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Panasonic HDC-SD9EB-S HD Camcorder Camcorder Best Buys
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Price - £399.01 Correct as of 11/08/08
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5 Reviews for Panasonic HDC-SD9EB-S HD Camcorder
The SD9's Best Feature- Picture Quality - 09 Aug 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful.
I was in the market for a new digital photo camera about 6 or 7 months ago after my old Fuji started playing up. We had a family event in May and before everyone left for the day I borrowed their cameras to get copies of all the pictures and clips they'd taken. It was while I was doing that, that two things occurred to me:
1) I enjoyed the video clips but there wasn't enough of them for me.
2) There's more than enough still cameras in the family. Maybe I should get something else.
In all the reviews and grouptests I saw, the two cameras that kept getting mentioned for picture quality and good all-round features were the Panasonic SD5 and SD9.
I got some test footage off the Net for the SD9 (Just Google SD9 Sample) and was very impressed. I know it's a lot of money but the quality overall is fantastic and very much worth it. I didn't want to just have OK little clips of my nephews and niece growing up. I wanted excellent quality, full-length clips that we keep for years.
OK, so here are the Pros, as I see them. Bear in mind this is my first camcorder.
1) Great picture quality. The colours are a little "overdone" (I believe over-exposed is the term) but that can be rectified in iMovie in no time.
2) Good sound quality. It picks up stuff you don't even notice when you're filming.
3) Works perfectly with iMovie 08. As long as your updates are all there, it works seamlessly with iMovie.
4) Size- it's freaking tiny- no matter how many pics you see, trust me. You won't believe how small it is until you get your mitts on it.
5) Some good manual features and video modes- I haven't given them a full test-run yet but with a couple of clicks you can change things easy.
6) Unbelievable zoom. It's amazing.
Cons:
1) You really could do with a card reader. To connect to a Mac/PC you need to plug in the power cable, connect it to the charger, remove the battery, connect a second cable from the charger to the camera, turn the camera onto playback mode, connect the USB2 cable to the camera and computer, select PC Connect and then it's on! With a card reader you just eject the card and plug it in. Trust me, it's worth £10 or whatever!
2) Replacement/spare batteries are expensive if you need one. Cheapest I've found is £65.
3) The Menu "joystick" is a little tricky if you've got big mitts like mine!
4) I found the "Shooting Guide" (little tips that come up on screen when filming) a little annoying- purely a personal thing.
I'd definitely recommend this camera. It isn't entry level but I read dozens of reviews before buying this and it's definitely the best all-rounder at this price point. There are cameras out there that have better sound or better features or picture quality but they have major failings elsewhere.
Yes it's a lot of money but when I think of all the great moments I can relive from now and for years to come it's well worth it.
Excellent Product - so small yet so able! - 26 Jul 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful.
I was attracted to Panasonic by the small size and lovely asthetics of their models and nearly purchased an SD7 at £180. However after much research it had to be the SD9 for its far superior picture quality, long battery life and advanced features. I ordered on Amazon Prime with a free 8gb SD card for a bargain price of £424 - I had seen it in Currys that day for £549. It was delivered the next day and after charging the battery for 2 hours I was up and running, running to my Mac that is as I was really concerned that it wouldn't work based on all the reviews. I plugged it in to the USB and nothing happened then a message came up that I needed to connect the AC adapter to the camera and there it was on my Mac. I opened iMovies and imported my first test footage no problem at all. For info my Mac book was bought last October when Leopard was released. I have had the camera 2 days now and it is very impressive I have also put the card in my PS3 and picture quality is top notch - I do not have a HD TV as my CRT is excellent and the pictures are superb. The size and ease of use is fantastic and you will not regret this purchase. Only 4 stars as like many others I want a case with my camera and I would have liked an additional record button on the side for when I am shooting footage holding the camera low down. Trust me this is a great product.
Apple users beware. - 08 Jul 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful.
