Panasonic HDC-SD1 Camcorder
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Details:
Batteries Included: 0
Display Size: 3 inch
Feature: Record HD video direct to SDHC cards; up to 1 hour on a 4 GB SDHC card
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Model: HDC-SD1
Optical Zoom: 12X
Features:
Record HD video direct to SDHC cards; up to 1 hour on a 4 GB SDHC card
3CCD system delivers improved color, detail, and gradation
Leica Dicomar lens with 12x optical zoom; built-in O.I.S.
5.1-channel audio recording; Zoom mic function adjusts audio to match camcorder movement
4 GB SDHC memory card included
Editorial Review:
The HD Advanced Pure Color Engine ensures all your photos and footage enjoy the beauty of High Definition. Your Panasonic HDC-SD1 takes rich, vivid colors to a beautiful new level. Process large amounts of data with high speed and precision with the 3CCD HD image processing circuit. O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) suppresses camera shake – you’ll won’t see any instability, even on a big-screen TV. Shooting video is easier and more convenient by recording to your SD/SDHC Memory Card. The advanced microphone captures the sound source and distance more accurately, for a true-to-life sound space that’s a great match for the HD image quality. Uploading your precious memories onto your PC is quick and easy without the need to connect a cable or run a finalizing process when transferring the data. Records onto SD/SDHC Memory Card AVCHD recording Format F Values – F1.8 (Wide) / F2.8 (Tele) 12x variable optical zoom Focal Length – 4.0 – 48.0 mm Filter Diameter – 43mm Optical Image Stabilizer Minimum Illumination – 2 Lux (Magic Pix) White Balance modes – Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, White Set Shutter Speeds – 1/60 – 1/8,000 sec. (moving & still pictures) Backlight compensation Manual Focus Ring Soft-Skin Mode MagicPix Images 5.1ch Surround Sound microphone – zoom mic & wind noise reduction 0.44 (183K pixels) Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) Trinlingual language display – English, Canadian French, Spanish DPOF – Max. 999 stills Built-in SD slot A/V and HDMI out USB 2.0 High Speed (mini B) PictBridge compatible Dimensions(HxWxD) – 2.92 x 2.64 x 5.40 Weight – 0.95 lbs
User Reviews:
Summary: So far so good
Comment: I have had my SD1 for about a week. I haven’t tested it fully, but here are my first impressions:
1. Looks AWESOME when attached HDMI to my 50″ plasma!
2. Auto iris tends to gain up in low light (which is what it is supposed to do)- introducing noise in the video
– adjusting the gain manually is pretty easy
3. My one year old HP ZD8000 laptop does NOT support included 4GB SDHC card in the card reader slot. I have to connect the camera via USB cable. However, my regular 1GB SD cards work just fine (but only record about 10 mins per card at the highest setting)
4. In order to transfer files via USB, the camera MUST be plugged in. It will not work on battery power
5. Included editing software is VERY basic. It is used to transfer files, cut up, merge, and delete video clips, and output to DVD (which I have not tried yet). You can’t do titles, fades or anything other than very simple cuts in this software.
– However, I downloaded a free AVC-HD to DVCPRO Transcoder and tested it on Avid Xpress Pro 5.7 and it imported just like P2 MXF media! The video was a bit jumpy in my short initial test, so I don’t know if it transcoded poorly or maybe I had the Avid project at the wrong frame rate (30i instead of 60i). More testing tomorrow, I hope.
6. Ergonomics – this camera is small: about the size of a pop can. It feels a bit awkward in my average-sized male hand, but not too bad. I think I will get used to it in short order.
7. The OIS is outstanding! I have heard from other brand owners that my Panasonic SD1 has far better image stabilization.
OVERALL — Great images playing straight out HDMI to my 1080i plasma. 3 chips give you good color and clarity, but they are small, which means you sacrifice light and depth of field (which is why I went with the SD1 and not the SD5 – go for chip size NOT pixels!). For $799 (Amazon) it is a fantastic deal for a consumer HD camera. Some argue that HDV yields a better picture (difference being in the compression codec), but I specifically wanted a memory card camera.
Summary: clear shots, nice zoom
Comment: I buy Panasonic for their Leica lens. This one was the entire package, every feature fit my checklist. So far, I’ve only owned it three weeks, but results are high end. Good purchase, satisfied customer.
