Panasonic's latest pro AVCHD camcorder
(Credit:
Panasonic)
Adding to its SD-card-based AVCCAM series--not to be confused with its P2-card-based and seriously more expensive P2HD series, which includes the AG-HVX200A--the AG-HMC40 joins the AG-HMC150 and its shoulder-mount cousin, the HMC70 in the ranks of Panasonic's pro AVCHD camcorders.
Smaller and lighter than either of its line mates, with a much simpler design, the HMC40 is also the first in its line to includes a trio of full HD resolution 1/4.1-inch 3MOS sensors rather than CCDs. It incorporates a 12X zoom lens of as-yet unknown (to me) focal-length range and can shoot 10.6-megapixel stills (obviously interpolated, since none of the sensors are that high resolution).
Like its brethren, the HMC40 will support up to 21-megabits-per-second recording in a range of HD formats, including 1080 and 720 at 60i, 30p, and 24p frame rates. Pro connections include a removable XLR mic input. Interestingly, the camcorder also has consumer-type features like a touch screen, face-detection AF, and prerecord.
The AG-HMC40 is slated to ship in August for $3,195.
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Senior Editor Lori Grunin has been covering digital imaging for two decades, but her memory's kind of sketchy on the details. You can hear about it every week on Indecent Exposure, the podcast she co-hosts with Matt Fitzgerald. 