I take it as read that this will produce high quality video. As an apple user I want it to work in iMovie 08 by using an SD card reader. I like working like this. I got the Apple store in Southampton and the John Lewis store to try to import some footage shot on a new SD9 using a card reader. It did not work. Much head scratching! There is a lot of talk about this issue on DV forums and Apple forums. Some say import problems to iMovie have been resolved. Until I know for sure that I can use an SD card reader with the SD9 I will not be buying. Apple users like me - be warned.
After this experience I went back to both stores to check that their computers had the latest software updates which were supposed to resolve the iMovie import problem. John Lewis said none of their demo models had ever had software updates. The biggest surprise was Apple. Their computers were still on 7.1.1 version of Leopard. 7.1.2 is the latest which is said to enable the SD9 to work perfectly with iMovie. We live and learn!I have placed an order for the camcorder and will update my review if I have anything new to add.
Note:
Despite having the latest software my SD9 does not work with iMovie. I am visiting my Apple store next week to see if they can identify problem so my warning still applies.
A final note:
I finally resolved my problem with importing clips to iMovie. I was able to do this by disabling my connection to the internet network. I have a wireless link. Something must be interfering with the working of iMovie. I only discovered this because my laptop worked with iMovie importing while I was in the Apple Store. When I returned home it was not working again. That made me think something was interfering with it. I tried to import clips with my network off and it worked.
So if someone else is still having problems my experience might help. Too early to comment more thoroughly on the SD9 but first results are excellent.
HDCSD9 Vs Canon - 06 Jul 2008
26 out of 26 found this review helpful.
I read many reviews and spent days wondering what to buy finally I went to a high street store and asked them to charge up the panasonic sd9 and the canon hf10. I took footage inside and out. At this moment I was somewhat obsessive about the Canon ie its quality and all the rave reviews. Imagine my surprise when I got home and looked at the footage via my ps3. The panasonic footage was much more stable and much more true to life vivid colours. This might be that the Canon was incorrectly set but both were on auto so to me thats an equal footing.
I took the plunge as to my surprise Amazon were now offering the unit at 400 pounds with an 8gb panasonic sdhc card so in effect the real price of the camera was at 360. Now for this price you cannot get a high definition
camcorder in this league.
Having taken much footage now, the path to avchd recording has not been so bad. I have an Sony AR61 that has a card reader and hd writer installed fine on Vista premium. The software is not perfect but within a small time I was able to edit avchd footage on a dual core laptop.
I use via ps3 as this can handle the avchd format directly and i see no point in converting a hidef avchd footage into an mpeg 2 for a dvd.
The resultant footage is excellent with the panasonic and I would urge you not to dismiss this unit over the Canon. If you want simplicity of use with excellent results then this is the perfect machine. OK yes the Canon is a remarkable piece of equipment but look at its price and ok quality of image can be subjective hence my advice to try. I see it this way I now have full HD recording at an amazing Amazon price. I can now wait for a year at which point the HF10 would have halved in price and then get that too, effectively owning the Panasonic and Canon at the same price as the canon is now.
The Panasonic is a well made machine and I suspect the reviews are all leaning to the Canon from video experts. If like me you have the normal two kids and a wife that is not so technical then the forego all the fancy buttons and get the Panasonic.
The images are truely stunning and yes in low light the images get grainy as all cameras do in low light conditions but it has to be really dark to the point where you wouldnt take footage anyway.
So do it. The money you save will buy you the Sony PS3 that you can use as a hub to show your footage from a standard usb stick. This way your Full HDTV can be used to its full potential.
You might ask why not 5 stars well this was not because of price or quality but because they give no mini hdmi to hdmi lead cable or a case for the device or even an sdhc card as standard.
If like me you already have the TV hdmi slots taken up in the cable run then go via the ps3 however if you want to connect the camera to the tv then get a mini hdmi to hdmi converter and plug it into the end of an existing hdmi cable as these are only 6 pounds.
Panasonic HDC-SD9 - 01 Jul 2008
4 out of 9 found this review helpful.
Very difficult to set up and there is a lot to learn about it
Recording film is excellent but have yet to get shots on my computer
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