 "Fantastic quality in a tiny device! Some limitations though." | 2009-06-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3Q37QSNVIX5CZ |
I am a film student who has worked with a good many MiniDV cameras, a few internal hard drive cameras, and on one occasion a DVD burning camera. I did a lot of research before purchasing a factory refurbished HDC-SD1 online.
This camera is TINY! It is so tiny that it can be difficult to hold the device still, although the digital image stabilization feature can help quite a bit. The camera is lightweight enough to sit on one of those miniature tabletop tripods with the flexible legs that are often sold for photographic use.
It has also produced some of the highest quality video I have ever seen. When I got it I had never watched a blue-ray disk in my life, so the first footage I shot was indeed the highest quality video I HAD ever seen. It records interlaced video, so there are disconcerting scan lines that appear when viewing the footage on a computer screen. These are not visible when watching on an HDTV or viewing the footage off of a blue-ray or DVD.
The color is fabulous as the device utilizes three color chips (one for each of the primary colors, instead of just one for all three). Most 3CCD cameras are far more expensive and do not perform as well in low light conditions. The HDC-SD1 is indeed very good in low light. When the low light mode is on the light from my laptop monitor allows me to capture the contents of an otherwise completely dark room quite well. You can also toggle the intensity of the LCD back light to save battery in low light situations or brighten it when shooting in sunlight or under movie lights.
There are many nifty options such as being able to turn off the rec light and a "zebra mode" which outlines areas which are currently completely washed out (warning you of over exposed back lighting situations). You can also disable digital zoom so the camera will not zoom past 12x and reduce the image quality by doing so. You can also disable the zooming microphone if you want to record someone talking in the foreground while zooming in on something over their shoulder.
The lens housing is threaded so you can attach different lenses and lens filters to the device. The battery cover has a small rubber panel which can be moved to allow a cable to pass out of the battery compartment so you can use an external battery pack.
There are some drawbacks to this device:
The manual focus is barely usable unless you are filming from a stationary tripod and don't mind focusing slowly since you have to use the thumb-joystick to (slowly) adjust the focal length. The manual focus switch is, however, set up to easily allow you to briefly engage the auto focus and then return immediately to manual setting.
You can not use USB mode without the AC adapter being plugged in. This can be frustrating in certain circumstances when you might want to attach the device to a computer while running from the battery. Also for some reason the AC power port is underneath the flip-out LCD screen, so you have to have the LCD screen out while the camera is on AC power. The HDMI out, Component out, and Microphone ports are also situated underneath the LCD.
The device can only record files up to four gigabytes in size. Once you have recorded a file that big the camera stops recording and you have to press record again. A four gigabyte file is usually around forty minutes in length, but if you are trying to record an entire play, musical performance, or sporting event you are forced to stop and restart the recording after you have reached four gigs worth of continuous recording time. Of course, the camera only comes with a four gig card so unless you are planning on buying larger ones this problem doesn't arise.
The device does not have an accessory mount so you can not attach conventional shotgun microphones or camera lights to the top. It also can not provide phantom power to condenser microphones and only has a 1/4 inch mic jack.
Compared to the video quality, the quality of the still shots it takes are not so good, although you can take stills and shoot video simultaneously.
In extremely quiet environments the top mounted zoom toggle can be heard clicking in the recording. The cooling fan (the only moving part in the camera) is sufficiently quiet as to not be captured by the microphone.
Most of these drawbacks are simply the price you pay for such a compact video camera! Only in very certain circumstances do any of these issues cause much trouble, but I wanted to go over them thoroughly so nobody is surprised by them.
All things considered this is still one of the best solutions for a super-small digital video camcorder which can record 1080i video and 5.1 surround sound. I am quite happy with this device, and am even considering purchasing another unit to be able to shoot from multiple angles at once in matching quality. |
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| "A Prosumer Camera " | 2009-02-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3DUI5LX8CO56R |
I've been looking for a HD memory card camera and have been following the downward price for the HDC-SD1. This camera has the same internal configuration as the more expensive pro brother AG-HSC1U and newer shoulder held AG-HMC70. Even with it's slower 13Mbps recording at the highest quality mode as compared to the brand new and faster 21Mbps AG-HMC150. The High Definition pictures are beautiful, and haven't noticed much artifacts when panning but I do go nice and slow. Read the Review's for all the above cameras in VIDEOMAKER Magazine and you will see the comparisons. If you decide to purchase a HDC-SD1 I hope you find some left. My serial number was low so it must have sat on the shelf for a long long time.
