Panasonic HDC-HS20 80GB HD Camcorder

The entry-level HDC-HS20 80GB Full HD Camcorder from Panasonic gives you high definition recording at an affordable price. Whether you want to record all the moments of your baby's first few years or show off your intimidating skateboard skills, the HDC-HS20 has solid features and the flexibility of hard drive and SD/SDHC memory card recording, which lends well to Internet sharing. If you're looking to do a little more with your memories, take advantage of the HS20's compatibility with Mac for editing in iMovie.

You don't have to worry about not getting that once in a lifetime moment, either. The camera's Intelligent Auto (iA) mode takes the confusion out of recording by automatically adjusting for your specific situation with features such as Face Detection and Scene Detection. Other advanced features like the Leica Dicomar lens and 16x optical zoom give you an added edge.

High Definition vs. Standard Definition: What's the difference?
HD images contain 6 times as much information as standard images.  HDTV has 1,080 horizontal scan lines, SDTV has 480.  That translates into much higher resolution and much finer detail.  With HD images on an HDTV, pictures are so clear and sharp that you can see textures.  The shift in the industry from SDTV to HDTV is well underway.  For shooting once-in-a-lifetime scenes that you want to capture in full beauty, an HD camcorder is the best choice.

iA (Intelligent Auto) for Smart Control
There's nothing more disappointing than shooting a once-in-a-lifetime event on video, only to discover that the images are blurry or poorly exposed because of backlighting.  Panasonic's iA helps avoid problems in difficult shooting situations by automatically making the optimal camera settings and activating certain functions.  For example, iA now includes AF Tracking, a new function that "locks" on and follows a subject as it moves, so images are sharply focused and properly exposed.  This technology is a huge help for everyone.

Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization)
Panasonic's advanced O.I.S. helps suppress the effects of hand-shake as you shoot, for both motion and still images.  This system uses gyrosensors to detect even tiny amounts of hand-shake, then shifts a lens and adjusts the optical axis to compensate - all at an astounding 4,000 times per second.  It also covers approximately 3 times the stabilization area of our previous SD9 model.  Because the system is optical, there's only minimal loss of image quality even when viewed on a large-screen TV.  In addition, to shoot high-resolution still images, the normal O.I.S. Mode 1 is joined by an O.I.S. Mode 2, which has a higher stabilization capability.  The O.I.S. corrective lens shifts and stabilizes the image the instant that the shutter button is pressed, to enable greater precision in stabilization.  You get all the beauty and minimal blurring.

16x Optical Zoom
The HS20 features a 16x optical zoom.  You can zoom close to catch dynamic shots of distant objects.  And because the zoom is optical, there's limited image degradation.  Also, Panasonic's Advanced O.I.S. helps prevent blurring - typically a big concern when shooting with a zoom.  This combination of optical zoom and Advanced O.I.S. gives you the ability to take fantastic zoom shots.

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