Panasonic introduced Wednesday what it called the first integrated twin-lens 2D/3D camcorder compatible with the new AVCHD 3D/Progressive standard.

Panasonic's HDC-Z10000 3D camcorder features a glasses Paralax barrier 3D LCD screen, and conforms to the AVCHD 3D progressive standard.Model HDC-Z10000 (pricing and availability to be announced later) features  Panasonic's closest 3D video macro setting in a twin-lens 3D camcorder, at approximately 17.8 inches. 

The macro setting allows capturing 3D video that is typically difficult to focus, such as small flowers, animals and jewelry.

The HDC-Z10000 features a 1,152,000-dot, 3.5-inch LCD that appears 3D to the naked eye without 3D eyewear.  By using a parallax barrier to control the direction of the light from the LCD, images with slightly different perceptions are viewed by the right and left eyes, thus creating a 3D effect. 

The user can check 3D images while shooting, without having to connect a monitor. Naturally, the display can also be switched between 2D and 3D.

The camcorder features Panasonic's Double 3MOS System, which produces rich colors and detail. Each 3MOS sensor has an effective pixel count of 6.57 megapixels and can be independently mounted left and right.

The sensors allow separate images to be recorded simultaneously for the left and right eyes. Light received through the lens is separated into three primary colors -- red, green and blue -- and each is processed independently.

2D recordings are said to produce similarly high results.

A newly-developed, ultra-high speed Crystal Engine Pro II engine powers the high-speed processing.

"Adding to Panasonic's top-of-the-line 3MOS full-HD camcorders, the HDC-Z10000 naturally excels in the recording of high-quality 2D images.  It also meets the constantly increasing need for FullHD 3D videos, as both professionals and consumers desire more flexibility and power when shooting 3D," said Chris Rice, Panasonic imaging senior product manager. "The HDC-Z10000 is a unique camcorder in that it has high-end features to suit advanced users, but is easy enough to use for those looking for excellent 2D video and who may want to explore 3D video shooting as well."

The HDC-Z10000 features a pair of F1.5 lenses that excel when shooting in low light conditions.

Panasonic also adds to lenses Nano Surface Coating for the first time on a camcorder.

The coating is said to greatly reduce light reflection and ghosting. The 32mm wide-angle lens has a 10x optical zoom range while shooting in 3D or 12x optical zoom while shooting in 2D.

When shooting in 2D, Hybrid O.I.S. helps to smooth handshake. When shooting in 3D, the system activates Power O.I.S.

The camcorder uses three independent rings for adjusting the zoom, focus and iris control, and adds a built-in microphones for recording Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound/two-channel stereo. Two XLR audio inputs with a 48-V phantom power supply are added for external microphone use.

Clear audio is recorded with minimal noise, Panasonic said. Uncompressed Linear PCM (two-channel only) is also supported for recording original sounds with extremely high fidelity.

A dedicated dial lets the user finely adjust 3D convergence (parallax).

The AVCHD 3D formats supported by the camcorder include Multiview Video Coding (MVC) to record and playback 3D images via the Frame Sequential Method, and AVCHD Progressive for progressive formats.

The HDC-Z10000 also employs the 1080/60 progressive method to record twice as much image data as the 1080/60 interlaced method.

Other features of the Panasonic HDC-Z10000 twin-lens 2D/3D camcorder include:

•a 0.45-inch Live View Finder (LVF) with high-speed responses and a 1,227,000-dot high-resolution;
•a dual SD memory card slot;
•bundled HD Writer XE 1.0 software; and
•2D/3D still image recording any time by pressing the shutter button to record a 2D or 3D (MPO compliant) still image. 3D and 2D still images are recorded simultaneously with video at 2.1-megapixel resolution.