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| "Size is not a sacrifice" | 2008-12-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A35O8TBR0SAW0L |
Before I start my review I would like to note that I'm more a photography person, rather than a video person. But after my daughter got born things changed. Watching her do all the crazy baby stuff quickly changed my mind and made me browse for a decent camcorder.
After reading a few web sites about current video technology it was a native decision to go for the 3CCD technology because it provides the most natural colors and that's what I wanted for my baby. Having in mind that she will be able to watch those movies in a few years, and having in mind how quick the size and the resolution of the LCD TVs changed in the last 5 years, choosing HD was by default. Next very important option for me was to receive good picture in low light because in winter most of the video shooting will be indoors. I didn't want to bother with the DV or the miniDVD because in my opinion these are now out of date. One can now easily buy big SD card for no money and having no moving parts in your camera is definitely an advantage.
So having my requests, I filtered the camcorders on the market and Panasonic came out with some other brands. I went for Panasonic because I have a digital camera from them and I'm very satisfied, not to mention that Panasonic is maybe one of the few companies that haven't outsourced production to China and is assembling in Japan.
The next question was if I should go with the HDC-SD1, HDC-SD5 or HDC-SD9. I went for the HDC-SD1 because it has the biggest sensors, which means best picture quality in low light conditions. I also found some videos taken by the camera on [..] . I liked the quality and did the purchase.
I am now filming for a few days and can say that the picture quality is fantastic. I was especially impressed when I filmed a few clips in very low light and also against the light source (it has a backlight option). The picture was with vivid colors and good light balance. On a big screen one can see some grain, but this is more like a limit of the digital technology, rather than a camera malfunction. The macro function is also doing pretty good job.
The sound taken by the 5 microphones was very clear and sharp. I tested the videos on a 2 speaker Harmon Kardon system with Dolby Sound Room technology and I can say that the sounds came out very real.
The only drawback that I saw so far is that the camera heats up very fast (this is not a malfunction according to the manual). After a few minutes this starts the internal fan to cool it. The problem is that later on, when you play the video and turn the volume up you can hear the fan in the background. It would have been good if they have implemented a filter for this noise but they didn't. It's not that big of a deal, but if you are a sound maniac you may not be very happy. I will later on try to filter it digitally, but I'm not sure that the results will be good. |
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 "Great picture" | 2008-05-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A7CP801PN404Y |
| Nice camera, picture is perfect, bit clumsy with the button design, but once you get the hang of it works great. |
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| "Awesome Cam, still the best out there" | 2008-04-23 |
| - Reviewed By samuel_a |
Before I get to the main review, I have to mention that, contrary to misinformed reviews, there has already, for months now, been software out there to edit the HDC-SD1's AVCHD footage. (Pinnacle Studio Plus or Ultimate and Ulead's software come to mind; I use the former).
And not only is there software to edit it, but with a simple download of a codec pack, you can copy the individual movies straight off the SDHC card on to your computer, and watch them INSTANTLY with no rendering needed.
So this camcorder is really as versatile as you could want.
Review:
First, I have used my SD1 for almost a year and it has never let me down.
The SD1 takes high-quality 1440x1080 (1080i) HD video using the AVCHD codec. This is a very efficient codec, but requires a modern nicely-equipped computer to edit or even watch in its native resolution. Figure a Core 2 Duo 2+ gHz with at least 128 MB video RAM and 2 or 4+ GB of system RAM.
The lens features optical image-stabilization, which means the lens will compensate for any slight shaking, so the picture remains steady and focused. This is crucial for hand-held shooting if you want a semi-professional "look" to your videos.
The 12x zoom is really a great zoom length, especially when compared to the 10x of the new models; that last 2x can mean the difference between seeing someone's face, and only seeing their upper-half. Unlike some others, the digital zoom does not necessarily degrade the image quality too much so you can use that, too, but if you want the best possible image quality, you only want to use Optical Zoom.
While on the topic of Digital Zoom, Panasonic provides 3 options - off, 30x, and 400x. This is a nice touch, because, even at 30x, the picture will be usable if you happen to need to get an image from that far.
Storage - The SD1 uses SD/SDHC cards only. Since SD cards are so small, the camcorder is easily held and weighs mere ounces. I have used 4 GB and 8 GB SDHC cards without issue. Although I did not attempt to record 8 GB straight, I was able to use all 8 GB, broken up into a number of clips, which, I think, is a more typical use than one long 8 GB clip.
