Panasonic launches new line of of camcorders at CES 2009

We already caught wind of a few new camcorders from Panasonic today, but now the whole crew is official. We've got too many to call 'em out, but here's a few highlights. First off, the SDR-S26 packs a mighty ridiculous 70x optical zoom. The partnering SDR-H80 and SDR-H90 also include optical image stabilization and varying amounts of internal storage, but truthfully, these really aren't worth swooning over. The half dozen Full HD models, however, are definitely worth peeking. The HDC-HS300, HDC-TM300 and HDC-HS250 all feature the outfit's 3MOS system, but unfortunately, none of these are particularly affordable. If you don't believe us, have a look at the links below.

Read - Panasonic camcorders I
Read - Panasonic camcorders II

[Endejas @ Jan 8th 2009 5:39AM]

Did I stutter?

[BobTurbo @ Jan 8th 2009 5:43AM]

3mos sucks...... they should use one big sensor.... but wow 70x zoom.. if only it was 720p not SD... and if only the colour choices didn't suck... I would almost make a positive comment.

[tekdroid @ Jan 8th 2009 7:07AM]

Quality of 70x zoom should be interesting. No mention of MiniDV this year.

[000000 @ Jan 8th 2009 9:13AM]

MiniDV is probably done. Can't say I don't prefer SD card storage over tape. In about 2-3 years the quality and compression of HD video is going to get really good I think.

[LloydChiro @ Jan 8th 2009 9:03AM]

Where's the prosumer one based upon the u-4/3 sensor complete with interchangeable lenses? Manual controls are what I'm waiting for.

[bandigolo @ Jan 8th 2009 12:16PM]

After having read the specs for no less than 20 new HD camcorders, I, on behalf of all readers, humbly request that Engadget make a summary post comparing these things. Maybe this is premature until a full hands-on can be had, but it's never to early to get started, no?