Panasonic broadcast has chopped the price of its new AG-HMC40 AVCCAN camcorder by nearly $1,000. The unit is slated to begin shipping in August with a $2,295 price tag. It had previewed at April’s NAB show with a MSRP of $3,199.

The camera features 3-megapixel HD resolution and can also capture still images with 10.6-megapixel resolution directly to an SD memory card as an SD file. It has four recording modes, ranging from 24 Mbps downward to suite the requirements of the user. The AG-HMC40 accommodates both 720- and 1080-line standards at a number of field and frame rates.

The new model has a 2.7 inch LCD monitor with touch-screen access to recording and other functions. The camcorder package also includes a free bundled Edius Neo 2 non-linear editing software package.