-
"Love the camera, a few things less than perfect" on by springcleaning
Pros: The zoom is great! The image stabilization is good enough to get usable hand-held video at full zoom if you're careful, 40gig hd great!
Cons: Standard Def, one ccd, needing to switch to a/c power when downloading hd to computer, bundled software will not support dvd+ format,
Summary: Ok, to start with I'm a Novice camcorder user! Here's my experience. I got it home, charged the battery (1.5 hrs), read the manual while it was charging. I shot some indoor video (well lit room, incandescent lighting.) From reading the user's manual I noticed that it defaults to 16:9 aspect ratio so I changed that to 4:3 before shooting. It also defaults to the medium quality setting (forget what they called it, LP is low) so I changed it to High quality. The menu system in intuitive and easy to use!
Then I decided I'd like to see how the video looked on my computer (WinXP pro sp2). (You need to install the bundled software before you connect the camera to your computer) I was disappointed to see that it wouldn't let me connect to the computer without removing the battery and using the ac power adapter they supply, (guess they don't want the batt to discharge while you're reading from the hard drive!) I also didn't like that they won't let you delete files on the camera's hd from the computer.
The next disappointment was that the bundled software only supports the dvd- format. Some how I ended up with a bunch of dvd+ media and a drive in my computer that supports DVDR+, DVDRW+ and dual layer dvd+ burning, but NOT DVD- anything!
When you connect the camera to the computer it is necessary to make some menu selections from the camera to choose the hdd or the sd card, then the bundled software will recognize the camera's hd as an hd on your computer. You don't have to use the bundled software for transferring/editing your video files at that point, you can use windows explorer to drag and drop them into whatever folder you select. The files will be in a .mod format. A quick look at wikipedia suggested that I could play them with windows media player if I renamed them to .mpg, (yes, this works just fine).
I need to find some 3rd party software to edit the clips so I can burn DVD+ videos for myself!
Some other observations:
What I like about the camera is the zoom!!! it is Loooooong, and the image stabilization really does work! If you were gonna use it at full zoom a lot you'd need a tripod. You can use the full zoom when hand-holding but you have to pay attention to what you're doing.
I found the buttons to be a little hard to reach but my wife (smaller hands) thinks they're perfect.
We bought this camera to replace an old hi-8 camcorder and were expecting a much higher quality video when viewed on the TV, (35" crt, flat glass). It's really about the same as the hi-8 video from several years ago shot in the same type of light. Again, I'm NOT a camera expert, so maybe this expectation was off base. I guess they're both shooting standard definition... (maybe another more knowledgeable reviewer can address this)
The camera seems to be well made. -
"Best of the entry-level HDD camcorders." on by TonyLP2007
Pros: Easy controls, useful features.
Cons: .MOD file format, PC transfer needs AC plugged in.
Summary: I had the JVC Everio HDD camera and exchanged it for the Panasonic SDR-H40. Of the two, the Panasonic is clearly a better buy. Picture quality was consistent between the two models, which overall is very good. The Panasonic, however, has much easier controls and is easier to handle.
The interface is a bit more user-friendly than the Everio as well. The big difference was that the Panasonic's intruction manual is much easier to consume than JVC, which reeks of bad translation from a foreign manufacturer. I was using the SDR-H40 pretty much out of the box.
A joystick control near the mode wheel gives you easy access to the LCD menus-- as opposed to some other models (JVC, Sony) which place the joystick on the LCD. That means rather than switching through menus on the fly with your thumb, with competing models you have to use another hand to use the LCD's joystick.
Two disappointments, one major and one minor, is uploading to PC. As with the JVC Everio, and I assume every other HDD camera, the file format that video is saved in is .MOD. As a Mac user, this isn't easily readable by iMovie or even more pro apps such as Final Cut Express. And of course, the provided software isn't Mac compatible. So, to convert the files to .MOV or Quicktime, you need a 3rd party app. Conversion of every scene can be a pain.
