Panasonic Announces Pricing/Availablity of New AVCCAM HD Handheld Camcorders with Full HD Imager and 22X Zoom Lens
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Panasonic Solutions Company (PSC) disclosed pricing and availability of two new professional AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders, the AG-AC160 and AG-AC130. The AC160 and AC130 incorporate high-sensitivity 1/3”, full-HD 2.2 megapixel 3-MOS imagers to capture native 1920 x 1080 resolution images, with a new, wider 22X HD zoom lens, the longest in its category.
Panasonic AG-AC130, available in October.
Panasonic AG-AC160, available in September.
The AC160 will be available in September at a suggested list price of $4,795.00, and the AC130 will deliver in October at a suggested list price of $3,895.00.
Key new AC160/AC130 features include two SD Memory Card slots for relay or simultaneous recording, compatibility with Panasonic’s new SDHC full Class 10 UHS-1 (Ultra High Speed) Memory Cards, an enhanced viewfinder and LCD display, and DV recording. The higher-end AC160 also includes such top production features as variable frame rate recording in 1080p, Linear PCM audio, HD-SDI output, and switchability between 59.94Hz/50Hz.
“These new AVCCAM handhelds offer the longer lensing that customers have been clamoring for in a small form factor with state-of-the art, high-bandwidth AVCCAM, Panasonic’s implementation of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding,” said Jan Crittenden Livingston, product manager, PSC. “In addition, the AC160 adds the creative flexibility of Full HD off-speed recording in 1080p and an HD-SDI out.”
The AVCCAM camcorders’ Full HD resolution imager produces stunning 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 AVCHD video at high sensitivity. Because the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec provides a doubling of bandwidth efficiency and improved video performance over the older MPEG-2 compression-based formats, recordings look clean and crisp, even during fast motion, without image degradation or dropouts. Utilizing a 22X zoom lens with three independent adjustable rings for zoom, focus, and iris, these new AVCCAM units offer a wide 28mm to 616mm (35mm full frame equivalent) viewing angle, covering most shooting situations without the need for a wide-angle conversion lens.
The AC160/130 record video in four professional AVCCAM HD recording modes, including the highest-quality PH mode (average 21 Mbps/Max 24Mbps), the HA mode (approx. 17 Mbps), the extended recording HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps), and a PM mode (approx. 8 Mbps, 720p only), which is ideal for shooting sports training and web video.
