If you need the convenience it's worth it - but only just...
Written: Nov 23 '07
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Battery Life:
Movie Quality:
Pros: Small. Lightweight. Splash and dust resistant. SD card storage makes for quick computer transfer.
Cons: Fiddly to hold. Awkward button placement. Videos are washed out/faded looking in appearance.
The Bottom Line: Gizmo lovers will like having it to play with. Those picky about video quality won't like it. It gets an "Average" but only just barely.
AtlantaGreg's Full Review: Panasonic SDR-S10P1 Hard Drive Camcorder
Have you ever wanted to take video of something but just didn't feel like lugging around a standard-sized camcorder? That's probably what Panasonic engineers had in mind when they developed the S10 camcorder. Very small, very light weight, and relatively easy to use. Splash and dust resistant, and you can even drop it from a short height without busting it. It has a 10X optical zoom and can even take still photos as well. What more could you ask for?
Well - I could ask for a few things...
THE CONS OF SUCH A DEVICE:
While the S10 is indeed small and light, the button placement is a bit awkward. It's kind of like holding a bar of bath soap with buttons on the long end and the zoom toggle on top. Eventually you can deal with it and find the best way to hold it, but it's still not comfortable. The swivel LCD screen does help, and if you hold it at stomach or waist level it's actually easier to use than if you hold it at eye level. Control and menu buttons on the side (exposed when you flip open the LCD screen) are few but give access to basic controls. The buttons are very small and not easy to feel without looking, but my guess is they're designed this way due to the splash-resistance of the body.
Power up is quick at only a couple of seconds, and the controls work fairly quickly as well such as the zoom and play/pause button. The electronic image stabilization is better than nothing, but only just so. It is NOT a real optical stabilizing system, so you will still see some jerky motion in the video clips.
This brings up video quality. I found the S10's video quality to be lacking, even for such a device as this. The sensor in the unit is small, and does not record fine details well at all. If you pick the 16:9 wide format record mode, it "stretches" the chips resolution to fit that format, degrading image quality and giving you an overly bright video with washed out and faded colors. The standard "boxy" 4:3 mode is slightly better, but the video quality will not match even a basic mini DV tape or mini DVD type of camcorder. There is no built-in light, so indoor videos need lots of good natural light to look even moderately decent. Strong sunlight hitting light colored objects will cause some white-outs, and no, aiming at the moon, the camera could not cope with it and darken the image - I just got a big white glob.
Video playback can be awkward as well. If you record in 16:9 wide format and try to transfer your videos directly from the SD card to your computer, Windows Media Player will "squish" the video into a more square 4:3 format, distorting the image. You MUST use the included proprietary video software included with the S10 in order to view the 16:9 videos correctly. According to a blurb when installing, it also will only work on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, not Vista, and not Mac OSX. They also record in a more proprietary movie format, which while it can be played by Windows Media Player, cannot be played by Quicktime, and must be converted before uploading to some popular video sharing sites.
The S10 does have a still image mode, but be aware that it only takes images at a 640 x 480 pixel size. Basically like that of a basic cell phone. Granted, they are a bit more colorful and detailed than the average cell phone photo though, so they're fine for emailing. Strangely, the still pics have much richer colors than the videos do.
OK, NOW FOR THE GOOD:
All is not complete doom. The S10 does record everything on SD cards. If you like to edit movies via a computer first, then this is ideal for being quick. Just pop out the card, and if you take them in the 4:3 format, import them into video editing software and play with them to your heart's content. If you record in the 16:9 format, again, you have to use the proprietary software that comes with it, but at least it does allow you to easily put the video onto a DVD that you can play on your DVD player, or, do some minor editing.
Sound is actually pretty darn good for a device like this. Stereo, too. The wind reduction function seemed to work fine. Range of the small mics likewise seems more than adequate.
Battery life some complain about, but if you see how small the battery is, it's not that bad. Around 40 minutes of continuous use, but let's face it, does anyone really take 40 minutes of INTERESTING video? It charges up pretty quick, too - but it's one of those awkward long cord plug into the camera type of chargers.
The S10 will work with any standard SD card up to 2 gigs, and any of the new SDHC high capacity (4+ gig) cards. So if you pop in a 4 gig card you can get roughly an hour of high quality (well, for this device) video.
OK, SO WHO IS THIS MADE FOR? DO I RECOMMEND IT?
I think the S10 is ok for those who go to the beach or in dirty/dusty environments, as you can worry a lot less about water or sand/dust getting into it than some other camcorder models. Likewise, the size and weight will appeal to those who don't want to lug around a full-sized camcorder. Teens who don't mind some editing/conversion before uploading might find it entertaining to take Myspace and YouTube videos as well.
This is NOT for those who want "high-quality" videos. As a matter of fact, many regular digital cameras in the $180 range that have a video mode function can take videos that are as good or even better than the S10, and even the least expensive mini DV or mini DVD camcorders take better video.
So this leads to "value". Regular camcorders are now getting so inexpensive, you really have to want the advantage of the small size, SD card storage format, and water/dust resistance of the S10 to justify the cost. Even at a recently reduced price of around $249.00, it still seems a bit overprice if you just look at the video quality alone. For $100 less, you can get one of the "Flip Video" devices that while they lack a zoom and swivel LCD, will give you video quality just as good. Think, before you decide.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 239 Recommended for: Trendsetters - Hip and Stylish Gadgets
Water and shock resistant 10X Optical Zoom Electronic Image Stabilization for sharper images. Ultra slim designed to go anywhere MPEG 2More at Amazon Marketplace
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