Another minor inconvenience is that this camcorder will not connect to your PC unless the clunky AC adapter is plugged into the camera. Even a little more bothersome than it sounds-- you need to insert an AC battery insert into the camera's battery port, then connect that to the actual AC adapter, then plug it in. Panasonic would have saved everyone much more trouble to trust us to not connect the camera to a PC unless the battery was charged. A simple onscreen warning would do rather than forcing us to have a power source in effect. This means that transfering video on the fly- or to someone else's computer, would mean you need to carry the AC adapter with you at all times.
Overall, of the two low-end HDD cameras I've got to sample, I love the Panasonic and look forward to many great videos. I just hope all the camcorder makers catch up to the world of Apple OS, et al, and make their file formats a little easier to transfer. -
"Cheap, light weight, easy to use video camera for non-tech-savvy users" on by spankbot
Pros: Easy to use, light weight, cheap, decent quality, excelent built-in microphone
Cons: Software is lacking but usable, some may find the controls are small and difficult to use.
Summary: My parents, both in their 60's, recently purchased a Panasonic SDR-H40 video camera. I did my "son" duties, showing them how to use it while ensuring them there was no way to break it by playing with it. Mom was making short videos in no time. I would say this video camera is perfect for non-tech savvy parents and young children. While the provided software is lacking, and only work with Windows computers, this camera itself will work fine with Apple computers - in fact, Apple users will be able to make better movies due the software Apple computers are provided with (iMovie and iDVD). This is a great video camera for the masses.
This small, light video camera must be plugged into the wall before you can transfer video to your computer. There is also an accessory DVD drive which will let you save video to DVD disks without the use of a computer. -
"Great Value for Pricepoint" on by BritCrit57
Pros: Easy to use camcorder. No tapes to bother with. 42x zoom is amazing. OPTICAL image stabilisation is awesome. I love Panasonic cmacorders (have for years) as the mircrophone ZOOMS with the lens!!
Windcut feature works well too.Cons: Apart from the software (which to me is minor as there are many more editing software programs out there) I DO NOT have any cons to this camera, for the pricepoint.
Summary: Important thing to mention is the pricepoint. For this price this is an EXCELLENT camcorder. I take home movies of pets, family and holidays.
I do not want to be the next Stephen Spielberg.
The fact there are no tapes is a bonus to me.
The fact I have to plug in the AC adaptor is no surprise to me because I read about this BEFORE I bought it. This is good because it means I will not screw up my HDD by running out of power when transferring.
The software is not the best, I use Ulead or Nero on Windows Vista and there are NO problems.
I LOVE the DVD copy button that with the supplied software will burn straight to DVD from the camcorder (HDD only not SD card) Do that as a quick back up (or to give a DVD to a friend whilst visiting as I did) and then later on transfer to your Pc to work with it.
This is my 4th Panasonic (first analogue in the UK in 1997, 2nd analogue in Canada 2000, then miniDV 2004 (not very easy to use with firewire) and then this 2008 with a USB connection which is GREAT.
I have also found that with a HDD DVD recorder (in place of a VCR) I can transfer to that (from my old analogue as well as this) and then edit on there.
I never expect the sioftware to eb the one i use all the time, but i pulled a still from the video with it and it's great.
The cost of a more powerful battery is about $130 CDN but i bought one full price and got one (postage included) from Ebay as an open packege in perfectly good working order for under $10 CDN
Bottom line - I LOVE this camcorder and it is well worth the money spent. -
"Software problems are fixable" on by fparton
Pros: Nice camera. Takes really good video. Easy to use and setup.
Cons: If you can't get the video off the camera it really is useless after about 15 hours. Most folks don't have the time or money, to be aggravated with this problem. My summary below will hopefully help anyone who has one or may want one.
Summary: Same problem as everyone that probably has one of these cameras and not the exact computer the software was designed to run on. I got NERO DVD burn software and am now able to see the camera hard drive and recognize my videos. I have Windows XP but as long as you get the right NERO software your troubles will probably be forgotten. After learning of doing it like this I'm really glad the Panasonic software didn't work because I'm sure I have a much better handle on how I want my videos burned to DVD. Knowing what I know now I would buy another one and just throw the software in the trash.
Write a Review
Online Stores
| Store | Promotions | In Stock | Price | Total Cost | Initial Sort Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No | Yes | Tax: TBD Ship: TBD | $899.95 Shop Now | |
| See all prices | |||||
