Panasonic Introduces 3MOS - 3MOS Definitely
2 September 2008

Think 3CCD is good? Well, get ready for something even better. Meet 3MOS, the newly developed sensor technology from Panasonic that's now claiming to surpass the image quality of the well-established 3CCD. As anyone might've guessed by its name, Panasonic's 3MOS basically works on the same concept as 3CCD but uses MOS sensors instead of CCDs in its 3-chip affair.

As expected, the 3-chip system of processing will bring superb colour reproduction to the table, but on top of that, the real cause for excitement here are on the MOS sensors which boast improved image quality, better low-light shooting and lower power consumption. Not to be confused with the CMOS sensor, MOS sensors measure slightly smaller in size but are capable of producing just as good an image quality because of reduced space for transistor wiring on the sensor, and thus allowing more space to receive light.

As Panasonic reveals, the MOS sensors will have an expanded light receiving area than traditional CCD sensors and as such, this accounts for the superior image quality that Panasonic is now preaching about in 3MOS. To get a rough idea, Panasonic illustrates the awesomeness of MOS sensors by mentioning how they have double the light-receiving area of traditional CCDs in previous Panasonic 3CCD systems. Judging by this statement, the key differences you'll notice on a 3MOS camcorder is firstly the better image quality while shooting in low light, and secondly the exceptionally clear images you get as you shoot in normal daylight conditions. Given that these MOS sensors will be in the 3-chip arrangement, colours will appear much truer to life and more vibrant in its look.

The 3MOS definitely gets the thumbs up from DigitalRev and of course, this leads us to ask, just when can we expect to see 3MOS in action? Well, according to Panasonic, that time will be as soon as September, as plans have been made to tuck 3MOS inside a pair of new full-HD camcorders in the Panasonic HDC-HS100 and Panasonic HDC-SD100 releasing this month. Both these camcorders are almost near identical from looks to features and differ only in their storage options. The HDC-SD100 will record solely to SD memory cards while the HDC-HS100 gives straight out the box shooting with a 60GB internal memory, and just in case you shoot over that limit, it further gives additional storage to SD memory.

Blessed with the new 3MOS, these camcorders are also able to do what no HD camcorders could do before it, and that is to shoot in lighting as low as 2 lux. In laymen terms, these camcorders can reveal images clearly in as dark as deep twilight and that's pretty darn impressive in our books. With superior image quality being so heavily demanded and with high-definition well on its way to becoming a must-have on camcorders, we wouldn't be surprised if full-HD 3MOS becomes the new standard. Will this mark the end of 3CCD? Only time will tell, but what's for certain is, both the Panasonic HDC-HS100 and HDC-SD100 will be released sometime in September and we can't wait.