Panasonic SDR-H200 30GB Hard Drive Camcorder

10x Opt, 700x Dig, 2.7" LCD - MPN: SDRH200

Description: Say goodbye to fast forwarding and rewinding. DVD offers many advantages over videocassette tape systems, including fast search and access to scenes by selecting thumbnail images. The VDRD230 records on itsy-bitsy DVD media. After finalizing your DVD-R, DVD-RW or DVD-RAM dis... read more

Say goodbye to fast forwarding and rewinding. DVD offers many advantages over videocassette tape systems, including fast search and access to scenes by selecting thumbnail images. The VDRD230 records on itsy-bitsy DVD media. After finalizing your DVD-R, DVD-RW or DVD-RAM disc in the camcorder, it will play back in compatible DVD players, computers and even some of today's video game consoles. There's even a Wide (16:9) recording mode that records video that will fit on today's widescreen televisions. What's even more amazing than the performance of the VDRD230 is the fact that this performance is packed into a camcorder that's so small. It's now even easier to tote around terrific performance.The 2.7" LCD display on the VDRD230 provides excellent viewing clarity and improved resolution, giving you an even better grasp on the action. To give you a great view from almost any angle, this 123K pixel LCD screen also rotates. The images are so sharp and detailed that you can get a good look even from several feet away. You can actually step away from the camcorder and still monitor the recording, even get in on the action yourself. If you want to really keep a close eye on the scene, you may want to take advantage of the color viewfinder, which provides a sharp, color view of your video subjects.The stereo microphone on the VDRD230 features a zoom funtion that focuses the sound as you zoom the lens into a desired subject. In this way, you'll get better sound from the subject you're recording, rather than all of the sounds going on around you. There's also a wind noise reduction feature that helps cut down on unwanted wind noise that can be annoying when shooting outdoors. minimize

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jklman

Member Since
Jul 2007

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User has 1 Weeks of experience with this product

excellent camcorder

Strengths:

3 CCD 30GB hard disk manual focusing

Weaknesses:

fast zooming

Posted Jul 10, 2007 - i had a single CCD camcorder before and the picture quality was bad so i thought to upgrade to a 3ccd camcorder.here are my thoughts... the 3 CCD is just awesome.the color quality is much better than my old 1CCD camcorder.the colors on this camcorder were just perfect. then comes the 30GB hard disk.there is no need to carry all those annoying dv,dvds anymore.you can either record your videos/photos to the 30GB hard disk or to the SD card.although i got a 512MB SD card to get started i haven't used it yet.i recorded a 10min video and transfered the video files to my laptop using the usb cable.the transfer was fast and simple.i did a quick edit using windows movie maker and everything worked pretty well.there was no need to convert the .mod files(some reviewers said they had trouble with the file extension). i took some videos inside my room with a 60W bulb and it did a nice job.there is an option called magicpix with which you get better color even in dim light.while using this option try not to zoom in/out because the picture will look "grainish".there is also a video light which is very helpful to light up your subject. the camcorder is very compact and you can do everything using your right hand. the battery seems to hold power for about 3hrs.i will get an extra one once the prices come down. now coming to the negative i found the zooming somewhat annoying to me...the zoom is very fast (many people like that)..but for me thats a bad thing (not really though)..when you take a video and if you do a fast zoom it will definitely look bad on big screen.so make sure to avoid zooming in and out frequently. another issue is that it will ask us to open the lens cover even if its open (only when there is no surrounding light).i guess it has something to do with white balancing. i tried to turn on the video light before it shows the error message but it won't let me do it.anyway you can always manually adjust the white balance so its not a big issue. the bulky battery sticking out of camcorder.

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nativephotog from AZ

Member Since
Sep 2005

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User has 20 Days of experience with this product

Great Little Palmcorder

Strengths:

Optical image stabilization, 3CCD processor, 30GB hard drive, fast focusing, basic manual controls (F-stop & shutter speed), good color, lens thread for UV filter, effective wind noise reduction.

Weaknesses:

The mode dial doesn't have a lot of tension. I accidentally turned it a couple of times and missed some filming opportunities.

Posted Aug 8, 2007 - I took this palmcorder on vacation having never used a camcorder before, yet I was able to learn the functions very quickly. I purchased a larger battery for it and I didn't have to charge it the entire week-long trip. Sure, it sticks out but since there isn't an optical viewfinder, it wasn't a problem for me. After some practice, I was able to master the zoom function. If you go easy, you can slow it down. Since it weighs so little, it was challenging to keep the unit steady. Luckily, the optical image stabilization works very well. Leave it on all the time! The manual says that using filters causes vignetting, however, I purchased a UV filter specifically for digital cameras. They don't cause vignetting. I highly recommend getting one. It protects the lens from scratching and reduces flaring. I played the movies on my 42"1080i HD TV and I was very impressed by the image quality. I highly recommend this palmcorder.

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damngoodM1 from CA

Member Since
Jun 2007

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User has 30 Days of experience with this product

Panasonic SDR-H200 30GB Hard Drive Camcorder

Strengths:

Recording to the HD instead of tapes and discs was our big decision to go with this. Additionally you can record to the 512MB SD card for stills. The colors are excellent with the 3CCD technology.

Weaknesses:

Files are saved as mov files which I need to convert. Sony is saved as mpeg which is easier.

