The Panasonic HDC-SD90 Full HD 1080p Camcorder (PAL) is formatted for PAL video systems and is capable of shooting 1920 x 1080p full HD video using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format. It's also capable of shooting digital still JPEG images in a range of resolutions and megapixels. The camera stores your shots on SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards and can playback video and stills in 1080/50p full HD on its 3.0" LCD touch screen display or on your HDTV using its mini-HDMI output. Plus, for more adventurous spirits, the HDC-SD90 has an attachable 3D lens (sold separately), which facilitates full HD 3D video and still image capture. This feature lets anyone bring the magic of Hollywood home to be incorporated into your own personal 3D action movies. For everyone who's still interested in shooting 2D movies in full HD, the SD90 is designed to deliver. With a lengthy list of shot-enhancing and flexibility-furthering features, the SD90 yields colorful, highly authentic and detailed shots that will dazzle and impress guests, friends, family members and anyone else with whom who you might share your home movies. Plus, the integration of multiple white balance options, Hybrid Optical Image Stabilization and the HD Writer AE 3.0 software, puts the tools needed to create interesting, flowing videos - in your hands. The camera is equipped with a 1/4.1" MOS imaging sensor and a Panasonic lens. These accouterments work together to produce quick HD images with incredible color, detail and the flowing beauty only progressive recordings can deliver. Progressive recording, as opposed to interlaced, reproduce the entirety of an image both across, up and down. This yields vibrant, true-to-life colors and authentic reproduction of each frame. Plus, when you watch your videos on an HDTV, you'll see each shot as it was intended to be seen - in full HD 1920 x 1080p at 50 frames per second. You may forget you're watching a home movie. Other highlights of the SD90 are its 28 mm wide-angle lens, which enables a more compact camera design for improved flexibility when shooting in tight spaces. The lens also ensures the whole family fits in the frame, even during close-ups or when you're on the plane or in the car. The camcorder also features a stunning, 3.0" LCD touch screen display, which makes playback more enjoyable and also increases shooting flexibility by doubling as a viewfinder. The touch operation provides an intuitive way to move through menus and change settings without taking your eyes off the subject. Another highlight is the camcorders powerful 40x Intelligent Optical Zoom. In addition to shooting HD video, the SD90 double as a high-quality digital camera, capable of shooting 4:3 JPEG 5.0 megapixel stills with 2592 x 1944 resolution, 16:9 JPEG 4.5 megapixel stills with 2816 x 1584 resolution, and a host of other formats as well. You can leave your dedicated digital camera at home when you go on vacation and still be able to store up to a maximum of 999 images on a large capacity memory card. Plus, like many high-end digital cameras and camcorders, the SD90 is equipped with functions like face detection, scene modes, Intelligent AUTO and many others - ensuring you'll get the most out of each video or digital still image. When you're done shooting and ready to edit, watch and share your home movies, the SD90 makes it easy with the included HD Writer AE 3.0 software for editing, archiving and sharing your footage. It offers help for uploading to social media sites like YouTube and Facebook. Plus, when you're ready, the mini-HDMI port provides an uncompressed, full HD video and audio link to your HDTV. Using the HDMI interface also ensures that the cameras two-channel AAC or Dolby Digital audio is transferred to your home theater surround sound, giving you high-definition audio to match your HD video. You can even burn your footage to DVD or Blu-ray by purchasing the proper DVD or Blu-ray Disc writer. Plus, for a quick and easy video montage with music, the camcorder features an in-camera editing suite properly named, Advanced Highlight Playback. 28mm Wide Angle Lens The 28mm wide-angle lens on the SD90 fits more people and more of the background into the frame than conventional models. This is especially handy when you want to take a group photo in a small room or shoot close-ups of multiple individuals Intelligent 40x Zoom and Hybrid OIS The HD 90 Series features an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 40x. When using Intelligent Zoom, Intelligent Resolution technology lets you shoot at high zoom rates while preserving the image resolution. You get sharp images of highly detailed objects - without the blurry edges Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) Lock The image-stabilizing effect is increased by pressing and holding the OIS. Lock indication on the LCD screen, which maximizes the blur detection sensitivity. This is great for when you want to zoom at a fixed angle, like for bird watching 1080/50p