Quote-start

Intelligent design... quality not quantity!

Quote-end

4 Nov 7th, 2007 

12 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
Durability, intelligent design, advanced OS system eliminates shakes, good accessories

Disadvantages:
Easy to be ripped off, not always in stock, overhyped, few unsual features

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Ease of use

Recording quality

Picture quality

Sound quality

Value for money

piratess2104

piratess2104

About me:

Geeky, photography-obsessed student with lots of consumer views to share (especially on cameras, sin...

Member since:30.03.2006

Reviews:15

Members who trust:2

A review of the new Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K, a digital camcorder.

SUMMARY: 1) DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT 2) APPEARANCE 3) DURABILITY 4) RECORDING 5) LENS 6) DISPLAY 7) FEATURES 8) ACCESSORIES 9) OVERALL

DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT: This camera is the world's smallest 3CCD High Definition Camcorder, and it's also extremely light, weighing in at less than most of its competitors at 340g.

APPEARANCE: Disappointing. It's just a regular, black camcorder design - only small. No special aesthetics here!

DURABILITY: The design of the camera is unique: the memory cards are internal (built-in) and there are no fragile moving parts in the recording section. Obviously, you have to treat any camera with respect and this camcorder is no different, BUT it's exceptionally durable.

RECORDING: You record in EITHER still images (JPEG, a standard format) or AVCHD motion film. Average recording time is 180 minutes.

LENS: It's a Leica Dicomar lens (well-known and reliable) offering either Manual or Automatic focus (a nice touch, especially if you're used to using manual cameras generally) and a whopping 10x Optical Zoom and 25 - 700x Digital Zoom. Speed shutter range is a more than adequate 1/30 - 1/8000 (less on Still Pictures, however).

DISPLAY: Unusually good. Not a huge rotating screen, but with 300k pixels and sensible display choices (e.g. 8 thumbnails per screen when scanning - not a huge huge number, but enough that you can see what you're doing and flick through your photos/films fairly quickly. Backlight.

FEATURES: Nothing ground-breaking, but a good selection of the best and most useful features on the market, including USB 2.0 compatibility - the selling point of this camera is, however, its size. The self-timer only works on photos, which is the only drawback. The huge plus is the advanced OIS SYSTEM. Yup, it's time for capitals - this is a feature you just should not miss. If, like me, you don't have steady hands, you've probably found that the effect is 100 times more annoying on film than still photos (we're all SO over "The Blair Witch Project", after all). I don't know exactly HOW the OIS system eliminates the effects of shaky hands, but it DOES and you really will have beautiful clear images as a result. Intelligent Contrast Control doesn't do much that I can see, but is a nice extra. The range of SHOOTING MODES is perhaps more limited than you'd expect on such a hi-tec camcorder: there's only low light/portrait/sports and spotlight - my oldish digicam has far, far more. If shooting modes really matter to you, this probably isn't the camera you want.

ACCESSORIES: I was pleased to find that Panasonic don't stint on accessories, and the following are included: AC adaptor; AC cable; DC cable; Battery Pack (rechargeable), PC, video and AV cables; IR Remote. The whole thing was sensibly packaged.

OVERALL: A great camera, especially good for the cameraman (or woman) who really wants not to BEGIN filming, but to improve the quality and consistency of their film images. My one absolute warning is on PRICE. If you decide you want this camera, shop about for a good price - they can vary by hundreds of pounds. Around £550 is a perfectly reasonable price - if you're being asked for more than £600, go elsewhere. Some sites like qed-uk.com want (at the time of writing) well over £700 - ripoff. If someone does want to buy a camera purely based on size/weight, I would always urge them to wait six months and/or consider the second- and third-smallest/lightest cameras as well. Being "the very smallest" camera carries clout that can bump up the price disproportionately: smaller cameras may be along soon, and the weight difference may only be very small - try them out, and make the judgement for yourself. Unless you simply have to have THE camera, you may get better value for money from a camera that's not quite so red hot. The Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K may well be one of the most intelligently-designed cameras out there, but that doesn't make it the best. 

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

Panasonic SDR-S26

Panasonic SDR-S26

Digital Zoom: 3500 - Optical Zoom: 70 - Image Stabiliser: Optical, Optical (Advanced O.I.S.) - Supported Media Type: HDD, SD/SDHC Memory Card

User reviews (3)

Buy now for only £ 159.00

JVC Everio GZ-MG630

JVC Everio GZ-MG630

Digital Zoom: 800 - Optical Zoom: 40, 35 - Supported Media Type: HDD, MicroSD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 207.00

Panasonic SDR-H80

Panasonic SDR-H80

Digital Zoom: 3500 - Optical Zoom: 70 - Image Stabiliser: Optical, Optical (Advanced O.I.S.) - Supported Media Type: HDD, SD/SDHC Memory Card

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 145.99

Sony DCR-SX30

Sony DCR-SX30

Digital Zoom: 2000 - Optical Zoom: 60 - Image Stabiliser: Electronic (Steady Shot) - Supported Media Type: Memory Stick PRO Duo - Viewfinder Type: without Viewfinder

User reviews (2)

Buy now for only £ 149.00

Panasonic HDC-SD10EB-K

Panasonic HDC-SD10EB-K

Camcorder - Optical Zoom: 16 - Digital Zoom: 1000x - Weight: 227 g - Supported Media Type: Flash card

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 299.99

Samsung SMX-F30

Samsung SMX-F30

Camcorder - Optical Zoom: 34 - Digital Zoom: 1200x - Weight: 270 g - Supported Media Type: Flash card - Viewfinder: without Viewfinder

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 117.00

Comments about this review »

Bens__mummy 13.11.2007 21:03

Great review there, x

gizmogizmo 07.11.2007 08:10

Detailed and informative review - well done.

karimkha 07.11.2007 07:42

Great review.

Compare prices for Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K »

1 offer for Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K   sorted by: Price 




Are you the manufacturer / provider of Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K? Click here