Panasonic Broadcast has announced a new option for professional shooters, the HMC70 shoulder-mount AVCHD camcorder. This unit records 1080i images onto standard SD/SDHC memory cards, eliminating the need for a special deck or capture interface. It features three quarter-inch progressive CCDs to capture 1440×1080 video at one of three selectable bitrates (rather low bitrates I might add), has a 12x lens with OIS, XLR audio with phantom power, and HDMI out. Below are excerpts from the full Press Release.

*Three native 16:9 progressive ¼� CCDs record widescreen 1440 x 1080 HD resolution images
*12X 38.5mm to 462mm* Leica wide-angle zoom lens, one-push auto focus, and integrated Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.)
*Records onto an SD/SDHC card, uses no moving parts (unlike tape or disc-based camcorders) in the recording process.
*Users can choose to shoot in one of the camera’s three recording modes – 6Mbps, 9Mbps or 13Mbps. Using the new 16GB SDHC memory card (available in November 2007), the HMC70 can record for up to 360 minutes at 6Mbps quality and up to 160 minutes at 13Mbps, the camera’s highest quality mode.
*3-inch 16:9 LCD monitor offers thumbnail display of recorded images so videographers can monitor or delete clips. Professionals can also capture 2.1 Megapixel still images with the camcorder onto the SDHC memory card – even during video recording.
*Two XLR Mic/Line switchable inputs with attenuation, +48V Phantom Power, and both Auto & Manual level with Rec level dials.
*Transfer content from the HMC70 camcorder to Mac or PC computers with an SD/SDHC card reader or by connecting the camcorder directly via its USB 2.0 interface. Includes HD/SD component and composite (BNCs), HDMI and RCA audio jacks.
*Available in April 2008.