[rich19754]

I need a camcorder and ideally want a HD one. I have been considering the Panasonic SD9 at £420 but have since had second thoughts as i am only gona use the camera now and again for family holidays etc. As such I am thinking that the SD9 may be a bit too good for what I really need.

So - the Sanyo Xacti at £260 is significantly cheaper and although it's 720p it still looks good to me. I am thinking that maybe this camera would do the job for what I want.

Is the Xacti any good or will I be dissapointed?

[Sinaisid]

You my well be dissapointed. I have a Sony CX6 and an Xacti (It's small and handy!!). Things to note on the Xacti - It's 30 fps, rather than the UK 25fps standard. This means some editing pain - There is not a perfect way of converting. So I convert the Xacti footage to XVID and play direct from my wireless network on my TV's. Other pain - The Xacti pictures are always over saturated and the image stabilisation is very poor.

The CX6 is not perfect (but close) I'd look at it and some of the competition if you want a card based vid.

[LostKoRn]

Highly praised topic of the Sanyo HD700 for you to look at.

Small HD Camcorders

Personally in terms of affordabillity and portability its between that and the new Toshiba Camileo H10 for me

[rich19754]

Thanks - so would the Panasonic SD9 be a big step up in terms of image stability, quality and still pictures?

[glesgaguyav]

Originally Posted by rich19754

Thanks - so would the Panasonic SD9 be a big step up in terms of image stability, quality and still pictures?

IMO the Panasonic will give much better quality, you normally pay for what you get

[Mart_73]

I was in the same quandry as yourself. I was set to purchase the HD700 but instead went for the Panasonic SD5 from Amazon (£349). It's a little more expensive but I felt it was worth it.

My PC is pretty lame & not up to the required standard for editing the downloaded files, so I intend to buy the Panasonic DVD burner which links straight to the camcorder (Panny VW-BN1). This is basically what made me opt for the SD5.

My camcorder arrived yesterday & with the quick use I've had from it, I've been blown away with the image quality. I can use the SDHC card straight into my PS3 which is very, very straightforward.

I'm aware the newer SD9 is probably a better unit again, but considering I didn't really want to spend more than £300, I'm more than happy with the SD5.

Hope this helps!

[rich19754]

Originally Posted by Mart_73

I was in the same quandry as yourself. I was set to purchase the HD700 but instead went for the Panasonic SD5 from Amazon (£349). It's a little more expensive but I felt it was worth it.

My PC is pretty lame & not up to the required standard for editing the downloaded files, so I intend to buy the Panasonic DVD burner which links straight to the camcorder (Panny VW-BN1). This is basically what made me opt for the SD5.

My camcorder arrived yesterday & with the quick use I've had from it, I've been blown away with the image quality. I can use the SDHC card straight into my PS3 which is very, very straightforward.

I'm aware the newer SD9 is probably a better unit again, but considering I didn't really want to spend more than £300, I'm more than happy with the SD5.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the response. I dont have a PS3 but the Panasonic TV has an SD card slot for viewing photos etc - will the card from the SD5/9 play on this? If not do I just plug the HDMI from the camera straight in the TV.

One more thing - how good are stills on the SD5/9?

[redsox_mark]

Originally Posted by rich19754

Thanks for the response. I dont have a PS3 but the Panasonic TV has an SD card slot for viewing photos etc - will the card from the SD5/9 play on this? If not do I just plug the HDMI from the camera straight in the TV.

You will need to check your TV manual; but probably not. I think some recent models may play AVCHD, but this is not common (yet). Yes you can plug the HDMI straight into the TV.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by rich19754

One more thing - how good are stills on the SD5/9?

Not great: we're talking about 2-megapixel performance here (1920x1080).

Click here for some examples (of stills on the SD9 I think) recently posted on this forum.

Andrew.