The VIXIA HF G10 packs just about every single feature that a video aficionado could ask for. This flash Memory camcorder is Canon’s new flagship model that provides ultimate HD quality and performance with its ability to shoot in 24p cinematic frame rate. Also onboard is a 32GB internal flash drive along with dual card slots that is SDXC-compatible. Recording 1920 x 1080 full HD video, it also features an authentic Canon 10x HD lens with the background blur seamlessly smoothened by the 8-blade iris together with a manual focus ring enhancing control. Driving all of the above stunning detail and vivid images would be the heart of the camcorder, the Canon HD CMOS Pro Image Sensor. This 1.3-inch image sensor is responsible for a stunning low-light performance and a wide dynamic range, offering the kind of flexibility that no other consumer camcorder offers.

Working hand in hand with the sensor creating each such great shot would be Canon’s DIGIC III Image Processor. This takes care of minimizing noise, correcting colour giving out life-like images together with powering a great deal of features like Cinema-look Filters and Smart Auto. There is also a generous 3.5-inch Hi-Res LCD Touch Panel providing chunky, crisp and easy navigation of the menu. Additionally, features such as the native 24p recording, inbuilt microphone, Cinema-Look filters and thorough manual control guides astute users with wide level of creative management.

In terms of shooting functions, well the Canon Vixia HF G10 Flash Memory Camcorder has a whole host of them up its sleeve. For starters, there are this conventional functions found on most consumer camcorders like the Shooting Assist that makes shooting a cakewalk, Composition Aids, Custom Key and Dial. When it comes to advanced controls, there is this Aperture Priority, Manual Exposure and Shutter Priority, to name a few. Amongst the prosaic features, you get to see Instant AF, Advanced Video Snapshot, Face detection, so on and so forth. As expected, it also packs the Pixela Video Browser Software from Canon that is Windows 7, XP (SP2 ad 3) and Vista compatible. Needless to say, it comes in handy with sharing and editing videos post production.

Well, all great stuff does come with a little amount of shortcomings, don’t they? And the Canon G10 is no exception to this! But then, the drawbacks are fairly minor and definitely do not make you regret your purchase. Of course, you might think twice before experimenting on this great piece of equipment when you see its price tag, but if you do not mind splurging on a good camcorder, then the G10 is definitely the way to go!  So let us take a virtual tour of the same, Shall we?

Box Contents

• VIXIA HF G10 Camcorder
• Stylus pen
• Lens Hood
• Remote control
• Compact Power Adaptor CA-570
• Stereo Video cable STV-250N
• Mini HDMI cable HTC-100/S
• Battery pack BP-808
• Wireless Controller WL-D89
• USB cable IFC-300PCU
• AV cable
• Instruction Manual
• 3 Discs worth of software:
• -    Photo applications/music disc
  -    Pixela video browser software disc
  -    Pixels transfer utility disc

Design and Build

The Canon VIXIA HF G10 is definitely not the sleekest camcorder that you would have laid your eyes on, particularly with its hefty dimensions of 77 x 78 x 151 mm and with a weight of 20.8oz (with the battery). A good deal of its bulk is the result of its attractive features like the huge, wide-angle lens, 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, 32GB built-in storage etc. Despite the size, it still is fairly comfy to hold even for someone with the smallest of hands. Complying with the industry standards, the Start and Stop record buttons is located on the rear that can be easily grasped with the thumb. The rear also houses controls like the charging port, battery mounting area, the viewfinder (that needs to be pulled out in order to be activated), and a programmable wheel and button that can be designated to perform different tasks like tweaking the AGC Limit, Exposure, Aperture etc. Towards the right one can find a Single Speaker, the Handstrap and a door that can be flipped out, which neatly camouflages the HDMI, microUSB and the Remote Control ports. On the same side towards the rear one can find a switch that toggles between Manual, Intelligent Auto and Cinema Shooting modes, with the front housing a jack for external mic. A nice and handy inclusion here would be a hot shoe that is perched on top of the G10 that proves to be perfect for mics or other accessories. You will find this right behind the zoom controls, but then you don’t really require an external microphone. Again, towards the front are two onboard mics on the left and right. At the bottom is the battery release switch together with a tripod mount. Moving on to the left, you might see the power switch and obviously the 3.5-inch flip-out LCD touchscreen display. Right on the display itself is two physical buttons, one that switches between Manual and Auto focus and another than can be held down to enhance image stabilization. But then, these are just the default assignment and can be re-programmed for various tasks like the custom button and wheel in the rear. Finally, concealed behind the display against the body are two toggle switches, one that toggles between playback and shooting and the other that turns on onscreen info like battery life, AV Out/Component Out ports, and 2 SDXC slots.

The lens cap on the G10 is prone to being misplaced as it is removable.

Ergonomics and Controls

By and large, the HF G10 doesn’t leave any stone unturned in impressing users with its straight forward and simple design with aptly-located and easy to reach buttons. This might sound a little weird, but we really appreciate the fact that Canon preferred to use tiny sliding doors for covering majority of the slots and ports. It is a minor thing, alright, but only a true enthusiast can really feel the gracefulness of having things covered as against having them open or just having them covered for the sake of it by cheap rubber nubs that tend to dangle upon being pulled out. That said, while we appreciate Canon for sticking to a minimalist design by keeping a dozen physical buttons from scourging the camera, we would have loved to see a physical camera button in place of the virtual button on the touchscreen display to snap photos. We have too good reasons for the same – one being it gets real clumsy when you try steadying the camera even as you are attempting to poke at the screen with the other hand. The second reason is the sensitivity of the screen doesn’t really measure up to your expectations (more on that later). Again, having to pull the viewfinder out in order to activate it might really not seem to be the best design out there, but guess that is yet another way of keeping things compact or avoiding another physical button to get that task done. Now,  there seems to be a little amount of resistance shown by the manual focus ring on the lens upon being turned on, but then it gives you enough time to tighten your grasp and all set to use the camera.

Menus and Modes

While the Canon Vixia HF G10 High Definition Video Camcorder brims with a variety of features and modes all ready to be explored, which really seems exciting, it is unfortunate to note that the menu system is kind of convoluted and not well streamlined making it tedious to find and use some features when you really need to. Well, no big deal though, once you get the hang of it, you will be amazed at the kind of stuff that the G10 has on offer including Watermarks, Stamps, Decorations that allows for addition of various graphical elements to your pictures and finally Freehand Drawings that you can doodle on the touchscreen with the stylus provided. The touchscreen also comes in handy with the zoom controls and choosing the subjects that you need to bring into focus. The Decorations in the video snapshot mode allows you to take video snippets of 2, 4, or 8 secs a piece that can be played back to any music of your choice. Likewise there is this Story Creator mode that comes up with scene suggestions depending on the kind of story that you wish to make. Now all that needs to be done is you filling in such suggestions with your own video footage and playing it in the chronological order, thus creating your desired story. Again, there is this Ceremony template wherein you are provided with a list of scenes namely “Interviewing a main character,” “What is the kind of occasion?” “Planning a Ceremony” etc., wherein you are required to tap on any of the above descriptions and you will be guided to the recording mode that is comprehensive in suggesting the times span of a particular scene for shooting your video within the storyline for that scene. You are also allowed to add any number of scenes within a particular story.

There is also automatic face detection on-board in the G10 with the option to set priorities for focusing various faces on screen. The autofocus can be adjusted too by limiting the same and is applicable to faces only and lets you to utilize manual focus for the remaining scenes. As always there are the other standard settings of camera functionality like Date/Time, Language, Battery Info, Power Save Mode, Zoom and Focus Speeds and HDMI 1080p output, etc.

Display

The Canon Vixia HF G10 boasts of a massive display and measures a roomy 3.5” which justifies a lot of usage of the touchscreen controls in place of the physical buttons. Again, the settings can also be tweaked, which is actually nice as few other handycams lack this feature; information icons can be turned On/Off as per your convenience. Likewise, set the screen automatically to dim and adjust the brightness during an outdoor shoot. The display is colourful and crisp featuring 922,000 dots TFT colour. Well, the only hitch that is associated with the display would be the poor touchscreen sensitivity. You might have to tap it more than once to check if your commands are registered and majority of the time the accuracy is Off too. This can be extremely annoying especially while navigating menus wherein the poor sensitivity makes scrolling a literal chore and erroneously registered taps resulting in choosing the wrong options.

Lens and Imaging

The HF G10 comes with a redesigned image sensor, a HDMI cable and a removable lens cap. Featuring a brand new sensor system and lens (first of its kind to be incorporated in a Canon consumer camcorder), it is pretty much similar to HF S21, released last year, boasting of the same Filter Diameter, Max Aperture and 10x Optical Zoom with the exception of a slight variable focal range. However, the sensor is very different from its siblings released last year. It is still very much the CMOS imager, but sized 1/3rd of an inch and a pixel count of 2.30Mp, a significant drop from what was on offer in the HF S21. Well, looks like Canon has a valid explanation for this – it feels like high pixel count doesn’t really help with video performance as much as it does with still images. Moreover, with the G10 being a high-end camcorder, it doesn’t really attach much of importance to still features as it does with quality video images. Nevertheless, the 1/3” CMOS is pretty much the same CMOS used by Canon in their professional camcorders.

Handling and Ease of Use

Let us get one thing straight here, the G10 is not geared towards tyros and is more for professionals. It packs a lot of features, especially advanced, that in all probabilities might be ignored by some novice user. Regardless all of the above, the G10 is simple and fairly straightforward to use and is no different from the rest of its Canon siblings. Experts might feel the camcorder a wee bit awkward and constricted owing to the cramped design, but Canon offers assignable buttons for customization and the huge manual focus ring sure does give a professional feel. Again, Canon is pretty famous for their comprehensive user manuals and for the kind of complex camcorder that the G10 proves to be, the manual sure does prove to be fairly handy in helping you figure out everything that you need to know. Nevertheless, we would have appreciated if the camcorder itself had couple of info boxes or tool tips onboard in the menu system.

The menu of the HF G10 could turn out to be a little overwhelming particularly with it being loaded with controls and too many things being crammed into the little camcorder making it look like feature flooded. Well, no big deal here, it is just matter of time before you get the hang of it, though it could prove to be really confusing at a first glance. Again, there is not much of help from Canon either, by way of proper labeling of icons making a couple of really difficult controls to decipher. So you might want to scrutinize the manual thoroughly if you are looking at mastering the menus of this G10.

Now the menus are categorised into two in the G10. Upon pressing the function key on the LCD, you are directed to a screen filled with small icons (remember the convoluted screen that we mentioned above). There are icons and buttons explaining all kinds of features on the GF10 that can be both rapidly accessed or accessed even as you shoot. The full menu, which is in the format of a scrolling list, can be accessed by clicking the menu button at the upper left of the screen upon entering the function menu.

Getting Started

The HF G10 Camcorder looks pretty much similar to the HF S21 in terms of size and shape with a round shape and a huge lens upfront. There is a thick and padded hand strap, one of the best we should say among consumer camcorder and that doesn’t surprise us one bit, as it is coming from Canon. The LCD is both functional and stylish with its flat design and lacks a raised bezel and looks pristine and expansive. The touchscreen looks no less than an iPod or iPhone, but the interface can be a wee bit annoying with the clustered onscreen buttons.

Despite being big it feels nice and good to hold the HF G10.

The only stuff that makes the G10 different would be the new lens ring, a lens hood that can be detached together with a control dial on the rear of the Camcorder. The lens ring looks fairly robust and feels great, but then with one annoying problem, which would be – as the lens doesn’t really jut out of the G10’s body, you tend to bump your fingers on the edge of the LCD panel especially if it is tilted or open while using the lens ring. Yet another problem would be the inappropriate design of the control dial at the rear. First off, we find it awkwardly placed and secondly we don’t really appreciate the roundabout practice in setting up the controls. Guess the picture below explains it better!

The control dial at the rear of the G10 is one of its big weakness when it comes to handling.

It would’ve been better if the lens ring had control of other functions too, along with focus, but guess that is not the case here and you need to have the rear-mounted control dial if you are looking at setting up the following: Exposure, Shutter Speed, Gain, Aperture etc. You need to first choose the manual options in the Menu System to get to the above controls (but for exposure), which means the dial doesn’t prove to be of much use with the LCD panel closed. Quite a confusing system that Canon needs to simplify, yet despite all of the above the amount of control on offer in the G10 is something that you cannot really ignore.

Now let us get to the positives that the G10 offers in comparison to the other models when it comes to customization and handling. For starters, the LCD panel comes with two customization buttons and allows moderating far more controls than on majority of the consumer camcorders. It also boasts of a range of expert-grade tools like the Zebra Stripes, Waveform Monitor and Advanced Controls for Audio too. Again, adjusting the said controls could pose to be an annoying problem as indicated above, particularly with the control dial, but the very fact that these tools are included in the G10 is beyond doubt a wonderful asset, making you wonder if it is a consumer a professional camcorder.

Portability

Weighing about 590g that is including the lens hood and the battery pack, the G10 is a popular one amongst consumer camcorders in today’s market. This is a solid 70 grams heavy than the HF S21 and about 100 grams bulkier than Sony and Panasonic’s 2010 flagship models. Now, the G10 is not something that can easily be slipped in your pockets as a toy cam, but has been designed to be a robust camcorder that is packed with pro-grade features. It boasts of a massive lens and LCD, a viewfinder, 2 memory card slots and a range of connectivity options.

The dual card slots are compatible with SD, SDHC and SDXC cards.

