Panasonic SDR-S26 Reviews: Panasonic SD Card storage SD camcorder

  • Photo of Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder
  • Photo of Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder
  • Photo of Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder
Photo of Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder
Score: 8.5/10

99 Real Customer Reviews - In Summary

+ This camcorder has no outstanding positive points. - It scores poorly on battery life. “Easy to use, nice looking quite compact and lightweight, easy to view on the…” margaret, birmingham View all 99 real customer reviews

Available via Reevoo.com from £170 – £270 at 25 retailers

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Product Details

70x optical zoom, Image Stabilisation, 1.25 hours of battery More »

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Real customer reviews

99 verified purchasers have reviewed this product.
90% of people recommend it.

Show scores of…
All purchasers (97)
Battery life7.0
Ease of use8.9
Image quality8.0
Value for money (at time of purchase)8.8
Weight9.5
Overall rating8.5
Just point and shoot (27)
Keen amateur (13)
Experienced amateur (3)
Other (54)
 

*not all purchasers provided a score or review

Score 10.0/10

margaret, birmingham

+ easy to use, nice looking quite compact and lightweight, easy to view on the television and put onto the computer reasonable priced

- the battery life doesn't last long but i have bought a spare battery

Was this review helpful?
47 of 53 people found this review helpful

purchased 06 Apr 2009

Score 10.0/10

michael, workington , “prefers quality items.”

+ ease of use, quality build.clear instructions, very good value.

- none so far.

Was this review helpful?
29 of 30 people found this review helpful

purchased 11 Apr 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Great overall product at this price point. Optical image stabiliser and strong zoom clear advantages

- Zoom could have been limited at say 50x to ensure quality of image.

Was this review helpful?
23 of 23 people found this review helpful

purchased 26 Apr 2009

Score 10.0/10

Phil, Hillingdon

+ It is lightweight, easy to use, small so very handy to carry around, good battery life, looks really nice, LCD screen is clear.

- No light for night vision.

Was this review helpful?
13 of 13 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 Jun 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ It has a good zoom; overall very good.

- Battery charge does not stay very long

Was this review helpful?
12 of 12 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 Mar 2009

Score 5.0/10

tom, london

+ light,easy to use,small size

- image quality doesn't match up to my previous camcorder which was a sony video Hi8 TRV67E.I regret not spending more money for a better image quality.

Was this review helpful?
9 of 9 people found this review helpful

purchased 14 Mar 2009

Score 8.0/10

Martin, Dublin

+ Light, convenient, decent build and picture quality. Quite easy to use.

- Replay can be awkward. Maximum zoom too strong for use without support.

Was this review helpful?
8 of 8 people found this review helpful

purchased 13 Mar 2009

Score 5.0/10

Ove, Trondheim , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Great zoom

- Bad image, specialy when a little dark.

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7 of 8 people found this review helpful

purchased 01 Mar 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ size, zoom

- fiddly joystick for playback.

Was this review helpful?
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

purchased 19 Apr 2009

Score 8.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Small, light & easy to use. SD card format is very convenient. Software is not great, but it does the job.

- Short battery life. Video quality in best quality mode still fairly poor.

Was this review helpful?
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

purchased 18 May 2009

Score 9.0/10

amber, bristol , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight and nice looking

- It could possibly have more special effects

Was this review helpful?
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

purchased 16 May 2009

Score 9.0/10

Andrew, Stoke On Trent , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Small and light weight. Just point and shoot ! Ideal for families.Excellent value for money.

- None

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5 of 5 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 May 2009

Score 8.0/10

Ruth, Rugeley , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ The Product weight and size is good as you can keep put it in your pocket and storing it is good being small. The battery life is good. The portrait mode is really handy tool to have.

- The full digital zoom is not very clear, the steady hand mode isn't all I had imagined. The image is all over the place.

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5 of 5 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Jun 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight and easy to use
Good quality results
Easy to use software for editing and storing results

- Awkward for left handers and a spare battery is essential

Was this review helpful?
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 03 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Steven, Middlesbrough

+ Light, small, easy to use, amazing zoom, good picture quality, 8 gig card gives loads of storage even on highest quality setting. Friends and family have all admired the camera.

- None really. I'm being very picky to complain that it would be nice for the lens cover to open automatically when the camera is switched on instead of operating the slider manually.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 13 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Sheila, Bedfordshire

+ Small and compact just right for travelling.

- None as yet

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 07 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Joe, Doncaster , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ It is very easy to use and very light so you can carry it anywhere no problems

- Cant think of any

Was this review helpful?
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 18 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Martyn, Tunbridge wells

+ Light weight.
Good picture and image stabilisation

- No touch screen and limited menu options.
Poor battery life. However, spare batteries are cheap...

