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Hands On the SDR-SW20: Panasonic's First Underwater Camcorder
Posted by Brian Lam at 12:29 PM on January 22, 2008
Camcorder Info has their hands on of the SDR-SW20 up, Panasonic's first attempt at a dive camcorder for those who like recording video in the ocean...as long as that ocean is less than 1.5 metres deep. (Like its direct competitor, the Sanyo Xacti E1, it is only waterproof to 1.5 metres.) They found visual quality to be unexceptional, since this camera uses the same image capture setup as Panasonic's low end DVD camcorder. But the easy to spot case and grippy finish earned it some points. If you're considering one of these, I suppose the correct thing to do is wait to see what the second revision brings. [CamcorderInfo]
Tags: camcorders | cameras | digital cameras | panasonic | underwater | waterproof
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Gujustud
Posted 1:09 PM 22/1/08
5'? Who are these companies kidding. Make it somewhat usable to at least 5m.
Gujustud
katorok
Posted 1:09 PM 22/1/08
lol 5 ft..
katorok
breals
Posted 1:09 PM 22/1/08
More like a snorkel camcorder.
breals
JAV
Posted 2:10 PM 22/1/08
@Pope John Peeps II:
Thats it! Bath tub depth. I thought the Oly Stylus 10 feet depth was weak
JAV
Pope John Peeps II
Posted 2:10 PM 22/1/08
Woo hoo. Now I can realize the dream of taking dirty video from UNDER the layer of bubbles in my bubblebath.
Oh technology. What wonders hath thou wrought?
Pope John Peeps II
ab3
Posted 11:28 PM 21/1/08
@rsquared: So what's weird about a microphone? Sound still exists underwater, plus what if you are not underwater when using it sometimes?
ab3
bruceb17
Posted 10:41 PM 21/1/08
My two cents: The point not so much about the 5 ft limit. I have the Sanyo Xacti and these type of camcorders are GREAT as take along to ANY environment - dirt, mud, hiking, beach, kayaking, surfing, wherever. You don't have to worry about them. They get dirty, just rinse them off. I take my Xacti everywhere and gotten some great footages I would not have gotten with my keep-at-home fair weather camcorder.
bruceb17
rsquared
Posted 10:37 PM 21/1/08
Um... Is that a mic grille I see on the front? Mic? Underwater? What's the point?
rsquared
Pope John Peeps II
Posted 10:32 PM 21/1/08
@JAV: Or you can finally discover exactly what having various flavours of juice poured directly into your eyes looks like.
Or um. You could leave your camcorder in a pitcher of beer and watch your friends drink you.
Or you could put it in a koi pond and have relaxing koi-vision all day.
Pope John Peeps II
ideaman2020
Posted 5:09 PM 22/1/08
1.5 Meter Resist
ideaman2020
scrag
Posted 5:09 PM 22/1/08
Super lame. You can easily snorkel to 20 or 30 feet if you have a decent lung capacity. 5' is pathetic and shouldn't warrant a "underwater" descriptor.
scrag
Tank
Posted 5:09 PM 22/1/08
I bought an underwater case for an old point and shoot camera from eBay for about $40.00 shipped. It's supposed to be water resistant to 8 or 10 meters but I've only used it at the beach, swimming pool and water park. It works great for pictures and video.
Here's an example: [www.vimeo.com]
It's brought life back to a seldom used camera.
Tank
icntdrv
Posted 1:44 AM 22/1/08
I'll agree, there's not much about 5 feet underwater that will justify the expense
icntdrv
Denver80203
Posted 1:09 AM 22/1/08
fun for the pool... the kiddie pool. Urine proof?
But hey, it's going to be fine in the rain/snow which is a nice thing.
Denver80203
TNTBW
Posted 2:45 AM 22/1/08
I expect to see some naughty pics at my favorite voyeur site in the near future, thanks Panasonic:)
TNTBW
Uncle Jerry
Posted 2:10 AM 23/1/08
Yeah this will be big in porn. It'll give a new perspective in the pools, tubs, showers, (and probably a toilet or two)
Uncle Jerry
rubu
Posted 3:10 AM 23/1/08
Are similar but prefer the size and elegance S10PL
rubu
SFCritter
Posted 3:10 AM 23/1/08
Boy you guys miss the point. Like IDEAMAN2020 alluded to, it's for recording around water, not in it ;) Drop this puppy while boating or by the pool and it'll sink about 3-4 feet and bob back-up. That's all it's good for, that and the from the pitcher of beer's persepctive shots.
SFCritter
GIZisGOD
Posted 8:10 AM 23/1/08
5 ft? I guess that limits it to the bathtub only. UGH!
GIZisGOD
Znaught
Posted 10:54 PM 21/1/08
If you want a true diving capable video camera without the hassle and expense of an underwater housing, the VEEcam is the probably the only camera worth considering. It's water proof down to 100 meters! It will be released soon and rumor has it that there will be an HD model forthcoming. Go to --> [www.vee-cam.com]
Znaught
darkhorn33
Posted 10:16 PM 21/1/08
i would rather just use a throw away 35 mm. cam. (5ft.! what a joke!)
darkhorn33
Hello_Newman
Posted 2:09 PM 23/1/08
Yeah so it's for all weather, pools, maybe snorkeling on the surface, or camping. It still seems odd that they can't build it with a tougher case, able to take higher pressure. A lot of times they rate an item for 5ft considering the pressure of not just being underwater, but also moving it around which creates a lot of dynamic pressure as well. Could probably take it down further if you weren't in a current and not waving it around much.
Hello_Newman