Despite the above it is much smaller than an average professional camcorder, and yet manages to pack all features and controls that you get to see in a pro camcorder. It sure does seem too be a great deal bigger in comparison to other flagship models, Sony particularly, then again when size really does matter with purchase of any high-end product. The bulkiness of the G10 brings with it a sense of sophistication and professionalism compensating the compact and lightweight design.

LCD and Viewfinder

Nothing seems to have changed about the LCD in terms of resolution or size and looks pretty much similar to the last year’s HF S21. Videos look awesome in the big 3.5-inch screen, but it is the touchscreen interface that seems to be problematic regardless of the hefty surface area. Now that is one thing that you might have to deal with Canon menu system and it is really annoying to note that this camcorder has a lot of menu options/onscreen buttons that you need to find your way with utilizing the touchscreen interface.

The functional and stylish 3.5 inch LCD.

One can find the EVF (electronic viewfinder) towards the rear of the G10 with little in terms of an eyepiece; then again this can be extended to about half an inch from the camcorder’s body and also has a diopter adjustment slider. Of note, the viewfinder doesn’t really lock once it has been extended fully, meaning it tends to slide around even when you don’t want it to.

It would have been nice to see the viewfinder also pivot up/down besides extending out.

Performance

When it comes to operating the camcorder, it can either be a cakewalk or tortuous, that depends on you. Now, if you are not a camcorder geek and choose to simply use the Intelligent Auto shoot mode, you will still end up getting exceptional video quality depending on how well the dummy mode moderates the settings on the fly. Low lighting conditions are handled seamlessly by the HF G10 – thanks to the 1/3-inch 2.37Mp CMOS Pro sensor, despite toggling rapidly from low to high light situations and vice versa, with minimal noise, we should say. The sensor despite being a bare 2.37Mp is way better than the rest owing to the fact that all sensors need to be of uniform size, hence fewer megapixels results in larger plates on the sensor, letting more light in, thus enhancing low-light shoots. Auto focus is kind of accurate and reliable and also allows you to prioritize the subjects that you wish to focus on by tapping the same on the touchscreen. Also white balance is great and there would be rarely any instances wherein you find whites bluish or too cool.

You might want to be aware of a couple of quirks that comes as a part of the package in terms of the default shooting modes and interface. To name a few, despite swapping the camera to the manual shooting mode, by default the focus is still set to automatic and you might have to switch over the manual mode manually, ironical huh? And as we have already mentioned above, the menus are definitely complex as all of them have to be accessed via touchscreen and are not really intuitive. Instead of keeping everything in a single place, there is the Function Menu (which in turn gets divided into numerous pages with options for settings and video effects like exposure, white balance etc) then comes the Settings Menu (which is also divided into 3 different pages that handles stuff like recording mode, self-timer, frame rate, etc.) and finally comes the Filters Menu in the cinematic mode that handles all kinds of visual filters. Woah! Incredibly complex device ain’t it?  Well, having this many options, settings and modes sure does look great, but guess it really gets a bit overwhelming at times when you have to remember what is where with majority of the options being scattered all around.

Shooting Performance & Features

While we appreciate the endless manual controls to choose from, we don’t really like the way they have to be handled via the complex onscreen menus. Adjusting and tweaking the settings pops up controls that occupy a good amount of the screen and it gets kind of difficult to even see what the new changes and adjustments look like. Aside from the annoying touchscreen sensitivity, which makes tweaking a bit of chore, you will enjoy the flexibility offered by the G10 when it comes to manual controls and still manages to aide you in all possible ways. Let us take the manual focus controls for instance, it is nothing but solid fun. The camera’s focus ring, that is in the front, is absolutely seamless to use and as you commence adjusting the focus, you will find the content on the LCD display automatically zooming in digitally helping you with the focus. Once you have your subject in precise focus and have stopped moving the ring, you will note the picture zooming back out and displays what is actually there in your frame. This comes in really handy if you wish to adjust the focus on your own and aids with setting up shots that has some real amazing depth of field (meaning your subject in perfect focus with a soft blur of the surrounding). Again, there are also few other assistive modes like the Enhanced Zebra Pattern indicating parts of the picture that are overexposed/blown out, highlighting subjects with colours of your choice like yellow, blue or red indicating what is in focus and what is not. The rest of the modes would include the Unique Story Creator, Image Effect Mode, Video Snapshot, all of which are kind of gimmicky and nothing much to it. We do not really see nerds having much of use for the above stuff, yet they definitely are cool additions, particularly for fun-loving families who would love to have more fun activity or keen on shooting home movies more often.

The shooting features generally tends to be an endless playground of any high-end camcorder and the Canon G10 looks to be no exception to this and cranks out abundant monkey bars (in the form of manual controls) to play with. To begin with, the manual exposure not only gives you 70% to 100% zebra patterns for blown highlights, but also features a waveform monitor that looks to be highly advanced than any other rival consumer camcorder. Also the gain can be adjusted to as high as 24dB that outdoes Panasonic’s 18dB. The focus assist magnification also proves to be handy, thanks to the enhanced resolution upon being magnified and you even get to have colour peaking as an alternative for focus assist.

The waveform monitor also shows up in the Manual Focus Arena letting you to use focus assist and peaking alongside it. Shots can be leveled using the Digital Level Meter, SMPTE traditional test tones and color bars, white balance adjustment in the 2,000K to 15000K range together with a slew of in-built filters like Dream, Nostalgia, Vivid and Old Movies.

Manual Exposure using the waveform monitor

Akin to the HF S21, the HF G10 also boast of 4 different framerates with a native 24p, that is, every single framerate captured by the camcorder is devoid of the interlacing process. Needless to say, there is the 60i together with the simulated 24 and 30p recorded at 60i, but if you are looking at best results, then you might want to stick to the native 24p shooting. Simulated progressive framerates come in handy only when working with other simulated framerates in a 60i timeframe or with down-converting to standard definition. Nevertheless, if you want that distinct film-like look to your work then the G10 would be your best bet. Again image stabilization on the VIXIA G10 also looks great, particularly with the Powered IS button pressed and held reducing shake to a decent extent. You will fall in the love with the versatility of the inbuilt microphone that comes with 4 settings which includes Normal, Monaural, Wide and Zoom. It also allows for adjusting the frequent response with mid and low range levels.

Audio, Video and Quality of Stills in Vixia HF G10

The quality of videos in this G10 is really captivating with the HD pictures looks ample sharp and the Intelligent Auto handling tweaks like the white balance and adjustments fairly well on the fly. When it comes to framerate the video looks buttery smooth with minimal to nil motion blur shooting in standard Intelligent Auto mode as against the Cinema Mode. It sure does impress users with the speed with which the autofocus adjusts itself when it comes to switching subjects at varying lengths from the lens. Well, the real icing on the cake would be array of filters that you can apply while shooting in the cinema mode, which includes Black and White, Dream, Memory (kind of a misty faded look) and Old Movie to name a few.

Though the G10 packs an onboard directional mic that is pragmatic, we would recommend investing on an external mic, particularly when the hot shoe gives you the provision to have one. The inbuilt mic sure does manage to detect the sound and the direction from where it is emitted fairly well, but then the quality seems kind of tinny and flat. When you can invest on a camera that shoots high quality videos, you are better off investing on a mic as well that matches it. Because the last thing you want is amazing videos with prosaic audio.

In terms of stills, well, they look okay and when we say okay you might want to understand that the G10 doesn’t impose to be something that it isn’t and it is a camcorder. To be more precise, there are not many options or settings on offer for taking a snap nor can you adjust the stills’ resolution. All that you can do is to tap the photo button onscreen and watch it click a still. Now you might want to understand the fact that this could be a little inconvenient where you might shake the camera a little bit, as it is trying to click a snap because you were pounding at the touchscreen to get your tap registered. So be prepared for the outcome too!

Operation/Extras

It is kind of shameful that the HF G10 shoots only in the AVCHD format. As much as we endorse the fact that in order to enjoy high quality videos, the camera needs to shoot to its fullest possible extent for which it needs to shoot in format like AVCHD, but we would have appreciated if there was also an option for it to shoot in a more universal format like MPEG-4. The problem with AVCHD files is that it doesn’t allow for a drag and drop of files from your camera to your system, especially if you are using MAC, Windows XP or Vista OS. It only works with Windows 7 or the Windows Live Movie Maker if you are looking at editing and is not compatible with majority of the online uploading services. So in order for you to enjoy your videos, you will either have to get your camera connected to your TV directly through an HDMI cable or make use of the included software, that might prove of be of help in pulling files and converting the same.

Battery life

The VIXIA G10 packs an intelligent Lithium-Ion battery, which precisely indicates the remaining charge right down to the minute, saving you the hassle of running out of charge when you need it the most. Talking about flagship camcorders, the Canon HF G10 seems to perform quite decently supposedly lasting for around 114 minutes of continuous recording, that is a half hour more than the Canon HF S21. Well, we are impressed, as the manufacturer transitioned from being the worst performer in terms of battery life (their flagship model in 2010) to be among the best. Though it still doesn’t match Panasonic or Sony’s performance, but the improvement sure does look to be huge. So, you can’t really categorize the battery performance as stellar, this is something that is expected of such feature-packed and high-end camcorder. With the onboard storage of 32GB and with MXP shooting (the highest quality video) you can stretch up to a 2 hour and 55 minutes, charging it like about roughly 3 times if you intend filling it up. Again fine-tuning several variables such as the recording mode, playing back instead of recording, utilizing the viewfinder in place of the LCD screen and recording directly to the memory card as against the onboard storage, all of this drain a good amount of the battery. But truth be told, the G10 hangs on to whatever is left of its charge fairy well while not in use in comparison to its rival camcorders.

Canon VIXIA HF G10 Features at a Glance

• CMOS Pro Image Sensor
• Shock resistant
• Brilliant low-light performance
• Flash Memory
• Wide dynamic range
• 24Mbps recording
• Low power consumption
• Outstanding video resolution
• Stunning image quality
• Colour Viewfinder
• DIGIC DV III image Processor
• Genuine Canon face detection
• Smart Auto
• Dynamic SuperRange optical image stabilization powered with IS
• Focus and exposure aids
• Instant AF
• Professional shooting assist functions
• 3.5-inch touch panel LCD screen
• Custom key and dial
• Composition aids
• Advanced Control
• Advanced video snapshot
• Easy web sharing
• Frame modes
• Tele Macro
• Touch and Track
• Cinema-look filters
• A whole range of terminals
• Story creator
• Optional WD-H58W wide converter
• Pixela video browser software
• Supports 27 languages
• Intelligent Lithium-ion battery

Pros

• Abundant onboard storage
• Excellent manual controls
• Amazing video quality
• Multiple framerates and shooting modes to choose from

Cons

• Average touchscreen sensitivity
• Menu system needs a bit of streamlining
• Heavy pricing

Verdict

Well, after the review having engulfed an avalanche of your time, we will try and keep the conclusion as short and sweet as possible. Beyond doubt, the Canon VIXIA HF G10 looks to be topnotch amongst the current HD consumer camcorder produced till date. Its excellent build, stellar quality of images, and prosumer-istic manual controls sure does place it ahead in the today’s race. On the flip side, while there are a few gripe associated with it like its bulkiness, average touchscreen sensitivity, cluttered menus, extremely sparse still options, guess that really shouldn’t deter you from endorsing it as an otherwise amazing camcorder. If there is anything at all that would make you think twice before investing on the G10, it would be its price. Agreed there is a lot on offer for the kind of price tag it comes with, particularly for those who would like to posses a professional grade cam. Well, that is the price you got to pay for it. Looks like the G10 lives up to the saying “Everything comes with a price!”

Canon Vixia HF G10 HD Video Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

As we just mentioned, Flip Mino HD 3rd Gen Camcorder looks pretty much the same as its previous generations. This cannot be said to be a bad thing, as the Mino HD is really smart phone sized, in fact smaller than the Nokia N97. It has a black matte finishing with touch sensitive buttons. Flip has also given you an option to personalise it your own unique way by allowing you to design your own case cover. Just upload any pattern on the site and Flip will do the rest.

Ports and slots:

As far as input and output is concerned, you get a HDMI op and sports a flip out USB, which allows you to connect it to the PC straight away. Software wise, the Mino HD offers a very handy built-in app that enables the user to edit and upload the videos on the web. With FlipShare, it is extremely easy to share the clips on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Memory:
There is also nothing available to get in own storage. The Flip Mini HD Video Camcorder comes in two capacities of 4GB and 8GB. With 8GB memory, you will get two hours of video and that is about it. As soon as that is used up, you need to have your PC handy to load it up before you can continue shooting.

Features:

The best part of Flip Mino HD third generation is its simplicity in design and functionality. It will not be fair to say that the range of options provided is very less will be an understatement. However, this is not a criticism because as we had just mentioned previously the simplicity is the beauty of Mino HD. Taking videos with this device is just as simple as switching it on, pointing and pressing the record button. This device is absolutely fool proof as there is zilch settings to mess with. The only thing you will be able to do is, just push down the middle button at the time of start-up, which will allow you to set up the time and date, and this will also turn off the noise alerts.

Simple:

Those who worry about not having options will not buy Mino HD on the first place and those who do not like the settings will find it absolutely liberating. So, the question here is, at what settings does the device actually shoot at? The Mino HD records at 720p at a frame rate of 50fps. If you have noticed, this is the place where the third generation differs from its previous version. The 2nd gen Mino HD shot at just 30fps. This can be definitely said to be a step towards the positive direction offering a much smoother motion outdoors. The only thing that we are not able to get out heads around is, why the company did not increase the resolution, especially since most of the other manufacturer’s offer 1080i or 1080p, at a lower price mark.

