Panasonic TM350 and TM30

Panasonic today unveiled a pair of camcorders in Japan that each claim their own world's firsts. The TM350 is the first HD camcorder to hold 64GB of flash memory and can use the storage to record about 16 hours of 1080p, AVCHD (H.264) video at a film-level 24 frames per second, with an SDHC card slot holding more. It can also add 5.1-channel surround audio to the mix and uses a 3MOS (3 CMOS) sensor that better handles lower light compared to CCD.

The camera also shoots 10.6-megapixel still images and has a 12X optical zoom lens. Sports photography is helped by shooting up to 60 frames per second at 0.9 megapixels or 24 frames per second at 2.1 megapixels; face detection is available both here and in movie mode.

A more economical camera, the TM30, uses a single CMOS sensor and 32GB of internal memory but gets a longer-ranged 16X zoom and is claimed as the lightest camera with its storage, at almost exactly 0.5 pounds. It gets the same SDHC expansion and general still shooting abilites as the TM350.

Both ship to Panasonic's native Japan on June 25th and should have street prices equivalent to $1,568 for the TM350 and $1,045 for the TM30. An eventual US release is likely and may cost less. [via Impress]

By Electronista Staff