Previously, hybrid camcorders were camcorders that could record to both DVD and hard drive, such as offerings from Hitachi. Panasonic has expanded the term to include two new camcorders that record to both hard drive and SD/SDHC cards. Both camcorders feature 30GB hard drives, which will allow for recording times of up to 25 hours in LP mode and over 6 hours in XP (9Mbps) mode. Also, both camcorders include optical image stabilization.
The Panasonic SDR-H20 is the lower-end model of the two. It features a 2.7″ widescreen LCD and 32x optical zoom. The SDR-H20 also comes bundled with a 512MB SD card. It will retail for $600.
Step up to the Panasonic SDR-H200 and you get 3 CCDs, 3.1 megapixel still recording, and a 10x optical zoom. Not much more is known at this point, but the Panasonic SDR-H200 will be selling for $800. It will be interesting to see if the $200 price difference is worth it for the quality difference. Both camcorders should be available in April.
