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I bought this video camera about 2 years ago because I thought it was top-of-the-line back then, at a reasonable price. And the HF-200 is a good price. You still had to press the Record button.So be warned there are some serious usability issues with this camera: the joystick on the inside panel, and the info screen.
The Panasonic's screen info was always confusing, and we missed several very important moments due to the confusion. When we played video back on our home theather it produced a huge, unnecessary echo effect.So do your research and compare notes. The picture quality was good, and I loved the size, but I recently sold it on eBay and bought a Canon HF-200 for the following reasons: 1) I absolutely hated the Panasonic's joystick toggle on the inside panel.not ergonomic at all, confusing to use, I wanted the touch controls on the screen itself, 2) on more than one occassion my wife and I both thought we were recording when, in fact, we were not.
Also, the surround-sound is totally useless for everyday recording of family events. The main problem is that when you turn the camera on the screen says "Recording to card". It's stupid because there is nothing else besides the card it can record to, and my wife often thought it mean it was literally recording, i.e., it was shooting video, when in fact it was not.
Btw, the Canon has a 15x zoom, that is the other nice thing. I sold my HDC-SD9 for $305 on eBay.
Excited as I was to be getting my first 3-chip videocam, thereby putting me in the ranks of more professional standards, I have to admit I was a little worried when I opened up the package and saw how small this thing really is. Granted, the uber-professional thing might have more options and intricacies, like external mic hookup and a few custom tailored options, but just on base vid quality alone. the mics on the unit sound really great, and for getting closer in/booming in something, it is easy enough just to buy a Zoom H2 or something of the like, and just having an additional audio source. But any videographer knows that setting up good lighting in the first place is an integral part of any videographer's job.As far as the complaints about not having a mic input. As of now, the only programs I know of capable of converting the AVCHD files to something that feeds into most these programs (WMV, for instance) are 1)AVS Video Converter and 2)VoltaicHD. You don't realize it, but with a history of using regular videocams, you get used to your files just sort of making an approximation of the color of something.
With the final vids from this, I was amazed to finally have video that captures the actual complex colors of things exactly as they are in front of you. And the video quality is pristine, beautiful.If you do a lot of video editing (I use Sony Vegas) on a PC, please bear in mind that the included software is virtually useless if you would like to keep the quality standard to what this cam is capable of. Let me just say that I love this camera. And if you are using the beforementioned file conversion programs, the whole battery pack issue people are mentioning on here is nill. I have put this cam up against a much bigger, more high-end, over the shoulder, professional-level 3-chip cam, and I definitely liked the video that came from this better. well, this thing impressed.Yes, it does better in better light. You just pop open the SD card and read it.I hope this review helps.
I think the vid quality of AVS is ever-so-slightly better than the Voltaic. But they've packed quite a package into this little frame. No problem.I have a 8 gig card, and that gets a little over an hour recording time. Both of these programs cost a small bit of money, but it is worth it, so just keep that in mind. From what I hear, for Mac users, the latest QT update will just make your programs read the stuff. What a relief not to have to transfer any DV or tape info, at this quality-level. I love this cam for the money, which was much less than many other comparable units.
This is the first camcorder I've owned, so my rating is based on my personal satisfaction and not comparison to other cameras.Good:- 3ccd: The color depth and saturation are very good.- Optical image stabilization works really well. It's not something the average viewer would notice though.- Grainy indoors. - 5.1 surround sound: It's actually very good when you're watching your videos with a good pair of headphones--it really adds dimension to the sound. The sound quality is also good.Bad:- Low resolution sensors: The 1080p resolution is pushing the 1/6" sensors beyond their capacity.- Compression: if you have an eye for picture quality you can see the compression in the videos, even at highest quality. I don't know how it compares to other cameras, but my wife and I both noticed how grainy the picture is in anything but full sunlight.Conclusion: I'm satisfied with the camera for the price I paid. If you can't stand compression artifacts and graininess indoors, get a more expensive camera.
I'm quite happy with the camcorder, ease of use is what I expected for the form factor. It gets intriguingly warm when shooting for extended periods. Menu navigation is somewhat tedious, but I don't find it to be all the needed once you're shooting. SD memory medium is great - I love the fact that the camera is silent, small, and lightweight. Only complaints are the avchd file types and lack of good free editing tools. Overall great value and I'm pleased.
The stills look great. Yes, I agree in low light it really doesn't have the greatest picture however. I purchased this HD Camcorder and I have been using it for around three months. The video is most of the time crystle clear. What I paid for this is around the same as I paid for my old JVC and this thing blows it away. 16/9 widescreen. I've had a couple of time when the color was a bit over saturated but I believe it was most likely the way I set it up and not the cameras fault. I believe this is an awesome consumer HD camcorder for the money I really don't think you'll find anything better.
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