Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had no intention of buying a camcorder over $450, however, after viewing test videos on youtube, I was sold on this one. Video from this camera is STUNNING. Some lower priced camcorders have very decent video as well, but lack something that this one has. I previously had a Canon Elura 90 DV tape standard definition camcorder. I had had it with the tapes and wanted to record family videos in HD, even though we don't yet have an HDTV. We will upgrade at some point, and I want as many videos as possible to look nice.
Some of it's best features include:
* Low light sensitivity - the nemesis of virtually all lower-priced camcorders and many camcorders in general. This one seems to do excellent in low light.
* Image stabilization - WOW! it really works on this camcorder. It uses a hybrid between optical and electronic stabilization and, as some of the test youtube videos show, it really works well. So well that I would consider not using a tripod or monopod much of the time.
* Video quality - it does 1080/60p, but I don't think I'll be using that setting at this point. In it's normal 1080/60i mode, the 'HA' quality setting is 17mbps and looks great. Note: I did test videos at all of the quality settings and had the software dump them to a DVD for viewing on our standard def TV. Couldn't really see a difference, but watching them on the computer monitor, yes there is a difference.
* Included software - I have to say I am pleasantly surprised that the included software is very easy to use, seems to do the basic editing and conversion, and doesn't crash. It will burn to Blueray (don't have one) or downconvert the video and put it on DVD. It will also allow you to edit video and just save it back as .mt2s files. I have a Western Digital media player that will play these files, so I think I will be archiving family video on an external hard drive and watching them on the WD. No disc burning is fine with me. I also still have a standard TV and can watch these files without having to have an HDTV. When we do upgrade, these videos will look great.
* Flash for still photos - I'm shocked. I took some photos of my kids in a completely dark room, and it looks like daytime in the photo. How that tiny flash lights up a room like that I don't know. Even illumination edge to edge. No darkness at all near the edges. I have not yet compared the image quality with an 8MP Canon DSLR I have.
Features I'm neutral on:
* "Wide angle" 35mm - Yes, this is better than a lot of other camcorders, but to me, true wide angle is 28mm or less. You can get an adapter to go wider, but another thing to fool with.
* Battery life - It's still a new camera to me, but battery life does not seem to be as long as one would like. I tried some time-lapse recording, and the battery seemed to be used up almost as fast as if I had been recording the entire time.
* Size - I actually was thinking this camcorder would be a little smaller than it was. It just depends on what you're use to. It really is fairly small.
* Which model is it? - Amazon lists it as a HDC-SD800K, box that came just says HDC-SD800, camera says HDC-SD800, manual with camera says HDC-SD800P. Most videos on youtube are listed as HDC-SD800.
The negatives:
* Batteries - This is a new camera and has a newly designed battery. No generics are available as of this review writing. That means $70+ for a second low capacity Panasonic battery.
* Printed manual - I guess I shouldn't complain, at least it comes with a printed manual. But, unlike the Amazon ad that explains that in Cinema Mode, the camera switches to 1080/24p, the manual seems to be "dumbed down" and says that Cinema Mode gives you that movie or film quality. No other details. There are several areas where the manual could give you something to work with, but for some reason, feel the details would just confuse you. This leaves you searching around in the back of the manual for what a setting really does.
* Amazon lists this as "Twin Memory". It is not. It has one SD card slot. No other memory.
EVERYONE should look at test videos posted on youtube for any camcorder you are considering buying. Watch the videos at 720p or higher. Look in the shadows. Look in areas of motion. Apparently some people are not as picky as I am because comments on a video that looked terrible were "Wow! great looking video!".
Summary - Excellent camera if you can spend the money. You will have to buy at least one more battery at considerable cost. This probably won't be an issue in the future as generics should pop up.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic HDC-SD800K 3 MOS Twin Memory 3D Compatible Camcorder (Black)
The HDC-SD800 High Definition Camcorder is a high-end HD offering from Panasonic. Right off the bat a few of the camera's most desirable features include: 1920 x 1080/60p recording, an SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot, the option to record in 3D and a quality image sensor system. These features alone give you detailed, beautiful images, a plethora of recording space and the ability to shoot fun and unique movies in 3D with an optional lens. Panasonic's proprietary '3MOS' is a 3 sensor CMOS that adds up to 9.15MP (3 x 3.05MP). These sensors work together with another Panasonic technology, Crystal Engine PRO. This engine is a fast processor which writes those gigantic HD files to the HDD or SD card quickly and efficiently. It also allows for high-res zooming when exceeding the optical range. In addition, the engine works to reduce image noise, rendering beautiful, like-like images. These two work together to produce 1080/60p footage. The "p" means progressive; when recording in a progressive frame rate the footage captures is more vibrant and detailed than even "i", or interlaced, HD recording. Of course the sensor and engine wouldn't be able to do their job without a high-quality lens. The SD800 comes with a 35mm Leica Dicomar lens that sports a 3.45-41.4mm focal length, 12x optical zoom range, 46mm filter diameter and a 1.5-2.8 f/stop. Lens can zoom up to 20x using the Intelligent Zoom; and it features a manual ring for more control and creativity with your
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