Summary: Great Hi Def Video Cam
Comment: I purchased this product in late August. I used it extensively in October 2007 while in Italy for two weeks. First, the size of this camera was one of the main reason I bought this. I have carried previous camcorders on vacations, and they were bulking to say the least. This camcorder was small enough, it fit into Venturer Travel Portfolio Bag (I bought on Amazon). This is a small bag I threw over my shoulder. The camcorder and a small table tripod fit perfectly inside the main compartment. My passport, money, and extra camcorder battery, plus an extra scandisk all fit inside the bag. It was great not having to lug around a big camera bag.
Next, the ease of use of the camcorder was simply flipping the screen open and turn on. It powered very fast and I was shooting. I also could leave the power on and close the screen, and the camera would turn off, then I simply opened the screen again, and the camcorder would power on even quicker.
The zoom was good. However, the digital zoom was even better. With my tripod, I got some amazing close up shots. There is distortion at far ranges due to air molecules, so it was perfect, but believe me, it was damn good.
In the field, I could use the LCD screen to review what I recorded. The LCD was beautiful. Recording in the low light situations will not give you a great video. That is the only negative with the videocam IMHO.
Play back: upon returning, I played on a normal tv set. It looked good, but I wanted to see what it look liked on High Def tv. We bought a High Def set last weekend and I again played the video. Oh my god, what a difference. The quality of the video pictures was incredible. I just couldn’t believe the difference. The clarity and color of video was astonishing.
I couldn’t be happier with this purchase. Now, I am learning to edit everything using the uLead Videostudio 11 software. I can’t comment too much about it, but I was able to upload a 1 minute video to my iPod. Everyone has been pretty impressed with that.
edit(11/30/07): I’ve played around more with the editing of this camera. I will do a detail review for software, but transferring the video to my hard drive has been easy and painless. Working with the files using videostudio has been flawless. I have produced a small 2 minute video with special effect and added music. I am a novice, and I can’t believe how good it turned out.
Summary: Best HD cam out there
Comment: I overanalyzed this purchase to death, and kept coming up with the same answer based on message boards and reviews. The 3CCD lens makes all the difference over the competition.
Beautiful detail and vivid colors, the resolution is very crisp. No matter what time of day you’re shooting, the lighting is always accurate. Pretty great sounds come out of this as well. Do yourself a favor and get a huge SDHC card.
Summary: Very good with flaws
Comment: This camcorder takes very good quality videos. I have been impressed with the resolution and colors.
There are three main drawbacks to the SD-1, as I see it:
1) ergonomics. The camera does not comfortably sit straight in the hand, but rather, rolls over to a slightly tilted position unless you apply some pressure from your wrist and/or fingers to hold it upright. This can get quite annoying. The SD-5 is a far better design (although with the SD-5 it’s nearly impossible to avoid covering the microphone with your fingers, not a problem with the SD-1).
2) no hotshoe for an external light. This is important in particular with AVCHD cameras, which do not tend to perform well in low light, the SD-1 being no exception. Of course, the SD-5 doesn’t offer a hotshoe or a mic jack, so that’s no improvement. The Sony CX7 offers both, but I have not been impressed with Sony’s high def image quality yet (have not actually tried the CX7, but have tried other Sony HD camcorders).
3) the Panasonic rep I spoke with today said that the new 8GB and 16GB memory cards will work with the SD-1, HOWEVER, they will stop at every 4GB interval. In other words, when you fill up the first 4GB, you will need to hit record again to start saving on the next 4GB. This could mean missing a key moment in the middle of you recording, or could mean a big hassle if you have the camera set up on a tripod and have to go back to hit record every 40 min or so. I do not believe this same problem will exist for the SD-5 (at least up to 16GB) or for the CX7 (which requires proprietary memory cards).
I’m on the fence whether I’ll keep my SD-1, or not, due to these limitations. I love the concept of memory card camcorders (pop it into your memory card reader and go! no wires!), and am impressed with SD-1’s image quality. The SD-5 is a step back in some regards, except for the vastly improved ergonomics. My hunch is that the next generation of memory card HD camcorders will get all these things right, and be long-term investments worth a little more wait.
Popularity: 21%
Tags: 12x optical zoom, 2x optical zoom, amazon, art, ati, audio, Camcorder, dvd, flash memory, free, high definition, image stabilizer, laptop, live, music, Panasonic, photo, sony, space, tripod