It looks like Panasonic will be pushing 3D home movie technology for consumers. Panasonic is the first major digital camera manufacturer to announce not one but two models of consumer-grade 3D camcorders that will hit the markets before the end of 2010.
Two 3D digital camcorder models will be introduced: a TM750 with 96 gigabytes of storage and a TM650 with 64 gigabytes. The TM750 is expected to cost around $1400 in the USA market. A model called the HDC-SD-TD750K has shown up on the Panasonic web site. Presumably, this is the model number for the product that will be introduced in the USA.
The 3D camcorders use an unusual method for recording in 3D. The camcorders can record normal 1920×1080 high resolution in 2D, but with the addition of a special lens adapter, they record using a side-by-side framing method which splits each perspective into a resolution of 960×1080. The adapter has two Leica Dicomar lenses that capture the left-eye and right-eye perspectives required for 3D.
The information that we saw indicates that the 3D video can be viewed on an HDTV using an HDMI cable and 3D video can also be transferred to a PC and recorded on a Blu-ray Disc using a Blu-ray recorder. Although it was not specifically mentioned, we presume that means that you can only view the 3D video disc using one of the new 3D-ready HDTVs with a Blu-ray 3D player.
Panasonic does offer professional models of 3D camcorders, but these are the first consumer-grade 3D camcorders to enter the market from a major camera manufacturer.