[boxerman]

Complete novice when it comes to camcorders but expecting 1st child within next few weeks so thought it was about time to invest. Narrowed it down to the sony and panasonic but can't decide between them. I'm looking for something that's simple to use and with decent image quality, will be viewing on 42" Panasonic plasma and XP based laptop.

all comments welcome

[BingoBongo275]

Well I was looking for an HD camcorder before a trip to Disneyworld last October and went for the Sony TG3

I have not been disappointed at all. Its a wonderful camera and the picture quality on my Sammy 46" is awesome. EVERYONE I know who have seen the footage say "WOW!"

Key for me is the size. Ive had "normal" sized vid cameras in the past, but the fact that the TG3 is soooooo small it literally fits in your pocket has meant Ive been able to get footage I wouldnt have done with any other camcorder.

Its not so hot in low-light (e.g. indoors), but that aside I'd give it 5 out of 5

Cheers

Jez

[boxerman]

thanks for your quick reply, I've actually held both cameras in Currys and to be honest the panasonic felt like it was easier to hold stable but the more I read the reviews and comments like yours I'm swaying more and more to the Sony, particulary like the idea of being able to fit it easily into a pocket!!

Now if only I can find a cheap one as they seem to have shot up in price recently and I think I've missed any Costco offers

[Sheks]

Another vote for the TG3 here

I went for the Sony in the end due to it's small size. As a result it gets taken out and used far more - picture quality is great. Low light performance is better than my old Sony PC8.

Only downside is that being a Sony it uses memory stick duo cards which are more pricey than other types.

Best of luck

Sheks

[A n d r e w]

Picture quality for the two is almost on par, although the Sony might have the slight edge. Neither is reknowned for great low light reproduction. The Panasonic's advatage, in addition to cheaper media, is superior manual control over exposure and gain. Form factor is obviously the biggest difference, but the SD9 is also very compact and will fit in a jacket pocket. For the money, both are good value.

Andrew.

[boxerman]

any thoughts on the difference in optical zoom, 10x for the panny and 5x for the sony?

[BingoBongo275]

My experience with videoing kids is that you dont really need the zoom. In fact on my old DV camcorder the most popular lens I had was the wide angle.

I got my TG3 cards from Play, they were about £15 for 4gb cards, which hold around 25mins of HD.That was last October so theyre probably cheaper now.

Cheers

Jez

[boxerman]

I guess it might come doen to what deals I can find on either camcorder as they're both around the low £400's, I've noticed that the HDC-SD20 can be had for the same price as the SD9, is it just a newer model?