Presenting the lineup of 2014 Panasonic Full-HD Camcorders

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic is proud to announce a new lineup of five high quality full-HD camcorders packed with powerful features for enhancing the shooting experience and monitoring your family.

The HC-W850 features Twin Camera™ enables shooting picture-in-picture video with a sub-camera located on the side of the LCD screen. The Twin Camera™ captures two scenes at once, such as a close-up shot and landscape shot in the same direction, front and side shots, or shots of the subject and person filming for even greater creative freedom and excitement while shooting.

The W850, V750, V550, and V250 camcorders include the new Baby Monitor feature which enables you to monitor a sleeping baby in another room through your smartphone when you are otherwise occupied. You can even speak to the baby using your smartphone or have notification sent to your smartphone when your baby's crying voice is detected.

The W850, V750, V550, and V250 camcorders also include built-in Wi-Fi. One-touch connection by NFC (Near Field Communication) enables you to quickly and easily connect to your smartphone without any complicated initial setup and allows remote control using your smartphone.  For any smartphone without NFC function, there is also an easy connection feature using a QR code.  You can also use Ustream to deliver live images of events to distant relatives and friends and easily share video and photos as they are recorded.

The W850 and V750 camcorders feature all-new lenses, sensors, and engines for significantly improving the image quality. The world's first 4-drive lens system^*2 uses a 4-group lens system controlled by individual motors for enabling high-resolution and high-magnification zoom operation within a compact body size. A BSI sensor with an effective pixel count of 6.03 megapixels is used to expand the sensor effective area for boosting the sensitivity by approximately 1.3 times. The new Crystal Engine Pro+ provides processing speeds that are about 1.5 times faster than the previous engine. New, enhanced noise reduction has been implemented for reducing by about 20% delivering sharp, crystal-clear video images.

The Remote Pan Tilt Cradle accessory (sold separately) will also be launched with these camcorders. When connected to a camcorder, it detects a moving subject and automatically tracks the subject within a horizontal movement range of 180 degrees and vertical range of 15 degrees . If installed at a party, you can connect it to the camera's motion sensor to automatically capture the festive atmosphere. Also, if used together with the Wi-Fi Home Monitoring function, you can automatically track any pets that are home while you are away and monitor them from a remote location.  In addition to the basic functions of capturing, viewing, and sharing video, Panasonic provides a wide range of advanced features for adding greater enjoyment and fun to your family time.  

*1 HC-W850 only.
*2 In a consumer full-HD video camera. As of January 6, 2014.

HC-W850
The Twin Camera™ Doubles Your Fun

1. New Twin Camera™ function
2. Premium Picture Quality: An all-new lens, sensor and engine combine for powerful zooming and high sensitivity.
3. Advanced Level Shot Function and 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S.+ (Optical Image Stabilizer) for minimizing the effects of hand movement and tilting

HC-V750
Make Every Scene More Beautiful

1. Premium Picture Quality: An all-new lens, sensor and engine combine for powerful zooming and high sensitivity
2. Advanced Level Shot Function and 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S.+ (Optical Image Stabilizer) for minimizing the effects of hand movement and tilting
3. Full HD Slow Motion Video for added excitement

HC-V550
Capture it Beautifully with Your Hand

1. 50x Optical Zoom and 90x Intelligent Zoom high-magnification for bringing faraway subjects up close
2. Advanced Level Shot Function and 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S.+ (Optical Image Stabilizer) for minimizing the effects of hand movement and tilting
3. Built-in Wi-Fi®, NFC-compatible

HC-V250
Powerful 90x Intelligent Zooming in a Compact Body

1. Optical 50x Zoom and 90x Intelligent Zoom high-magnification for bringing faraway subjects up close
2. Power O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) for stable video images even when zooming or walking
3. Built-in Wi-Fi®, NFC-compatible

HC-V130
Take Full-HD Videos the Easy Way

1. Creative Control effects for easily creating artistic video images
2. 38x Optical Zoom and 75x Intelligent Zoom high-magnification for bringing faraway subjects up close
3. BSI sensor

Technical Details:

