording function. The Relay Recording mode automatically switches from the built-in flash memory (once it's full) to the SDHC/SD Memory Card and continues recording*. You don't have to worry about missing an important shot while switching media. Later you can combine motion images that are split onto two types of media as a continuous scene in one of two ways. If the SD card has sufficient capacity, it's possible to arrange all of the split data as a single continuous scene on the SD card. If the SD card is not big enough to hold all of the split data, use a DVD burner to create a disc with all the moving pictures as a single continuous scene.

* The SDHC/SDXC/SD Memory Card must have memory space available that is larger than the data in the built-in memory to be merged.

4 - 3MOS Sensor Imaging System

HD is especially good for scenes with rich, vibrant colors. And select Panasonic HD camcorders provide the best in color reproducibility, thanks to use of an advanced 3MOS camera system. This system, in which three separate sensors capture and process the light information received through the lens, helps reproduce high-resolution HD images with magnificent color. With about two times* the light-receiving area of a CCD sensor, this high-sensitivity, high-precision imaging element captures vibrant, faithful color and provides an outstanding performance in low lighting. The 3MOS system uses separate MOS sensors to capture the red, green and blue light components, so no light is wasted. You capture rich, expressive video with vivid colors and super-fine details that make your images come alive.

* Compared with previous Panasonic CCD sensors.

5 - Variable Speed Optical Zoom Lens

Leica Dicomar Lens: Leica AG of Germany is the manufacturer of fine cameras and lenses favored by photographers everywhere. The Leica Dicomar lens featured on the 3MOS models was developed specifically for HD digital video cameras. Drawing on Leica's renowned optical technology, this advanced lens captures clear, crisp, finely nuanced images with outstanding detail and contrast. The Leica Dicomar lens features 12 lens elements in eight groups and uses low-dispersion optical glass to reduce color blurring. A special multi-coating process is applied to the 14 lens element surfaces to minimize chromatic aberration, so images are crisp, clear, and free of flare and ghosting. This 10x zoom can fill the screen with even a distant subject. Because it's optical, there is no quality loss -- you get HD images in all their natural beauty. And focusing is fast even when zooming, so you catch all the best shots.

The HDC-TM90 and HDC-SD90 feature a 21x optical, 26x enhanced optical zoom and an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 40x. The 28mm wide-angle (35mm equivalent) fits more people and more of the background into the frame than conventional models. This is especially handy when you want to take a group photo in a small room. It fits your subjects in even when you shoot from up close, and makes it possible to pick up even small sounds with the mic. It also gives you entirely new ways to enjoy your camcorder, like taking self portraits or capturing sweeping landscapes without losing the sense of scale.

The HDC-HS80, HDC-TM980 and HDC-SD80 features a 34x optical, 37x enhanced optical zoom and an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 42x. The 33.7mm wide-angle lens fits more people and more of the background into the frame than a conventional 44.1mm lens. This is especially handy when you want to take a group photo in a small room. It fits your subjects in even when you shoot from up close, and makes it possible to pick up even small sounds with the mic. It also gives you entirely new ways to enjoy your camcorder, like taking self portraits or capturing sweeping landscapes without losing the sense of scale.

6 - Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.)

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 unsteady hands. Panasonic solves this problem with their O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer). O.I.S. is an optical system, so image quality is in no way degraded.

Panasonic's Advanced O.I.S. is an image stabilizing function that achieves around eight times higher precision than their previous system. The system uses gyro-sensors to detect hand-shake, then shifts a lens and adjusts its optical axis to compensate. And while Panasonic's previous system checked and compensated for hand-shake around 480 times per second, the new Advanced O.I.S. works around 4,000 times per second. Advanced O.I.S. enables finer, more effective hand-shake compensation. Also, because the system is optical, no image quality is lost. With Advanced O.I.S., you'll capture images that are clear, sharp and beautiful on a big TV screen

The corrective ability of POWER O.I.S. has been increased by five times compared to previous models, allowing it to correct even slight hand-shake, something that wasn't possible with conventional O.I.S. Even high-power zoom shots, which are highly susceptible to hand-shake, now come out sharp and clear.

The popular O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) function, which detects hand-shake while shooting and corrects the optical axis to minimize blurring, has evolved into the Hybrid O.I.S. It combines the action of its hybrid optical and electrical image stabilization systems. Hybrid O.I.S. adds to conventional optical compensation with electronic control in the vertical and horizontal directions for zooming, which often suffers from hand-shake. It effectively uses the part of the sensor that is not used in zooming to continuously record the image, enabling powerful handshake compensation without degrading the image quality. You get natural, beautiful images in almost all shooting situations.

