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Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Mar 4, 2008 4:42 PM 
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (6.5)
The Panasonic HDC-SD9 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) has an easy to find full auto mode feature. Simply flip the switch in the LCD cavity from Manual to Auto. The automatic responses to changes in light and focus are good. The auto exposure adjustments take up to two seconds at their fastest. The gradual transitions do not move as gradually as Sony, which may disappoint some professional-types, but they’re not bad. The auto focus is good as long as the lighting is strong. In low light, the camcorder doesn’t struggle, it just gives up and finds something close to correct.
There are several one-touch features for correcting your image. The Intelligent Contrast feature was added in the second-generation HDC-SD5. This produced some small improvement in preventing blown-out areas, but not much. Also included on the camcorder are a Soft Skin feature for improving skin tones and Backlight Compensation, which boosts the overall exposure to draw out details in shadows. MagicPix, is one of Panasonic’s low light modes. It allows the shutter to dip down to incredibly slow levels to retain color. More useful is the Low Light mode, which allows the shutter to drop about as low as 1/30th.
Finally, the camcorder has a series of Scene modes (also known as Program AE modes by other manufacturers). The list is short, including only Sports, Portrait, Spotlight, and Surf & Snow.
Overall Manual Control (6.75)
The HDC-SD9, like all Panasonics, offers a solid manual control package, though this latest generation is diminished greatly by the company’s decision to move the joystick from the rear to the LCD cavity. We’ve also seen a trend since last year of competitors like Canon and Sony packing a lot more manual controls into their camcorders, giving Panasonic a run for their money. The Canon HV30 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) and Sony HDR-HC9 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00), in particular, far surpass the HDC-SD9. In all fairness, both of these are tape-based HDV models, where a higher degree of control is the norm. Sadly, the industry standard dictates that owners of AVCHD camcorders care less about manual control and more about convenience. We say, why not have both?
The HDC-SD9 offers control over aperture (independent of shutter speed), shutter speed (independent of aperture), white balance, focus, gain, and the handful of one-touch controls described in the previous section. The camcorder also provides zebra patterns, color bars, and some assistance with manual focus.
What the camcorder lacks, compared to the competition, is noteworthy. Panasonic never includes a simple exposure control, a unified “make it brighter/make it darker” feature that beginners can understand. Every other manufacturer offers something like this. Instead, Panasonic offers the more powerful but more complicated set of independent aperture and shutter. We would love it if every camcorder owner knew how various f-stops affect depth of field, but that’s just not the case, and Panasonic is remiss not to concede to the novice.
The HDC-SD9 is clearly geared towards the point-and-shooter who favors size over control. In that regard the camcorder is a success. For those who need manual controls only occasionally, the SD9 should be fine. Power users will be sorely disappointed with the poor handling, but reasonably satisfied with the level of control.
Zoom (6.5)
The HDC-SD9 has a very
comfortable zoom toggle.
The zoom toggle on the Panasonic HDC-SD9 is fantastic, a big, fat, wide slider with an easily grippable surface. It’s perfectly positioned for the index finger and provides a smooth movement. When zooming, a progress bar appears in the upper right hand corner, along with a numerical indicator to tell you the exact zoom value. This is great if you want to set up a shot and repeat it later.
Unfortunately, the camcorder is not able to achieve a great crawl. At its slowest, you can get a reasonable crawl between 1x and 3x, but after that the zoom speed starts creeping up.
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The optical zoom on the Panasonic HDC-SD9 extends to 10x, which is the standard for most consumer HD camcorders. The digital zoom can be extended to a conservative 25x or a ridiculous 700x.
Focus (5.0)
The manual focus on the 2008 HD Panasonics is among the weakest in the market, because even on their highest-end model – arguably the SD9 – you’re forced to rely on the joystick. To make matters worse, the joystick was moved from the rear, where it was easily accessible, to the LCD cavity. In short, you’ve been actively discouraged from manually focusing.
To activate the manual focus, push down on the Auto/Manual/Focus switch located in the LCD cavity. An icon will appear in the lower right corner of the screen, with directions to push the joystick left and right to shift focus. Panasonic did grace the camcorder with at least one blessing – their MF Assist feature. As soon as you hit the joystick to shift focus, a window appears in the center of the screen with an instant 2x digital zoom. This helps you get a closer look at your subject, and the assist function is not recorded to your final footage. It only appears on the screen. If you don’t like the MF Assist, if can be disabled in the menu.
