Panasonic HDC-SD1 Camcorder
Review

By Michael Perlman
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
Published on May 10, 2007

The Panasonic HDC-SD1 ($1,299 MSRP) is turning heads on the runway this year. It’s small, sexy, and generates an appealing video image in bright light. The SD1 is also the first AVCHD camcorder to record directly onto bite-sized SDHC cards, and provides a pleasurable palette of automatic and manual controls. Editing solutions have just become available for AVCHD, making the format a viable buy for the first time. Read on to find out if the SD1 will strike an epic pose or tumble off the catwalk.

Panasonic manages to pack three 1/4-inch CCDs, each with a gross pixel count of 560,000, into the HDC-SD1’s minuscule frame. In bright light (3000 lux), the SD1’s image is clean, with strong lines and borders that rivals the Canon HV20’s image. The color balance and strength was outstanding in bright light, but the HDC-SD1 suffered in low light because of AVCHD’s compression artifacts, reducing video resolution and heightening noise. At 60 lux (our higher low light test setting), the HDC-SD1 produced a significant amount of noise and colors drifted away from their natural habitats. In the lowest light setting (15 lux), we had to crank up the gain all the way just to reveal a washed-out noise festival.

The HDC-SD1 oozes hotness. Essentially, it’s a giant lens barrel with a hand strap. Aside from the SD1’s uncanny style, it’s tiny, light, and simple to use. A large joystick-embedded mode dial sits smack dab in the middle of the camcorder’s back end. Navigating though the menu is a snap thanks to the rear-mounted joystick’s responsive, one-touch interface. The HDC-SD1 flaunts a 3-inch wide LCD screen with a vibrant 250,000 pixel display. Because this camcorder is so compact, those with larger hands will have difficulty accessing the top mounted zoom toggle. The hand strap is strung low and requires the shooter to hold onto the HDC-SD1 for dear life to prevent it from flopping about. A camcorder this good-looking is bound to sacrifice handling for attractiveness.

In most environments, the HDC-SD1 performed without a hitch in auto mode. Although the SD1 is not equipped with an “Easy” mode, a Help mode is available, guiding you through the menu with explanations and pointers. All of the core manual controls are available, such as manual focus, exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and gain. There is also an audio level control operated by the joystick. While Panasonic is known for its generous offering of manual controls, the SD1 is acquiescent and user-friendly, no matter what level of experience you have.

The HDC-SD1 utilizes the AVCHD format, which is a new compression introduced by Sony and Panasonic. The SD1 records to stamp-sized SDHC cards, but the video quality will not match that of HDV or DV because of a loss in data transfer (DV is 25Mbps versus AVCHD’s maximum of 15Mbps). At the camcorder's release, there were no video editing programs that compatible with AVCHD footage. That has changed as the year progressed, but is still difficult.

For those looking to shoot family videos in style, the HDC-SD1 is the camcorder for you. It’s easy on the eyes, highly portable, and chock full of user-friendly features. Just make sure you have a high-definition TV to watch your treasured memories on. Of course, all these good looks and convenience cost money, making this camcorder a pricey proposition. If you manage to get your hands on some editing software, you’d better have a powerful computer to run it, otherwise you’re looking at an awful lot of processing time.

For a more in-depth review, visit the Panasonic HDC-SD1 Review at our partner CamcorderInfo.com

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Panasonic HDC-SD1 CamcorderReview

Panasonic HDC-SD1 Camcorder
Review