Panasonic SDR-SW20 – waterproof, shockproof camcorder
Thumbs Up:
Waterproof, shockproof, strong and compact camera with good quality.
Thumbs Down:
Poor image quality and performance, comparatively expensive, handstrap feels insecure.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Panasonic SDR-SW20 is a tough camcorder that has 1/6” CCD type optical sensor. It provides 700x digital zoom, Electronic Image Stabilizer and widescreen video capture. The maximum shutter speed is 1/8000 second and minimum is 1/30 second. The minimum illumination is 2 lux. The SDR-SW20 has digital photo shooting mode.
2.7-inch LCD display of Panasonic SDR-SW20 is based on TFT active matrix display. It also works as a rotating viewfinder of 123,000 pixels resolution. There is an inbuilt microphone with the features of wind-noise reduction and zoom.
The still camcorder effective resolution is 0.35-megapixel. Panasonic SDR-SW20 has three types of white-balance including Automatic, Presets and Custom. The white-balance presets are Underwater, Outdoor and Indoor.
Zoom type lens are manufactured by Leica. The lens has a focal length of 2.3-23mm with an aperture of F/1.8-2.4 that provides 10x optical zoom. The zoom adjustment is motorized drive and focus adjustment is both Manual and Automatic.
The supported analog video format is NTSC and digital video format is MPEG. Panasonic SDR-SW20 has recording speed of XP, SP and LP. The still image format is JPEG and image storage resolution option is JPEG 640×480. The camcorder has inbuilt flash memory and a card slot that supports both SD memory card and Multimedia Card.
The additional features are Dolby Digital AC-3 (2-channel) recording, Backlight compensation, USB 2.0 compatibility, Lox Lux/Night mode, Digital still camera function, PictBridge Support, Water resistant, Shock resistant, Dust resistant, weatherproof and DPOF support.
Panasonic SDR-SW20 has lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Panasonic provides one-year warranty with the camcorder. The accessories supplied inside the package are hand-strap, drivers and software disc, battery, one A/V cable, one USB cable and product manual.
Razzle Dazzle:
Panasonic SDR-SW20 has waterproof, sturdy and compact body. It is 2.5 inches tall, 1.3 inches wide and 4.5 inches deep and weighs around 8 ounces.
Inside Dope:
Panasonic SDR-SW20 has compact shape. It has sturdy and waterproof body. The SDR-SW20 is a nice and interesting device for those who need weatherproof camcorder for online video sharing.
Panasonic SDR-SW20 remains waterproof up to 5-feet underwater for 30 minutes at a stretch. It adheres to the IEC (International Electro-technical Commission) 60529 IPX8 standard. The camcorder resists damage. It is shockproof up to four feet height. We tested this using MIL-STD-810F method 516.5 for shock testing.
In addition, the SDR-SW20 records video of MPEG2 format at 10Mbps to SDHC/SD cards. Panasonic said water-resistant packing will loosen up over time and recommends that the user should replace the packing at least once in every 18 months.
The horizontal design of Panasonic SDR-SW20 allows 10x optical zoom unlike Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 which has a pistol-grip design. As the zoom is not smooth, so video jerks up and down as lens extends and retracts. There is a record/pause button located both on the front-right of the camcorder and at back for underhand grip. You have to grip the SDR-SW20 even on tripod hand-strap as it is not so secure for providing strong stand to the camcorder.
Panasonic SDR-SW20 has a 2.7-inch LCD rotating display. You can flip open the display to access the controls located on opposite side. The camcorder has straightforward navigation through menus and settings. There is a Manual option to set shutter speed, white-balance, focus and other settings. The SDR-SW20 has an Underwater button that records underwater video and audio. Due to waterproof seal, the buttons are a bit stiff. The thumb dial allows changing between still images and recording/playing videos. You cannot capture video and take stills simultaneously as there is no dedicated photo button.
When a manufacturer adds this kind of solid protection to its device, then other elements such as features and performance are compromised in order to maintain the price or design requirements. In the case of Panasonic SDR-SW20, the video quality is shafted. We captured some video through the camcorder for testing. The video quality was passable as per YouTube size or small TV. However, the quality was not good while watching the video in full screen at computer or TV. The white-balance was also not good. Overall, the SDR-SW20 is not worth and its performance is below average.
Nitty Gritty:
Panasonic SDR-SW20 has a good concept of water-, dust- and shock-proof body, which is only one plus point. There is no other reason to buy this compact camcorder. If you need a tough and weatherproof camcorder and you can live on below average video quality, then we recommend new Panasonic SDR-SW20. Before making any decision, you can also check similarly priced Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 and cheaper Olympus 1030 SW. It is worth mentioning here that Sanyo and Olympus are not providing tough design like Panasonic.