• New Twin Camera (HC-W850)
  The W850 camcorders include a rotatable sub camera on the side of the LCD screen. You can shoot using this sub camera while also shooting with the main camera at the same time. The video recorded by the sub camera appears in a small window on the screen. Twin Camera enables you to simultaneously capture two scenes at once, such as a close-up shot and background shot in the same direction, front and side shots, or shots of the subject and person filming for even greater creative freedom and excitement when shooting.
• Premium Picture Quality: An all-new lens, sensor and engine combine for powerful zooming and high sensitivity. (HC-W850/V750)
  The engine is capable of processing at about 1.5 times faster than previously for high-speed processing of the enhanced MOS sensor signals with 6.03 effective megapixels for delivering sharp video images with high resolution. The world's first^* 4-drive lens system is incorporated to enable a powerful 20x optical zoom within a compact body size. (*For the first time in a consumer video camera, four lens groups are driven to achieve both high picture quality and a compact size. As of January 6^th, 2014.)
• Advanced Level Shot Function and 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S.+ (Optical Image Stabilizer) for minimizing the effects of hand movement and tilting  (HC-W850/V750/V550)  The tilting correction range has been doubled for enhanced corrective performance. The setting can be adjusted to one of three levels (Off, Normal, Strong) based on your shooting conditions. When shooting in situations where tilting tends to occur or for users who are unaccustomed to shooting, the Strong setting applies a wider correction range and stronger correction for recording a video that can be comfortably and easily viewed. The correction algorithm has been improved for better trackability and provides better tracking even when tilted quickly. Together with the 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S+ optical image stabilizer, this provides powerful correction for camera movement and tilting.
• FULL HD Slow Motion Video recording function for added excitement of super-slow shooting at Full-HD resolution (HC-W850/V750)
  The new Crystal Engine Pro+ engine provides high-speed processing that enables slow motion video shooting in Full-HD with smooth playback at 240fps* with Intelligent Frame Creation.  A simple touch operation is used during regular shooting to switch to slow motion recording.  (*Actual recording in 120fps)
• 50x Optical Zoom and 90x Intelligent Zoom
  High-magnification for bringing distant subjects up close
  (HC-V550/V250/V130)
  Intelligent zoom is a technology that uses super resolution technology for imaging at HD quality even when the optical range is exceeded. This function enables recognition of the subject features and improved clarity for shooting sharp close-ups of faraway subjects. This is effective when you are separated from the subject by a considerable distance such as when shooting outdoor events. (The HC-V130 features a 38x Optical / 75x Intelligent Zoom.)
• Built-in Wi-Fi®, NFC-compatible
  (HC-W850/V750/V550/V250)
  The camcorders now include the Baby Monitor feature which enables you to check on a sleeping baby in another room with the Camcorder connected to home Network with a smartphone. You can speak to the baby using your smartphone, or have notification sent to your smartphone when your baby's crying voice or other sound is detected.
  You can also provide live streaming of video over the Internet using Ustream.
• Optical image stabilizer for stable video images even when zooming or walking
  (HC-V250)
  A high-sensitivity gyro sensor that detects hand movement with a precision of approximately 4000 times per second and linear motors are used to drive the lens to apply correction. This minimizes the effects of hand movement when shooting during high-magnification zoom or while walking.
• Creative Control effects for easily creating artistic video images
  (HC-W850/V750/V550/V250/V130)
  The built-in Creative Control modes of Miniature Effect, 8mm Movie, Silent Movie, and Time Lapse Recording enable you to add effects to your video for further enhancing your creativity.
• BSI sensor (HC-V250/V130)
  A BSI sensor is incorporated in the camcorder for recording sharp images even in dimly-lit locations. This enables recording of sharp, high-quality full-HD video with minimum noise.

For additional information, please visit www.shop.panasonic.com, the Panasonic CES website (www.Panasonic.com/CES) or (home.panasonic.com).

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
Based in Newark, NJ, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. The company offers a wide range of consumer solutions in the U.S. including products from VIERA Life+ Screen, Blu-ray players, LUMIX Digital Cameras, Camcorders, Home Audio, Cordless Phones, Home Appliances, Wellness and Personal Care products and more. In Interbrand's 2013 Annual "Best Global Green Brands" report, the Panasonic brand rose to number four, the highest ranked electronics brand in the report. (http://bit.ly/19WFSpu). 

To learn more about our products, visit www.shop.panasonic.com. Follow Panasonic on Twitter @panasonicUSA; additional company information for journalists is also available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

SOURCE Panasonic