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| Panasonic HDC-SD9EB-S HD Camcorder | 
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| Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE
Buy New: £348.34
New (13) from £346.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 195
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 5.4
MPN: HDC-SD9EB-S
Model: HDC-SD9EB-S
EAN: 5025232458387
ASIN: B0013XWY52
Release Date: February 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great Pictures October 5, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Panasonic HDC-SD9EB-S HD Camcorder
This is the 5th Panasonic Camcorder I have bought over 17 years. All are working as well as they did when new. This camcorder has easily the best pictures, and the stabiliser does a superb job without degrading the picture quality.
I have also bought the optional disk burner and this works superbly.
Things are not so good when it comes to sound. All my previous camcorders have external microphone sockets and the sound obtainable is better than the built-in microphones on this (or any other small) camera can achieve.
As it stands, the camcorder is an excellent tourist product. With better sound facilities it would be good enough for serious work.
Great value for money September 25, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I wanted a compact HD camcorder primarily to record videos of our less-than-one-year-old son, and the HDC-SD9 fits the bill perfectly.
Since the camera uses SD cards instead of mini-DVDs as its storage media, Panasonic have been able to produce a tiny, lightweight unit which really needs to be seen to be believed. If, like me, you have large and slightly clumsy fingers, it can take a bit of practice to get used to handling something so small, and consequently the controls can be a bit fiddly to use, but these are minor niggles.
The camera is simple to use straight out of the box, with controls and menus which I (a camcorder virgin) found pretty intuitive. Picture quality is very good: you get sharp HD images and rich colours in decent lighting, and even in low light conditions you can record very useable video. Sound is OK but can be a bit on the tinny side; although the microphone is sensitive, you can also cut out wind noise quite effectively via a menu option. As there is no optical viewfinder you cannot turn off the LCD screen, but battery life is reasonably good - typically a couple of hours of on/off usage - which is just as well given that spare batteries aren't cheap!
As a PS3 owner, being able to plug in my SD card directly via a USB reader and view videos immediately in HD is a massive bonus.
Overall, having used the HDC-SD9 for nearly a month so far, I'm very happy with it. I use it in tandem with a digital SLR, so its small size and light weight mean I can slip it easily into my camera bag and carry both around with me without requiring (a) a bigger bag and (b) stronger shoulders. When you regularly have to tote around all the paraphernalia that comes with a small child, that's a big bonus!
If you want ultimate quality and can afford the expense, then this probably isn't the product for you. But if you want a very good performer for a very reasonable price (for an HD camcorder), then you won't be disappointed with this.
Great Quality but forget editing footage at the moment September 17, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this camera from Amazon a couple of months ago. Not the best deal in the world as Amazon's price was higher than most. The camera is very easy to use and the AVCHD footage is of very high quality and colour rendition. If all you want to do is take footage and connect the camera via HDMI to your HD ready TV then you will not be dissapointed by the results; that's the good news!. If you want to edit the AVCHD footage, forget it for the moment. I purchased Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate, (see my review under this product) in the mistaken belief, after reading all the hype, that it would work. IT DOES NOT!! There is not a capable AVCHD editing suite (consumer at any rate) capable of editing this material. Just be aware that if you want or need to edit footage from AVCHD and this camera, you will have to wait until Avid/Pinnacle,, Apple (FCE/FC) et al get a move on and produce an efficient and stable software package with a fluent workflow. My system crashes everytime with PS12-Ultimate.
Panasonic SD9 August 23, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Very good camcorder for the price! I wanted a small camcorder I could take with me and leave my still camera behind.
This is very small, yet big enough to fit nicely into my hand. I have taken lots of photos and they are very good quality also they loo great on my widescreen TV. On that subject, photos are in widescreen so printing them at a normal size does mean you have the extreme ends cut off (you can sort most of this out using any photo/picture software).
The standard battery has lasted really well.
I have used 8Gb SDHC cards and had cam on its very highest settings which gives roughly an hours filming with plenty of photos aswell. This is easily handled by the battery.
Only thing I'd change is the menu toggle switch which is difficult to operate as its fairly small.
AVCHD (the cam catches footage using this) is still new and there is not alot of software available for editing etc. also your PC has tobe high spec to be even able to play back your HD footage. So keep this in mind. I am simply watching footage back from the cam before I upgrade PC and let editing software etc. catch up with this technology.
The SD9's Best Feature- Picture Quality August 9, 2008
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
I was in the market for a new digital photo camera about 6 or 7 months ago after my old Fuji started playing up. We had a family event in May and before everyone left for the day I borrowed their cameras to get copies of all the pictures and clips they'd taken. It was while I was doing that, that two things occurred to me:
1) I enjoyed the video clips but there wasn't enough of them for me.
2) There's more than enough still cameras in the family. Maybe I should get something else.
In all the reviews and grouptests I saw, the two cameras that kept getting mentioned for picture quality and good all-round features were the Panasonic SD5 and SD9.
I got some test footage off the Net for the SD9 (Just Google SD9 Sample) and was very impressed. I know it's a lot of money but the quality overall is fantastic and very much worth it. I didn't want to just have OK little clips of my nephews and niece growing up. I wanted excellent quality, full-length clips that we keep for years.
OK, so here are the Pros, as I see them. Bear in mind this is my first camcorder.
1) Great picture quality. The colours are a little "overdone" (I believe over-exposed is the term) but that can be rectified in iMovie in no time.
2) Good sound quality. It picks up stuff you don't even notice when you're filming.
3) Works perfectly with iMovie 08. As long as your updates are all there, it works seamlessly with iMovie.
4) Size- it's freaking tiny- no matter how many pics you see, trust me. You won't believe how small it is until you get your mitts on it.
5) Some good manual features and video modes- I haven't given them a full test-run yet but with a couple of clicks you can change things easy.
6) Unbelievable zoom. It's amazing.
Cons:
1) You really could do with a card reader. To connect to a Mac/PC you need to plug in the power cable, connect it to the charger, remove the battery, connect a second cable from the charger to the camera, turn the camera onto playback mode, connect the USB2 cable to the camera and computer, select PC Connect and then it's on! With a card reader you just eject the card and plug it in. Trust me, it's worth 10 or whatever!
2) Replacement/spare batteries are expensive if you need one. Cheapest I've found is 65.
3) The Menu "joystick" is a little tricky if you've got big mitts like mine!
4) I found the "Shooting Guide" (little tips that come up on screen when filming) a little annoying- purely a personal thing.
I'd definitely recommend this camera. It isn't entry level but I read dozens of reviews before buying this and it's definitely the best all-rounder at this price point. There are cameras out there that have better sound or better features or picture quality but they have major failings elsewhere.
Yes it's a lot of money but when I think of all the great moments I can relive from now and for years to come it's well worth it.
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