Recording With its transfer rate of 28 Mbps, 1920 x 1080/50p full HD recording conveys about twice the information of 1080i recording. Whereas interlacing requires two images to produce a complete picture, the progressive method records a single image as a complete picture. Plus, the 50p produces 50 progressive frames per second. This dense image information creates intricate detail and silky smooth motion - even when subjects move quickly Crystal Engine PRO The Crystal Engine PRO instantly processes the huge amount of data that goes into Full-HD images, and further enhances Full-HD quality. It produces smooth, high-resolution zoom shots even when the range exceeds the limit for optical zooming. Crystal Engine PRO clearly delineates even the tiniest details of your subject, with extremely natural beauty. In addition, its Noise Reduction (NR) technology has been completely redesigned. The low-frequency noise that occurs when recording in dim lighting has been further minimized Zoom Mic and Wind Noise Canceller The Zoom Mic function that links with the camera's zoom action has evolved even further. Compared to previous models, the noise-reducing performance is improved by 1/3 (-10dB. It lets you clearly record the sound of your target subject, while the Wind Noise Canceller automatically detects and suppresses any annoying wind noise Still Picture Recording at 5MP with Intelligent Resolution Technology In Still Picture Recording mode, Intelligent Resolution Technology lets you record clear still images with resolution up to 5.0 megapixels. Also, when playing back the moving pictures you shot, you can capture 4.5 megapixel still images of any scene you want Scene Mode Automatically selects the most suitable shutter speed and aperture for the shooting location and situation. Choose from scene modes like Sports, Portrait, Low Light (motion image only), Spot Light, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Scenery, Night Scenery and Night Portrait (still image only) Soft Skin Mode When this function detects skin tones, it softens the focus in that area. This has a skin beautifying effect, which makes wrinkles and lines appear less noticeable. When turned on, this function makes blemishes and moles look less conspicuous, while preserving resolution in areas of the picture outside of the skin Tele-Macro You can shoot macro close-ups while maintaining a distance of 50 cm from your subject. In addition, using the zoom at full magnification makes it much easier to capture extreme close-ups without your body or camera casting a shadow on the subject and while keeping the background in soft focus 3D Image Recording (Optional Lens Sold Separately) When the optional VW-CLT1 3D Conversion Lens is attached, the SD90 produces an effect called visual disparity. Right and left images are captured simultaneously by the two lenses, and recorded using the side-by-side method. To play back 3D videos, simply insert an SD Memory Card in the slot of a Panasonic VIERA 3DTV or use the mini-HDMI port to connect the camcorder to a 3D HDTV that is compatible with the side-by-side method 3.0" Wide LCD with Intuitive Touch Operation The easy-to-view, wide 3.0" (7.6 cm) LCD touch screen display allows intuitive fingertip touch-operation. When shooting, you can use Touch Zoom to instantly zoom in and out and Touch Shutter to automatically focus when shooting still images. For playback, you can change thumbnail pages by sliding a fingertip across the screen. Plus, when shooting movies, you can touch the subject on the screen to instantly focus on it and easily switch to still-image shooting with touch operation iA (Intelligent AUTO) This powerful function senses the shooting conditions and automatically makes the settings and activates functions that will deliver optimal results. iA does the bothersome settings for you and makes it easy to capture beautiful, well-focused images Face Recognition The Face Recognition function recognizes the faces of registered subjects, and automatically optimizes the focus and exposure for those special people. It continues to track the subject as he or she moves anywhere within the LCD frame, making it ideal for video shooting. Names can also be registered and displayed on the LCD screen while shooting. A total of six people can be registered and the names of up to three people can be displayed in the shooting frame AF/AE Tracking Touch the LCD screen to indicate the subject, such as a person or an animal that you want to focus on, and let AF/AE Tracking do the rest. The camera locks on the subject and follows it around, keeping it in sharp focus and properly exposed. It keeps tracking even if the subject turns to the side Intelligent Scene Selector The Intelligent Scene Selector function analyzes the shooting situation and automatically switches the camcorder to the suitable scene mode that will give you optimal results Face Detection Face Detection automatically senses the ambient lighting and adjusts the exposure accordingly, so faces are bright and easy to