Panasonic HDC-SX5 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Compression
While the resolution has changed from 1440 x 1080 to 1920 x 1080, little appears to have changed in the actual compression. The HDC-SX5 has the same specs as last year’s models. High definition video is recorded in the AVCHD format, which has been around a little more than one year. Compatibility with AVCHD has increased significantly in that time, and a number of programs will now work to convert or edit footage. You’ll need a hefty computer to interface with AVCHD at any level. The compression is very high, working at peak efficiency to maximize on the limited space of a camcorder’s media. As a result, the computer has the challenging task of reading and decoding the data. If you plan on editing unconverted AVCHD, be sure your computer is up to it.

When recording to DVD or SDHC card, there are three quality settings that correspond to data rates. The HG settings record at 13Mbps, HN at 9Mbps, and HE at 6Mbps. Only the HG settings record at 1920 x 1080. The other settings record at the older resolution, 1440 x 1080. We’re waiting for this maximum data speed to improve. The AVCHD format is spec’d at 24Mbps. The closest to approaching that has been Sony, at 15Mbps.

The HDC-SX5 also allows you to record standard definition video, but only to DVD. The quality settings, familiar to anyone who has owned a DVD camcorder, are MPEG-2 at 10Mbps (XP), 5Mbps (SP), and 2.5Mbps (LP).

Media
The Panasonic HDC-SX5 media options are among its chief selling points. It can record HD video to either DVD or SDHC cards, as well as standard def video to the DVD. This new “hybrid” breed of camcorder has gained popularity, a trend that probably sparked in Japan with the Hitachi Woo series, recording standard def video to DVD or an internal hard drive (HDD). The DVD/card combination found in the HDC-SX5 makes the most sense, though. Market research suggests that a large segment of the population likes to have an archived record of their footage in hand, hence the popularity of DVD. But a growing number prefer to have footage that they can upload quickly to their computer for editing or upload. The HDC-SX5 is the best of both worlds.

A gleaming, bright DVD sits in the loading bay	The camcorder also records to SDHC cards. The card slot is located on the left side.

As it stands, the maximum capacity for SDHC cards is 8GB. The format is spec’d for up to 32GB, however, which means that having enough capacity will probably not pose a problem for most shooters. On an 8GB card, you can fit up to 80 minutes of video in the highest quality and 90 minutes in the lowest quality.

The HDC-SX5 is compatible with several types of DVDs, including DVD-R/-RW/-R DL, and DVD-RAM. A single-sided DVD-R will fit just 14 minutes of the highest quality AVCHD footage and 31 minutes in the lowest. In standard def, that expands to 18 minutes of the highest quality MPEG-2 and 74 minutes of the lowest.

The Setup sub-menu in card mode	The Setup sub-menu in DVD mode

Editing
Editing AVCHD footage has gotten easier in the last few months with the release of several NLE that support the format. They include Sony Vegas, Ulead Video Studio 11, and products from Corel, among others. As mentioned above, working with AVCHD is extremely processor intensive due to the heavy compression. We recommend having a powerhouse computer before investing in one of these camcorders.

The Panasonic HDC-SX5 ships with HD Writer 2.0, which allows for very simple editing.