7 - Pre-Rec Function

This clever new function records three seconds of images even before you actually begin shooting. The images are held temporarily in the camcorder's internal memory, before recording onto the SDHC/SD Memory Card begins. This helps ensure that you won't miss the start of a moment you want to record, such as when an event begins all of a sudden. For example, if you're waiting to snap a shot of a jumping dolphin, you can press the REC button after you've made sure that the dolphin has cleared the surface of the water. The camcorder will record the entire scene, from the instant of the dolphin's jump until it disappears again into the sea.

8 - Intelligent Contrast Control

By detecting the intensity of the ambient light and adjusting the exposure accordingly, Intelligent Contrast Control prevents blown highlights and blocked shadows. This helps render natural-looking, highly nuanced images with proper contrast. Even when you're shooting directly toward the light source -- a very challenging situation in photography -- Intelligent Contrast Control lets you capture clear images with enhanced depth.

9 - HD Crystal Engine

Panasonic took the advanced imaging circuitry used in their professional equipment and adapted it for home use. The result is the HD Crystal Engine, a high-speed processing unit that handles huge volumes of data and virtually doubles the dynamic range. This advanced imaging engine helps prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows, so the images you capture on video look just the way they do in real life.

The improved Crystal Engine PRO instantly processes the huge amount of data that goes into Full-HD images, and further enhances Full-HD quality. It produces smooth, high-resolution zoom shots even when the range exceeds the limit for optical zooming. Crystal Engine PRO clearly delineates even the tiniest details of your subject, with extremely natural beauty. Enhanced noise reduction (NR) technology minimizes noise when recording in low lighting conditions, while Intelligent Resolution Technology ensures sharp, bright, beautifully colored motion images. The HD 60 Series also achieves 1.3 times higher resolution than conventional camcorders, with 2.1 million effective motion image pixels and 1,080 TV lines of resolution (ISO 12233 Resolution Chart).

10 - MagicPix^® Images / Color Night Rec

MagicPix Images gives you smoothly flowing pictures even in dark places, where it's normally difficult to capture good shots. This feature is a great way to record still images even in low-light settings. Now you can capture still images in full color and save priceless memories like a sleeping baby or a moonlit vacation night.

Color Night Rec gives you images with color even in dim lighting (1 lux).

11 - Manual Ring

The manual ring gives you easy, fingertip control over the focus, zoom and exposure settings. You'll find using the ring a much more intuitive, comfortable, user-friendly process than accessing a menu screen. With the manual ring and manual operation, the SD100 and HS100 are a pleasure to use and give you the freedom to craft unusually expressive images.

12 - On-Screen Asist

Ideal for making fine brightness adjustments that are difficult to see in the LCD. A handy guide for correcting the exposure is shown right in the monitor. A "zebra pattern" is displayed in areas of the frame where the lighting is excessive and the image is over-exposed. The light level is metered at the center of the frame and displayed as a percentage. This serves as a guide when you're shooting a subject that's backlit, or when you want to keep the light level the same even though the lighting conditions change. The Histogram displays in graph form the exposure and contrast conditions over the entire frame. This lets you determine fine gradation details that are difficult to tell by just looking at the screen.

13 - Intelligent Zoom

The HDC-HS900, HDC-TM900 and HDC-SD800 feature an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 20x. The HDC-HS80 features an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 42x. When using Intelligent Zoom, Intelligent Resolution technology lets you shoot at high zoom rates while preserving the image resolution. You get sharp images of highly detailed objects without the blurry edges. Plus, these camcorders are equipped with Hybrid O.I.S, an image stabilization system that corrects hand-shake blurring by combining the action of its hybrid optical and electrical image stabilization systems. Even when zooming, where hand-shake often occurs, both optical and electrical hand-shake correction make it possible to record beautiful images with approximately 2 times the hand-shake suppressing effect as the previous year's models.

14 - Large Wide-Screen LCD

The 2.7-inch widedcreen LCD has a highly detailed display and a viewing angle of 170 degrees, both vertically and horizontally. Images are clear and bright even when viewed from an angle, so everyone can gather around the LCD to enjoy on-the-spot recordings. The wide viewing angle is also great for taking high- or low-angle shots.

15 - iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode

In iA mode the Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), contrast correction and face detection functions are automatically activated.

16 - 24 Frames/Second High-Speed Burst Shooting

These HD camcorders feature high-speed burst shooting. High-speed burst shooting is especially useful for shooting fast-moving objects or capturing spontaneous moments, such as in sports events and car races. Or use it to analyze your golf swing or tennis stroke.