Was this review helpful?
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 25 Jul 2009

Score 3.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Experienced amateur” More like this »

+ Size and weight

- Focus not that great

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 24 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

J, Edinburgh

+ Very easy to use. Very small, lightweight and compact. Does the job it was designed for!

- Massive zoom not that much use unless you use a tripod, as any movement is greatly accentuated.
Panasonic software to transfer images not that user friendly.

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 13 Jul 2009

Score 5.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ sd xcards

- poor qulity ,low battry life

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 09 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ good value

- the battery time is not long enough especially when very large SD card available now

Was this review helpful?
2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 18 Jul 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anne, Horsham

+ Very easy to use, even by our 6yr old grandson.

- None

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 11 Jul 2009

Score 10.0/10

Angela, Wigan , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Its small, compact and does everything I expect from a small camcorder.

- To date no bad points

Was this review helpful?
2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 28 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Jim, Bangor Co Down

+ It is a very easy camera to use it is light and easly slipped into your pocket.

- None as yet

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Malcolm, South Yorkshire

+ Light, easy to use, good image capture,with a very good zoom capacity and battery life good.
A compact machine.Good for family/ holiday events as it fits easily into a pocket and the start up time is very quick - helps stop missed opportunities.A robust machine with few moving parts that can go wrong

- It is compact and for those with larger hands and/ or less flexible digits it will take some getting used to so I would suggest a trial run at the retail shops - then buy over the internet

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 13 Aug 2009

Score 6.0/10

chris, cornwall

+ smart looking, light and easy to use, I found software and downloading to computer or dvd easy. Sound excellent.

- Very poor picture quality in dark conditions, picture quality on playback better with smaller screen, bigger screen loses quality. needs higher power battery, which i think you can purchase.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 04 Sep 2009

Score 5.0/10

Mej, Dudley , “Experienced amateur” More like this »

+ Reviewer left no comment

- software not very user freindly and not compatible with windows movie maker or player

Was this review helpful?
3 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 26 Jun 2009

Score 10.0/10

John, Ayr , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ 70 times zoom is fantastic and quality of the picture doesnt suffer as a result.
Light and compact and very easy to use.
Does everything it says it can.
Great at the price.

- Battery life could be better but on a small camera this is understandable

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 31 Aug 2009

Score 9.0/10

christopher, cardiff , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ small and compact

- none really quite impressed with it

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

paul, tunbridge wells

+ ease of use, weight

- image quality

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 17 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

Phil, Southport , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ simple and easy to use, good for beginners

- not had it long enough to find the bad points

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

Paul, St Annes on Sea

+ Incredible Zoom, small size, light weight ...very portable. Fast start up. Easy to use. SD card storage 1hr 40mins on an 8 gig card in HQ, sounds good to me:-)

- Low light image quality is a bit poor. Image quality overall is not as good as mini DV .... but then I guess you knew that :-)

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 28 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

william, kingston upon thames

+ neat, compact, ease of use and relatively easy on the pocket. sd recording is a great concept.

- image quality could be crisper and screen larger.

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 04 Aug 2009

Score 7.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Simple to use, great zoom, image stabilization, small form factor but still large enough to be comfy in the hand. The price is sooooo cheap too!

- Lack of features (but I think that's a good thing). The only thing that I was a little unimpressed with was the quality of the footage. It's not bad, but it will not amaze you.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 15 Aug 2009

Score 9.0/10

Julie, Hessle , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight,small,easy to use

- Small battery life,photo quality not good

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Aug 2009

Score 8.0/10

S, Ealing , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Easy to carry around and inexpensive

- Not great at night, but that I suspect the manual mode would help

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 Sep 2009

Score 9.0/10

matt, middlesbrough

+ light, easy to use excellent zoom

- would like a bit more battery life, but was better than expected given how small the camera is

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Sep 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Easy to use, brill point and shoot

- You need a steady hand for full zoom

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 26 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

steve, Doncaster , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight. very easy to use good optical zoom, Software that came with it is also very useful.

- Video quality not as good as I would like but for the price it is reasonable, Still picture quality quite poor

Was this review helpful?
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 19 Aug 2009

Score 9.0/10

coin , birmingham

+ light,compact with lots of features,easy to use

- small funton buttons may be not suitable for large fingers

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Aug 2009

Score 10.0/10

David, Nottingham. UK

+ Very compact and easy to use.Good quality picture.

- None

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purchased 13 Apr 2009

Score 9.0/10

John , Newbiggin by the Sea

+ ease of use, easy to hold, ability to upload video. able to take stills. nice and light

- battery life could be longer. still photos' could be better quality.lack of additional battery and separate charger.
No protective covereven simple cloth would have been nice

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 06 May 2009

Score 8.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Lightweight and small!

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 20 May 2009

Score 10.0/10

June , Retford , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Excellent ease of use

- None

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purchased 17 Jul 2009

den, herne bay

+ verry light and small , verry good quality a great buy

- none

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 Jul 2009

Score 6.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ small and light

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 26 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Compact, stylish, light, easy to carry round, easy to hold, easy to use.

