Panasonic HDC-SD9 Reviews: Panasonic SD Card storage camcorder

+ This camcorder is extremely small, compact and easy to use. The Optical Image Stabilisation is very impressive, making the resulting movie much more watchable than some of the shaky home movies I've seen from other camcorders. The Face Detection system is so clever. As you record, up to 5 faces are shown with yellow boxes around them, showing you what the camcorder is trying to correct the focus and exposure for. The menu system is fairly self-explanatory and you only need to refer to the manual if you want to use the advanced functions of the camcorder. Battery life is very impressive, I guess as there aren't any moving parts (except for the zoom lens), less power is required than for HDD and tape camcorders.

- The joystick used to navigate the menu is a little bit on the fiddly side and does take some getting used to.

+ Excellent picture and sound quality - amazing value at the price. AVCHD Editing still developing. Bundled software produces excellent quality but very limited editing options. No luck with Pinnacle or Sony Vegas, however, Cyberlink Power Director 7 Ultra looks promising - inputs highest definition video quickly from SDHC card and can output full resolution ADVHC to DVD or BlueRay Disks. Haven't fully tested how extensive editing might affect raw ADVHC quality, but looks very promising and works well on my AMD Athlon X2 4200+ system

- LCD difficult to see when filming on sunny skiing trip.

+ So small you can carry it in your pocket everywhere. Far better pics than any mobile phone. In fact the HD picture is so good I used it as a 3rd Camera at a recent proffesional wedding I filmed. Plenty of different functions to keep you happy, Face Detection, Ground Detection, 700 x Zoom, Stabilizer, Low Light capability. Best of all for me I set everything manually.

- Trying to edit the AVCHD files. AS I edit professionaly I have most softwareat my disposal, but for a personthe street it might not be so easy. On saying that there is more & more software becoming available that will alow easy editing.. Theres also the function to edit in Camera anyway. 500% better than buying a mini dvd camcorder.

+ good colour, good start up, image stabilisation nice, 3 sec pre record mode great for wildlife and sport filming

- doesnt remember pre record on when LCD closed, not a Lux 0 model and bit rate much reduced in low light

+ Its a great product. It does everything I wanted. I specifically wanted a camera to operate well in low level light for filming the kids at home, and this does so terrifically. There is some graininess but that can't be helped. It can record in very low light. The piucture on my Samsung hi def TV is fantastic. The colours are so rich. I am extremely happy with this purchase. It's sooo light and small. I bought 2 8Gb HCSD cards, which along with the included 4Gb card gives me a good 5 hours worth of recording time. I paid for quality and got it. Highly recommended.

- Zoom can be improved and it will be overtime. The recorded video AVCHD format doesn't play in any media players apart from the bundled Panasonic player. But that will change, and the files can be easily converted to MPEG2. I convert but also keep the originals for when I get a AVCHD compatible bluray player.
Oh, I also have to get a new camcorder bag as my old one is just too big for this one.

+ No nonsense instant point and shoot. Intuitive help menu means you wont miss a shot. an 8Gb card seems to go on for ever even at the highest quality setting. Clear Hi res screen makes shooting possible in the brightest sunlight . All the usual manual buttons you could want i.e white balance,manual focus and there is even a filter ring thread on the end of the lens for creative users.

- Not a big fan of joy stick operated menu functions but it would appear that most new camcorders have opted for this design. No hot shoe or built in video lamp facility. Digital photo's could have been of higher pixel quality but the pictures are of a reasonable standard and I bought it for the camcorder and not as a camera. Standard battery life impressive for its size but never enough.Spare batteries expensive and difficult to obtain probably as it is a new model so I will give it time before I buy another.

+ The size and convenience of it is amazing. I've had several camcorders over the years and the progress of picture quality is astonishing. Image quality is great, an HD screen is a must to view footage at its best. I use an HD laptop.

- The record on/off button doesn't come easily to hand. Camera may be a little too small or the wrong shape as it's difficult to hold it steady at times, but you can't have everything! It was a great buy and I'm very pleased. I understand extra batteries are only available from Panasonic and are not cheap. Pity not available at time of purchase.

+ Light weight. In good lighting conditions very good quality.

- Very wrong position of zoom, menu buttons. mini-HDMI cable not included. To use mini-HDMI must remove battery. Bad photos. Low quality in low light.

+ Reviewer left no comment

- Accessories ( Batteries ) are expensive at the moment - Expect they will drop eventually

+ size and performance. Ease of use

- low light performance

+ Light weight, good quality, easy to use.

- The LCD scratches really easily and it didn't work with Windows XP media centre.

+ very easy to use and very convenient layout so minimum effort required while in use. Great picture quality. I like the way you can plug it into the TV and everyone can watch on the big screen both during and after use. So compact and light. Everyone is impressed by it.

- I haven't read all of the very thick instruction booklet yet so perhaps there is a way of improving on image quality while filming indoors with poor light conditions but if you just switch it on and film you can't see much in dim light.

+ very easy to use. only moving parts are the lens so less to wear and break. very compact in size. records 24p. best o.i.s for a camera of this size.

- indoor shooting in dim light not the best. phots are so-so. AVCHD format not very easy to edit on the pc unless you convert to a different format.

+ Same light weight and easy to transfer to computer.

- Battery life, isn't long as you have to have the screen runnning, this reduces the batttery life.

+ ease of use and picture quality.

- Battery life not enough if you have a 16GB card installed