Image stabilisation:

One addition that is worth mentioning is the addition of image stabilization feature. However, it is just electrical; the optical stabilizers are better. However, it is worth noting that it does a good job at stabilizing some minor shakes.

No still photos:

One of the facts that is definitely stacked against the Mino HD is its lack of a dedicated photo shoot mode. This is one of the very basic features expected and even the cheapest models in the markets seem to possess by default. This will definitely prove to be a turn off to some consumers who may wish to have one small gadget for both their photo shooting and video needs.

Performance:

Moving on to performance, we found that the Flip Mino HD performed much better than the rivals. The videos seem to be having vibrant colours and images are quite detailed too. The motions are pretty smooth and the shutter issues are quite negligible. In the low light conditions, the videos are quite grained with some visible oversaturation. However, the Mino HD still performs better than the rivals in the low light conditions.

Warranty:

The Mino HD comes with 1 year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

It is quite disappointing that the third generation Flip Mino HD has not managed to bring in a still image mode or even bumped up the resolution by a little. Since this model does not have anything drastically changed over the previous model, those who are looking for an upgrade may prefer to just skip. Yet another thing to be considered here is that, while the market is actually being flooded with pocket camcorders, the Flip Mino HD does not seem to be the best value for money. However its point and shoot simplicity will lure many consumers towards it.

Flip Mino HD 3rd Generation Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

The most notable design feature of Panasonic HDC-SD40 HD is that it is one of the tiniest in its range, weighing just 211 grams including the memory card and battery. This camcorder DOES NOT have a touchscreen, unlike its HDC SD 80 camcorder.

Storage:

You will not get any internal storage with the HDC SD40 HD Camcorder, and entirely relies on the SDHC slot. At the highest quality setting, you will get about one hour of footage and since this slot supports SDXC format, you will be able to use cards of up to 64GB.

Controls:

All of the device’s setting are configured with the help of D pad, enter and menu buttons in the side of the LCD. But, the unfortunate thing here is that, this also means that you will not get a second set of controls on the edge of the LCD for operating zoom or record, also making the shooting with two hands. If you are not a big fan of controlling the camera features on your own, Panasonic has offered a lot of options for that too.

Slots and connections:

Panasonic HDC-SD40 HD camcorder comes with the zoom Mic and Wind Noise cancellation features. You will also be able to manipulate the microphone levels manually, but there is no minijack available for connecting an external mic or any other accessory, and you will not get any headphone jack too. The other ports include a proprietary AV multiport supplying composite and component analog video along with RCA audio connections, all of these in one single cable. A mini USB port has been provided to transfer the files from the camcorder.

User interface:

The menu button will get you the full settings menu, and as expected, the enter button will activate the shooting parameters, which will vary based on the fact if you are using the iA mode or manual. In the automatic mode, the only useful option you will get is that of backlight compensation, telemacro and pre-rec that will continue to buffer video and includes a few seconds additionally on the front of the shot from before you had pressed the record button. The pre rec features is a life saver for people with slow reflexes.

You get a range of settings in the manual mode including manual focus, even though it might be a bit hard to operate with the D pad. As far as the white balance options are concerned, they include a couple of presets each for outdoor and indoor conditions and also the manual and automatic modes. Panasonic has also included intelligent and soft skin contrast settings, while the former option maximises the details in places of brightness and shadow. The camcorder also included the colour night view option that drops frame rate below 1/25th, compromising on motion smoothness for visibility.

Panasonic HDC-SD40 Lens details:

Moving on to the all important lens details, the HDC SD40 includes a 1/5.8inch CMOS with a resolution of 1.5 megapixels. Does the spec seem familiar to you? Yes, it is similar to Panasonic’s HDC-SD 80. But, note that only 1.19 megapixels of the 1.5 is used while shooting a video and the SD 80 uses 1.3megapixels, which is substantially fewer than the resident resolution of 1920×1080 Full High Definition format that is used for recording. Hence, this model will not be able to provide you with the amount of detail that is offered by the higher end models including the HDC SD90. Panasonic has also shunned the 24mbps data rate to just 17mbps.

Image Stabilisation:

The good news is that Panasonic has not been skimpy as far as the shooting features of the Panasonic HDC-SD40 are concerned. You get the Power OIS type of Image Stabilisation that proved to be quite remarkable at the time of tests. We were not able to find any worrying drop in quality of image. Even though it does not seem to be as good as the Hybrid OIS that you will be able to find in most of the latest Panasonic models, it still seems to be pretty capable, especially at this budget.

Zoom:

The optical zoom is quite good at 16.8x, which is still low compared to HDC SD80’s amazing 34x. You also do not get the additional CMOS pixels, neither is there the dynamic or intelligent zoom to enhance the range, all that is available is just 1200x and 50x digital zooms the former is quite ridiculous patent wise. Of course, there is Face Detection, which sets focus and exposure with the help of human face that is present within the frame as the reference point. The Face detection feature works hand in hand with Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto system  that the company has been offering for a few years now. The Intelligent Auto feature essentially does the job of “autoexposure”, sensing the various conditions and setting particular scene modes like low light, poor illumination.

Still images:

The still photo features are not much; all you get is self timer and quality settings with the availability of shutter sound. The still pictures images are taken at a resolution of 2.1 megapixels, which is lesser than most of the camera phones, but what you have to keep in mind is the quality SD40 lens and optical zoom.

Performance:

Moving on to performance, the image processing and sensor technology has developed at a rapid rate and the Panasonic HDC SD40 Flash Memory Camcorder has included quite a respectable video quality with CMOS even at low light conditions. The colours in good lighting conditions is quite good, but if you try and nit-pick, there will be heaps of lack in detail in comparison to a lot of the Full HD camcorders. In low light conditions the video is even grainier than the high end models like the HDC SD90, however what was surprising is the brightness. There is a video lamp, which will be useful to light up subjects of up to 2m from the front of the device, but do not expect this to be a magic fix. The audio quality is just fine, not as good as the posh models. Overall the video quality of the SD40 matches and sometimes exceeds camcorders in this price tag.

Battery:

The HDC SD 40 has quite a strong battery life, offering about 155 minutes of recording on a single charge. This is really good, considering that some camcorders really struggle to get 100 minutes. One of the reasons for this impressive recording time might be because of the 2.6” LCD display that is      smaller than most.

Verdict:

The pocket camcorders have been the first choice for the point and shoot consumers and will continue to be. However, if you are looking for some more control along with optical zoom , the Panasonic HDC-SD40 HD camcorder is the best choice.

Panasonic HDC-SD40 Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

Though there are more accessories than just the camcorder itself when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, let us confine to the main cam cording device when we talk about the design. The camcorder looks quite normal and it is not an out of the world design. The lens, the display and the buttons are placed at their standard positions and the device looks like any other camcorder. In order to fit in your helmet, since that is the main purpose behind the manufacturing of the camcorder, it must be quite a small and portable device. This will make things easy for the users since they can then easily mount the device wherever they want. Here we arrive at the most important part of the design, which is obviously the dimensions of the device, the GoPro HD Helmet Hero measures 1.6 inches high, 2.4 inches wide and 1.2 inches deep. Now that is a pretty cool design. And when it comes to the weight of the device, it is as less as 94 grams. Can you believe it? A 94 gram camcorder is now in the market and this means you will almost feel no weight when the camcorder to hung on to one of the sides of your helmet. The housing is not included in the design here and though if at all it is included, the measurements are not subject to huge changes. Now already we are very much in favor of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. It has got an almost perfect design so that it will be easier to shoot all your heroics when you are on your bike.

Accessories:

When we normally speak of a camcorder, we only have the camcorder and in some cases, a stand or a tripod, as an accessory.  But when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet  camcorder, there is more than just the camcorder itself. Though you have the option to purchase only the camcorder as a separate device, there are accessories galore when it comes to the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. All these accessories are very useful for mounting or fixing the camcorder to something. In addition to the camcorder piece, GoPro provides you with 1 HD HERO Camera (5 megapixel), 1 Waterproof Quick-Release Housing (180’/60 m), 1 Rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Battery, 1 Vented Helmet Strap, 2 Flat, 3M Adhesive Mounts, 1 Headlamp-Style Head Strap, 1 Three-Way Pivoting Side Arm Assembly, 2 Curved, 3M™ Adhesive Mounts, 1 Component Video (HDTV) Cable, 2 Quick-Release Buckles, 1 USB Cable, and 1 Composite Video + Audio Out Cable. Now seriously, that’s a huge amount of accessories whichever way you look at it. All those accessories are meant to support your device and protect it from different circumstances. And in case you think you will not need all the accessories and if your heroics are limited to a particular area, then you can choose what out of those provided accessories you will need along with the camcorder. All these come in a single package when you buy the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, and it is a cool idea since you do not need to run for accessories later.

Features:

Today, even normal camcorders are coming with lots and lots of features in order to attract the customers and to sustain the heavy competition from other competitive counterparts. And if our guess is right, this camcorder must also feature some attractive features on it. Since the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is aimed at capturing high quality pictures and videos of your crazy ballistics, you would normally expect some very special features on it. Let us go through the features section and find out if our guess turns out to be true.

Full 1080p HD:

One would have easily guessed this would definitely be there on the features list. HD has become a part of our life and the standards of video quality have been raised lately from SD to HD. High definition became the order of the day when it comes either video quality or picture quality. Hence, there was no other go for GoPro, than to bring out a camcorder that captures at full High Definition of 1080p. The camera of the Go Pro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is very specially designed such that you almost always tend to get very qualitative pictures out of it. Irrespective of whether you are in a beach under plenty of sunlight, or on the hilltop covered with snow, or when you are in dirt riding on your bike in a sandy location, you always get perfect pictures out of your camcorder. Just fix the camcorder to your helmet and start riding. And you will see that the pictures come out really good when it matters most. But there are options for you, if you do not want a full HD, to capture videos at less than full HD. There are 5 options in all when it comes to selecting the video quality. You can choose either of 1080p, 960p, 720p 30fps, 720p 60fps, and last but not least, there is the Wide VGA resolution which allows you to capture at 848 pixels. The difference in the resolution of the videos will affect the video quality and ultimately the space requirements too.

Still Camera:

In addition to camcording all your ballistics, the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder also functions as a still camera and takes some awesome photographs too, when needed. It gives you HD photographs with quality ranging up to 5 mega pixels. Now there are some variations here when it comes to shooting photographs with the help of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. You can automatically set the camcorder to shoot hands free photographs continuously at an interval of 5, 10, 20, or 60 seconds, until the batteries drain out or until your memory card becomes full. Or else, there is always a second option for you in order to take control of your pictures. In order to experience a more traditional photographing, there are a few modes on the camcorder which you can set it to, in order to control the amount of snaps taken. You can invariably set the camcorder to either of single shot mode, triple shot mode, and self timer mode, where you can set the time interval too. There is no option for taking individual photographs, unfortunately. This can be understood since this is camcorder that is designed to fit in your helmet, not your hands. Hence, it must somehow be automated. This ultimately means that you have the full control when it comes to taking snaps off the GoPro HD Helmet Hero. We are quite happy regarding the still image quality of this camcorder.

Image Stabilisation:

Again, this is obvious. You would have already expected this feature on the camcorder and yes, you are right. You will be fixing this camcorder to your helmet and you will be on your way either on your bike or on your roller skates or whatever. But given the fact that the roads or the hill tops are not as smooth as seen in cartoons, you will definitely experience bumps. And bumps will give you some shaking effect and ultimately, the images on the camcorder are affected. These subtle vibrations and sudden shocks, sometimes, lead to shaky images on the camcorder. The final pictures will not look as smooth as you want them to, and this certainly is unwanted. This is the reason why you see that this camcorder, just like many others in the market today, comes with the Image Stabilization feature. This special feature, into the market only since a couple of years back, nullifies the shaky effects of the camcorder and hence ultimately nullifies the blurring that which would otherwise appear of the images. This feature is particularly useful here, since you are looking at obtaining a full HD high resolution picture out of the camcorder. When you try to be so professional and in the end, if the pictures are blurry, you would certainly be disappointed. Hence, the image stabilization feature is certainly a helpful one when it comes to video capturing.

Storage:

Well, memory is also one of those instrumental features when it comes to a camcorder. Everyone needs to know how much they can shoot with their camcorder, before they actually shoot. There are cases where people choose some other camcorder if they feel internal memory is important. Well, here is some bad news, if you think so. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder comes with no internal memory at all. The camera does not provide you with some internal memory and you will need to depend wholly on external memory, which is to be bought separately. There is an option for you to buy separate SD cards and fill in the slot so that you can shoot videos without worries. The camcorder supports only SD memory cards, and those up to a capacity of 32GB. Normally, we too advice people to choose a 32 GB cards since it provides you with humongous memory and hence you can shoot for very long times, The average recording times when it comes to a 32 GB memory cards are: 4h 21m for 1080p (30 fps), 5h 26m for 960p (30 fps), 4h 21m for 720p (60 fps), 8h 09m for 720p (30 fps), and 8h 09m for WVGA (60 fps): Now those tell you something, do they? You can shoot as much of video stuff as you want without ever thinking of memory. Sometimes, you can shoot as long as your battery does not drain. This particular aspect of the camcorder has also gained some marks from the critics and we are an exception from that.

