Camcorder News

June 8, 2006 - Panasonic’s Japanese division today announced the SDR-S200 camcorder, a follow-up to the SD card-based SDR-S100. Like its predecessor, the new camcorder will ship with a 2GB SD card, but will also be compatible with the new SDHC (SD 2.0) card format. A delivery of July 8th has been set.

The SDR-S200 captures video in the MPEG2 format using three 1/6-inch CCDs. The camcorder, which maintains the same ultra-compact body as the SDR-S100, offers 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom and optical image staibilzation. Three video qualities are available, with a maximum bit rate of 10Mbps in highest quality. Stills of up to 2048 x 1512 are possible, though due to the small chip size, this would likely be an interpolated image. The LCD screen remains 2.8-inches, in the widescreen aspect ratio.

The camcorder’s compatibility with the SDHC card format comes on the heels of two other recent announcements. Maxell stated yesterday that they would have a SDHC card reader available by July 25th. Today, Panasonic announced that will begin sales of the card itself, a 4GB version with 5Mbps transfer rate, retailing for 30,000 yen (approximately US$265). The card, which will sell separately, allows up to 3 hours and 20 minutes of recording time in LP mode. 

The camcorder continue to offer the wide array of manual and automatic controls, including shutter speed control, as well as telemacro and night modes. There is a pop-up flash for stills, which can be taken in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. The SDR-S200 uses the same ambidextrous design as its predecessor, with a centered, rear-mounted touchpad control and zoom toggle.

The back of the SDR-S200, with the 2GB SD card (included) and the soon to be released 4GB SDHC card.

The optics benefit from a low dispersion glass Leica lens, F1.8 – 2.8, f = 3.0 – 30.0 (35mm equivalent for 4:3 video: 45.6 – 456mm; 16:9 video: 46.7 – 467mm). The three 1/6-inch CCDs each offer 800K gross pixels (640K effective in 4:3, 540K effective in 16:9). The 2.8-inch LCD has a 210K resolution; there is no viewfinder.

The SDR-S200 camcorder has only been announced for the Japanese markets. It is unclear if the model will be carried over to the US and European markets. The SDR-S100 was released less than a year ago in September 2005. The SDR-S200 is expected to hit Japanese shelves by July 8th. A retail price has not been announced.