SDHC cards keep coming down in price. I recently purchased an 8 GB card for around [...]. At that price, you basically have unlimited footage. The battery, though, is $[...], which is annoying.
As for the file structure, I believe it mimics a BluRay DVD file structure. The actual video is in the stream sub-folder, but you could, I would guess, burn your footage as is straight from the card (from the BDMV folder and in) and have a home-made BluRay Disc.
Playback - you can play back the video, in HD, either on the computer, or from the video camera itself, using any HDMI cable. The picture is stunning.
Performance - The SD1's built-in battery lasts for only about an hour of shooting. This is fine for small events and quick family outings, but what I usually do is find a location with an outlet, and record, on a tripod, from there, with the SD1 plugged into the wall. That way, my recording time is limited only by the card capacity.
I found that the camcorder handles light changes very well. I recently zoomed in from a room with one type of lighting into a room with sunlight flooding into it. The camera adjusted its lighting within a second's time so that the picture was viewable under both lighting conditions. In other words, the autofocus and related parts work very well.
The Still-image feature is not bad, and 2 MP images are certainly usable for 4x6 prints, but a dedicated camera will do a bit better. I can tell which picture was taken with my camcorder, and which was taken with my Canon camera, though, as I wrote, the picture is very usable.
The only con I can think of is the resolution is 1440x1080 (1080i), not 1920x1080 (1080p, "Full HD"), but this is mitigated by the improved image quality that you get from the sensors not needing to produce more pixels on the same size sensor.
Overall, I highly recommend this camcorder, despite it not being "Full HD", because its native 1440x1080 is already quite stunning, and its implementation is really quite well done, and is a great cam to own and use. |
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 "Great pics - the worst software" | 2008-02-15 |
| - Reviewed By martianbachelor |
Others have extolled the very good picture quality of this camera, but you can't do much of anything with them. For now you have to be content looking at the unedited video played back from the camera directly to your HD TV. Your computer is reduced to a mere storage device, as for older footage you have to load it back onto the camera for HD playback, which takes 6-8 minutes for about a full 4GB disk's worth of HD video (a little less than an hour's worth).
The software is inexcusably awful. The first thing I did with the bundled HDwriter "EZ-Edit" crapware was accidentally delete my first hour of footage, thinking I was getting rid of the first 5 second "scene" (shot) of the ground and my feet. The manual appears to be correct in that deleted footage cannot be recovered: the program doesn't put the files in the recycle bin as would be appropriately civilized. After a few hours with an Undelete program, and with the help of another computer to figure out the inexplicably complicated directory structure (it's about five levels deep, and its creator should be shot), I was able to restore everything exactly the way it should be. But HDwriter refused to read the footage, giving a cryptic error message (just a number) for which there seems to be no reference in either the manual or at Panasonic's website. The files are all there, but I'm guessing there's some time stamp or hash code which is causing it to choke.
The program is also littered with annoying and useless nags in broken Engrish which you have to click through to do anything, and you can only play footage back in the program in reduced resolution mode -- no HD playback on your computer. And the playback capabilities are very limited. No single frame stepping, for example. About all I've figured out how to do with the software is delete unwanted scenes and merge multiple scenes into one scene. In other words, the editing capabilities are very limited.
And as of this writing there's still no third party software which can read the files and edit them properly in the native AVCHD format. Some of this software has plug-ins to convert into some other format for editing, but reports are quite mixed as to how well all this works. It sounds like it's very computer and system dependent. Meaning that if you want to do anything with your great shots you may not be able to, and if you are they likely won't look nearly as good as is possible. If all you want to do is post to YouTube, that's maybe okay. But then why would you spend this kind of money on an HD camera? It's really a shame because the camera does take nice pictures and was rather easy to get the hang of. Even if an extra battery seemed to cost an arm and a leg - twice as much as an extra memory chip. I'm also somewhat annoyed that there's no shoe for attaching an external microphone, as the one onboard is only barely tolerable for a lot of shooting.
In sum, I would stay away until it's clear that either Panasonic can include some decent software with the camera or until there's a good third party solution that lots of people using the AVCHD format seem happy with. The latter has been promised for the better part of a year now but has yet to materialize. I've had my SD1 for seven months and it's spent all but the first month or so in the closet waiting for the ability to actually work with its pictures. |
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Expedited Available