Exposure & Aperture (5.64)
The Panasonic HDC-SD9 offers an aperture control that is completely independent of the shutter speed. Panasonic is the only manufacturer to offer this freedom in the consumer class. As mentioned earlier, however, the SD9 lacks a simple exposure control that beginners would find easier to operate. Every other manufacturer has something that allows you to bump the picture brightness up or down without requiring knowledge of specialized camera terminology. If the SD9’s design is any indication, the company is clearly moving away from the enthusiast market to the wider group of “lifestyle” videographers. They better get the tools to match.
To activate the aperture controlled (referred to as “Iris”), make sure the camcorder is in Manual mode rather than Automatic, and push in on the joystick. The small manual control menu will appear in the lower right corner on page 4/4. Settings include: f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4.0, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.8, f/8.0, f/9.6, f/11, f/14, and f/16. Between each of these settings is a mystery increment that the camcorder does not acknowledge in the onscreen data. It does, however, clearly impact the exposure.
The aperture control
Shutter Speed (8.1)
The Panasonic HDC-SD9 offers shutter speed control independent from aperture control. To activate, make sure the camcorder is in Manual mode, then push in on the joystick. Like aperture control, scroll through to page 4/4, then select “SHTR.” Shutter speed options include: 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, and 1/8000. This is a healthy range of options, but not the most extensive you can find. In a strange turn of events, Sony actually offers a better range on the HDR-HC9.
When the camcorder is in 24P Digital Cinema mode, the shutter speed options very little. The lowest speed is 1/48, then 1/100, then follows the order listed above.
If the Auto Slow Shutter option is activated in the menu, it has a two-fold effect. First, it allows the camcorder to automatically drop the slowest shutter speed in automatic from 1/60 to 1/30 (in 60i mode), or 1/48 to 1/24 (in 24P mode). Secondly, it adds those new low shutter speeds to the list when you’re setting a speed manually.
White Balance (5.5)
The white balance options are located along side the aperture and shutter speed. To activate, make sure the HDC-SD9 is in Manual mode, then push in on the joystick and scroll to page 4/4. The list of options here is short: Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and Manual.
To make a manual adjustment, select the manual option (the icon is a rectangle over two triangles), then push up on the joystick. The screen will go black for a moment, and when it comes back, your image should be adjusted. This “blackout” period is reassuring, because you know you’ve actually done it correctly. Several camcorders we tested last year offer no such assurances. The SD9 performed manual adjustments well in bright to moderate light, but had a harder time in low light. Our low light tests showed that in environments as low as 60 lux, the camcorder could not perfectly balance the whites.
White balance controls
Gain (6.0)
Panasonic is the only consumer camcorder to offer manual gain. To access it, the aperture options must first be exhausted, meaning it must be open all the way to f/1.8 – indicated as “OPEN” by the onscreen icon. Continue to push the aperture to the right and the gain will start to kick in. Options include: 0dB, 3dB, 6dB, 9dB, 12dB, 15dB, and 18dB. Between each setting is a secret half-step increment that the camcorder refuses to acknowledge with onscreen data, even under severe torture. Beware that gain is a digital boost to the signal, so that as the signal is amplified, so does the noise within that signal.
Other Manual Controls (6.0)
We’ve gone into detail in the Video Performance section as to the quality of these settings. In summary, the Digital Cinema color will appear completely and outrageously oversaturated unless you have an xvYCC HDTV. The 24P motion looks terrible in low and moderate light, but decent in bright light.
Tele macro - The Tele macro setting automatically extends the zoom to its full 10x. If you really want to macro shoot, you’ll be better off using the zoom, focus, and exposure controls on your own.
Guide Lines - The Guide Lines tool has three settings. Horizontal creates three lines across the screen. Grid 1 creates two vertical and two horizontal lines to split the screen into nine sectors. Grid 2 creates a whole bunch of lines that splits your screen into too many sectors.
Zebra - The Zebra control creates black and white “zebra” patterns across overexposed areas of the screen. However, the camcorder does not indicate the threshold of exposure. Comparable Sony models give you the choice of 70 or 100 IRE. We’re guessing this is somewhere around 95-100 IRE.
Color Bar - The camcorder can create color bars (seven full field color bars) to help you adjust your monitor.
Shooting Guide - The Shooting Guide is a new feature on some of this year’s Panasonics. In essence, it’s like having a more experienced shooter telling you when you’re making mistakes and offering tips to improve the shot. Strangely, it doesn’t automatically correct, but it does help you find the tool you need to correct it with. Teach a man to fish, et cetera, et cetera…. It’s also a great way to indoctrinate shooters into “the Panasonic way to shoot” because many of the instructions are geared towards using the Panasonic-branded tools: use the Low Light mode, use the Intelligent Contrast tool, use the OIS. The other warning, merely common sense but nonetheless useful, is “camera is panning too fast.”