List Price: $1,300.00
Sale Price: $899.00
Today's Bonus: 31% Off
This is my first Amazon review. In the past I've had two Sony Hi-8 camcorders, a, Sony Mini-DV (DCR-PC1) and two Panasonic 3-CCD Mini-DV camcorders (PV-DV953 and PV-GS120) and now this HDC-SD1 will be my 6th model. Having had the last 2 weeks now to familiarize myself with the ins-and-outs of the HDC-SD1, I'd like to pass on what I've learned of this little dynamo. There are some limitations I had to accept in order to feel confident about making a smart $1100 purchase. First and foremost, be warned that the MPEG-4 H.264 Codec is not currently supported by iMovie HD, Final Cut Studio, Vegas, or any other popular NLE, though revisions and plug-ins are expected probably around summer 2007. If you can live with that for now, then be prepared for the output from this machine to knock your socks off.
Personally I was willing to live with not being able to edit the footage for now because I wanted to capture the first months of our 7-week old infant in the best quality available, and this meant either going AVCHD using mini-DVD (Sony HDR-UX1), AVCHD using a hard drive (Sony HDR-SR1) or AVCHD using a chip (Panny HDC-SD1). HD camcorders recording to DVD were the first to be taken off the list because of its annoying disc formatting and finalizing times and the brevity of recording length. I took the tape-based HD camcorders out early on due to my own experience with the frustration of locating footage using a linear recording format. More on this later. I also did not consider HDV-based HD camcorders as ingesting HDV footage (MPEG-2) is onerously slow and no piece of cake for one's hard drive. To be fair, HDV is a mature (more dated?) technology while AVCHD is still relatively embryonic with a huge upside still to come. So after lurking through a few forums and thumbing thru @500 page views of info, I gave the nod to the Panasonic. Absolutely no regrets. Even with the just announced HDC-SD3 coming in a few months stateside, it didn't look much better spec-wise to the HDC-SD1 and my baby might already be walking by then so I'm glad I got this now. I'm also in the process of purchasing an 8th or 9th generation plasma to match the output (1080i/60) from this little wonder as my current set doesn't support 1080i.
Unique advantages compared to other models in its competitive set:
+It has a high design aesthetic and is the smallest 3-CCD HD consumer camcorder on earth. It's as long as a dollar bill and just as wide. (I measured)
+With the Quick Start mode activated, the camcorder fires up and starts recording in about 2 seconds after the screen is opened. Never miss your baby's first steps with this guy.
+Built-in option of having virtual guidelines superimposed on the display for better compositions and more level horizons. The camera gives you three choices, horizontal lines only (my favorite) a big grid, or a small grid (egg crate) for the truly anal.
+German designed Leica Dicomar lens contains three aspherical elements that keeps chromatic aberration in check, with almost all surfaces multicoated.
+Simplicity of button layout and U.I., even though most advanced functions still there and easily accessible, like iris and shutter controls, fades, etc.
+Optional color bar indicator for tonal checks on your TV for calibration, normally seen only on professional broadcast camcorders.
+An option called 'zoom-mike' that focuses the sound on the area that you've zoomed into up 12X, great for surveillance work I guess. Or stalkers.
+Built-in HDMI to connect right up to an HDTV with no signal degradation, with one cable handling both HD video and 5:1 Surround Sound if connected thru an HDMI receiver.
+Weighs about one pound with media and battery. The girth and weight of the HDC-SD1 is almost exactly the same as a 16-ounce can of Coke.
+Package includes a 4 Gb SDHC class 2 media card that can hold between 40 minutes and 90 minutes' worth of footage depending on compression, when most camcorders don't even come with a $5 tape.
Unique disadvantages compared to other models in its competitive set:
-The multifunction joystick is on the small side and can be confusing in use. For some people I can see how this might hamper recording effectiveness. On the other hand, it's no better or worse than the joystick on the Panny PV-GS400/500.
-USB 2.0 is nice but the the lack of a firewire/iLink connection is a bit of a bummer.
-Camcorder battery will not recharge in-camera, nor will it recharge if AC adapter is utilized (plugged-in) at the same time.
-Included software that handles rudimentary editing functions works only on PCs.
-Resolution of still images taken is below par when compared to other models in its competitive set (like the Sony HRD-SR1 or Canon HV10/20)
-No tactile focusing ring if you like to verify the focus, a distinct advantage with the Sony camcorders in general and even its brother the Panny PV-GS500.
A quick vent. What bugs me with tapes, whether Hi-8, Mini-DV, etc is the time needed to peruse through vast amounts of media to get to a specific footage. It is entirely possible to spend up to 5 or 10 minutes jogging back and forth on an 60-minute tape to find the 30-second clip of something you're actually looking for. Recording to either HDD or an SDHC card, not only can clips be played at a glance in any order, erasing a clip is just as easy. For example, you have two 15 minute clips of primo footage with a 15 minute clip of some pointless recording in between. With a tape, it is much safer to keep all 45 minutes of footage to retain the good 15 minutes' worth on the end. With an SD card, the middle 15 minutes can be deleted like a photo in your digicam, and you're left with another 15-minute chunk of space for better footage. The analogy I can make between the HDC-SD1 and its HDV rivals would be akin to comparing an HD camcorder spawned from the iPod (flash memory) and an HD camcorder fathered by a Walkman (tape-based) and I personally would never go back to using my Sony Walkman when I can slip a Nano in my pocket. I probably sound like an anti-tape nut by now but it's only because I have over 50 Mini-DV tapes in our collection that nobody has touched in the last couple of years. I mean, why not settle for true random access if it's available? Good luck to all in your purchasing.
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