HDC-SD1

Reviewed by: Ed02

08-07-07

Duration of ownership: 2 Days

Strengths: iMovie 08 will edit this video.

Weaknesses: Single ccd

Overall Evaluation: Still love my GS200!

Reviewed by: kqahmad61_7909570137

Updated: 25-Jan-08

Strengths: good zoom, good quality, uses SDHC card which have a lot of memory

Weaknesses: SDHC cant be used in a regular SD card reader, the camera only records in mvt2s format which most video editors wont use, only comes with a lame video editor

Overall Evaluation: This camera is very good quality and is worth its price, no more carrying discs or cassettes. The memory card compatibility is very good and the quality is amazing. Make sure you find a video editor that is compatible with HD recording in mvt2s format though.

Reviewed by: pqinsheng

Updated: 01-Dec-07

Strengths: Great Video when looked at HD TV.

Weaknesses: video format

Overall Evaluation: Beautiful detail and vivid colors, the resolution is very crisp. SDHC storage is great, no need to worry about tapes anymore. I only used it for a couple of days, but I'm so impressed with the video. Only complain is the video format, need a really fast computer to process. Great buy.

Reviewed by: samuela613

Updated: 20-Nov-07

Strengths: High-Def quality; Optical stabilization; No moving parts; basically silent, lightweight; records on inexpensive SDHC; No more FF/RW tapes.

Weaknesses: Batteries are expensive. Some ports inconveniently places. Succeeder model SD5 is out (with a shorter zoom, though).

Overall Evaluation: Where to begin? The Panasonic HDC-SD1 is compact, lightweight, and accepts SD-HC cards (and includes a 4 GB to get you started). It is well shaped and almost a dream to use. Zoom is easily toggled each way while recording. Controls are within one-handed reach; usually you can get away with one-handed shooting, though two-handed is best, because it lets you stabilize and "guide" the cam more than using only one hand. Tripod mount works well, though you cannot change the battery while it's attached. The included charger will either charge the battery or power the camcorder while at the PC, but will NOT do both simultaneously. The quality of the videos are gorgeous. No artifacts that I could see, and it runs full screen on my monitor and looks simply stunning. I even took a video in street light on a moonless dark night, and most of the video was watchable, all without any external flashes. The ability to skip back and forth on an SDHC is priceless when c...

Reviewed by: RossTelson

Updated: 22-Aug-07

Strengths: Sharp, Well-saturated Pics - both video and stills - from a remarkably compact, lightweight, and silent camera.

Weaknesses: Requires second battery and SDHD card to record more than an hour at a time; slow video download; some quirky user interface issues (see comments)

Overall Evaluation: Not to repeat all of what user pmamut shared (which I agree with), I have the following observations based on ~ 11 hours of video and ~ 500 stills: - Surprisingly nice stills - good enough not to have to carry two cameras if you're just looking for decent snaps. - Flash stills tend to over-expose a little - even with flash intensity reduced - Excellent video and very good still saturation and crispness but with slight green-cast (correctable with photo editing software) - Use of video-fade-in has to be reset prior to each recording segment and, when used, video preview show as black window - completely useless. Video preview should capture after fade-in. - Many settings can't be changed while recording. - Vendor software seems rushed to market. Aftermarket software selection is very limited. - Flipping screen to view from lens-side removes useful display information. - Down-side issues must be anticipated when buying on the leading edge of technology.

Reviewed by: gaodeal

Updated: 21-Aug-07

Strengths: Small, impressive video quality, SD as storage media, 3CCD

Weaknesses: Not easy to use one hand to control all buttons. Software support for the video is far less than enough. Battery life is not long. But I can not complain too much coz it is the first SD HDC.

Overall Evaluation: I was shock by the small size and the high definition image with this camcorder. 3 CCD make outstanding video quality. Using SD as storage is the main stream of the future direction. Very satisfied with this order. But battery, software support, and controllability is not that good as the quality of the video.