Panasonic HDC-SD5 review

Panasonic HDC-SD5 Review

Reviewed by: Rich Trenholm

Reviewed on: 26 November 2007

Performance
The SD5 produced excellent video in our tests. Colour is vibrant and contrast well-handled. Backlit subjects are given plenty of detail, and there's a pleasing richness to footage.

Footage shot in low light wasn't as crisp as we'd like, but the camera didn't struggle just because it was taken indoors, as some camcorders can.

We found that focus lagged behind the zoom. On some occasions, we found that any zooming over the 5x mark would stay unfocused, even if we had only zoomed slowly. This was generally only an issue in darker conditions, but we frustratingly found the manual focus unfriendly when we tried to fix things.

Sound quality was also strong. We weren't sure why the microphone was placed in the top of the camera rather than at the front, but sound was clear and uncluttered. Wind noise reduction was rather patchy, but results were certainly better with it than without. The zoom mic function, which links the range of the mic to the camera zoom, also worked reasonably well.

Panasonic claims battery life is around 55 minutes in real-life conditions, frequently using the zoom and switching the SD5 on and off. In practice we found that it would manage over an hour on a full charge, even with the LCD on maximum brightness.

The major problem with flash memory is capacity. HD footage packs more information into each frame, which means more data and bigger files. In our tests, a 1GB PNY SD card held about 20 minutes of footage. So if you're planning on taking the SD5 on holiday, you'll need to pack lots of SD cards -- or set aside some time away from the pool for in-camera editing. We suggest that SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards would be a worthwhile investment.

Conclusion
The Panasonic HDR-SD5 is a little camcorder with big ideas. It records excellent HD video and has a number of clever features. If only the memory was there to match. If you're going to shell out for lots of memory cards, you might be tempted to simply buy a camcorder with a decent-sized hard drive, such as the similarly priced Sony Handycam HDR-SR1. Still, SD cards are relatively inexpensive, and if you're happy to fill your pockets with them the SD5 won't disappoint you.