Posted Jun 28, 2007 - First the description given here is incorrect. This model saves only to the 30GB HD or the SD card not DVD.The 3CCD technology picks up more light than the single CCD or CMOS1 camcorders. The playback is excellent and I have no complaints whatsoever so far. I originally was favoring the Sony as I liked the touch screen but my wife liked the easy to use controls on the Panasonic. I'm glad we chose the Panasonic now. Neither has a viewfinder but after researching this seems to be standard on these models regardless of which company you choose. It has a single button that you can record to a DVD which is a nice feature but for now I'm just saving the files on my harddrive. Software is easy to use and the 10x zoom is sufficient. I bought this at CC and the price seemed to change weekly. When it dropped to just over $600 I jumped on it. We are very happy with this one.

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Ezeeview

Member Since
Oct 2007

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User has 3 Months of experience with this product

Good value

Strengths:

3 CCD, 30 GB HD, Ergonomically placed controls

Weaknesses:

No other software available apart from Imagemixer which is provided along with the camcorder but which lacks video editing features, 10X optical zoom is insufficient

Posted Oct 31, 2007 - Best buy. I bought this camcorder after reading lot of positive notes about it. It really gives you best value as far as picture is concerned as a effect of 3CCD. The picture, sound quality is very good. All the controlls are conveniently placed except zoom button which sometimes makes you loose the subject. The battery life is average. The 10X optical zoom needs some advancement. Optical Image Stabilizer is not very effective. The video writing process to DVD is time consuming and can be done only with Imagemixer which may not be suitable in case you want to have some editing features. The still capability is mediocre.

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Styhg98

Member Since
Aug 2007

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User has 3 Days of experience with this product

Panasonic SDR-H200 Camcorder 3 CCD

Strengths:

3 CCD, Vibrant colors, black or white fade-in/out, no media needed, controls very well placed and easy to use, small and light camcorder. HDD convenience!

Weaknesses:

When indoors and with low-light situations... picture quality seemed grainy when shooting non-closeup video. Manual lens cap to open/close. File format is .mod, needs to be converted to mpeg-2.

Posted Aug 19, 2007 - This camcorder is very small, light, and easy to carry around. I found the controls to be very easy to use. And video taken with good lighting is excellent. However, when taken in low-light indoor situations, I found picture to be grainy especially when using the light function and capturing non-closeup video. I was under the impression that 3CCD would make for great low light video, however, I have not found this to be the case. I could be shooting in the wrong settings, and I will have to adjust as I go along. Manual open/close lens is a little annoying, but can be overlooked easily. The video is saved in a .mod format, then needs to be imported via the program suppled, then edited, then either converted to mpg or burned to dvd. Can't seem to use windows movie maker to edit at all, even after conversion. Might have to convert again to avi format. This is my first camcorder in probably 10 years, so I am not sure what to expect for file format saved, low-light video quality, etc. from today's camcorders. I was given the impression that a 3 CCD camera would take near-broadcast quality video, however, with low-light, I can't see that. Overall, the camcorder takes good quality video and is very convenient to use due to it's small size and light weight. And of course, HDD convenience is the #1 feature on this product.

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s2mann2 from MI

Member Since
Jun 2004

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User has 2 Days of experience with this product

SDR-H200 is a great camera

Strengths:

3CCD. Can record on hard drive or SD card

Weaknesses:

Battery sticks about 1.5inches off the back of the camera. You have to manually open and close the lens cap each time you turn the camera on and off.

Posted Jun 29, 2007 - This camera is excellent and definitely worth the money. If you want a small easy to use camera with good picture quality this is the camera for you. You can connect this camera to your computer using a USB cable and burn your video directly to DVD.

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rwalker1957

Member Since
Oct 2007

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User has 1 Week of experience with this product

SDR-H200

Strengths:

Ease of use-Great picture-Hard drive recording

Weaknesses:

None so far

Posted Oct 26, 2007 - This is a great camcorder. I found it very easy to use out of the box. Some advanced features may take a little tweaking but point and shoot very simple. Loaded software, took a small video and transfered with relative ease. Colors are very good and quality is good. A great camcorder for someone not quite ready to go the HD route. That will be down the road for me, but with this camcorder and it's quality that may be a while.

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jaidoshi from TX

Member Since
Dec 2004

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User has 5 Days of experience with this product

Strengths:

hard drive of course, optical image stabilization seems to work well, 3.1 MP still pics is nice plus(no need to lug stillcamera), 3CCD- good image quality, nice small size- not too small, easy to use

Weaknesses:

lens cap is not automatic though it is built-in which is nice, 10x optical zoom is on low-end (but this is trade-off with better image quality), price is a bit high

Posted Sep 25, 2007 - Overall a great camera, everything I expected. However, I have not yet started uploading/burning DVDs so I'm not sure how easy that will be. (It'll be years until I run out of 30GB of hard drive...) I compared specs with Sony SR-62 and JVC-GZMG255. Similar price range but the 3CCD and 3.1 MP won out. Reviews of these cameras differ regarding low-light capability, I suspect they are all similarly mediocre. This one seems ok in low-light so far. If you have a little more $ to spend, the higher-end Sonys like SR-200 or 300 may be a good bet (not SR-82, that just has more memory). I think the Sonys look a litle cooler and also have a touch screen for what that's worth. I haven't researched the Canons though. Also, I think high-def is unnecessary at this point, especially for the amateur like myself. Professionals may want to lay out the extra $ or hold out for price to come down on the high-def hard drive cams. Bottom line- if you are an amateur who is willing to pay a little more for good quality video and likes the benefit of 3.1 MP stills, this camcorder is for you.

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