DXG, Panasonic, Sony Gear

3D Capability Coming In More Camcorders, Cameras This Year

January 14, 2011 by Jeff Berman|Top News

LAS VEGAS -- 3D capability was offered in only a small number of digital imaging products from manufacturers last year, but it’s being extended to a wider selection of offerings in 2011. Companies taking the wraps off such products at CES last week included DXG, Panasonic, Sony and JVC.

DXG fielded its first 3D camcorder last year at $599.99, bundled with a 7-inch LCD monitor using parallax barrier autostereoscopic technology for viewing images in 3D without special glasses being required (CED July 28 p4, April 15 p3). The DXG-5D7V offered only standard definition video and was only available at a limited number of retailers, including Hammacher Schlemmer.

DXG will now ship a new 3D camcorder, the DXG-5F9V, in March at a much cheaper $299.99 that features 1080p HD, and can record 3D and 2D video and still photos, Paul Goldberg, senior vice president of marketing and sales, told Consumer Electronics Daily. The camcorder comes with a 3.2-inch 3D TFT screen and is “compatible with most 3D TVs,” DXG said. The company will also field a $49.99 digital camera in March that will come with five paper viewers that allows images to be viewed in 3D, Goldberg said. Retailers had yet to be finalized for the camera, which will be DXG’s first still model in a few years. It exited the digital camera market a few years ago once it could no longer find profits amid all the price compression. DXG is “hoping” that the camera will get its products in new retail accounts and also “get 3D out to a wider audience,” Goldberg said.

"The key to success” for 3D in the CE market is to overcome the need for 3D glasses, Goldberg said. Other problems are the high cost of current 3D TVs and the lack of content, he said. But he predicted “the market is definitely going to pick up. … Hopefully this year you're going to see a lot more content available.” One selling point for 3D camcorders, however, is that consumers can use them to generate their own 3D content, he said.

Panasonic introduced 3D into its camcorder line last year with the HDC-SDT750, which it claimed then was “the world’s first consumer 3D camcorder.” It was introduced after DXG’s model, but wound up shipping just ahead of the DXG-5F9V. The $1,399.95 SDT750 featured a 3D conversion lens that enabled the otherwise 2D camcorder to shoot 3D video. It was able to record “full 1080p” HD in the AVCHD format, but only when the 3D conversion lens was unattached.

Panasonic expanded 3D to five camcorders this year. There are three “full HD” 1920x1080p models using the company’s advanced 3MOS system that it said offers “improved noise reduction.” Those models are the HDC-TM900, HDC-HS900 and HDC-SD800, all featuring 1920x1080 resolution with 1080/60 frames per second recording and the ability to shoot 3D videos when used with Panasonic’s optional 3D conversion lens, the $349.95 VW-CLT1. Video or still images recorded in 3D can be viewed on a Panasonic Viera 3D TV or other compatible 3D TV, or through an AVCHD-compatible player/recorder such as the manufacturer’s Blu-ray player, it said. The HDC-TM900 and HDC-HS900 feature 3.5-inch LCDs, while the HDC-SD800 features a 3-inch LCD. Also utilizing the same 3D feature are the new HDC-SD90 and HDC-TM90 that don’t use the 3MOS system. Panasonic didn’t supply ship dates or pricing for the new camcorders.

JVC at CES took the wraps off what it claimed was “the world’s first consumer camcorder to offer 3D recording in Full HD,” the GS-TD1, shipping in March at $1,999.95 (CED Jan 7 p4). Unlike Panasonic’s models, it doesn’t require a conversion lens to record in 3D. It uses a new high-speed image processing engine developed by JVC and dubbed “Falconbrid” that it said can produce two simultaneous full HD images. The images are processed using a single chip as part of a newly developed LR Independent Format, it said. The camcorder uses a JVC 3D Twin HD GT lens. One other new JVC HD Everio camcorder offers 3D capabilities, the GZ-HM960, shipping in February at $949.95. It offers a 2D-to-3D output function that JVC said turns any 2D footage into 3D. As with the other model, output can be viewed without glasses on the camcorder’s 3.5-inch 3D LCD monitor or by connecting the camcorder to an external 3D TV, JVC said.

Sony extended 3D to its camcorder and digital camera lines. It touted the HDR-TD10, shipping in April at about $1,500, as “the world’s first ‘Double Full HD’ 3D consumer camcorder.” The camcorder also doesn’t require a converter lens as Panasonic’s models do. It uses an integrated dual lens system, including double Sony G Lenses, double Exmor R CMOS image sensors and double Bionz image processors, Sony said. “The dual recording system allows 3D content to be recorded in 1920x1080 Full HD resolution and viewed with 3D active glasses on 3D-capable HDTVs or in Full HD 2D on non-3D displays,” it said. All 3D footage can also be played back without glasses on the camcorder’s 3.5-inch LCD 3D touch screen, it said.

Sony called its new Bloggie 3D “the world’s first HD 3D pocket camera,” saying the MHS-FS3 will ship with 8 GB of internal memory in April at about $250. The camera features two lenses, two image sensors and a stereo microphone that it said can capture 3D or 2D video and photos. The 3D images can be viewed without glasses on the built-in 2.4-inch LCD. The new 16.2-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-TX100V, DSC-TX10, DSC-HX7V, DSC-WX10 and DSC-WX9, all shipping in March, meanwhile, are “the world’s first compact digital still cameras to include 3D Still Image mode for taking 3D images using only one lens and imager,” Sony said. The $380 TX100V is “the world’s first compact digital still camera to include full HD (1920 x 1080/60p) video capability,” it claimed. The other models range in price from $220-$330.

Digital Imaging Notebook

Panasonic “did very well” over the holiday season with camcorders, and “gained a lot of market share,” Chris Rice, senior product manager, said. Its share, at No. 2 or 3 from October-December, “was higher than normal” during the period, helped by instant rebates and bundling opportunities with its products, he told us. The company saw a steady increase” in sales in 2010 versus 2009, but its share was probably lower for the year than the holiday season, he said. His estimates, however, didn’t include the shoot-and-share camcorder segment because Panasonic didn’t field any products there, he said. While Sony continued to be dominant, he said Panasonic battled with Canon for No. 2 share in the holiday season, after coming in at No. 3 or 4 in the 2009 holiday season. The average selling price of its products, however, was about double the market average, he said.

Panasonic bowed eight new digital cameras at CES, all with Optical Image Stabilizer that reduces blur, after not offering that featuring on two comparable models last year, David Briganti, senior product manager, told us. All of the new models feature 720p HD video capture, versus last year when one model didn’t, he said. As part of a trend at CES, Panasonic also introduced a Facebook and YouTube easy upload feature to its new cameras. Panasonic was No. 4 or 5 in digital camera revenue throughout most of the year, and No. 2 or 3 in long-zoom models, Briganti said. The company introduced a $30 million ad campaign backing its Lumix brand this fiscal year and a “similar investment” is planned for the next two years to help build the brand up further in the U.S., he said. Included in the new Panasonic line are the 16.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-FH5 and 14.1- megapixel Lumix DMC-FH2, both featuring new retractable, 28mm wide-angle Leica DC lenses with a 4x optical zoom, as well as the new Venus Engine VI that Panasonic said improved “resolution performance, zooming capabilities, start-up speed and auto focusing.”

DXG “had a very good year” in 2010 in which “we exceeded our expectations,” Paul Goldberg, senior vice president of marketing and sales, told us. It also had a “strong” holiday, he said. Retailers “ordered light to start off with,” but were selling out of DXG products as the holiday season went on, he said.