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.
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews2
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bestertester 9 July 2008
Good: Excellent HD picture quality, compact & easy to use
Bad: Low light performance, wind noise
Comment: This is an excellent HD camcorder, producing stunning HD images on my Panasonic TH-42PZ700. I would definitely recommend the Panasonic VW-BN1 burner to go with this so as to enable lossless, no-fuss transfer from the camcorder to DVDs. Outdoor images are quite brilliant, but performance suffers in low light. Users shooting primarily indoors in low-light conditions should perhaps look elsewhere. Nevertheless, highly recommended.
vegapilot 17 May 2008
Good: Very Easy to Use
Bad: Price of Panasonic spare battery=£88
Comment: Early days yet but but I feel I should just point out a major flaw.
Spare Batteries are hard to find and I called Panasonic UK for a price. I was shocked to learn £88.
This is just pure greed as they know only they currently do it. Give it a few months and you will hopefully get a compatible but until that Panasonic have you by the short and curlys and they intend to squeeze hard. Long term they will sell less.
I was going to buy a panasonic lcd TV but I think I will avoid them in future for their attitude to their customers is just shocking.
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