Panasonic HDC-SD1 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Guy Bruner
Published on Jan 11, 2007 6:00 PM

Intro Performance
Format Tour
Auto / Manual Controls
 Still Features
Handling and Use Audio / Playback / Connectivity
Other Features Comparisons / Conclusion


 
Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control
The HDC-SD1 has fully automatic control over exposure and focus. The automatic functions appeared to operate smoothly and accurately in the shooting conditions offered by the Panasonic display booth.
 
Overall Manual Control
Users may opt to put the HDC-SD1 in manual and make adjustments to iris, gain, shutter and white balance. Panasonic has always offered a wide range of manual controls and continues to do so with the HDC-SD1. The joystick is used to select and adjust a parameter manually using the menu. Icons representing the parameter being adjusted and direction arrows are displayed on the LCD screen to aid adjustment. The user positions the joystick appropriately to change the parameter.
 
Zoom
The HDC-SD1 has a 12x optical zoom. Using the zoom toggle, the zoom speed can be adjusted from a barely noticeable crawl to a rapid rate that moves the lens through the entire zoom range in a matter of seconds. In addition to the optical zoom, digital enlargement of the image may be selected (digital zoom). Digital zoom ranges may be capped in two settings of up to 30x or 120x.
 
Focus
Automatic focus control is the preferred method of operation of the HDC-SD1. That is not to say than manual focus is not available…it is. And, the user can opt to use manual focus assist when focusing manually. Manual focus assist opens a small window in the middle of the LCD screen, very similar to a picture-in-picture television feature (click here to see the feature in action), that zooms in on the image to show the focus area in more detail. I found it was better than using the LCD alone. However, focus changes on the zoomed image are subtle and I highly doubt would be discernable in bright light. This is where an electronic viewfinder is indispensable.
 
Exposure & Aperture
The automatic exposure range is from F1.8 to F16 at a shutter speed of 1/60 second. Automatic exposure controls appeared to operate satisfactorily in the lighting conditions I was afforded in the display booth.
 
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed for automatic recording in video mode is 1/60 second. Shutter may be adjusted in video record mode from 1/60 to 1/8000 second. In still photo mode, shutter may be adjusted from 1/60 to 1/8000, and may be adjusted in progressive photo shot mode from 1/60 to 1/500.
 
White Balance
The HDC-SD1 automatically adjusts color contributions from the red, green and blue CCDs that make white objects look white when recorded. The automatic white balance control appeared to function correctly. Manual control over white balance is available via the menus.
 
Gain
Gain (electronic amplification of the image brightness) is employed automatically when the iris reaches its maximum aperture of F1.8 and correct exposure levels cannot be maintained. The HDC-SD1 will boost image brightness up to 18 dB (three f-stops) to maintain the correct exposure.
 
Other Manual Controls
This camcorder is all about style and design and lacks any additional manual controls.



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