Panasonic Camcorders Buyer's Guide (NTSC standard definition flash memory/hard drive models)

All model numbers begin with SDR- except the SV-AV100 ("D-Snap") and HC-V10/V11.

H = hard drive model

S = SD card model

SW = waterproof SD card model

T = SD card model with internal memory

Click on the model number to access the operating instructions manual for it.

LCD: diagonal size of LCD monitor in inches; W = Widescreen

light: LED = LED video light; flash = strobe flash for taking still photos

remote: yes = equipped with infrared wireless remote control; no = not supported

mic/ear: external microphone/headphone jacks

zoom opt./ext.: amount of optical zoom / Extended Zoom

auto cover: yes = automatic lens cover; no = manual lens cover; cap = uses a lens cap

lens thread: diameter of lens thread for adding extra lenses or filters (if present)

recording media: capacity of hard drive or internal flash memory; SD = 2 GB maximum; SDHC = 32 GB maximum

mic type: number of audio channels of internal microphone; Z = Zoom Mic; F = microphone on front; T = microphone on top

image stabil.: type of image stabilization; OIS = uses optical image stabilization instead of electronic

35 mm focal length: 35 mm equivalent focal length when recording 16:9 video; the lower the number, the wider the field of view

image sensor size/pixels: size of CCD (or CMOS) image sensor in inches; total number of pixels / effective number of pixels when recording 16:9 video

low light sens.: low-light sensitivity at the indicated shutter speed; the lower the number, the better the low-light sensitivity

weight: weight of camcorder body (without battery and removable media)

MSRP: Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price at time of introduction; italics = actual retail price; Non-U.S. = Canada/Latin America only

*** 2003 ***

D-Snap SV-AV100, requires proprietary Panasonic "High Speed" SD cards to record 704x480 MPEG-2 video with MP2 audio;

firmware update allows use of other cards; 123k pixel LCD, AV input recording

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/60)

AV100

2.5

yes

no /yes

10x

cap

2 ch T

EIS

1/6"

12 lux

156g

$1,000

*** 2005 ***

SDR- series SD card camcorders introduced; 210k pixel LCD

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/60)

S100

2.8W

flash

yes

no /yes

10x

yes

37 mm

2 ch+Z T

MOIS

46.7 mm

3x1/6" 800k/540k

12 lux

242g

$1,199

*** 2006 ***

Now supports SDHC cards.

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/60)

S150

2.8W

flash

yes

no /yes

10x

yes

37 mm

SDHC

2 ch+Z T

MOIS

46.7 mm

3x1/6" 800k/540k

12 lux

250g

$999

*** 2007 ***

123k pixel LCD; S10: dustproof/weatherproof/shockproof; SDR-H series hard drive camcorders also record to SDHC cards.

Audio is now Dolby AC-3 when recording to the hard drive or MP2 when recording to an SD card; H200: Leica Dicomar lens

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/60)

S10

2.7W

no /no

10x

SDHC

2 ch+Z T

SIS

44.4 mm

1/6" 680k/300k

12 lux

182g

$399

H18

2.7W

no /no

32x

cap

37 mm

30 GB

2 ch+Z F

MOIS

35.9 mm

1/6" 680k/460k

12 lux

430g

H20

2.7W

no /no

32x

cap

37 mm

30 GB

2 ch+Z F

MOIS

35.9 mm

1/6" 680k/460k

12 lux

430g

$599

H200

2.7W

LED

yes

no /no

10x

37 mm

30 GB

2 ch+Z F

MOIS

46.7 mm

3x1/6" 800k/540k

12 lux

450g

$799

*** 2008 ***

Audio is switchable between Dolby AC-3 and MP2. SW20: dustproof/waterproof/shockproof

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/30)

SW20

2.7W

no /no

10x

none

SDHC

2 ch+Z F

EIS

44.4 mm

1/6 680k/300k

6 lux

224 g

$399

2.7W

no /no

10x

SDHC

2 ch+Z F

EIS

44.4 mm

1/6 680k/300k

6 lux

160 g

$299

H40

2.7W

no /no

42x

40 GB

2 ch+Z F

OIS

40.9 mm

1/6 800k/380k

6 lux

340 g

$449

H60

2.7W

no /no

50x

60 GB

2 ch+Z F

OIS

40.9 mm

1/6 800k/380k

6 lux

340 g

$499

*** 2009 ***

New: Pre-Record mode; SW21: dustproof/waterproof/shockproof

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/30)

S15

2.7W

LED

no /no

10x

SDHC

2 ch+Z F

EIS

44.4 mm

1/6 680k/300k

6 lux

165 g

SW21

2.7W

no /no

10x

none

SDHC

2 ch+Z F

EIS

44.4 mm

1/6 680k/300k

6 lux

238 g

$399

S26

2.7W

no /no

70x

37 mm

SDHC

2 ch+Z F

OIS

38.5 mm

1/8 800k/380k

6 lux

235 g

$329

H79

2.7W

no /no

70x

37 mm

60 GB

2 ch+Z F

OIS

38.5 mm

1/8 800k/380k

6 lux

300 g

H80

2.7W

no /no

70x

37 mm

60 GB

2 ch+Z F

OIS

38.5 mm

1/8 800k/380k

6 lux

300 g

$449

H90

2.7W

no /no

70x

37 mm

80 GB

2 ch+Z F

OIS

38.5 mm

1/8 800k/380k

6 lux

300 g

$499

*** 2010 ***

New: SDXC card support, Long Recording mode (H.264 MP4 video + AAC audio), Intelligent Contrast, wind noise canceller.

Video resolution is now 720x480.

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/30)

S50

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

SDXC

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

212 g

$249

T50

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

4 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

$269

T51

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

4 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

T55

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

8 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

$279

(Best Buy exclusive)

T56

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

8 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

H85

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

80 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

273 g

$349

H86

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

80 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

273 g

*** 2011 ***

Long recording mode removed.

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/30)

S70

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

SDXC

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

212 g

S71

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

SDXC

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

212 g

T70

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

4 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

$249

T71

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

4 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

213 g

H100

2.7W

no /no

70x/78x

80 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

273 g

H101

2.7W

LED

no /no

70x/78x

80 GB

2 ch+Z F

AOIS

32.8 mm

1/8 800k/470k

5 lux

273 g

*** 2012 ***

230k pixel LCD, CMOS image sensor, 1280x720p60 / 640x480p60 / 960x540p30 H.264 MP4 video, AAC audio, HDMI output

(Technically a 720p HD camcorder, but due to the low-res image sensor, it looks like standard definition video upscaled to 720p.)

model

LCD

light

remote

mic/ear

zoom

auto

lens

recording

mic type

image

35 mm focal

sensor/effective

low light

weight

MSRP

opt./ext.

cover

thread

media

stabil.

length (16:9)

pixels (16:9)

sens. (1/30)

HC-V10

2.7W

no /no

63x/70x

SDXC

2 ch+Z F

Power

31.6 mm

1/5.8 1.5M/560k

4 lux

212 g

$249

OIS

V10M

2.7W

no /no

63x/70x

16 GB

2 ch+Z F

Power

31.6 mm

1/5.8 1.5M/560k

4 lux

214 g

Non-

OIS

U.S.

V11M

2.7W

no /no

63x/70x

32 GB

2 ch+Z F

Power

31.6 mm

1/5.8 1.5M/560k

4 lux

214 g

Non-

OIS

U.S.