Panasonic HDC-SD20: Review

Posted to Camcorders 2010-11-13

Panasonic HDC-SD20 HD review:

The Panasonic HDC-SD20 Flash camcorder is a new 16X zoom HD camcorder unit from Panasonic. The HDC-SD20 can capture full HD 1920x1080 video directly to SD/SDHC cards, features advanced optical image stabilization to reduce blurry images at long zoom ranges and can operate in light down to 9 LUX with its built-in video light.

The unit features a 2.7 inch 230,400 dot LCD touch panel display, a 5.1 channel surround system with zoom microphone and a tele-macro mode which allows shooting extreme close-ups at the long end of the zoom range while maintaining a distance of 50cm from the subject. The HDC-SD20 also features intelligent autofocus with advanced face detection, touch screen controls that allow you to control most camera functions without looking away from the LCD screen and a 50fps high speed burst shooting mode.

Rating:

3.6 out of 5

Value

The HDC-SD20 is packed with features and delivers excellent performance for the street price. It's an excellent choice for beginners, as it does a good job in most situations in intelligent auto mode. There's plenty of manual control available for those who want it, but most people won't need to use it. The HD output is excellent when viewed on an HD-capable device using the included HDMI cable. The 16X zoom is truly useful and the low-light operation is excellent.

Features

The HDC-SD20 has most of the features you're likely to need in a compact HD camcorder. In addition to those already mentioned, there's a VIERA mode, which matches the colors to Panasonic's VIERA HD devices, a Soft Skin mode which softens the focus when skin tones are detected and AF/AE subject tracking. There's also intelligent contrast control and intelligent scene selection. The unit powers up in a quick 1.9-seconds and there's a 0.6 second Quick-Start mode - just flip open the LCD screen and the unit powers up ready to shoot.

Summary

If you're in the market for your first HD camcorder, the HDC-SD20 Flash camcorder makes an excellent choice. It's packed with features, reasonably-priced and built with Panasonic quality. Panasonic has made a name for itself in digital photography and video, and they continue to produce high quality, reasonably priced components that usually have more features than the competition.

Pros

Record full HD 1920x1080 video
16X optical zoom
Optical Image Stabilization
5.1 channel surround sound
9 lux (1/30 low light mode) / 1 lux

Cons

There are no cons for this product