Panasonic has announced its latest in a line of video cameras that will record directly to SD. Called the SDR-S100, the 3CCD camera will have 3.1 megapixels, 10x optical LEICA zoom lens, and an optical image stabilizer. It'll feature a wide 2.8" LCD, and instead of recording to the standard MPEG4 format, it'll record images to MPEG2 format. This is all well and good, but SD cards are still kinda pricey, especially if you want to get the 2GB one (and if you're shooting video, you probably will). And even then, you probably won't get too much footage with just one card. Considering the lack of microphone input (you'll have to rely on the on-camera mic) and lack of focus ring, we're guessing this camcorder is really more for impromptu videos at a party, and not for mini-documentaries or anything.

It'll be available in October for $1,199.95.

Panasonic to launch SD Video Camera at IFA 2005 - EXCLUSIVE [Pocket-lint.co.uk]
Panasonic Announces SDR-S100, SD Recording 3 CCD Camcorder [CamcorderInfo]

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