Jabra PanaCast 20 review: Stage center

Sporting 4K picture quality, picture-in-picture mode, and intelligent zooming, the Jabra PanaCast 20 is a pretty solid webcam for the office or home. It's smart enough to automatically keep you in the middle, just like Apple's Center Stage feature in newer iPads. Best thing is, it works right out of the box, and you don't need any additional software.

Quick specs

13MP camera, 1/3.2-inch sensor
3x lossless digital zoom at 720p
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 (4K) @ 30fps, 1,920 x 1,080 @ 30fps, 1,280 x 720 @ 30fps
Built-in microphone

The PanaCast 20 is a bit bigger than the usual home webcams I'm used to. That's probably due to all the hardware inside. It also runs quite hot, which I wasn't expecting. The design does give it some stability, though. It balances easily on your monitor or laptop screen. The USB-C port is located at the bottom instead of the back. This allows the wire to also pull downwards and help keep it stable. There's also a privacy shutter you can slide to block off the camera.

If you want to switch the default intelligent zoom to picture-in-picture mode, you need to download the Jabra Direct software. It's quite straightforward to use. From there you can select either modes or your own custom zoom. You can also use the camera's microphone or disable it to use your own. The camera is certified for both Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Intelligent mode is pretty smart, and will always try to keep you in frame. If you're not, it will focus on the next moving object. This could be another person, or sometimes, my cat. The lighting optimisation also tries to brighten the background if it's dim, though at the cost of some noise. Picture quality is great, and you'll look good. It's not as good as say if you're using a DSLR and a capture card, but it's much better than the webcams on most laptops, for sure.

At S$511, the Jabra PanaCast 20 is likely priced out of range for most consumers. You could get webcams such as the Razer Kiyo X for much less, too. But if your company has an IT budget for home office gear, then definitely get them to spend on this. Picture quality is great, and the Intelligent Zoom is perfect for presentations. Get it from Jabra, and I've also seen it cheaper on Shopee and Lazada for around S$400.

Note: Review unit provided by Jabra.

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