Panasonic SDR-SW20

Compression (4.0)
The Panasonic SDR-SW20 records standard definition video in the MPEG-2 format. After reviewing multiple high definition camcorders in a row, then landing on this little budget cam, it’s hard to be kind. The SW20 produces a lot of compression artifacting, blocky chunks of pixels. You won’t notice it as much if your video is destined for the web, but beware those planning on playing back footage on a big screen TV.

The SDR-SW20 offers three recording qualities, each corresponding to a maximum bitrate: XP (10Mbps), SP (5Mbps), and LP (2.5Mbps).

Media (6.0)
The Panasonic SDR-SW20 records exclusively to SD and SDHC memory cards in capacities up to 2GB or 16GB, respectively. The card loads from the bottom, which makes it inconvenient to change when using a tripod. The waterproof gaskets look to be pretty good at keeping water out. How long can you shoot? Take a look at the chart.

Card Capacity	XP	SP	LP
512 MB	6 min.	12 min.	25 min.
1GB	12 min.	25 min.	50 min.
2GB	25 min.	50 min.	100 min.
4GB	50 min.	100 min.	200 min.
8 GB	100 min.	200 min.	400 min.

Editing (5.0)
The video produced by the Panasonic SDR-SW20 should be welcomed into most editing workflows, from the simplest to the most advanced. MPEG-2 files have been around long enough to enjoy almost universal support. However, Windows Movie Maker does not support this particular brand of MPEG-2. You may want to check around on user forums before you buy.

The camcorder ships with MotionSD Studio 1.3E. This is very basic software that allows you to import clips, edit, and export finished movies.