| Canon |
|
|
|
| DC320 |
$379.98 |
| Standard definition DVD camcorder |
|
| DC310 |
$359.98 |
| Standard definition DVD camcorder |
|
| HR10 |
$899.98 |
| DVD HD digital camcorder |
|
| DC20 |
$349.77 |
| 2.2 Megapixel DVD Camcorder |
|
| DC330 |
$359.98 |
| Stamdard definition DVD camcorder |
|
|
| Panasonic |
|
|
|
| VDR-D50 |
$339.98 |
| DVD digital camcorder |
|
|
| Samsung |
|
|
|
| SC-DX103 |
$279.98 |
| MiniDV digital camcorder |
|
|
| Sony |
|
|
|
| HDR-UX20 |
$899.99 |
| 8CM DVD HD digital camcorder |
|
| DCR-DVD810 |
$469.99 |
| 8CM DVD camcorder |
|
| DCR-DVD610 |
$329.98 |
| 8CM DVD camcorder |
|
| DCR-DVD910 |
$539.98 |
| 8CM DVD camcorder |
|
| DCR-DVD710 |
$349.98 |
| 8cm DVD camcorder |
|
| HDR-UX7 |
$849.98 |
| High Definition DVD Camcorder |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Panasonic HDC-SX5 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| More Panasonic HDCSX5 Images |
|
|
|
|
| Average Customer Review: 4.0/5.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Free Ground |
| Shipping |
|
|
| In Stock |
| Ships Within 48 hours |
|
|
|
|
| Regular Price |
$899.88 |
| Sale |
- $400.00 |
|
|
|
| Your Price |
$499.88 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Get a FREE 2GB SD card with select camcorders! |
|
| Includes |
|
Regular Price |
|
|
|
| Panasonic HDC-SX5 |
|
$899.88 |
| Patriot Memory Signature Flash 2GB SD Card - 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card |
|
$79.99 |
|
|
|
| If Purchased Separately: |
|
$979.87 |
| Total Savings: |
|
- $479.99 |
| Your Bundle Price: |
|
$499.88 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Great camcorder, a few quirks to overcome, poor software |
|
|
|
| Ease Of Use |
Value |
Performance |
Overall Rating |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| (4.0/5.0) |
(5.0/5.0) |
(4.0/5.0) |
(4.0/5.0) |
|
|
|
| Reviewed By: Daniel Pentecost Saxapahaw, NC |
|
I purchased this item from Vanns on Thursday and thanks to the shipping department, received it overnight on Friday so I could record a live jam session of some local artists at Starbucks Friday night.
Ease of Use
After unboxing, charging the battery, and popping in an SD card, I was able to figure out how to use the unit without reading the manual. The rotating on switch goes 2 directions. 1 for SD cards, 1 for discs. I was shooting decent video within 5 minutes.
Image Quality
The unit does shoot in real 1080p resolution however the lens is imperfect for the task. Items appearing full frame in the middle of the wide scene exhibit noticeable blurring of their edges. This indicates a slight bow in the middle of the lens - likely by design in order to capture the full field of view using such a small lens.
Battery Life
The battery shipped with the unit reports almost 3 hours - 172 minutes - of run time in my use with SDHC cards. This is a pleasant surprise as I was expecting it to be in the 1-2 hour range. I consider 3 hours to be excellent for a camera of this size. I assume longevity would be decreased when recording to discs.
Battery Design
Due to the design of the battery placement it does stick way, way out the back of the unit. If you plan to use the eyepiece, you have to telescope it out. Fully telescoped out, the eyepiece is flush with the battery. This would be annoying to use since I wear glasses. Luckily most people, including myself, shoot by looking at the larger pop-out LCD.
Audio Pickup
For an on-board microphone, the Panasonic does a good job. It is omni directional... and as such picks up all the noise around the camera with the same fidelity as the intended subjects. In a noisy room this is very apparent. What it records is crisp and clear. It handles loud volumes as well as it handles quiet moments.
Software
Once you have the video recorded, then the fun begins. Panasonic does not bundle real editing software with this camera. The included Pinnacle software is trial only. Panasonics HD Writer software is quite primitive and designed only to copy recordings to your hard drive or between media, and create discs and SD cards of recordings for playback in the camera or a Panasonic Blue-Ray player. I quickly gave up on using Panasonics software.
AVCHD, the compression format used by this camera, video editing is a whole issue unto itself. I settled on a combination of Nero 8 Platinum and Ulead VideoStudio 11 w HD Pack. That adds up to $200 in software to be able to edit the videos shot with the camera.
Editing AVCHD requires a lot of horsepower. I have a brand new Toshiba laptop with the fastest Centrino Core Duo - 2x 2.1ghz - processor available and 4GB of RAM running Windows Vista. Rendering 60 minutes of recordings to a regular DVD, at normal DVD resolution, with no scene edits, effects, or cuts and a simple scene menu took almost 3 hours.
Quirks
1. In order to use AC power for the camera, you have to remove the battery. If your battery runs out, there is no way to seamlessly switch batteries or transition to AC power without shutting down the camera.
2. Same goes for the HDMI port. Connecting the camera to an HDMI equipped TV requires removing the battery and connection AC power. Since you ahve to remove the battery, you cannot view via HDMI without an AC connection.
3. Unable to quickly switch from SD to Disc and vice versa. Switching between recording mediums takes a good 20 seconds - forever when youre shooting live. If you were recording to disc the unit has to first finish writing the disc, close its session and then open the SD card.
4. 8GB SDHC card limit. Hopefully Panasonic can release an update to allow the use of 16GB cards but for now this camera is limited to 8GB cards. 8GB 80ish minutes of recording time at max resolution. 82-84 in my use so far.
Conclusion
Im happy enough with this camera to continue using it. The AVCHD codec should become easier to manage as more software supports it. Since it is based on Blue-Ray technology - which appears to have recently won the HD movie format - it should become more common as time passes.
I am extremely pleased with the battery life when shooting to SD cards. While the recorded video isnt visually perfect, it is noticeably crisper than SD resolution footage. I just wish the lens was more accurate. Until a better camera arrives at this price point, Im sticking with the HDC-SX5. I consider it a good value for the money. |
|
|
|
| Looking for a bargain? |
|
|
|
| Grab a customer returned open-box Panasonic HDC-SX5 from our clearance center. If the item conditions stated are acceptable, simply click the buy button to add the discounted Panasonic HDC-SX5 to your shopping cart. |
|
| Panasonic HDC-SX5 Conditions |
Clearance Price |
|
|
|
| This item is a customer return, item works good, and is in good condition |
$449.89 |
|
|
|
