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| Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
Buy New: See price in cart
New (59) Used (1) from $273.49
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 600
Color: red
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Monitor Size: 270
Includes Software: Yes
Optical Zoom: 10
Digital Zoom: 70
Connectivity: AV
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 23
Minimum Focal Length: 2.3
Maximum Resolution: 340000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 1.3 x 4.5 x 2.5
nv:Size: 1/6" CCD Sensor
Image Resolution: 640 x 480
Movie Resolution: 640 x 480
Storage Media: SD/SDHC Memory Card
Compressed Format: JPEG
Movie File Format: MPEG1 Audio Layer 2 - Stereo (HDV)
Optical Zoom: 10x
Digital Zoom: 700x
Focal Length: f= 2.3 - 23mm
Focus Mode: Manual AF
LCD Monitor: 2.7 inches
LCD Pixels: 123,200 pixels
LCD Coverage: 100%
Maximum Aperture: f 1.8 - 2.4
Shutter Speed: 1/30-1/8000
White Balance Control: Automatic
White Balance Control: Indoor
White Balance Control: Underwater
MPN: SDR-SW20R
Model: SDR-SW20R
UPC: 037988256457
EAN: 0037988256457
ASIN: B0011FYKZY
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 This camcorder is all wet after 2 spoiled fishing trips! September 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I was VERY excited about receiving this camcorder, the only thing missing from my arsenal for my kayak fishing expeditions...a waterproof camcorder to get thos underwater shots just below the kayak when something interesting wass on my line or stirring below the surface. Two trips, 2 submersions and now 2 trips to Panasonic repair center in Illinois. Not what one would expect from Panasonic. Of the footage and photos I was able to take I was very dissapointed in the color...very bland. If I could do it over again I would go with the little Pentax W60, primarily a digital camera but with excellent video capabilities as well and highly endorsed by other kayak anglers.
 Excellent Camera! Perfect for the beach. August 4, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have read all the complaints about video quality but unless you are shooting at night or in very dim lighting you have nothing to worry about. Besides, there should be no surprises related to quality if you read the spec's before you bought the camera.
That said I have been using this camera in fairly heavy surf here in Southern California and I'm extremely pleased with it's durability so far. The tiny rubber gaskets worried me at first look but after having the camera thrashed a bit in heavy white water and just general rough play I'm not worried anymore. The video quality underwater is amazing. Definitely the most fun feature of the camera. And the main reason I bought it! Any clips you watch on youtube or any other site do NO justice to how clear the quality is. Those websites use compression software that kills video quality. When you watch the videos on your T.V or computer they look perfect.
The reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because I find getting the videos to play on my computer is not as easy as they made it sound. I also noticed the "squished" effect that the above reviewer mentioned and I intend to download the SDCOPY software they recommend. I also have noticed that randomly the sound becomes muffled and a buzzing can be heard. Again the above reviewer mentioned that this could be due to water contacting the mic.
Other then those 2 problems (which are by no means major) I highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a durable water proof camera to use swimming, surfing, or any other adventurous outdoor activity. For the money I think it's a great bargain.
Perfect outdoor camera! Caution on widescreen flag August 2, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a fantastic camera for use outdoors or in any area that has a lot of light. I would not recommend this for indoor use though. It is just not very good in low lighting conditions. If you already have a good camera for indoor use, this is an excellent second camera. This is a perfect beach camera, pool camera, boat camera. It has a decent zoom, and I've found battery life to be more than adequate. I got a 8gb SDHC card to go with it and that seemed to be a good size.
I have done two beach trips with this camera and the DVDs I've made have came out with some amazing footage. Stuff you really can not get without a waterproof camera. I can put it in my pocket and wade into the ocean or the pool and take it out when I want to record some stuff.
Two cautions:
1) The file format does not set the widescreen flag properly. My first videos I transferred got me VERY worried because the image was squished. I searched around and used a program called SDCopy (do some google searching and you will turn it up) to "fix" the flag and convert the MOD files to mpeg2. It works wonderfully, i'm annoyed that I have to do this, that's why I can't give it 5 stars.
2) After submerging it water can get on the lens and in the mic. A few shakes and a wipe on your suit or with a finger gets it back ok again - oh yeah and hit pause so you don't record this! I think the first time I submerged it the next 5 minutes of footage had a water spot on the lens and the sound was distorted.
Overall, as long as you are aware of the limitations, this will be a great camera. It's inexpensive and waterproof, but not meant for low light.
Great Camcorder July 14, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I really like the portability, durability, and features of this little unit. I am happy with my purchase, still, there are a couple weaknesses potential buyers should be aware of.
Battery Life is abismal. You may want to order another battery. Also, turning the unit off, rather than just closing the door (which puts it into standby), will save additional battery life.
The unit needs a fair amount of light to take decent video. There have been several low light situations where there was enough ambient light to see, but the video came too out dark.
Video quality is good for such a highly portable unit, but falls a bit short of standard camcorders. Video stabilization isn't very good. Overall I'd rate the quality somewhere between digital cameras and standard camcorders.
 nice camera July 6, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very nice and practical little camera. Very easy to use for a novice user, can stick it into any bag without a cover and not really worry about it. Picture quality seems decent, however if you want HD quality don't buy this camera. If you wan't something very practical and easy to use and carry around, then I would highly recommend it.
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