WaterProof Housing:

Hold on. This camcorder is not just for your helmets. The name may suggest that it is a helmet hero, but the camcorder has come in to the market to serve better purposes too. Sometimes, you would want to go surfing on the seas. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero Flash Memory Camcorder always supports such heroic acts and it also accompanies you in doing such acts. But, it is not that friendly that it sacrifices itself in the water in order to shoot your heroism. It needs to be protected from water. This is not next decade already and camcorders are still not water resistant. And GoPro does not leave you in search of a water proof casing for your camcorder. A very dependable water proof housing kit is provided along with the camcorder itself and you can choose it as a basic accessory. This must be the best option of all for you because you then will have a housing that aptly fits your camcorder and so you will not have the need to go in search of a rightly fitting case. This housing is made of plastic and is hence it does not add much to the weight of the camcorder. Now that you have a water proof housing case as protection to your camcorder, you can take it along with you even to the mid ocean. You can tie to your skate boards or surfing boards or take it for under water shooting too. Never bother even there’s so much of water around. We have tested in different conditions and the camcorder works superbly well. The shooting performance and the quality of the video do not get affected at all, even when the casing is put on.

Connections and Cables:

Wondering if your camcorder has any connectivity features or options? Well, our answer is more than just a yes. You have quite a few connectivity options on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. First up, you can get your device connected to your computer through the high speed USB 2.0 cable and connector. Just connect the two devices with the cable and you can either sync data between them or you can just use to it charge the camcorder. In case you would want to use it in order to sync data, let us inform you its PC Compatibility, which is either of the operating systems of Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 and Mac OS® X 10.4.11. Later versions of the above mentioned operating systems ill also be supported by the device. And then, there is also a HDTV out cable provided since Go Pro knows you will want to watch all your filmography on your HD TVs. Both NTSC and PAL component cables are included. And then there we have the Audio Out, a Combo 2.5mm jack with stereo audio and composite video out support, that enables you to connect the device to external audio systems. So, these are the three connectivity options anyone would look out for in a camcorder. And here, on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder, you have all of them available working without issues.

And there we are. We have finally come to an end when it comes to the features seen on the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder. There are, in fact, quite a few features, as we discussed earlier, and if our guess is right, you must have already got attracted to them. But let us decide even further on the camcorder after having looked at the performance aspects and statistics. Let us see if the camcorder lives up to the expectations when it comes to performance.

Performance:

Yes, we have arrived at a crucial point, the overall performance of the GoPro HD Helmet Hero 1080p Video Recording camcorder. Basically, we have three regions of performance which we need to focus on, in order to completely come to a conclusion regarding the performance of the camcorder. The three aspects are respectively, the video, the audio, and the connectivity performances of the device. Let us go through one by one separately in detail and find out if GoPro has given us what we expected

Video Performance:

Since we have already discussed under features regarding the video quality of the Helmet Hero, there is little left to discuss in here. All we have got to say to you is that you can expect some wonderful pictures off the camera that is designed to meet the latest international standards. Since there is the option to shoot videos in full HD quality, there is no more discussion. Full HD videos, with wonderful quality are guaranteed by GoPro and we have tested the camcorder under various environments like sunny, cloudy, underwater, twilight, as so on, and we got some decent results off the camera. So, one would expect the GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder to give out some of the best results under all circumstances.

Audio Performance:

We find that today’s manufacturers of camcorders are slowly learning the importance of audio, in addition to the video quality on them. More often than not, the camcorders in the market today possess some decent audio capturing mechanisms that help you get some quality sound in there along with good videos. The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder is truly a hero when it comes to receiving and recording audio while shooting. It comes with a built in microphone that has an automatic gain control, which means that the audio is recorder and maintained at a constant level so that there will not be too much of a difference between the louder and the feebler sounds or noises. There’s noise cancellation too and thankfully, it works quite efficiently. Audio compression is available and the audio format is AAC with a frequency of 48 kHz, which is pretty good actually. All these mentioned features help you in obtaining some decent audio and the quality of the audio also complements the quality of the videos quite well. There we go; we see a lot of smiles there and we expected it right away.

Connectivity Performance:

This section is almost completely discussed just a while ago, and all we wanted to say is that there are no reported issues when it comes to connecting the device with the computers. We have tried different operating systems separately and the results were obviously quite positive. The overall connectivity performance of the GoPro HD Helmet hero camcorder is considered as very good, when compared to its competitors in the present market.

Battery:

The camcorders from GoPro are always associated with good battery mechanisms and the Helmet Hero is not an exception either. The camcorder comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery which has a capacity of 1100 mAh. The battery mechanism is said to be revamped by GoPro, following the latest trends in battery technology. With this new technology, you get a battery life of up to two and a half hours of continuous battery life. The battery is not replaceable, so you need to recharge the single battery given. You can choose to charge the battery, either by plugging to your computer using the USB 2.0 cable, or by using the optional power adapter. The adapter, however, charges your battery is half the time taken by the computer to do the same.

Warranty:

The GoPro HD Helmet Hero camcorder comes with an international warranty for parts and labor, for a period of one year, starting from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

If you were looking for a one last sentence regarding our recommendation, we would say Go for it! But, we would say that only if you are a passionate adventurer and if you are looking for full HD videos of your ventures. Otherwise, there is obviously no need to go for this camcorder since you have many other simpler and at the same time, better camcorders in the market which can serve you better when it comes to normal shooting. This camcorder can be limited to only adventurers. If you are one of them, we would say there are a good number of positives and at the same time, there are not many negatives regarding the device and it also has quite a reasonable price tag, which means you can happily go for it. For others, we would say that you can go through the reviews and pricings of other best selling camcorders in the market, here, on this website.

GoPro HD Helmet Hero Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

Innovative:

The Bloggie comes out with a unique design for a camera, since it looks more like a mobile phone or a PDA device, than a camera. Known for being so innovative when it comes to design, Sony has experimented with the design of its new Bloggie camera. Though it is not that new to those of you who are already acquainted with the primitive Bloggie camcorder model, it is a bit of a surprise for those of you who are encountering the camera for the first time. It is not as difficult though, when it comes to using it, since everyone has a mobile phone that has a camera and hence we know you are habituated to using cameras of that ilk.

Speaking of the design part of the device, you must be a proud owner of the Sony Bloggie Touch HD MHS-TS20K Camcorder since it has got that elegance and attractiveness that none others have. It is a pocket camera and is very portable. Coming to the physical characteristics, the device measures about 2 inches wide, 0.6 inches deep, and 4.3 inches high. Now that looks like a measurement of a PDA, but it is a camera, for better reasons or for worse. The device also weighs about 4.4 ounces, which is quite less for any given camcorder these days, hence making the Sony Bloggie Touch HD camera is pretty light device on the whole. It is sleek, it is portable, it is light in weight, and it comes in pretty vibrant colours like grey, black, blue and pink. So, what else can one expect from any camera? If you are still reading, it means you have already decided to go for this.

Display:

Well, it is a full touch bar out there, as discussed earlier, and therefore one would expect a pretty big display. And fortunately enough, the Sony MHSTS20K Bloggie Touch HD is blessed with quite a large screen, as large as 3 inches and moreover it is a TFT active matrix LCD touch screen. Is that not enough for it to be a top notch camera? To be honest, we always liked the cameras that come with a touch responsive display since such a display mechanism helps the users by saving their time, and more importantly, it is easier t0o access the device. Touchscreen technology has taken up the electronic market and it has been, and will continue to be, quite a wonderful boon, until something better crops up in the future.

Coming back to the Bloggie Touch HD Digital Camera and Camcorder, you have scores of things that you can do when it comes to accessing the device. You can select options, scroll through photos, play, pause and stop videos, arrange things in order, change the settings, zoom or pan pictures and videos, so on and so forth. There are endless options for you to do and things will definitely seem a lot easier since it is a touch screen display. To give you a bit more details regarding the display of the Bloggie Touch HD, the total pixels displayed on the screen would be as many as 288,000. This big number only gives you a better display of things on the screen and hence there will not be under pixelation while playing your photos and videos. You will also have a better picture of what you are going to capture.

Features:

Sony always provides with abounding features on its cameras and there definitely are quite a few features of the Bloggie Touch HD that need to be discussed here. We shall go through each and every important aspect of the camera and provide you the all important details of the things that make it one special camera out there in the market.

1080p High Definition:

The world has dramatically changed over the last few years. So did shooting methods and video quality. From Standard Definition, which has been there for quite a long time, for more than a few decades, the shooting quality is now on a totally new level. High definition is the new format of videos and with the introduction of HD televisions and Blu ray players, many users have now shifted towards the high definition region, where Standard Definition is treated equivalent to a bad video quality. This is the reason why you see all those camcorders come with and boast of high definition shooting capability. But when it comes to the Bloggie Touch HD, Sony is not just blowing its trumpet, as you can see the quality of the images its camcorders can deliver. The Bloggie Touch HD camera faithfully follows the 1080p HD rule and you can obtain high quality videos for yourself using your Bloggie. This would surely give you wonderful pictures with awesome quality at almost all conditions. You may be wondering that the size of the video will be too large if it is as qualitative as 1080p, but as you will later see, Sony has come with a Bloggie Software package that helps you regarding that aspect. Hence, no more worries as you shoot videos at an absolute high definition and hence feel professional of yourself. Therefore clearly, there are no half measures out there when it comes to video quality. A full HD is what you get from The Bloggie Touch HD camera.

Image Stabilisation:

When you have got such a nice camera that can give you superb pictures which look like they are from a Hollywood director of great eminence, you would expect the images to be stable and perfect. Not shaky pictures, not even in dreams. This is the reason most of the cameras today come with a new but superb feature by the name Image stabilisation. As the name suggests, this special ability of the camera to stabilise the images makes the pictures even sharper and there will be less or no shaky effect of the camera on the obtained images. This gives you crystal clear pictures that have no disturbances. As there will be no stand or tripod provided along with the camera and even if you buy one separately there would not be any considerable affect, this special feature of Image stabilisation will do your shooting more than a world of good.

Auto Macro:

For those of you who are fanatics of Macro shooting, the Auto Macro feature should sound awesome. When the camera detects very close objects or a situation suitable for Macro shooting, the focusing range of the lens automatically changes and you do not need to change the setting by yourself. It happens automatically and instantaneously so that it may be useful for you in case you need an instantaneous photograph of something very close. Though the auto macro feature is seen lately in many of the high definition cameras and camcorders, this special feature is pretty new to a camera of the likes of the Sony MHS-TS20K HD Camcorder. Though long range shooting will be the default mode of shooting on the camera and though the focusing range is normal, everything changes when there is an object pretty close to the lens of the camera. For those of you who are new to Macro Shooting, all we can say is that is an awesome way to express your talents in photography and most professional photographers prefer this mode of shooting in order to create a sense of awe.

Low Light Shooting:

Most of the cameras and camcorders do not function at their fullest potential when it comes to low light shooting. You either need tom shoot under daylight, or you need to provide yourself with plenty of artificial lighting, if you want excellent picture quality and contrast, and brightness. But when you have to shoot in twilight or when it is dark, or when there is inadequacy of external light, most of today’s cameras need a flash light to help them capture some decent pictures. Well, you do not need any sort of lighting when it comes to the Bloggie Touch HD MHS-TS20K camera. The lens of the camera automatically detects the low light condition and the camera itself adjusts the exposure settings and hence in a way, increases the exposure of the subjects in the picture. This makes the picture brighter than it actually is, and hence it would be easy to get a video or photo of a decent picture quality. There will be minimal or no noise added to your pictures while shooting in low light, depending upon the luminosity. This is another added advantage when it comes to the Bloggie Touch HD. A no noise and no nonsense camera that gives you excellent output almost always.

Face Recognition:

Face recognition technology is also pretty new to cameras and camcorders and it has also, in a way, changed the aspect of photography. What happens when this technology is used in a lens is that whenever the lens detects faces of people, the picture settings like exposure, brightness, focal length of the lens are changed automatically without manual interruption. This makes shooting instant and also pretty effective. The camera tries to recognise as many faces as it can and hence distributes the exposure to the whole picture, instead of centering on one single subject. This feature, face recognition, will also be helpful to you later on, after the shooting is over. If you are wondering how, we tell you that you can tag people’s names on their faces and save them in memory so that they can be shared later on, on social networking sites. Hence, this feature is clearly multi purposeful.

Photo and Video Tagging:

And here we arrive to the most fun filled activity regarding the Bloggie Touch HD Camera. Most of us today save and share the pictures and videos we have captured with our dear ones and friends. And photo and video tagging can be quite strenuous when there are too many people involved in a photo or a video. You need to search for or type people’s names on your device and this can sometimes be a strenuous job. Hence, the Bloggie offers you a simpler mechanism wherein you can tag more than one person at a time. All you need to do is save the contacts in groups and then tag the entire group in the video whenever you wish to. This makes things easy because you can then have separate groups of people like friends, family, office, etc., and then select the required group at the time of tagging. Things are always easy when it comes to the Bloggie and Sony has yet again proved that it can make life easier for us users. And we really like this point of tagging friends in a faster way because it really helps during social networking with your pals, which we are going to discuss in the next topic.

