Panasonic HDC-SDT750

3D Features (16.0)

The ability to record 3D video is obviously the most intriguing and impressive feature of the HDC-SDT750. So, lets get right down to it and talk about the process of recording 3D content with the camcorder.

To begin, we must say that certain 3D videos we recorded with the SDT750 looked very good. If you mount the camcorder to a tripod or keep it very still and shoot subjects that are four to ten feet away, you will get some 3D content that is crisp and strong. 3D images popped very well in this manner, although we didn't get the effect of subjects "jumping" out from the screen that you sometimes see with 3D movies. The videos looked more like a funky diorama where  you can see layers and the shape of the subjects within the frame. It is interesting and effective, but it may not be quite what you expect when you hear "3D capability."

The 3D conversion lens can be difficult to screw onto the camcorder, but once you get it on right the SDT750 automatically detects its presence.

We found that doing hand held shots in 3D produced undesirable results. The quick motion of the camcorder produced blurry, disorienting 3D content that gave us a headache more than anything else. Keeping the camcorder still is key to producing quality 3D content. It doesn't matter if your subject is moving at a rapid pace—our motion test looked great in 3D—but things came out best when our camcorder was kept perfectly still on a tripod.

The 3D calibration controls are located on the top of the conversion lens.

You also need to make sure you have plenty of light when you shoot 3D video with the camcorder. Since you cannot adjust aperture or shutter speed manually, you'll need to rely on the camcorder's automatic controls to get the image you want (you also cannot focus manually). There is an auto slow shutter feature for shooting 3D and you may want to turn it on if you're capturing video in a low light situation. Still, we found low light images looked terrible in 3D, so our overall recommendation is to shoot outside where there is a lot of sunshine, or indoors with very bright light.

The calibration menus are helpful...		... but calibrating the conversion lens can still be a challenge.

Calibrating the 3D conversion lens is strange and can be confusing, but Panasonic does provide good instructions (both onscreen and in the manual) on the matter. You don't have to calibrate the 3D lens every time you connect it to the camcorder, but it is a good idea to go through the calibration process so you can make sure nothing has changed dramatically (especially if it has been a while since your last calibration). The menu grabs below show the calibration process on the camcorder. There are 8 pages of instructions in all and Panasonic lists the instructions in a step-by-step manner.

The last calibration setting is particularly confusing.		You need lots of light to get a good image with the 3D conversion lens (and to calibrate it)

The 3D conversion lens does not work with other Panasonic camcorders due to a slight alteration of the lens design and some internal processing that is present on the HDC-SDT750 (and isn't found on the HDC-TM700 or other Panasonic models). Once you connect the conversion lens to the SDT750 correctly, the camcorder will automatically recognize that the conversion lens is connected and it will begin the calibration process (if you haven't calibrated things in a while).

Videos displayed on the SDT750's LCD will not appear in 3D, but if you output the video to a 3D capable HDTV the clips should look fine. If you watch 3D content on a regular television, you'll see a split-screen of two identical videos with squished aspect ratios. We watched the 3D content on the Panasonic TC-P42GT25 HDTV and the television automatically detected the SDT750's 3D videos as being 3D (and displayed them as such).

Panasonic HDC-SDT750 Comparisons
Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-CX550V	Panasonic HDC-TM700