New “BPL” video camera

[Franco Darioli]

CES, the Consumer Electronic show is in full swing right now.
The first camera that has caught my eye is the Panasonic SDR SW20, a std definition video camera, similar specs to an entry level camcorder but waterproof down to 5'.
10x zoom, 1/1/6 " 680K CCD, SD recording. So there are no moving parts except for the zoom. Palm size, about 8 oz inc battery.
This is the first all weather "real" video camera since an Hitachi model about 10 years ago ( 8 mm)
Franco

[John S.]

Any pics or a link? I gather the zoom is internal and 10x optical?

[Franco Darioli]

Hi
Yes the zoom is optical. There is a digital zoom, from memory is 400x. The full specs are not listed as yet in the US press announcement.
Franco

It is also shock proof to 4 feet.
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prModelDetail?storeId=11301&catalogId=13251&itemId=215168&modelNo=Content01052008073022075&surfModel=Content01052008073022075

[Joshua Mitchell]

Been waterproof for a while, and been out for quite some time…

http://www.sanyodigital.com/e1.aspx

[Franco Darioli]

That is why I stated "real" video camera. The Panasonic is a standard video camera that also can take still shots.
The Sanyo Xacti is a still camera that can take video clips. The Pana has a 1 1/6" std video CCD, and records using the MPEG2 format( at 10Mbps) . The Sanyo has the much smaller Sony 1 /2.5" CCD used by most high powered compact still cameras (5-18x zoom) and records at a higher compression in MPEG 4/H264 (3 Mbps).
Of course I have not tested the Pana as yet, ( I have reviewed several of the other Sanyo Xacti) but I can confidently say that the Pana will have more detail and smoother pans. Also I would expect a much better performance in low light. (F1.8 lens on the Pana, F3,5 on the Sanyo).
Franco

[ian wright]

Sounds like my dream video camera!
I'm waiting for something that is true video but lighter.
Any more info you can post here will be appreciated
and I'll go off on an internet search right now.
Cheers.

[Franco Darioli]

Keep in mind that if you are used to high quality video cameras, this Pana will disappoint you. I compared it to my Pentax WPi, great for backpacking but not good enogh for the enthusiast.
Franco

[Adam Kilpatrick]

Franco,
the waterproof Xacti, you said doesn't have image quality as good as this new waterproof panasonic.
How does the 1000 compare, considering it is supposedly a HD camera. From what I can tell, the resolution is much higher on the 1000, though it only takes 4mp stills vs 6mp for the E1.

Just wondering how it compares vs the panasonic…Personally I'm more concerned about video quality vs weight, rather than waterproofness. (I can baby cameras).

Cheers,

Adam

[ian wright]

I'm happy with reasonable quality but would like to save some weight. Last time I travelled I had my Sony DCR-HC40E Camcorder which is just an average one I guess but the video quality is fine by me. I was surprised to find out my Panasonic TZ2 camera takes OK videos, almost tempted to just use that but that's not realistic.
The Sony I have with a pile of tapes and battery charger gets up to around 800g (26oz) as I do long overseas trips. I think the SDR-S9 (SDR-SW20?) would barely get to half that with a spare battery and charger.
One day the right lightweight camcorder will appear, if the pana ain't it I'll keep waiting.

[Franco Darioli]

Adam
The Sanyo VPC HD 1000 has the same size sensor as the other Xacti but it is a CMOS 4mp version, about 3.5 used for the video capture. It also has a much bigger F1.8 lens, 10x zoom.
I was going to do a review on that one but Xmas got in the way, may do one soon if nothing else more urgent comes out.
Just looking at the pictures on the built screen the two major problems with the other models, namely low light performance and break up of quick moving subjects, appear to be a lot better. So I would put that at the top, next the Pana than the other Sanyos for image quality.
For Ian
I am familiar with the HC40; just on experience, (since I have not tested the Pana), I would say that you will lose some definition and the more "analogue" (natural) look of the Sony by going with the Pana, but you may want to consider the practicality of the water/shock proof body.
The Photo Marketing Show is on in a few days so we may see something new there. The focus this year with still cameras will be better movie capture. The problem is always the sound, even the camcorders much bigger mics pick up too much wind noise. Maybe a mini plug in mic with a wombat (wind sock…) will save the day.
Franco

[ian wright]

Thanks for the info. I'd be willing to loose a small amount of quality for the compactness and weight saving and the shock/water proofness is a plus. I don't need to buy until late this year so have time to research. Hope they are on the market here next time I go to Sydney.

PS. So if I walk into a camera store and ask to get a 16G card burnt onto DVDs can they do it?

[Franco Darioli]

No because a standard DVD holds less than 5 gb. Blu Ray can store 25 GB on a single layer disk , up to 200GB on a 8 layer version, but I doubt that there is a single lab that offers that service. Good question thogh, I will have to look into portable storage systems that can read the various formats.
A more expensive but more practical solution would be to have a spare card. 32 GB is coming out, as usual that means that all of the other cards will go down in price.
Sony,Canon and Panasonic have a dedicated DVD burner to capture an AVCHD file and burn it onto DVD. I don't know if the Sanyo HD 1000 version of AVCHD is recognised by any of them. I have tested the Pana version, very easy to use but you need the Pana SD1 or 5 as a player, both for recording and playback ( once you have your 4GB , about 1 hour, burned onto a DVD, you still have to connect the burner to the camera and the camera to your TV to play it back).
Keep in mind that you would have about 4 hours of video on a 16gb card at the highest resolution, on a long trip that would still be a lot of footage.
Franco

[ian wright]

My needs are a bit different. If I were to buy the Pana with the memory card then I'd need to get DVDs burned as I travel (they could put the files onto several DVDs I hope.) I tend to do extended overseas trips *, my last trip was for 3 months and I took about 13 hours of video, my next trip will be for 2 months.
Options for me would be to find some nice local that would burn the DVDs for me but if I have to pay a premium for a shop to burn them well that's a travel cost I'm willing to pay and not have to carry extra gear.

*(I'm the Australian version of a 'Backpacker' !)

My last trip was the first time I've travelled with a video camera and I really enjoyed it, gave me a project to do while travelling and I love editing it all back home.

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