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Editor's note 5/6/08: I've revised the bottom line and software comments after revisiting the issue of video-editing problems. These do not affect the ratings, since I did not factor software problems into the original ratings.
With its eye-catching, compact body and relatively low price, the Panasonic HDC-SD9 seems to be quite an attractive buy for a flash-based AVCHD camcorder. At 11.7 ounces with battery and SD card and only 3.6 inches long, it's certainly one of the smallest and lightest full-size camcorders we've ever tested, and is pretty comfortable to shoot. The zoom switch feels responsive, and all the controls seem logically placed and fluid to operate. Many of the buttons, especially the face detection and Pre-rec (for 3-second pre-recording) are a tad small, but that's to be expected on a device this size.
However, Panasonic made a few irritating design choices, especially with regard to the battery. To remove it, you have to open the LCD cover; that's fine, as long as you don't use Quick Start mode, which turns the power on when you open the door. In that circumstance, when you open the LCD to remove the battery--as you must to charge it, since you can't charge the battery in-camera--the camcorder naturally turns on, and removing the battery at that point leaves the electronic lens cover open. Furthermore, to download the files to your computer you must plug in the AC adapter (a pretty common requirement), but since the connector is in the battery compartment you have to remove the battery to do so.
Furthermore, Panasonic offers an optional Shooting Guide which prompts you with "Camera panning too fast," "Use Intelligent Contrast," "Use O.I.S.," and "Use Low Light Mode" messages. Unfortunately, each of these messages takes up a huge chunk of the already too-crowded 2.7-inch LCD, blocking your view of the scene entirely. In the case of contrast and panning, the messages seem to appear more frequently than not.
