Average ratings from 4 sites
Wize has read 61 reviews
I realize I'm breaking ranks with other reviewers here, but urge people not to buy this camcorder --- yet. I bought mine in March and while the quality is nice and the camera is easy-to-use, the new file format they use causes so much trouble that the camera is essentially unusable. The file format is not supported by any editing software other than the software that comes bundled with the camcorder (latest update from Panasonic on this was today, 12/1/07). The bundled software is hard to use and is missing the most basic and fundamental editing options.
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!
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.
I didn't want to bother with the DV or the miniDVD because in my opinion these are now out of date.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.
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).
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.
I have used the Panasonic HDC-SD1 camera for over a month now and I am quite happy with the quality and sound of the videos. The camera performed flawlessly, however the battery barely lasted half an hour and there are no extended-time batteries available for sale.
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.
I buy Panasonic for their Leica lens. This one was the entire package, every feature fit my checklist.
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.
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