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Like their cheap competitors from Sony and Canon, Panasonic's budget-priced HDR-SD40, TM40 and TM41 are only nominally high-definition; where HD requires a minimum of 2.07-megapixel resolution, these and their ilk use lower-resolution sensors and algorithmically bulk up the video so the output has the requisite number of pixels. The result is generally poor video quality, though how bad it looks depends upon how you view it. And the trade-off is that you can get a zoom lens, and in this case, manual exposure controls for less than $250.
The SD40 version differs from the TM models only by built-in memory--it has none, while the other two have 16GB built in. The TM40 and TM41 are, essentially, identical; the TM41 is Sam's Club-specific model, which seems to have the option of increased digital zoom. But you shouldn't use digital zoom to start with, and in conjunction with such a low-resolution sensor, it becomes even more of a no-no-NO.
| Panasonic HDC-SD40/TM40/TM41 | HDC-SD80/TM80 | HDC-HS80 | HDC-TM90/SD90 | |
| Sensor (effective resolution) | 1.2-megapixel CMOS | 1.3-megapixel CMOS | 1.3-megapixel CMOS | 2.6-megapixel CMOS |
| 1/5.8 inch | 1/5.8 inch | 1/4.1 inch | 1/4.1 inch | |
| Lens | 16.8x f1.8-2.6 42.9 - 721mm | 34x f1.8-4 33.7 - 1240mm | 12x f1.5-2.8 35 - 420mm | 21x f1.8-3.5 28 - 729mm |
| Min illumination (lux) | standard: 1400 low light: 7 Color Night View: 1 | standard: 1400 low light: 7 Color Night View: 1 | standard: 1400 low light: 7 Color Night View: 1 | standard: 1400 low light: 4 Color Night View: 1 |
EVF | None | No | No | No |
| LCD | 2.7-inch 230,400-dot | 2.7-inch 230,400-dot | 2.7-inch 230,400-dot | 3-inch 230,400-dot |
| Primary media | 0GB/16GB/16GB flash; 1 x SDXC | 0GB/16GB flash; SDXC | 120GB hard disk; SDXC | 16GB/0GB flash; SDXC |
| HD recording | AVCHD: 1080/60i @ 17, 13, 9 Mbps | AVCHD: 1080/60i @ 17, 13, 9 ,5 Mbps | AVCHD: 1080/60i @ 17, 13, 9 ,5 Mbps | AVCHD: nonstandard 1080/60p 28Mbps; 1080/60i @ 17, 13, 9 ,5 Mbps |
| Manual shutter speed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manual iris | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accessory shoe | No | No | No | Yes |
| Audio | 2 channels | 2 channels | 2 channels | 2 channels |
| Body dimensions (WHD, inches) | 2.0 x 2.3 x 4.3 | 2.0 x 2.3 x 4.3 | 2.6 x 2.8 x 5.8 | 2.0 x 2.5 x 4.7 |
| Operating weight (pounds) | 7.9 | 8.3 | 10.8 (est) | 10.1 (est) |
| Mfr. Price | $296.99/$359.99 /$339.99 | $349.99/$379.99 | $549.99 | $479.99/$499.99 |
| Ship date | March 2011 | March 2011 | March 2011 | March 2011 |
There are some circumstances under which the video looks OK. When it's shot in good light and displayed on a midsize screen (say, under 40 inches), or scaled down to half size, it's perfectly acceptable. Low-light video may also be acceptable when viewed like that. But when watching it on a big TV screen or even at full size on a 24-inch monitor, picky videographers will note the smeary detail rendering and compression artifacts in good light and even more of a loss of sharpness and color noise in low light. It also has the dynamic range of a budget model, with a lot of clipping in the highlights.
It performs pretty typically for its class as well. That means pretty good but occasionally frustrating autofocus; I frequently had to "nudge" it to focus on the right subject rather than the background by focusing on something completely different, then moving it back to the desired subject. In auto mode, you have to enable backlight compensation or even shots that aren't really backlit will underexpose, but you don't always want that setting applied universally. For exposure, though, as long as you know how to use them the camcorder really benefits from the manual settings, which include shutter speed and iris control, as long as you know how to use them. You can also turn automatic gain control for the audio on or off.
