Panasonic just dropped another AVCHD camcorder on the market, although, for now, this one has only been announced in Japan. The Panasonic HDC-SD7 will record full HD resolution video (1920×1080) to SDHC cards. Panasonic says the HDC-SD7 is the world’s smallest and lightest 3CCD, full HD camcorder, which is funny because two days ago the Panasonic HDC-SD5 was given that distinguished title. What else does the HDC-SD7 have to offer?

The Panasonic HDC-SD7 sports three, 1/6″ CCD sensors, each with 560K total pixels and 520K effective. Pixel shifting is used to achieve full HD quality.

Another feature on the Panasonic HDC-SD7 is the Optical Image Stabilization, which Panasonic has improved to sample about 4000 times per second as opposed to around 480 with previous camcorders. In theory this will reduce unsteady images caused by shaky hands by a large factor.

A pre-record feature, which continually stores 3 seconds of video to internal memory, will prevent you from missing any precious moments that may occur right before you hit record.

Also featured is a 10x optical zoom and a 2.7″ widescreen LCD. Like the Panasonic HDC-SD5, the HDC-SD7 features an enclosed battery design, making it appear a lot smaller, but creating an issue for anyone who usually uses high-capacity batteries and/or can’t carry extras.

Three recording modes are available on the Panasonic HDC-SD7. HG mode records at 13Mbps and 1920×1080 resolution. HN mode and HE mode record at 1440×1080 resolution and 9Mbps and 6Mbps, respectively.

For now, the announcement is Japan-only, although we can probably expect to see the Panasonic HDC-SD7 announced in the U.S. within a few months or even weeks. The HDC-SD7 will ship on September 8 in Japan for 140,000 yen or about $1181 U.S.