Sharing:

Sharing is the new way of life and by sharing we are not being philanthropic, though it is a great deed in fact. And we all know how important a habit social networking has become of late. Lately, more and more people are into social networking. From being just a hobby, social networking has become a part and parcel of many people’s lives today. And sharing has also become an integral part. There are people who feel that the more they share with their pals, the more they care for them. If you are one of those, then the Bloggie Touch HD camera is such a boon since it supports sharing big time. There are numerous social networking websites supported by the Bloggie Touch HD and you have plenty of options when it comes to sharing with family and friends. You can upload videos instantly onto YouTube, without ever worrying of the format of your videos since it will automatically be transformed into the required format. And then there is Facebook, where you can tag photos and videos and share with people whenever you wish to. Websites like Flickr, Picasa Web albums and Personal Space are also featured on the Bloggie Touch HD camera and this means sharing is never this easier.

Bloggie Software Package:

Yes, finally there is someone who understands the needs of a common user. We all wish to have a nice user friendly and a no nonsense software that can easily load, save, and allow us to share our videos. And Sony has made this dream come true achievement possible by introducing the Bloggie software. This software can be installed on your PC or Mac. It is easy to install and easy to use too. Then you can sync your Bloggie to your PC or Mac using the plug in USB arm, about which we will discuss a bit later. After the syncing part is over, you can ,load the videos, make whatever changes you want to them, and save them onto your drives for future use. You can mend your videos, add some music and some graphics to them wherever you want, edit, cut, copy and paste whole or part of the videos, and save them in the end. This is an absolutely useful software package since it helps you design your own videos and also allows you to make them or break them at your will. You can also show your editing skills and show your talents off to your pals. The software is provided along with the Bloggie Touch HD camera in a disk, and it is free of cost. You can visit Sony’s website for more details regarding the software package and its features.

Plug in USB arm:

The Universal Serial Bus alias USB has now become a household name of late, from being a corporate utility. It has now replaced the compact disks and even DVDs in many areas of entertainment and business. It is a simple but important tool that allows you to easily transfer files, sync multiple devices, charge your electronic gadgets and store large number of files easily without the fear of the data being erased off. Regarding the Bloggie Touch HD camera, it has got a plug in USB arm, the one which has lately become pretty famous when it comes to electronic gadgets. You can easily pull it out of the device, and then connect it to your computer, and charge the device or sync it with the computer in order for more utilities. This type of USB arm can be so useful since it has got portability. You do not need another separate charger in order to charge the device and to sync it with your computer. In comes as a built in feature and hence there is good portability and at the same time security too.

Performance:

Now that we are done with the features list, we need to focus our attention on the performance of the Bloggie Touch HD camera. Since the features are pretty excellent, latest and user friendly, you can be rest assured that this is at the top of the list. But can this small beauty of a camera from Sony withstand the reputation when it comes to performance? Let us go through every inch of detail regarding the performance of the Bloggie Touch HD camera. Well, there are predominantly there different types of performance for every camera or a camcorder, which are respectively Shooting performance, Video performance, and Audio performance. Let us see if all the three performance aspects conform to what we need.

Shooting Performance:

Just like many other high definition cameras and camcorders in the market today, the Bloggie Touch HD camera has got all options and features automated. This means that there is no need for the users to change the settings for every shooting mode. Things will be set automatically, according to the outside conditions. And shooting performance of the device is very good, if not excellent, under almost all conditions. Low light video shooting has also given us satisfactory results and if are looking for full high definition quality of 1080p, then here you have already got one camera that can do it. With the help of image stabilisation, the camera also maintains good stabilised shooting conditions and certain noises and effects due to shakes are all nullified automatically, giving you are smooth running picture, just like in theatres. Focusing, face detection, white balancing, and exposure balancing, and so on, are automated and give you perfect results while you are busy shooting videos. We are completely satisfied with the shooting performance of the Bloggie Touch HD camera.

Video Performance:

We have not noticed any kind of crisp edges on the subjects or digital noise when it comes to the video quality of the Bloggie Touch HD camera. Under normal daylight or under plenty of artificial lighting, the camera is so awesome that it gives you some ecstatic results regarding the video quality. Sony says full HD and full HD is what you also actually see coming out of the device. And when you opt to shoot in 720p HD resolution, you get even better quality and smoother images, thanks to the high frame rate of 60fps. Whichever way you try, there will not be any degradation in the image quality and that is what we have liked regarding this camera. There will not be any problems regarding the pixilation of the subjects, contrast or colour of the images in artificial lighting. We have tried and tested the device under certain conditions and came out with almost all positive results. There were no major errors or defects reported during the testing processes. Also the videos look great even on your computer screens after the shooting is done. This shows that one can count on the video quality of the Bloggie Touch HD.

Audio Performance:

Unless there is a lot of wind around, one should normally expect pretty good audio performance form the Bloggie Touch HD. One does not normally need a separate mike since the existing one will suffice more often than not. If the mike is not covered by your hand or any other object you must be getting some decent audio out of the device. Voices are given top priority and there is a little bit of noise cancellation, but that may not do you a great favour when there is too much of wind or external noise. But on the whole, the audio on the Bloggie Touch HD camera is pretty good and in fact, better than those on the rival cameras as well as some of Sony’s own cameras in the past.

Image Quality:

The Bloggie touch MHS-TS20K HD Camcorder can also take some pretty good pictures for you. Images can be captured using the image mode in the device and pictures with decent quality can be captured always. You get a quality of 12.1 MP when it comes to still images and this is by far, a very good quality rating for any camera today. Since most digital cameras today come with an average quality of 8 to 10 megapixels, one can hence believe that 12.1 MP is quite a decent quality for a still image. And capturing still images will also be not as difficult as it seems since the device has a form factor that is similar to that of a modern mobile phone. Hence, most of you would find it easier to handle the Bloggie Touch HD and at the end of the day, your pictures come out in flying colours too, which is exactly what you are looking for.

Battery:

The Bloggie Touch has come with a built in and non replaceable Lithium ion battery, and it gives you long battery life so that you can shoot for more hours without draining the battery too much.

Warranty:

The Bloggie Touch HD camera is warranted by Sony for a period of just about 90 days from the original date of purchase. While this seriously is less for a warranty period, Sony says there will not be any complaints because each and every part of the camera has been manufactured with great care. However, we still think there should have been a warranty period of one year at least.

Verdict:

It is always difficult to tell the readers in one word, about any gadget. Every gadget has its own positive and negatives and just like us humans, gadgets also are not always perfect. But we measure the degree of closeness to perfection, a gadget is. And to be honest with you, the Bloggie Touch is right up there comfortably beating all its rival counterparts from similar manufacturers. As you can see, almost everything regarding the device, like the design, the display, the features, performance, and extra facilities, all are pretty good indeed. And for the reasonable price tag that is sports, once can easily say that this is a camera that is worth more than its price. It is a perfect companion if your aim is shooting at home. But if you are a bit more professional and are looking for something more awesome than this one, we always are ready with one. You can go through some of the best cameras and camcorders in the market on this website itself.

Check other Latest Camcorder Reviews, other Sony Camcorder Reviews in this website.

Sony Bloggie MHS-TS20K Mini HD Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

If you are living in a constant and expensive state of being ahead of the technological curve, you might be already thinking of buying a 3D camcorder. However, Aiptek’s latest i2 3D HD Camcorder will not put strain on your budget and pave way to your quest to be in the advancing technology. This is the world’s first compact 3D camcorder and despite having a dual fixed focus lenses, it is still light weighing. Its ability to shoot regular 720p HD video at up to 30fps is quite good, but it really does 3D and has real depth. This camcorder not only offers its consumer with the extra dimension, but does it incredibly for less than 200 pounds.

Design:

Instant 3D view:

Form factor wise, the Aiptek 3D i2 can be said to be a pocket camcorder, but is a little bigger than most of them in this genre. For instant viewing, there is a built-in 3D LCD, hence you get to preview them instantly without the need of the polarised glasses. This 2.4″ preview LCD makes use of Parallax Barrier Technology to offer you with the instant 3D playback without the special red and blue glasses.

Parallax Barrier:

This parallax barrier works by positioning a series of slits of every other set of pixels on the LCD screen meaning each eye will see a slightly different image if viewed from the correct angle. It is this technology that is likely to be featured in the Nintendo 3DS and a string of laptops and smart phones being released soon. Without any hesitations, we can say that this LCD will prove to be one of the unique selling points of Aiptek. This glass free technology will not work that well on TVs, but is OK with small devices like this, as it is just one viewer issue. The connectivity options include a USB stick, a SD memory card slot and a tripod socket.

Simple, uncomplicated User Interface:

After taking the Aiptek i2 3D 720HP Video Camcorder out of the package, it is quite unlikely that you would need to read the instruction manual as Aiptek has stripped this camera to its essentials. Recording on the i2 has been made incredibly simple, as all of the features are just a touch away. Just a touch is all that takes to record videos in 3D and another touch to take still shots. And, another button to playback your media. Aiptek has offered a 4x digital zoom camera that is activated by just placing the joystick on the backside of the camcorder in a vertical way, and this is just going to reduce the image quality. And that is actually the only feature you will be getting. You will find four other buttons, which are used for alternating between 3D and 2D modes, toggling record, deleting clips as well as take still images. On pushing the joystick right, the menu is pulled out, which has very limited options.

Features:

The major specs:

The features are pretty limited, and inside, there is a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor with a healthy 1/3.2” diagonal. With this lens, you can get 2592 x 1944 pixels still images, but the videos are only at 720p and at a frame rate of 30fps. Keeping the sensor fed are two lenses placed on both the corners at the top of the camcorder and, while shooting is 3D, both of these lenses are used while shooting in 3D, but just one is employed for 2D. Since these lenses are fixed ones, there is no optical zoom.

The menu:

As we had mentioned earlier, the menu has very limited options for its consumers and just has a few settings to fiddle with. The only most exciting feature you will be able to change is setting the frequency to avoid light flickering. Since there are no manual controls, there are no scene modes and we feel nothing will actually need any kind of attention once the initial setup is done. Hence, the Aiptek  i2 3D Dual Sensor Camcorder is pretty much a ‘point and shoot’ camcorder. However, as soon as you unpack the i2, you might just want to show off its 3D capabilities, things that pop out of out of it or move towards, rather than worrying about the menu options.

Get a Memory card:

Since the i2 does not have any built-in memory for recording, you will have to invest on a SDHC memory cars in to its card slot. Considering that the i2 3D HD camcorder will need under 3mbps in the 3D mode and about 7mbps in the 3D mode, an 8GB SDHC memory card will be more than enough for about three hours of 3D coverage or, say about 6 hours of 2D recordings. All, we wanted to convey here is, do not worry about investing on a high capacity memory card.

3D on TV:

As soon as you are done with capturing your video, Aiptek has offered two means to load it off and view. To view it in a TV, i2 is equipped with an in-built mini HDMI socket and the necessary cable has been supplied in the box. Though you will be able to send both 3D and 2D content to your TV, the 3D format alone is being sent is a side-by-side format. Hence, you are left with two separate video streaming that provide separate images for each of the eyes, which are simply combined horizontally and given as a single frame. There is nothing to worry about the side by side format, as it is pretty much a standard with the 3D TVs, hence, the latest 3D TVs can do the job just perfect. However, if you are looking at a 2D telly, all that you will be getting is merely a squished frame, the way it was recorded.  It is just unfortunate that Aiptek has not managed to come u with something that will enable the i2 to mix its 3D footage into some format that can be viewed in a 2D telly. So, unless you are rich enough to be owing a 3D TV or buying one soon, the next option will the only way for you to view the 3D footage.

3D on PC:

So, the next option is to watch 3D on a PC. Since the i2 has got a built-in USB plug that slides out from beneath, and offers an extension cable in the box that helps manage the little snug with the device to fit multiple USB slots, it can be hooked on to a PC. Once the connection is established, the required application will automatically install from the device itself, and we simply love the pocket internet camcorder for that reason. However, this is a bad news for Mac users as the computer has to be Windows PC, as Aiptek has not included any Mac software.

ArcSoft TotalMedia HDCam:

The software included by Aiptek i2 3D Camcorder is ArcSoft TotalMedia HDCam that is quite limited in terms of features when compared to the application that is offered by Flip camcorders. As far as editing is concerned, you get to trim in and trim out points in a clip, then you get to combine a series of them together and play them as a single file. The main functionality of the software is to just browse and display the 3D footage as well as uploading it to the web. In the package, Aiptek offers a pair of red and cyan specs that allows you to watch your recording on the monitor in fantastic 3D. This software is the one that has the job of taking the side by side footage and mix it to a red any cyan anaglyph for real time watching. Note that, the ArcSoft TotalMedia HDCam software also has support for NVIDIA’s stereoscopy system. This simply means that, having this set-up in your PC, the glasses can be used to watch the footage on PC.

Your 3D on web:

The MP4 files that are created by the i2 3D HDTV Playback camcorder can be imported and edited in other applications. Hence, as long as you got the same frame orientation and format, you should be able to apply filters and trim clips in your favourite video editing software. You also get to convert the clips permanently to red and cyan with the help of the ArcSoft software. These footages can be uploaded to YouTube directly and you will not have to convert it to the red and cyan format, since YouTube also supports side by side 3D video instantly. This also allows the files to be interpreted in a native fashion. When you get to see 3D footage on YouTube, there is an additional button beneath the video that enables you to choose the 3D presentation mode to match the 3D specs that you are using to watch your YouTube sample. However, with Facebook, it does not support side by side 3D, so you will have to convert you footage before uploading them. Most of the other social networking sites may also require you to do the 3D conversion locally.

