Typical price: £270
What is it: Standard-def camcorder with 70x zoom lens
What we think: Video quality isn't great, but it offers full manual controls, an impressive 70x zoom lens and loads of storage
What you need to know
Reviewed on: 25 June 2009
Tags: Panasonic, Panasonic SDR-H80, zoom lens, hard drive, Web sites
We like:
Full manual controls; 60GB hard drive; 70x optical zoom with stabilisation
We don't like:
Mediocre video quality; USB and power input are located behind the battery
CNET UK judgement:
The Panasonic SDR-H80 has the zoom power of a telescope and offers plenty of storage in a compact body, but the video results aren't nearly as thrilling
Full review:
The Panasonic SDR-H80 is a standard-definition camcorder with a 60GB hard drive for storing up to 14 hours of its highest-quality MPEG-2 video. There's also an SD/SDHC card slot on the side for adding even more storage. But the H80's main attraction is its ridiculously long 70x zoom lens, which, as you can imagine, gets you very close to your subject while you're very far away. Thankfully, there's optical image stabilisation, but there's no amount of stabilisation that's going to prevent this lens from shaking when fully extended. The H80 also sports quite a compact body. It's too bad Panasonic couldn't make room for some better video quality. Continue Reading...
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