joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Been casually looking into one.
Want to stay away from DVD and even HDD recorder ones, so specifically after flash card ones.

The useuals Currys, Dixons etc. Seem to have only a couple, but quite expensive, 500+.

Seen this one:

ALDI - Thursday Special Buys 23rd October 2008

Now I know its Aldi's, but it seems like it would do the trick, apart from not being full HD. But for 130, I could live with that.

Would any here buy one?

GC8

Id be tempted, as itll be far better for in-car use than my existing Mini-DV camera (it uses 8GB SD cards too). The price is competitive with Korean brand SD card cameras, which have std. definition only and dont accept SDHC cards either.

As it is though, Im saving up for a set of GAZ coilovers for my very old car...

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

I saw this one aswell:

G-Shot HD55 (5.0MP HD Camcorder) > Maplin[[ID]]

Bit cheaper, but the lens doesn't look as good as the other one, and doesn't mention a light.

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Got the Aldi one, but its not good at all. Will be going back. Didn't like it for the following reasons:

1: HD comes out very pixelly on my 40" LCD. Wasn't expecting it crystal clear, but not pixellated.
2. Not good at all in low light.
3. Because of format of the SD card, it won't go straight in to my HDMI DVD player. The DVD player doesn't pick it up. So I can't quickly view on the TV, I need to get the cables out everywhere.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Isn't it easier to get a new generation phone that takes HD video ??

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Not for me. I want my phone to be a phone, and camcorder to be camcorder etc.
Not that I don't already have a camera phone. I just feel phones are designed to barely last their contracts, 12 - 18 months. Hopefully a camcorder being designed for one purpose, will last a lot longer.

SirFozzalot

I've got one of these

Panasonic - ideas for life - Overview

Panasonic HDC-SD9. Very pleased with it and the footage I've taken with it. Very compact too. Full HD (1080p) and 5.1 surround sound.

RRP is about £520, but shop around and you can bag them for as little as £360 - £370 online. (Amazon for example)

They don't make specific cases for them at the moment but I found the Lowepro lens case 1N to be the perfect fit whilst still retaining the compactness.

Lens Case 1N: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Thanks for that.
When I take this back, I'm going to slap myself for buying soemthing so cheap and expecting it to be good, and will be on the look out for something like that, most probably that actual model.

On Amazon it says customers frequently buy that case with that camcorder. Is that where you got the idea from, or did you start that craze?

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

One review mentions the auto focus is really loud, is that true?

EddScott

Whats it like in low light and hows the angle?

We have a sony which is a few years old and its major failings are poor low light and the angle is very narrow.

lucky_strike

We've got the Panasonic as well and very pleased with the results, never tried in low light I'm afraid, always outside at motorsport events (in the day) and it handles the fast moving action very well - without the 'jerkyness' associated with some of the cheaper HD models I looked at (mainly from reviews and not experience).

SirFozzalot

Angle is fine, I don't have a lot of experience with other camcorders to compare but I don't have any issues with it.

Really low light (i.e at night) isn't great but then an old camera I had wasn't great either. To be honest I've only used it at night once and didn't really mess about with it and try any different settings etc. so I don't know if it can be improved. As for recording indoors or in shadows (that sort of low light), I've had no issues at all, it has a couple of functions that can be used like intelligent contrast control that really seem to work.

Panasonic - ideas for life - Intelligent Contrast Control

It's quite handy for the beginner (like me ) as there is a setting that let's the camera prompt you to aid in getting better results. i.e. if the picture is too dark it tells you to switch on the intelligent contrast (touch of a button)or turn it off if it's not needed, it also has a low light button to brighten things up a bit, also tells you if you are panning too fast etc. I find it helpful anyway.

SirFozzalot

Have a look at the manual here for the full spec and different functions.

Panasonic - ideas for life - Manuals

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Review also mention all the bother of connecting it to a TV/PC. You need to take the battery off, and run it on the mains etc.
Is that annoying?

SirFozzalot

Haven't noticed any noise on play back from zoom on the filming I've done, I guess it's possible if you zoom really fast in very quiet conditions, I generally find I zoom quite slowly so you don't feel sick during playback.

SirFozzalot

The model I've got uses SDHC cards so I just pop the card out (which you don't have to remove the battery to do) and plug the card directly in to the pc (you may need an adapter to read SDHC cards) or into my PS3 (which doesn't need an adapter) for playback. I can also plug the card directly in to my Plasma TV to view any still photos on the card. So no problems there for me.

I have connected the camera to a pc via the cable once but in that situation I was indoors near plenty of power supply so it wasn't an issue to pop the battery off and plug a lead in.

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Got myself a Panasonic HDC-SD9 in the end.
Seems good so far, and no touble in low light, when you use the low light mode.
I've very impressed with the night vision on its, its in coliur and not the usual green.

Got it from Amazon for 360 odd, next day delivered, with the 8gb panasonic SDHC card.
I almost paid the 380 odd for the card separately, but there is an offer to get it free just underneath. I then used a code they supplied for the new vat discount. I'm surprised that they can let people pay the higher price, the deal should be a bit clearer:

Amazon.co.uk: Panasonic HDC-SD9EB-S HD Camcorder: Electronics & Photo

The camera itself was 354 when I bought it last week, its only 340.92 now. Oh well. still good.

SirFozzalot

Good choice!

EddScott

Bought an SD9 and found its viewing angle to be very narrow and quite poor image in low light conditions. For what I needed it for it was no good and went back.

In the end I hired a £3K camera for £140 for the weekend.

SirFozzalot

I'm guessing you would get a slightly better result with a £3000 camera compared to a £400 one!

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

What do you mean viewing angle?