Panasonic Announces SDR-S10 New SDHC Camcorder

by David Kender

Published on Feb 16, 2007 2:58 PM
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February 16, 2007 – Full specs on the Panasonic SDR-S10 have become available today after the camcorder surfaced online on Wednesday. Though several online retailers were taking orders, little to no information about the camcorder’s capabilities was available. Panasonic’s global site finally release some hard facts on the S10. The camcorder is geared towards a young, internet-video oriented audience. Fast and portable, the SD/SDHC camcorders’ key specs include a small frame, shock and water resistance, and an unimpressive 1/6” 800K CCD.
 
SD and SDHC card-based camcorders have become big with Panasonic recently. Since January, the company has announced no less than four other models using the solid-state media (the HDC-S1, the SDR-H20 and SDR-H200, and the AG-HSC1U). The company is clearly pitching the new SDR-S10 to the YouTube/MySpace/etc. crowd, where the steep compressions of online videos make state-of-the-art imagers and processors negligible.
 
The SDR-S10 features a 1/6” CCD with 800K gross pixels (400K effective in 4:3, and 340K effective in 16:9), indicating that this is a 4:3-native imager. The camcorder records to SD and SDHC cards in the MPEG-2 format, though the data speeds specs are unusual. Typically, MPEG-2 in limited to 8.5Mbps, often rounded up by the manufacturers to 9Mbps. Panasonic is touting a maximum speed of 10Mbps (at a variable bit rate), along with lower quality rates of 5Mbps and 2.5Mbps. Other key specs include a 10x optical zoom, electronic image stabilization, and a 2.7” LCD.

In designing the compact size of the SDR-S10, the camcorder appears to have lost some of the trademark handling benefits of other Panasonics. The joystick, traditionally rear-mounted for one-handed operation, has been changed to a touchpad in the LCD cavity. It also appears to lie very flat against the body, making for potential difficulties (see photos below).
 
The body is radically different from Panasonic’s design route of the last few years. While other manufactures have opted for a tall, slender look, Panasonic built camcorders like the PV-GS39 with short, wide bodies that, they argued, made for better handling. The SDR-S10 appears to have caved to convention, and looks similar to a number of other camcorders on the market. The key difference that Panasonic is banking on is the title of “world’s smallest” SDHC camcorder, a title that is not particularly difficult to defend given that they are one of the few companies manufacturing them.
Nevertheless, the product may do well in its intended markets. Despite the small size, the camcorder still offers a good array of manual controls including a shutter speed range of 1/50 – 1/8000. No manual aperture or gain is mentioned, but given Panasonic’s predilection for a solid outfitting, they are likely present. One-touch controls include backlight compensation, soft skin detail, and night mode. The overall design looks rather slick, as well, which should help endear it to the tech crowd.
 
Still features are limited to 640 x 480 JPEGs in two qualities. The camcorder will also ship with MotionSD Studio 1.2E editing software. Connections are limited to a USB 2.0 and AV-out.
 
For all available information, read the SDR-S10 product pages on the Panasonic global site. The Belgium site also has a flashy, though unenlightening video of the camcorder in action.


No pricing information has been released, though it appears the camcorder should be due out in May. Panasonic's US division has not made any announcements so far regarding the SDR-S10 or a similar model.


All photos courtesy of Panasonic's global site