Panasonic SDR-S150

I was so excited about this camera, I bought it on ebay from Japan. I cannot tell you what a monumental disappointment it is.

In a side-by-side test with the video I shoot from my canon powershot 630, I note the following:

1. Overall quality SUCKS compared with my powershot

2. Field of view is maybe half or slightly more than my powershot.

3. Even though I could actually see more in low-light shots with the S150 (barely), the video is much grainier and not enjoyable to watch.

4. The night-vision is a joke unless you are on a tripod. Otherwise, it is one big blur.

Do not buy this camera for low-light shots, or where you need to shoot full body from head to toe anywhere up close.

In all but the lowest light my powershot is clearer, faster, easier to use. Most importantly, my powershot fits in my jeans. The S150 is small, but will require a jacket pocket, which means (for me) I will bring it a lot less often.

Anyway, I could be wrong, but as far as I can tell, this is the same camera as the S100 retooled for higher density SD cards.

There is no jump in technology here.

I have had this camera for over a year and I think most people would find it a good choice. Previous cameras have been 8 mm, HI8 and mini DV. They all have had acceptable video but this also can obtain decent snapshots. Too often I get hung up on specs but in the real world what I find most important is convenience, which this device delivers. The quality is decent and the SD cards are much easier to use and transfer to computer than tapes. The cards are also now quite inexpensive ...a 4 Gig is less than $20 now. I have it set to shoot in 16:9 ratio (cropped I believe). This works fine for editing in the included software but the images are compressed into 4:3 when opened directly (unedited) in Windows Media Player. I have not looked for a fix for this but hope that there is one. The battery life could alway be better and since there is no viewfinder it is nessesary to use the LCD to compose shots. Controls are logical and allow for one handed operation. I find I enjoy using this camcorder more than others I have had because it is so small and easy to carry around. For the sort of family videos and images I use it for it does a great job.

I expected this to blow my Casio Ex-S880's video quality out of the water. It did not except in low light. Even people praising it did so while displaying video samples with crappy quality. Maybe all of that filming underwater went to their heads.

This camcorder is a huge disppointment, and I will return it. The audio on the Casio, which is a camera primarily, booms over the Sanyo's. The video on the Casio is much sharper except in low light, the Casio's video was completely too dark, where the Sanyo compensated well. If I needed to tape underwater, I'd get a casing for a better camcorder. I can't believe I bought into the gimmick.

Recording in h.264 reduces the quality. Recording in mpeg2 with 3CCD yields superior quality.

Thank God for return policies!