see. The focus also prioritizes the faces, and skin tones are smoothed. Faces in the center of the frame serve as the reference for adjustments, but the function can detect up to 15 faces at once Intelligent Contrast Control Intelligent Contrast Control detects the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure accordingly, helping to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. You can capture natural looking, highly nuanced images with proper contrast Smile Shot (Still Image) The Smile Shot function automatically detects subject smiles, and captures the best possible smile while you're shooting movies. It lets you easily catch those fleeting, easy-to-miss stills of a smiling subject. It will also optimize the focus and exposure for your subject's smiling face One-Second Quick Power-On Switch the power on and the HD camcorders are in standby mode in about one second, ready to shoot when you are. When the LCD is closed, the power automatically switches off. This fast start-up and automatic shutdown also help reduce battery consumption 0.6 Second Quick Start Using Quick Start mode, you simply flip open the LCD and you're ready to shoot in just 0.6 seconds. When Eco mode is also used, the power turns off whenever the camcorder has not been operated for 5 minutes. This reduces wasted power consumption, and enables a longer battery life Relay Recording The Relay Recording mode automatically switches from the built-in flash memory (once it's full) to the SDXC/SDHC/SD Memory Card and continues recording. You don't have to worry about missing an important shot while switching media Pre-Rec Function This smart function records three seconds of images even before you actually begin shooting. The images are held temporarily in the camcorder's internal memory, before recording begins Auto Power LCD The LCD brightness can be adjusted manually to suit the surroundings. In Auto Mode, the LCD brightness is adjusted automatically in 16 smooth steps depending on the surroundings. In darker rooms it adjusts to a lower brightness, making it easier to frame the shot. Outside, it adjusts to almost twice the brightness for easy viewing even on sunny days Wide Viewing Angle The LCD has a highly detailed, 230,400 dots display and a viewing angle of 170 , both vertically and horizontally. Images are clear and bright even when viewed from an angle, so everyone can gather around the LCD to enjoy on-the-spot recordings. The wide viewing angle is also great for taking high- or low-angle shots AGS (Auto Ground-Directional Standby) The O.I.S. linear motor system can detect when the camera is in an unusual shooting position - such as when you've inadvertently left it on in recording mode. In these cases, the camera automatically stops recording, saving both battery power and media storage space Focus Assist This function shows which subjects are in-focus by displaying their outlines in blue. You can easily check the focus on LCD when manually focusing, to ensure consistently clear, sharp images Composition Guide Lines With wide LCD monitors, it's hard to keep images perfectly level. The HD 40 Series solves this by displaying horizontal and vertical Composition Guide Lines that make it easy to keep the subject straight and level LED Video Light When the camera determines that the ambient lighting is insufficient, it automatically switches the light on. This illuminates your subject for shooting. The LED (light emitting diode) has low power consumption, a long service life, and the safety of a low operating temperature Auto Lens Cover When the power is turned on, the lens cover automatically opens. When the power goes off, the lens cover closes. You don't have to keep removing and replacing a lens cap - or worry about losing it World Time Setting the time is as easy as selecting a city from the displayed map. The World Time function lets you set the time for two cities, home and destination. You don't have to figure out the time difference at your destination, and it's easy when you get home Advanced Highlight Playback Select the days of the recordings you want to see, and this innovative function automatically selects the most exciting scenes, arranges them, and plays them, with music Face Highlight, Highlight and Time Frame Index The index function has been enhanced with the addition of a feature that divides each recorded scene into a number of smaller scenes, and displays thumbnails for each. This makes it much easier to find a particular part of a scene without having to fast-forward Archiving and Playback The HD camcorders have a USB Host function that lets you connect directly to a DVD burner via a USB cable. Then just press a button and you can copy the moving images you recorded from the SD card or HDD to a DVD disc Editing, Archiving, and YouTube Uploading HD Writer LE 1.0 software, included with the camcorder, makes it easy to play or edit videos on your PC and have more fun when the shooting is done. It also facilitates the uploading process to YouTube, Facebook, etc.