Performance:

Minor quibbles:

Now, let us movie on to the performance factors of the Aiptek i2 3D Recording camcorder. Since the lenses have been fixed about a meter away, when the objects come closer than this measure, they appear to go out of focus, and we did not find any macro mode options that could compensate. The dual 5MP sensors offer acceptable quality of videos and photos.

When the 3D craze first aroused in the 1950s, the limitations in anaglyph presentations with the colour tinted glasses that became one of the main reasons why its fall was quick and steep too. Unfortunately, the Aiptek i2 3D Still Photos Capturing camcorder suffers from similar issues, as the effects that the device creates results that are far from perfect. It is very much unlikely that the glasses on offer will have perfect calibration to your display. Hence, this will result is some ghosting if images that are meant for one eye, within the picture that was actually meant for the other, making the image very much untidy that the polarisation technology that is used by the RealD cinema presentations or IMAX’s shutter based specs. Some of the consumers will not be able to even perceive the 3D effect at all. But that is not to say that it does not work as the 3D can be quite effective too, with the objects that travel towards the camera, and hence getting the users to crave for it temporarily.

Excellent in poor illumination:

The performance of the Aiptek i2 3D HD camcorder in poor lighting is quite surprising as it actually manages to provide a brighter image in 3D mode than in the 2D mode. However, the low illumination actually highlights one of the quibbles for anaglyph style 3D. However, overall, we feel that the low light capabilities of i2 3D HD is appreciable, considering its price tag as well as on par with the pocket Internet camcorders.

Package:

The package contents of the Aiptek i2 3D HD includes the camcorder itself, AC Charger cable, HDMI Cable, USB Cable, lithium ion battery, and user’s guide.

Warranty:

Aiptek backs its 3D HD Camcorder with one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

The Aiptek i2 3D HD camcorder, is one of the most potent camcorders in the current market, as it makes use of the influential dual HD sensors that enables you to capture 3D stills and videos which can be converted with the software, to be watched on most major 3D TV brands. It basically will not be the kind of machine you would want to use if you are looking to shoot the next 3D sensational Hollywood movie. But its price tag is such that you really need not worry about that much. The only extra investment for you is the SDHC memory card and the price tag is not higher than an average pocket camcorder. Hence, if you are looking for a pocket camcorder in the market, the Aiptek i2 is one to consider as it had got the fun advantage of an extra dimension.

If you are interested in 3D TV, we recommend www.3dtvreviews.org.uk for exclusive reviews, price comparison for 3D Television models available in UK.

Check other Camcorder Reviews in this website.

Aiptek i2 3D Pocket Size Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

Sophisticated:
The Canon Legria HF R18 Camcorder has a glossy silver and black structure that looks quite smooth. Dimensions wise, it is not precisely pocket friendly, but the compact HF R18 has been designed to fit into your hands and is deceivingly light too. The Canon HD video lens has an automatic cover over the glass. The battery pack has been secretly fitted within the device, which streamlines the design, making it more comfy take video. While the HF R18 is available in only black, its immediate siblings R16 and R108 are available in silver and a range of other shades respectively.

Display:
The LCD screen is clear, sharp and colourful, but it can be a real challenge to use in strong daylight conditions, where reflections off the screen make it hard to compose a video accurately. It is a shame not to see an electronic viewfinder on the HF-R18, as this would offer a useful alternative when the LCD screen becomes tricky to use.

Ports and slots:
Doors at the rear cover a comprehensive set of video output ports, alongside the USB 2.0 connection. There is mini HDMI, component and composite analogue. Cables are supplied for both the analogue connections, but not the mini HDMI, so you will have to fork out a little extra if you want to view your video digitally on your HDTV.

User interface:

Simple operation of the Canon Legria HF R18 Digital Camcorder means almost anybody will be able to utilize the HF R18 and obtain sensible results. Easy action of the camcorder is further simplified by Canon’s ‘smart auto’ feature, which chooses the most suitable scene mode from thirty one accessible. Its choices are based on stuff like distance from subject, brightness, type of subject and heaps more. For instance, it will even tell if you are recording a little close up and mechanically change to macro mode. If you delve into the full menu, goodies like x.v.Color can be found. There is flicker removal for 50Hz and 60Hz sources, great for shooting when there is a TV in the background. For those not interested in manual configuration, the Smart Auto mode detects conditions and sets the scene mode accordingly, although there are not quite as many different modes as, for example, Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto.

Though there is no touchscreen control, the settings and menus are all quite simple to manoeuvre with the mini-joystick. On its own, this operates a quick menu, which provides rapid access to a few of the most often used functions, including manual exposure and focus. The latter can be a little fiddly to operate with a joystick, but at least there is an assist function, which magnifies the frame to help you with adjustment.

Features:

Technology wise, the HF R18 sports the combination of one of Canon’s HD video lenses possessing sole 1/5.5 type CMOS and the company’s DIGIC DV III processor. The HD resolution of up to 1080i can be recorded to whichever the devices’ 32GB inner memory or a detachable SD/SDHC memory card. Even though you get a 20 x optical zoom, you do not get the powered OIS image stabilizer found on most of the other Canon camcorders. At £380, though it might not be too much on the low-end, but you certainly will not need James Cameron’s bank balance to buy one.

Additional features:
Extra family friendly features come in form of video snapshots which are tiny bursts of two to eight secs of video, face detection, and a quick auto-focus.

Downmix:

Legria HF R18  Flash Memory Camcorder also has the capability to downmix the HD recordings to SD in camera, in case you need a lower resolution version of your videos.

Memory:

The major highlight feature of the camcorder is its 32GB of ready made store room that has been hidden among HF R18’s innards. The Canon Legria HF R18 High Definition Video Camcorder is actually one of the top of the range of three models that share almost all of the specifications. While the R18 integrates 32GB of flash memory, the R16 has only 8GB and the R106 has none at all. All incorporate an SD card slot, so you can add more storage if you want. In the R18 and R16 if you run out of memory while shooting, the camcorder can switch automatically to removable memory without a break in recording.

Value-hit:
There can only be 2 major reasons why you would want to go for a cammy with a great range of interior storage space; one is convenience and the other is obviously the value. Sometimes, and in particular with the hard disk based ranges such as Sony’s Handycam HDR-XR155E, it can be lesser money to give for storage right away, instead of paying for detached memory cards. Bad news is that, the camcorder’s internal flash storage is there for handiness sake only and this is when you will not be reducing any money. The fact is, at Amazon’s present prices, it would actually work out to be £120 lesser to purchase the flash-free Legria HF R106 with two 16GB SDHC memory cards in its place of a disappointing all-in-one HF R18.

Handy though:
Having said that, it is still quite useful to possess 32GB of storage for you, especially when you are away on a holiday and not able to abandon the recordings on a DVD or PC. With this memory you will be able to get about four hrs of footage on the interior memory if you are recording at the high quality FXP setting. You always have the option to add additional storage space through the SD slot of you require.

Performance:

Video:
When compared to the still images, we would say that the video mode is much better. At the fullest quality, you will be able to take some very good shots, especially of you film in the open in the well sunlit situation. However, if you look at them in detail, it will reveal some small quibbles. For instance, there are relics available in shadow and mid-tones with some overflow on tough colours. Under indoor conditions, the camcorder just managed to unearth some more issues. In artificial lighting, the picture degenerates rapidly, which is a disgrace because we have seen quite a few mid range camcorders that proved recently themselves to be very competent in the low light conditions.

Still images:
photo and Video performance is perhaps more disappointing than the memory value. As far as still photos are concerned, they are comparatively of low resolution and do not stand up to scrutiny. The detail is very low and shades can look oddly unrealistic too. We found there is too much of noise than what is usual, particularly in low light conditions. The details are quite good in good lights, however, the colours were missing the pop of high definition that you will usually find in the Canon camcorders. As you can imagine, the 1.5mp still mode in the camera is not too great. Overall, we can say that this one is a reliable camcorder, but lets you down as far as performance is concerned.

Sensor is to blame:
It is very likely that most of these problems arise from Legria’s relatively small and low resolution CMOS sensor, which has just 1.56 effective megapixels to have fun with. Canon Legria HF R18 just proved that it just is not technically as able as many of its peers and while we would have forgiven this issue in a budget model, at this price range, the HD Camcorder should execute superior in this time. The R18′s performance implies that the company should consider back-side illumination technology if it wants to compete on quality using a CMOS sensor this small.

Audio:
The recorded sound quality is reasonable, though the small internal microphone does not wow with its audio capture. If you zoom the lens while recording, there is an unfortunate mechanical sound that is picked up by the mic. This camcorder does not have any external audio options.

Warranty:

Canon offers its Legria HF R18 camcorder one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Most consumers who are seeking to make their personal videos will require a camcorder that is just as fitting and budget friendly as it is quite capable at making some good quality pictures. As it is, we are quite content to allow a minor quality hit when weighed against to the high end models, particularly as the Canon Legria HF R18 has a great deal of ease of use and offers its own storage space. The issue here us that, at just under £400 online and much higher on the markets, the HF R16 just does not stand for any fine value.

Canon Legria HF R18 Camcorder – Technical Specification Details

Design:

Camcorder or a Mouse?

This is the most discussed topic regarding the Samsung C20. It has got one of the most unconventional yet cute designs ever in the history of camcorders. It resembles a computer mouse both in the way it looks and also in its size. It is very tiny that sometimes you would wonder if it is a real thing or just a play thing. Measuring just about (H x W x D) 35 x 56 x 109 mm, it fits into the hands of any person in the world. Even children can handle them without the fear of dropping it. It is also quite light in weight as you can see, weighing just 145 grams, and hence the camcorder is as heavy as your mobile phone. This is the reason the Samsung SMX-C20 Camcorder has been the talk of the town of late. It is small, light and also extremely portable. You could put it in your pocket or handbags or whatever but it fits in so well. The overall round shape that it possesses is also an advantage because round objects occupy lesser space than their rectangular shaped counterparts. You also can comfortably use one hand to hold it while shooting, which is more often than not an advantage for both the rookies and the pros.

Display:

The Samsung C20 Digital Camcorder has got a very user friendly display system, which is obviously a TFT LCD screen. The screen size is 2.7 inches and it is appreciable that Samsung has managed to fit a 2.7 inch LCD into the design of such a tiny camcorder. The screen completely occupies the left side of the camera and it has got a very special feature. It can be turned and twisted in any kind of direction. It turns 360 degrees on its axis, which is a very good sign. This can be very vital for the camcorder since it has got an angled lens, which will be discussed in the later part of the review. Now obviously, since the device is so small, it would not be very comfortable if there are buttons for navigation. Hence, the screen is touch responsive. You can select the options and change the settings by just a mere touch. This makes it easy for you to interface with the camcorder and its utilities.

Features:

Since the Samsung C20 is a camcorder for the rookies and it is not tailor made for the professional photographers, you see that there are only a few features in it. There are not many advanced jaw dropping features which are seen on the High Definition camcorders from Samsung itself, but then the existing features are really useful and they suit the device and its design. Let us have a look at the features seen on the Samsung C20.

Angled Lens:

Perhaps the first time in the making of a digital camcorder, an angled lens is introduced. Normally, the lens of the camcorder points in the direction of the rest of the body. But Samsung, which is widely known for experimentation and innovation, has gone against the odds this time around and introduced an angled lens system for the C20 camcorder. What happens with this very system is that the lens of the SMX-C20 camcorder is angled up to an amount of 25 degrees. You may wonder what difference it makes to the shooting experience. But you will see that there is actually a lot of difference. For instance, you can position your hand in a direction such that the camcorder is parallel to the ground. You will feel that you cannot hold your hand like that for longer time periods. Your wrist hurts a little while doing this. Titling your wrist a little towards the ground will prevent this situation and your wrists will not pain. Since this feature is the result of intense experimentation and examination, it can be said that it is more useful than expected.

YouTube Compatibility:

Many of us want to show our videos to our friends and relatives. And YouTube is the best place in the world to post pour videos online so that everyone could see it. As we know, when we post our videos on to YouTube, not only our friends and family, but everyone else in the world can see it. But in normal cases, for you to post videos online onto YouTube, you need to first copy the videos onto your computer, and edit them in a movie maker software and then post them to YouTube. But the C20 does not need all these steps in order to post videos online. All you need to do is just connect the camcorder to your computer using the cable given, sync them both and then select the videos directly in the camcorder itself and send them to YouTube directly. There is an upload button on the camcorder which, when pressed, sends all the selected videos to YouTube at a time. The built in YouTube Compatible software does all that you need to do otherwise. This process is very useful since it not only reduces manual labour, but it also saves your valuable time and at the same time, avoids the use of third party software. Hence, these utilities make the YouTube Compatibility feature a really utile one. Not many camcorders in the market today feature this kind of technology and hence the Samsung C20 may win a few points here.

Intelligent Image Enhancements:

Intelligent Image Enhancement feature gives you very high quality photographs. This feature is only limited to photos and not videos. Hence the videos are not high definition but the pictures are. You can capture high quality photos up to 2 million pixels or a resolution of about 1600 x 1200 in Samsung SMX-C20 Camcorder. Hence you can capture high definition pictures thanks to this technology. All the images are of jpeg format, giving you very good compatibility so that these photos can also be viewed on most of the mobile phones and PDAs, not to forget computers and HD TVs. Then there is digital image enhancement which is also intelligent of course. This means that after you have captured your photos, you can digitally enhance them, which otherwise is also known as digital zooming. This will not reduce the image quality and the resolution will be adjusted in order to achieve optimum picture quality.

