Panasonic SDR-S10 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by John Neely
Published on Mar 9, 2007 6:47 PM

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


The Front
The SDR-S10 has a horizontal body design, unlike the upright pistol-grip shape of the SDR-S150 (Review, Specs, $699.95), but it only resembles Panasonic's other horizontal camcorders superficially. The body takes the shape of a tall elongated tube, rounded at the top and bottom, and with flat faces on the right and left sides. Viewed from the front with the LCD closed, it looks rather more like a cell phone than a camcorder, with the 10x optical zoom lens on top. The lens has a focal length of 2.3 - 23.0 mm, (44.1 mm - 441 mm in 4:3 video mode, 44.4 mm - 444mm in 16:9 video mode, and 43.4 mm - 434 mm in still mode 35mm equivalents), and a max aperture of F1.8-F2.4. The lens cannot accommodate filters or adaptors. Below the lens near the base of the camcorder is the onboard stereo microphone, and a silver-colored frame encircles the whole front end.

 

The Right Side
The right side of the SDR-S10 is nearly unadorned, and like the rest of the body, it is made of a shiny black plastic material. At the front of the right side is a secondary Rec Start/Stop button. At the back end of the right side is the main port compartment, protected by a rigid plastic cover that is opened by sliding a release latch and pulling on its back edge. Inside the port compartment are AV Out, USB, and DC-in terminals. Like other very compact camcorders, the SDR-S10 lacks a hand strap, probably because the entire length of the camcorder is swallowed by the width of an average-sized hand. The S10 is easy to hold, but due to its size, operating controls like the zoom toggle can be awkward. If you have a truly petite hand, however, this camcorder may be that rare device that feels "just right."

The Back
If you know Panasonic's consumer line well, the back end of the SDR-S10 will strike you as odd. The joystick used to navigate menu options and make manual control adjustments has migrated to the LCD cavity and on this camcorder, takes the form of a four-way touch pad. The mode dial has been replaced by a thumb wheel on the top left edge of the back side, and the Record Start/Stop button stands alone in the center. Above the Record Start/Stop button is a tiny LED indicator lamp and below it is an inset strap fixture that the included wrist strap can be attached to. These controls - the mode wheel and Record button are thumb-operated, but again, you'll feel cramped operating them unless your hand is lilliputian.

 

The Left Side
The 2.7" 123K pixel resolution LCD screen folds neatly in a cavity on the left side. When opened, it can be rotated through only 180 degrees, unlike the customary 270 degrees, so it cannot be folded screen side out into the cavity or rotated to face forward. It's a small concession, but one that several users might find disappointing. Who among us hasn't experienced the joy of pointing a camcorder at ourselves and being able to see our glorious visage shining back at us on the LCD. Inside the cavity are a number of features and controls, all oriented around the four way touch pad. This pad works like the joysticks found on other Panasonics but is much less user-friendly by virtue of its location on the left side rather than the back.

Touch pads are also more difficult to operate than joysticks, and if you've got large digits, this one may prove frustrating at best. The Menu button is adjacent to the touch pad at about 2 o'clock, the Auto mode select button is at 11 o'clock, and the Manual/Focus select button is at 10 o’clock. The Delete button, used during playback to delete clips, is further from the touch pad at 9 o'clock, and the tiny reset button is directly below. The onboard speaker, used during in-camcorder playback, is beyond the Auto mode select button.

The Mode wheel sits flat against the camcorder body at the top right corner of the LCD cavity and includes options for video capture, video playback, still capture, and still playback as well as off. As with the rest of the SDR-S10, the LCD cavity interface is much more pleasing to look at than it is to use.

The Top
The top of the SDR-S10 features the zoom toggle - nothing more. This control is a tiny rocking lever that allows for variable zoom speeds, but it is more difficult to use than larger zoom toggles. The slider on the SDR-S150 is big enough to allow for better zoom speed control - but if you're looking for a camcorder that slips into a pocket with nary a bulge, only the SDR-S10 will do.





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