Panasonic to Debut 3D Camcorder at NAB Show

Panasonic AG-3DA1 3-D camera
You may not be able to recreate “Avatar.” But Panasonic’s new 3-D camcorder—available this fall—will bring 3-D power to a single camera operator’s shoulder for $21,000.

Panasonic figures its AG-3DA1 camcorder will enable 3-D production for plenty of applications—music videos, local productions and advertising, for example.

And since 3-D stormed the word at January’s CES Show, Panasonic has been hearing not just from traditional videographers but also from government and medical folks, plotting the 3-D documentation of activities like surgery, mid-air aircraft refueling, bomb disposal and robot control, according to Bob Harris, vice president of marketing and business expansion at Panasonic Broadcast.

Panasonic will demonstrate it at the NAB Show in April. Users who want to be the first on the block with the 3-D camcorder can lay down a $1,000 deposit, Harris said.

He promised a commitment to 3-D production at for both producers and home consumers. For example, a 3-D Blu-ray player is slated for availability later this year.

And the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory to lending its expertise to moviemakers with both encoding and authoring services.

“You can expect lot of content coming out in the very near future,” Harris said.

The key to the 3-D camcorder’s smooth function in precise synchronization between the two channels, Harris said. It records in 1080i or 720p at various frame-rates and on dual (left/right) SD cards, weighing in at less than 7 pounds.

It has dual HD-SDI outputs as well as HDMI 1.4.

Panasonic said that at NAB it will also show a new 3-D production monitor. At 25.5 inches in suitable for mobile production environments as well as the studio. It too is planned for September delivery at about $9,900.