Smart Auto:

As usual, there are a few preset scene modes on the Samsung SMX-C20 10x optical zoom lens camcorder. This feature greatly reduces the manual stress you need to put in if you want to adjust the scene settings depending upon the situation and shooting mode. Smart Auto uses a few built in sensors and detects the information regarding the shooting scene and the surrounding environment. Things such as luminosity, colour contrast are taken into consideration and hence the settings are adjusted so that you always manage to capture the best and bring out the best from your camcorder. Scene modes such as Night Portrait, Portrait, White, Night, Landscape, Night, Macro, Outdoor and Indoor are seen on the Samsung C20 camcorder. According to the shooting situation, the camcorder shoots pictures aptly. This makes the C20 an almost fully automatic camcorder which in turn reduces a great deal of manual work.

Time Lapse Recording:

The Time Lapse Recording Feature is also another marvel that technology has brought home. With the Samsung C20, you can shoot pictures at various time intervals and then the pictures are automatically arranged in a sequential order, or to say more appositely, in a chronological order and then the array of pictures is played such that you get a stage wise recording of the pictures taken. Things like budding of a flower, sunrise, sunset, etc., can be shot in this way using this very new feature from Samsung. What actually happens here is that the camera takes the pictures at preset intervals of time and then arranges them in an order, and then most importantly reduce the huge time lapse into fractions of a second so that the changes become unnoticed. This utility is not just for the professionals or filmmakers but it can also be fun for others too to makes such breathtaking videos. Hence, Time Lapse Recording can be one very exciting new feature on the Samsung C20.

Well, that is it with the features on the C20. As discussed earlier, there are not many features on this tiny camera but the existing ones are really utile and user friendly, which, at the end of the day, is taken into account.

Performance of SMX-C20:

With the features list being cropped tight, you might have already guessed that Samsung has concentrated on performance this time around more than anything else. With more features, the performance may not be as catchy as it would be with minimal features. Since this is a small camcorder which targets the youth and the inexperienced who want a small camcorder in their pocket every time they go out, it is designed to perform well in almost all conditions. Let us have a look at various performance aspects of the Samsung C20.

Video Performance:

With the Samsung C20 CCD Image Sensor camcorder, you can shoot pretty decent videos with pretty good quality. The videos are not high definition nor there exists an optical image stabilization facility, but still you can shoot good videos at 480p, which is next to high definition. The videos can be recorded in H.264 codec system, which allows you to shoot longer as it uses minimal battery. The frame rate can also go as high as 50fps, which is a good sign too. The younger generation or even the starters may find this as a very good beginning step towards photography and filmography. Since there are not many features that make shooting pretty easy for you, you will have to be very careful while shooting the videos, which indeed will be a very good learning experience for the rookies. Hence, if you are still a starter when it comes to shooting decent videos, this video performance is enough to actually support you.

Audio Performance:

Firstly, we look at the audio performance of the camcorder. It is actually stereo and is pretty good for a small camcorder like this one. You get decent audio output. It may not be of high definition or like a 5.1 channel digital surround, but it still gives you enough to get good voice clarity. The voice signals are given good priority but unfortunately there is no noise reducer. But on the whole the audio is decent and is expected to complement the videos well.

Connectivity:

Now connectivity is the best part of the performance of the Samsung C20 Compact Size Camcorer. The SMX-C20 camcorder comes with Intelli Studio, a built in PC software that allows you to easily connect your camcorder to your Personal Computer and hence share the videos and pictures. The pictures and video can also be edited on your computer using various editing software available in the market. Then these pictures and videos can be shared with your friends and also across the globe as you can directly upload them onto YouTube and many other social networking websites. The Samsung C20 comes with a portable small mini USB cable, which is used for the connection and synchronization. This feature also makes it quite user friendly. Hence you have got pretty good connectivity options on the C20 camcorder.

Battery:

The Battery seen on the Samsung C20 camcorder is of a very special type and lasts longer than usual. The batteries from Samsung have gone through rigorous changes in the recent past and newer technologies are being used day by day. Now, through the eighth generation chip solution technology and also through enhanced energy efficiency, you can use the C20 camcorder for longer durations. While otherwise you can shoot for only about half an hour, with this new battery system, you can shoot for more than 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is too good actually for a camcorder that is as basic as this one as it supports young rookies while they shoot their movies.

Warranty:

The Samsung C20 camcorder comes with an international warranty for parts and labour, for a period of one year from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

With all the points being discussed now, one thing is pretty clear. This is a basic camcorder. It is a tiny but cute, starter camcorder which has decent features and also performs very well under most conditions. With the youth being the target, this camcorder is also priced very low and is hence very affordable. If you are looking to learn a few things regarding video shooting, you can start with the Samsung C20. But if you are looking for better and a higher range of camcorders, you can go through their reviews on our website.

Samsung SMX-C20 Pocket Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

The conventional look:

Despite the dual camera marketing (about which we will be discussing later), the Sanyo Xacti VPC-SH1 Camcorder looks just like an everyday camcorder that is mainly proposed for taking video, with a good full-fledged camcorder design that replaces the compressed pistol grip look that you will find somewhere else in the Xacti range of Sanyo. Although it apes the manifestation of many of the full sized camcorders, the carved barrel grip body of this Sanyo camcorder is still rather smaller than a lot of the other video camcorders and even some of the conventional models. Dimensions are a manageable (H x W x D) 42.8 x 117.9 x 59.2mm.

There is undoubtedly been some subtle cost cutting to bring the device in at this price. For starters, squeeze the VPC-SH1′s chassis and you will discover a slightly plasticy feel. Only slightly mind, meaning it is well disguised by the attractively glossy exterior with sleek rounded edges, further distraction provided by the neatly ergonomic indentation to the right hand side that allows it to sit snugly within the palm, and enjoy a narrower overall depth than competing devices. There is no automatic lens cover to protect the glass at the front from dirt and scratches, as offered by more expensive models, merely a clip-on cap that will quickly get lost or discarded.

The Strap and Controls:

Of course, the Xacti is very much handy, but regrettably does not seem to come with a grip strap that is any good. In its place, the wrist strap that comes in the package can be attached to the tripod thread underside the camcorder to be a temporary grip. It is not the finest of the solution, as the camcorder tends to lean to one side unless you keep a firm hold on it. Sanyo acknowledges the fact that some of the consumers might want to clutch the camcorder in their own way while recording, providing couple of video and photo start and stop controls. While one of the sets is on the back of the device where the thumb rests, the other is on the top on the way to the lens lodging, and as you can imagine, this will just be ideal for those who fancy to film with both hands. And, we would certainly recommend 2 handed recording whenever and wherever possible.

Memory, Slots and Battery:

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-SH1 Camcorder includes a very small, that is, 50MB of internal memory, but supports SD media, including high-capacity SDXC cards. You will also find HDMI output, a front-mounted LED flash and a reasonable 120 minutes battery life, along with the other positives.

User Interface:

We were surprised to find that the Xacti VPC-SH1 has several traits in common with Toshiba’s Camileo SX500. There are just so many similarities that in fact, we have actually begun to doubt if Sanyo and Toshiba have been sharing their ideas and factory room with each other. Not only does it have similar price tags and a similar set of features, both of these models also feature a very similar menu interface and navigation system. And there is nothing much to compliment here is that, it is somewhat old school in that.

Recording:

There is also quite a comprehensive array of recording options, accessed with a press of the “menu” button wedged between a separate shutter release button for still image and red video record button at the back, with joystick labelled “set” for their implementation sitting directly above. The video recording modes include Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels in either 60 fields a second or 30 frames per second, a slightly lower “HD ready” 1280 x 720 pixels at 60fps or 30fps, further 960 x 540 at 30fps option, or standard definition 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps. There are further web friendly modes of 448 x 480 or 192 x 108 pixels at a whopping 300fps or 600fps respectively.

Navigation:

There are simply no touch-screen capabilities, and you will just find a 5 way mini joystick to aid you with making your selections. However, it is reasonably easy to use, and there are a few fascinating stuff on offer. The very first thing you will want to do after switching this device is, just switch off the annoying musical tone and chirpy female voice that greet you whenever you switch the camcorder on. As you might intuitively expect, flipping the LCD outwards at 90 degrees to the body automatically powers up the device, allowing the user to be up and recording in just over 2 seconds. Filming is really just as simple as pressing the record button to start and once again to end. Though there is an actual power button, mystifyingly it’s hidden out of sight beneath the monitor – stored screen inwards – when the SH1 is inactive. The LCD can be tilted forward or back to a limited degree to provide a variety of compositional and viewing angles.

You will also find a light smattering of manual controls to investigate like the white balance, exposure and ISO. It also sports a targeting feature that allows you to track the faces or colours. And, in case you are not too keen in any of these settings, it is still possible for you to switch the camera to simple mode and the simply banish any of the device’s potentially puzzling options from being even displayed.

Features:

Sanyo is promoting its camcorders as ‘Dual Cameras’, did not get it? It is just that they are making the claim that they are in fact, equally as good in taking pictures as they are at recording video. The specifications of the VPC-SH1 will scream this fact too. In addition to recording video of up to 1080p, the SH1is also capable of taking high resolution images of up to 3648 x 2736 pixels with interpolation, which works out at about 10 MPs.

Dual camera:

The Dual camera series of the Xacti VPC SH1 aims to offer its users with a higher enjoyable experience while offering cameras that allows the user to easily capture both still images and video in daily life, along with recording those precious moments.

Zoom:

With the new zoom function, the video filming area on the image sensor is enlarged from approximately 2-Megapixels (Full HD image area) to approximately 3.5-Megapixels.

Video:

The video format used for this model is MPEG-4 AVC / H.264. This video format is single file format, similar to the one used for still photos and is fully supported by the latest Windows® OS, “Windows 7”, which was launched last year.

Further compatibility is offered v with new Eye-Fi media cards; inserting one effectively makes the VPC-SH1 a wireless device. If you haven’t inserted a card, upon power up a voice prompt warns you that any footage will be committed to internal memory; helpful for beginners perhaps, but the sampled dialogue can quickly become irritating.

Still Image:

The new Xacti has a 4-megapixel sensor, but as a stills camera, it produces interpolated 10-megapixel photographs.

Sound:

“Sound Zoom” function enables clear sound recordings according to the scene. The VPC-SH1 has three microphone modes for recording clear sounds according to the scenes and purposes. The Wide Mode is used for Stereo recording with high channel separation, Gun Microphone Mode for recording that focuses on sound emanating from the direction that the camera is pointing, while reducing sounds from other directions and the Zoom Combination Mode automatically changes the directivity and sound gathering format according to the image zoom conditions. The SH1′s built-in microphone does pick up wind noise, even a light breeze by the river on an otherwise seemingly perfect day. Output is via mini HDMI port, with that cable unsurprisingly costing extra. You do also get combined AV/USB port, with relevant lead provided.

Performance:

Video:

While experimenting the 1080i, 1080p and 720p quality settings on the Sanyo Xacti VPC-SH1 Camcorder, we came to the conclusion that the 1080i is probably the finest for playing back on a TV, while the 720/30p is preferable if you are just shooting for the sake of YouTube. However, to be fair, at 1080i you also get the benefit of a higher frame rate of 60 fields per second, which in turn offers a much smoother moving image than the 30fps rate of 1080p. Overall, the quality of the picture is quite rich, with extravagant colours and a fair amount of detail. You will be able to witness heaps of artefacts, that is, in areas of shadow, though. And even a fairly leisurely panning shot, the image breaks up quite dramatically, rather than blurring in a more innate way. Compared to the other camcorders, we would rather say that the SH1 produces superior video quality to most pocket video cameras, but falls a little short against mainstream AVCHD models.

As we had mentioned in the design section, it is the best way to keep your camcorder steady, especially because of the fact that the electronic image stabiliser of the VPC-SH1 is simply shoddier than useless. In fact, we found that switching this feature on actually causes the footage to look jerkier than with it kept off.

Still Image:

Moving on, the still image quality, on the other hand, is simply excellent for an HD video camera. There is one slight nag in that framing 4:3 shaped photos is difficult on the 16:9 shaped 2.7 inch LCD screen. Each time, you will you need to press the photo button down a fair bit to know what your real frame looks like. However, the still images we captured, themselves easily beat down the cheaper compact cameras, with high levels of detail, balanced, saturated colours and realistic skin tones. We found some blurring at the far end of the zoom, but this is quite common with the zoom on. Speaking of zoom, the 23x optical magnification that is offered for the still images is expanded to a 30x ‘advanced’ zoom for shooting video, which essentially makes use of the sensor’s additional pixellage in order to digitally zoom in without any loss of image quality. Depending on how you feel, it will be definitely impressive when compared to the short or the digital-only zooms that are found on most portable video cameras, though it is just about average for a mainstream camcorder.

Verdict:

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-SH1 dual Camcorder has realistic performance as far as the video is concerned, along with some above average still image quality and some helpful options create the Xacti VPC-SH1 a feasible alternative in the budget range. Among its other positives are affordability, easy to use simple modes and 23x optical zoom extends to 30x with no loss of quality. But the bad news for Sanyo is that, there is some rivalry at this price point now a days, and we would whole heartedly advise comparing this camcorder up alongside both the Panasonic HDC-SD60 and the JVC Everio GZ-HM330 before you purchase; because we feel that both of these camcorders provide appreciably better video performance for a alike outlay, although neither of them come anywhere near the still image quality of the SH1.

