Panasonic HDC-SX5 DVD Camcorder

Panasonic High Def Camcorder HDC-SX5 DVD Camcorder

Posted Feb 25, 2008 - We have been using the Panasonic HDC-SX5 for a couple weeks and are very pleased overall! We bought this for an upcoming trip to Africa plus want to watch quality video on our high def LCD tv. Price was a big factor and we don't think you can get a better picture for the money right now. We have filmed in snow and indoors in poor lighting and both situations look great compared to our old Panasonic minidv digital camcorder. Stunning colors and clarity!!! The camcorder is easy to use and we really like recording to SD card as it takes so little battery. It is easy to record from the SD card to mini DVDs, however, you can only record about 40 min. of high def on a 4 gig sd card. To transfer that to mini-DVDs, it took 1 1/2 double sided DVD-r disks. If we archive everything we record, we will end up with a lot of disks to store! We are also archiving on hard drive but it takes a long time to transfer. We do not have any other way to play the mini DVD-r disks in high def except from the camcorder. So I guess overall the high def camcorder experience is very nice looking for the normal consumer at this point, but there is room for improvement in the archive and playback areas. (this is coming for a stay at home Mom's point of view) The battery is the major design flaw with this camera as it is huge, but it does last a long time! The camera fits well in the hand and we thought that overall the buttons are all accessable. This camera is supposed to have great image stablization features but while the feature is supposedly on, our picture is still quite shaky. We are going to look into seeing if it is working properly... Overall we are very pleased with this camera and hope to have many good years using it!

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Panasonic HDC-SX5

Posted Mar 18, 2008 - Overall this is a great camcorder. I needed a video camcorder and decided to get HD since I have an HD TV. I looked at many but all were expensive > $800. This one was $500 - new! You can't get a deal like that for HD. The menu navigation is easy to use. However, during playback mode, it's a bit tough to edit the scenes (split, merge, delete) as it is buried in the menu. The picture blurs too much even when you move the camera slowly. I won't be using the Mini-DVD as I will use SDHC card for recording. The right side is a bit bulky because of the Mini-DVD drive and makes some buttons hard to reach. However, the model that was just flash based was not on sale - it's still 800, so I opted to get this one.

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HDC-SX5 Camcorder

Posted Jan 9, 2008 - Excellent camera for the amateur but lacks the versatility often needed by the serious videographer. Picture quality is better than that from other analogous cameras that I have tested. Software that comes with the camera is ok, but any significant editing will require a better software package. All in all, this is a great camera to shoot the family and take on vacations.

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Panasonic sx5

Posted May 22, 2008 - This is my the first camcord. So far I like it very well. Small size, good on-board microphone. With some cheaper SD card, you can enjoy everywhere. the Quality are good in daytime and night. Also the battery life is good, I play with it for 2 hours, still strong. With such price, this is what you need. It can take all the common task and without any problems. I highly recomment this camcorder for the beginner.

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Great camcorder for it's pricerange!

Posted Feb 17, 2008 - I'm not sure if I will use the mini DVD's very much but I did load up on a bunch of DVD-R Dual Layer discs just in case. If the other model with SDHC only was available at the same price I would get that one instead just because of the smaller size(minus the DVD) However that protrusion gives a sure grip on the unit. It's a bummer to not have the option for a separate mic input but then again at this price range I can't complain too much. There is the option of buying the VW-VMH3 microphone which works with the 8 pin hot shoe but it's hard to find and very pricey ($140-$200) I purchased two 8GB SDHC cards and that should be fine for a while. The ergonomics and menu layouts are acceptable. The battery protrusion is only a problem if you are trying to save on battery life by using viewfinder rather than the LCD screen.

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SX5 - sleek and handy

Posted Feb 12, 2008 - I like that it's light and small enough to be carried around, with a nice lens and all. There are some good options in the menus, but I'd prefer to see more, esp the white balance and flash options for use as camera. My palms are small, and if the button are closer to be reachable for my hands, that's be closer to ideal. Good product for the price!

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HDC-SX5 HD DVD Camcorder

Posted Feb 11, 2008 - The SX5 with both SD card and mini-DVD features allow standard videos to be recorded on the mini-DVD or SD rather than tape. This is best price for a HD camcorder which I paid around $500. The HD video is comparable to the canon HV10 or HV20 although Canon is little better than this one but they are high priced.

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