Panasonic HDC-SD20 Camcorder Review

Product Tour Summary
• The small, low resolution sensor isn't a recipe for powerful video performance • Sleek, black contours are easy on the eyes and easy in the hand • Same basic architecture as last year's HDC-SD9 • Panasonic finally moved the AV ports out of the battery cavity (but not the DC input)
	Introduction	(Page 2 of 17)	Color & Noise Performance

Lens & Imaging System

The Panasonic HDC-SD20's Leica Dicomar lens

The Panasonic HDC-SD20 has a more modest lens compared to its more impressive cousins in Panasonic's 300-series. The wide angle was particularly unimpressive—at just 46 degrees, you may want to consider using the 43mm filter threads for a wide angle lens. The sensor is also especially small and somewhat of a downgrade from the three CMOS sensor arrangement in last year's HDC-SD9. On paper, you would expect a significant decrease in image quality. You'll see in the video performance section that it seems to have only resulted in a small decrease in quality, mostly in sharpness. For fans of the three CMOS sensor array, you'll have to stick with Panasonic's top-of-the-line this year.

Front

			f/1.8 lens with   16x optical zoom
flash for still photos
LED light
		tally lamp

Right

thin, but comfortable hand strap

Back

mode switch for video and still modes
		indicator lamp
		record on/off button
included VW-VBG070  battery pack

Left

LED light on/off

manual mode button

composite-out, component-out, and HDMI ports under this cover

image stabilization

menu button

SDHC card slot

USB

delete button

Top

						still photo shutter button
	5.1 channel built-in microphone (easily scuffed by stray fingers)
				zoom toggle
					pre-record button
			Intelligent Auto (iA) mode button

Bottom

battery release switch	tripod mount

In The Box

Panasonic HDC-SD20 camcorder

component A/V cable

manual and included editing software on CD

composite A/V cable

USB

AC power cable

remote control

DC power cable

battery and charge station