- Need to buy another battery for long days out.

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purchased 25 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight,good zoom,easy to use.

- battery life.

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purchased 26 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

Anne, Barnsley , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Point & Shoot, Small & Light.

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 16 Aug 2009

Score 8.0/10

Ash, London , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Size, Weight, 70X Optical Zoom, Ease of Use

- Still photos very grainy, battery cannot be charged separately to the main unit

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purchased 24 Aug 2009

Score 8.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ You don't need the manual to start using this.

- Not much actually

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purchased 25 Jul 2009

Score 8.0/10

Phil, Cambridge , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Nice simple, cheap camcorder, with reasonable picture quality

- It's hard to download footage without using the supplied software, which is not great.

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purchased 27 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ easy to use

- doesn't come with a carry case

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purchased 29 Aug 2009

Score 10.0/10

paul, rotherham

+ excellent lightweight camara with quality screen and brilliant zoom. a bargain and very easy to use

- cant think of any

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purchased 08 Oct 2009

Score 9.0/10

Keith, Leeds , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Handy, small, easy to use and very comfortable in the hand. Lives up to the Panasonic reputation and quality.

- Not found any yet!

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purchased 12 Oct 2009

Score 3.0/10

SKusderci, Welling

+ It looked and felt cheap. Even less than what was paid for, it did not look like a mid range cam corder

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 15 Aug 2009

Score 8.0/10

william, wirral , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ light and handy to use not bad for the price but would do better if battery was longer zoom is good at 70

- picture with card not as good picture quality as with 8-mm when in purse picture goes off and leaves blank space in between when play back, cards does not give running time which would be a good help
same for battery,, all in all it is a good camcoder for the price but im now sorry I did not go for the hard drive or the 8-mm

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purchased 05 Aug 2009

Score 8.0/10

Dan, Portishead

+ Good weight & size overall.

- Smaller hands find using the zoom difficult.
Poor battery life in this day & age!

Was this review helpful?

purchased 12 Aug 2009

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Expert reviews for Panasonic SDR-S26

PC Advisor expert review - by Rosemary Hattersley

The Panasonic SDR-S26 is a rare beast - a sub-ᆪ200 video camera that is a 'proper' camcorder with a traditional form factor and a flip out screen.

This Panasonic SDR-S26 review continued on PC Advisor

reviewed 01 Jun 2009

Product Features

Resolution Quality SD
Optical Zoom Ratio 70
Media Format SDHC Card
Media Format SD Card
Digital Zoom Ratio 3500
Image Stabilisation Yes
resolution (Megapixel) 0.4
Resolution (Pixels) 704x576
Manual Focus Yes
Dimensions (mm) 65x55x107
Battery Life in Hours 1.25
Filter Diameter (mm) Lens 1 37
Weight (g) 235
Docking Station No
Monitor Resolution (pixels) 123200
Screen Size in Inches 2.7
16:9 Recording Format Yes
HDMI Interface No
USB Port Yes
Remote Control No
Waterproof No
Digital Still Photography Yes
Night Recording Yes

Also known as: PANASONIC SDR S26, SDR-S26, Panasonic SDR-S26EB-N, Panasonic SDR-S26EB-K, Panasonic SDR-S26EB-R, Panasonic SDR-S26EB-A

Camcorders Buying Guide  

Manufacturer's Description

The SD Card camcorder, the SDR-S26, features a powerful 70x optical zoom combined with an advanced optical image stabilization system that corrects hand-shake around 4,000 times per second.

The newly implemented Intelligent Auto Mode function automatically activates several convenient shooting assist functions. These functions include Advanced O.I.S.; Face Detection, which adjusts exposure settings in order to capture faces perfectly; and the Intelligent Scene Selector, which determines shooting conditions and selects scene settings accordingly.

The Quick Start function allows the SDR-S26 camcorder to begin recording just 0.8 second from the time the LCD is opened and this around a third of the time that it takes for a camcorder that records onto DVD discs to start, making it easier to catch those special moments that come with no warning — all in clear MPEG2 DVD quality.

The SDR-S26 camcorder features the new YouTube Uploader function that makes video uploading super easy! Simply set the camcorder to “Web Mode” and it will record the movie in a YouTube compatible format. After shooting connect the camcorder via USB to a PC and the YouTube Uploader automatically starts. Simply follow the procedure to upload your video clips to the YouTube video-sharing site.

The SDR-S26 camcorder offers a function that simplifies the process of copying recordings from the Memory Card or hard disk drive to a DVD. Simply connect the camcorder to a VW-BN1 DVD Burner (optional) and press the button. No PC is required. A DVD disc created this way can be easily played directly from a DVD player.


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