Panasonic HDC-SDT750: 3D camcorder in shops in October

The first big-name 3D camcorder will be in shops before Christmas. The Panasonic HDC-SDT750 will go on sale in Europe in October 2010.

Panasonic bosses made the announcement in a 3D-centric press conference at IFA, the technology trade show kicking off today in Berlin.

The camcorder will arrive in October, in time for budding James Camerons to shoot their Christmas home movies in three glorious dimensions -- like Avatar, but with Quality Street instead of Unobtainium, and more arguments over the remote control.

The SDT750 is a top-notch 1080p consumer camcorder bundled with a VW-CLT1 converter lens. This is a single unit containing two side-by-side lenses to capture two slightly different images, which are combined to create the 3D effect.

The camcorder packs 3 CMOS sensors and image stabilization. It records MP4 or H.264 video on SD, SDHC and super-high capacity SDXC cards.

Panasonic also has a professional 3D model in the pipeline. The AG-3DA1 is expected in August, but will probably cost a significant amount. Pricing of the consumer SDT750 is yet to be confirmed, although it's likely to cost a lot more than the Aiptek 3D camcorder currently on sale.

Will this be the Christmas of 3D? Panasonic certainly thinks so, and judging by the signage already festooning IFA, so does everyone else. Sony also has a 3D camcorder on the way, which we may see here in Germany. Keep it Crave for the latest news from IFA.