17 - 0.6-Second Quick Start

In Quick Start mode, which can be selected from the menu, the camcorder begins recording in just 0.6 second from the time the LCD is opened. This lets you shoot those sudden shooting opportunities.

18 - Face Detection Function

Panasonic introduced the world's first face detection function for recording moving pictures with a camcorder. It's difficult to shoot scenes with deep shadows or large differences between light and dark areas. The subject often looks too dark, and faces can be hard to see. Panasonic solves this problem with Face Detection, a function that automatically adjusts the exposure according to the ambient brightness, so faces are bright and easy to see. When the camcorder detects a face in the scene, a square frame appears around it in the LCD monitor and the exposure is adjusted to correct the brightness level. The skin tone is also smoothed. Face Detection can detect up to five faces at once. With Face Detection Panasonic makes it easy capture beautiful faces even in dim or backlit scenes.

19 - 5.1-ch Surround Sound, Zoom Microphone, Focus Microphone

Select Panasonic HD camcorders are equipped with five electret condenser microphones. The center mic helps capture the sound source and distance accurately, so you get a more 3-dimensional effect than you get with conventional systems, which capture all sounds from the front. You get a realistic sound space that's a perfect match with the true-to-life HD images. In Zoom mode the microphones are linked to the lens action. When you zoom in on a subject, the microphones focus on the sound in that same direction. In Focus Mode the microphones focus on sounds coming from right in front of you, even when the lens is not zooming

20 - Touch Screen Operation

Select Panasonic High Definition (HD) camcorders feature Panasonic's first camcorder touch-screen that allows icons displayed on the LCD to be easily operated by touching them with a fingertip. Operation is intuitive and easy, and the large letters are easy to read. Shooting and viewing are simple and stress-free -- even for beginners.

21 - Intelligent Resolution Technology

The Intelligent Resolution Technology incorporated in the Crystal Engine PRO uses edge detection technology to confirm the edges of objects within the image, then emphasizes the edges for optimal clarity. For example, it brings crisp definition to patterns and the outlines of objects like flowers. Conversely, it reduces noise and enhances the natural smoothness of parts without edges, like the sky. The increased sharpness is especially effective for images with delicate details. This highly advanced technology maximizes the beauty of Full-HD images.

22 - 1080/60p Recording (Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 60 Progressive Recording)

Uses the progressive scanning method to record twice as much image data as the interlace method. Whereas interlacing requires two images to produce a complete picture, the progressive method records a single image as a complete picture. Plus, 60p Progressive Recording produces 60 images per second. This extremely dense image information creates intricate detail and silky smooth motion. Even when subjects move quickly, afterimages are minimized to create more natural images. The progressive method is most effective when shooting detailed designs where moiré patterns tend to occur, or when capturing scenes during sports events where the subjects are intensely moving around. Also, the recorded images are displayed clearly even when they are made into still images, so it is possible to preserve stunning photos when clipping them from videos.

23 - Shoot True-to-Life 3D Images

Shooting 3D images is easy. Just attach the optional VW-CLT1 3D Conversion Lens to the HDC-HS900, HDC-TM900, HDC-SD800, HDC-TM90* and HDC-SD90*. Then sit back and enjoy 3D images that are much more lifelike than two-dimensional images. When the 3D Conversion Lens is attached, these camcorders produce an effect called visual disparity. Right and left images are captured simultaneously by the two lenses, and recorded using the side-by-side method. Record your 3D images as versatile AVCHD data. This will give it a high level of compatibility with 3D players and conventional AVCHD compatible recorders, so you can also copy images onto a DVD or Blu-ray Disc™ with ease.

The TV alternately reproduces the left and right images, which are viewed through 3D Eyewear. To play back 3D videos, simply insert an SD Memory Card in the slot of a Panasonic VIERA 3DTV or use an HDMI mini cable to connect the camcorder to a VIERA 3DTV or a side-by-side method compatible 3DTV.** Editing is easy too, using the included software. The included HD Writer AE 3.0 editing software can be used to easily change sequences and delete unwanted scenes on a PC, in the same way as for 2D data. Also, 3D data can be easily saved onto SD Memory Cards, DVDs or Blu-ray Discs.

* The DC-TM90 and HDC-SD90 require the Step-up Ring included with the VW-CLT1 for 3D shooting.
** A 3DTV that supports the AVCHD format side-by-side method, 3D Eyewear, and HDMI cable connection (or insertion of an SD card for a VIERA 3DTV that supports SD card playback) are required to view the 3D images you have recorded.