Sanyo Xacti VPC-SH1 Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

Eye Catchy:

The first and the foremost thing anyone looks out for while purchasing a new camcorder is the design part of it. Any electronic gadget must only add to your beauty and must not at all be a burdensome load. The Panasonic HDC-SD60 has got one of the most awing designs ever. But then again, there is nothing so special about it or the design is not exaggerated. Everything is kept quite simple and compact so that it fits into almost all hands and also will be comfortable to hold whole shooting. Measuring about 51.5 x 65.5 x 112.0 mm, it is one of the cutest designs ever, engineered very well in order to fit into any hand. At 255 grams, this is one of the lightest camcorders ever in the market. And coming to the details of the design, as we have already discussed, it is quite simple and basic instead of being too flashy and complex. This also makes it a very suitable camcorder for domestic use.

Display:

Display comes after design while deciding the primary attributes of any camcorder. The Panasonic HDC-SD60 has got a very good 2.7 inch LCD which fits so nicely into the design of the camcorder. Like in most of today’s camcorders, the LCD screen is easily rotatable. This helps you look at the subjects beforehand so that the video comes out well at the end of the day, which is what you always wanted. There are also a few quick on screen options that allow you to quickly change some of the settings and amend the camcorder for a better performance. There are also quite a few on screen languages that make it easy for global users to use the camcorder comfortably. The languages are English, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Thai and Chinese Traditional. Due to the excessive popularity of the Panasonic Camcorders among the Asian multitude, the major Asian languages are included in the camcorder. This makes the Panasonic HDC-SD60 even more user-friendly.

Features:

In general, all the camcorders from Panasonic have got lots and lots of features that try and gain public attention. All of them seem to have followed the same tradition and the Panasonic HDC-SD60 is not an exception either. You are going to see some of the best features in the market combined with some new exciting ones too. But each one of them is equally interesting and also effective when it comes to the overall contribution to the performance of the camcorder. Let us have a look at all the important features of the HDC-SD60.

Quick Power on, 1.0 Sec!

Now most of the camcorders today take some time to start even though technology has been reducing this starting time over the years. This can pose a bit of a problem when you need instant videos or photographs. But, with the new option on the Panasonic HDC-SD60 Flash Memory Camcorder, which is known as Quick Power On, you do not have to worry about the time taken by your camcorder to start. This camcorder takes only a second to start everything and to allow you to record any kind of pictures, either still or motion. This is hence a very useful feature, since in this fast moving world, everyone craves for fast results and performances. This makes the Panasonic HDC-SD60, one of the fastest camcorders on this planet.

Wide Angle Lens:

Since the camcorder shoots only two dimensional pictures, sometimes when you shoot at the corners of a room or in a narrow place, the pictures may seem a little awkward. Another thing with the normal camcorders is that their lens is not capable of capturing a wide area. But, do not worry as this happens only with the normal camcorders and not the fully equipped Panasonic HDC-SD60. Here is a very good lens system introduced by Panasonic which has got some excellent capabilities, one of which is the ability to capture a wide area of pictures. The 35.7 mm wide lens fits in more people and other subjects that the other conventional lenses. This wide angle lens is particularly useful while capturing group photos and also self portraits. One more important property of this lens system is that it is very capable of taking effective pictures even when the subjects in the frame are too close to the lens. This cluster of very important properties makes the Panasonic HDC-SD60 a very luring camcorder.

Crystal Engine Pro:

This new engine from Panasonic, called the Crystal Engine Pro, is one of the most advanced engines in the world of camcorders and this engine is, along with the lens, the most important reason behind the excellent quality of the images and videos of the Panasonic HDC-SD60 AVCHD Camcorder. All the data from the lens of the camcorder is sent into this engine, which is precisely a super microprocessor that handles all the data. It then processes and enhances the data in order to achieve full HD pictures. Even the zoomed pictures are analyzed pretty well and are extended so that there is no pixel loss or even noise. This Crystal Pro Engine also completely removes the noise that will be added during zooming and low light conditions and hence provides you great pictures. The edges of the images are made more visible and also more significant so that the pictures look quite clear and vivid enough to be called as truly high definition pictures. This processor is also the very reason behind the extra resolution that the camcorder boasts of. The Panasonic HDC-SD60 has got 1.3 times more pixels than that of the normal camcorders from the other manufacturers. With 2.1 million effective pixels in all, the pictures that pass through this Crystal Pro Engine look very lifelike and abundantly coloured.

Intelligent Resolution Technology:

It is quite natural that when you film with a zoomed lens, you find that the pictures are not that crisp and also the edges are a bit blurred. But Panasonic came up with the idea of an Intelligent Resolution Technology and hence preventing the loss of high resolution when the lens is zoomed. This Intelligent Resolution Technology is incorporated inside the already discussed Crystal Engine Pro and its main function is to detect the blurred portions of the image and then enhance the pixels there in order to improve the resolution in that area. But, intensifying the edges of the pictures is not the only duty of this technology and since it is intelligent, it has to do what is need most. For an example, it smoothens the objects that have no edges, like the sky and gives extra crispness to a pattern such as a field or a terrain. A cluster of such features is embedded into this very new technology and it definitely means a lot to your high definition pictures.

Power OIS:

Optical Image Stabilization has now got a first name and what’s better for a first name than Power? This is a more advanced version of the already existing Optical Image Stabilization in both the SD and the normal HD camcorders. To give you a brief idea of what’s new in this latest addition to the OIS, we shall give you an example. When you shoot without a tripod or a stand, your pictures are susceptible to shaking and hence your videos look slightly blurred. And the situation is worse when you zoom a bit. The blurring of the images and the dragging of the edges becomes more and more evident as you go on zooming your lens. Even the slightest shake leads to great losses in picture quality. This is what the Power OIS medicates. It gives new life to your pictures, even the zoomed ones. It takes the extra care needed in order to make your pictures look perfect. It’s almost like you will get great pictures even if you film while running. Another advantage with this new feature is that, it helps the lens capture pictures with great crispness even of the subjects in the frame are moving. So even fast moving objects can be captured very well and also with ease. This contributes a lot to the picture quality and vividness.

35x Zoom!

Have you, even by chance, ever heard of a 35x zoom? Well, Panasonic is known to have given some sweet shocks to its customers and this one is definitely one of those shockers. While there is already the 25x optical zoom which is very good by any means, you still have a long way to go into the depth of your pictures as you can zoom them up to 35 times. This is technically called Digital Zoom which means that you can zoom the pictures after you have actually shot them. While you can only zoom up to 25 times while shooting, you can go up to 35 times after finishing your job. This helps a lot in cropping whatever portion of the overall picture that you want, and then editing such portions if necessary. This will actually be a very good feature because you can identify and clearly distinguish between different portions of the picture.

Wind Noise Canceller:

This is another wondrous feature that technology has brought us. Previously, there used to be this Wind Cut feature which cuts the noise of the wind after recording. Of course, to be honest, this was not that effective at the end of the day and if the wind noise was too high, you could still notice the noise even after cancellation. But now, with the Wind Noise Cancellation feature, the camcorder automatically notices the noise of the wind and does not record it at all, which makes you record only the voices and other sounds. This gives you ultimate sound recording performance, giving you an impression of studio quality recording. The voices are also given the top priority. All these small but important things make the camcorder more invaluable.

Face Recognition and Face Detection:

Face Recognition has been there for quite a while in all the latest cameras and camcorders. It helps the camcorder recognize the faces of the subjects which are in the frame and then alters the settings so that the faces of the subjects are given the maximum importance, compared to the other parts and the background. The lens of the Panasonic HDC-SD60 camcorder can detect multiple faces so that all of them fit in the frame nicely. It also gives you a warning if any one of the faces is covered or obstructed by another. This feature is especially very utile during group or family photos and also helps you tag the persons separately after the pictures have been taken. Now, coming to the face detection technology, this is quite a new thing for many people around the world since not many cameras or camcorders are featuring it.  It allows you to register the faces of people so that their names will be displayed on the screen the moment they are seen on the camera. The lens detects that particular person and tags them automatically. You can register lots of names and attach them to the faces in the pictures. This is also a wonderful utility for those of you who love to take group pictures and later tag them.

Scene Modes:

There are a few scene modes which are embedded into the Panasonic HDC-SD60 35x Digital Zoom Camcorder by default and this helps the camcorder decide the situation automatically and then alter the settings and other preferences if necessary, all by itself in order to get the best out of the scene. Some of the settings that will be altered include the brightness of the picture, the colour contrast, the picture vividness, optical image stabilization and so on. These settings will be changes by the camcorder automatically if the intelligent mode is switched on before shooting. You can also alter these settings manually if you wish to and you need to set the camcorder to manual and switch off the intelligent mode. The Scene modes include the following: Sports, Sunset, Spot light, Portrait, Low Light, Fireworks, Scenery, Night mode, Night Scenery, Snow, Night Portrait, and Beach. This is a pretty good attempt by Panasonic in proving a few scene modes by default.

Soft Skin Mode:

Now here we have a very beautiful advent of technology and we hope that would attract almost all the people in the world. It is a clear fact that every person in the world would love to look a bit younger than their actual age. And most of the times, your face is the index of your age as well as your mind. There is definitely nobody in the world who loves to see wrinkles all over their face. Now, we are not talking about removing these wrinkles in reality but at least, with the use of technology, you can look a lot younger than normal. The Soft Skin Mode is like one of those Photoshop applications which soften your skin and make slightly blur the wrinkles, moles, scars, blemishes, spots and what not, on your face and makes it look a lot riper. This feature worked exceptionally well for all camcorders, under all shooting conditions and most importantly, for all types of people and skin tones. No matter what your skin tone is, your face will be beautified. And now undoubtedly, this is the most interesting thing regarding this camcorder, especially to the older multitude.

Tele Macro:

Tele Macro has been one of those very effective technologies of late, which have contributed to the success of many high definition camcorders. This feature plays a key role during very close shooting. When the subjects are very close to the lens, you would normally see slight blurring of the edges and the focus shifts to the backgrounds instead of being on the required subject. Tele Macro corrects this very behavior of the lens and allows you shoot very close range objects. Here is a trick for those of you who do not know about shooting very close objects. You must see that there is a shadow over the subject but the background must be left well lit. Now here comes Tele Macro. This makes the lens concentrate on the subject, blurs the background very effectively, giving you stunning high definition pictures.

Dolby Digital Support:

Coming to the audio of the Panasonic HDC-SD60 High Definition Camcorder, there is one but very important feature that makes your audio high definition. While recording videos, this feature records the sounds in manner that is different from most of others. It records the sounds exactly in the way they are produced during recording and then it processes the sounds in order to cancel any noises in the audio signals. Then these sounds are played accordingly while playing your videos on a home theatre system and this gives you a home theatre surround sound experience since you get a fully three dimensional sound effect. This is also a commendable effort put in by Panasonic as there are only a few other camcorders in the market, from the giants of Sony and Samsung, which can boast of a similar audio recording performance. Hence, the audio complements the already high definition videos.

Hence, all the features discussed above are really of great value and they are definitely going to boost the quality of the Panasonic HDC-SD60 camcorder.

Performance:

Though everything regarding a camcorder is quite important, its performance gets the better of all the other features and properties. Speaking of Performance, we will have a look at the overall performance of the camcorder, including the video and the audio performances. Firstly, after having a look at all the important features discussed above, it is very obvious that you are going to get wonderful videos out of this camcorder. Video quality was superb in almost all the conditions, during the tests that were conducted. The iA and the Intelligent Resolution Technology have both taken recording experience to a whole new other level. The videos are reco0rding with the best resolution available, which happens to be the 1080p HD and also it records the pictures in the best known format, which happens to be the H.264. And with Dolby Digital, you will be having a great audio recording performance. You can hence record videos that come with a 5.1 channel home theatre surround sound effects. The overall performance is also excellent, taking all the features and unique options into consideration.

Considering the facts that are discussed above, all that we can say is there are no doubts regarding the fact that the Panasonic HDC-SD60 is one of the best performing camcorders in the market today.

Battery and Power Consumption:

The Camcorder consumes about 4.4 watts of power during recording while it requires at least 7.7 watts during charging. A 3.6V / 5.0V DC battery, weighing about 255 grams, is provided along with the camcorder. You can normally record for one hour and 45 minutes on an average, without any interruption. This is enough for domestic purposes more often than not. But if you still need more recording time, you need to possess an additional battery, a reserve one which is fully charged, so that you can use it whenever necessary.

Warranty:

The Panasonic HDC-SD60 camcorder is warranted against parts and labour for a period of one year starting from the date of purchase. More information regarding warranty can be found in the manual or on the internet.

Verdict:

After reading this review, most of you must have already come to a conclusion that the Panasonic HDC-SD60 is one of the best camcorders out there. It has got in it almost all the features in the world that leave you awed. The only thing that might cause disappointment is the fact that there is no internal memory provided. While there are a few other similar camcorders in the market, either from Panasonic or from other companies, which come with an internal memory and at the same time, all the features discussed above, the HDC-SD60 has got no memory at all. You need to spend separately on memory. But then, we must also consider the price of this camcorder, which is quite good and affordable. There is a fantastic balance between the price that it demands and the features that it provides. This makes it one of the best and most affordable camcorders in the market. But there are better camcorders in the market than this one, only at a higher price. If you are ready to spend more bucks, then there are always better options for you to choose from. You can have a look at all the best camcorders in the market here, read their reviews and select the one which suits you best.

Check our Panasonic Camcorder Reviews Section for other Panasonic Camcorder reviews.

Panasonic HDC-SD60 Camcorder – Technical Specification Table