Panasonic HDC-SD5 AVCHD Camcorder Comes wth USB Host

It's only been a couple months since the HDC-SD1 started shipping. Now Panasonic is already revealing a minor update to its first flash-based HD camcorder. Panasonic with a large stake in SDHC is keeping it as storage media on the HDC-SD5. The revised tube-shaped pretty much has the same chassis and button layout including that barely practical joystick. It also retains the 2.7" LCD touchscreen.

According to Camcorderinfo, the HDC-SD5 uses a even lower-res of CCDs than SD1; it is now equipped with 3 1/6" CCDs with an effective count of 520k. The SD5 however pushes the res to 1920x1080 from the predecessor's 1440x1080. Other changes include the drop of Dolby 5.1 surround in favor of stereo; the use of 10x optical zoom instead of 12x on SD1; and Pre-rec that captures 3s of video preceding your push on the Record button (uh?). Another notable addition to the HDC-SD5 is its ability to burn AVCHD discs with the just-annnounced Panasonic VW-BN1 USB DVD burner.

The HDC-SD5 has a MSRP of $999.95, a $300 drop in comparison to the SD1 suggested pricing.