Camcorder News

LAS VEGAS, March 7, 2007 – Panasonic quietly announced their ultra-compact SDR-S10 ($399 MSRP) for the US market at the Digital Focus event this evening at PMA 2007 in Las Vegas.  The SDR-S10 was announced in mid-February by Panasonic’s Japanese division, but details on the camcorder’s release in the states have been scant until now.  The US version of the camcorder is virtually identical to the Japanese model, featuring underwhelming imaging specifications, but an enticing durability for active users.  Unlike the 3-chip SDR-S150 – the company’s other compact camcorder – the SR1 enters the ring with a single 1/6" CCD, serving up 680K gross and 340K effective pixels at native 4:3 resolution, 300 effective at 16:9, and 350K in still mode. 

Despite run-of-the-mill video capabilities, the camcorder’s sleek design and "water-resistant" ruggedized body should make the SDR-S10 appeal to the growing legions of YouTube and MySpace producers. Touted as 'the ultimate computer and travel accessory, ' in the press release by Rudy Vitti, Panasonic camcorder National Marketing Manager, the SDR-S10 underscores the company’s commitment to its new consumer format of choice:  SDHC flash memory cards.  More than any other manufacturer, Panasonic has embraced flash memory-based camcorders, in the belief that the format’s portability, durability, and speed will trump DVD and even HDD-based camcorders with consumers. The company currently has six camcorders on the market or on the way that employ SDHC cards (see chart below).

In addition to the 1/6' CCD, the SDR-S10 features an F1.8-F2.4 10 x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 2.3 - 23.0 mm (35mm equivalent 43.9 mm - 439 mm in 4:3 mode, 43.9 mm - 439mm in 16:9 mode, and 43.7 mm - 437 mm in still mode.  Like other Panasonics, the SR1 also features a strong manual control suite, with independent control over iris and shutter speed, as well as manual focus.  The interface has been altered from most Panasonic camcorder;  the familiar joystick has been eschewed in favor of a four-way touch-pad inside the LCD cavity.  This is an unfortunate move in terms of usability, in that it moves the primary control interface to an out-of-the-way spot, and replaces the highly efficient joystick with a less facile touch pad.  Yet some design compromises are inevitable in a camcorder with such a small form factor.

While ultra-compact form factors are not new to Panasonic, which introduced the SDR-S100 in 2005, and its sequel, the S150 last year.  That camcorder was small to be sure at just 287g (.63 lb) – and it featured a 3-CCD imaging system, but the SR1 breaks new ground in terms of portability weighing in at a mere 181g (.40 lb).  The rubber encased body advertised as "water resistant" and able to withstand falls from four feet also marks the company’s avid pursuit of a burgeoning young market.  

Like the Samsung SC-X210L, a sports cam with an accessory helmet cam, the Panasonic SDR-S10 takes aim at young producers who want something light and fast that enables them to move their footage onto their favorite video sharing service with zero hassle.  For a company that has built its reputation on products that respect the intelligence of their users by offering good performance and better manual controls than other consumer camcorders, the SR1 indicates the maturing of the company’s recent strategy.  Just months after announcing the first HD camcorder to use flash memory cards, the HDC-SD1, Panasonic’s SDR-S10 bookends the company’s line at the low end.

The Panasonic SDR-S10 will be available in the US in April 2007 at an MSRP of $399.

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