The Panasonic HDC-SD20 Owners Thread

b2sbailey · 30-04-2009, 5:55 AM

Having taken delivery of my new SD20 yesterday from QVC (£304.95), I thought I'd start an owners thread so we can all share our experiences (good or bad).

So far I've only been able to have a quick play (still waiting for SD card to be delivered), and first impressions are good. The HD Writer software which came with it seems quiet straight forward to use.

Looking forward to using this alot over the summer

Steve.

nikonuser11 · 30-04-2009, 8:39 AM

mine due today from QVC, cant wait, especially keen to know if the software is good and can it convert the HD footage onto an SD DVD to view in standalone players at good quality

P.S Dont have an SD card yet, whats a good one to get best capture footage?

b2sbailey · 30-04-2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee1111

P.S Dont have an SD card yet, whats a good one to get best capture footage?

The instruction manual says class 4 or above should work.

There is a promo leaflet that comes with the camcorder from QVC/Panasonic for a free 16gb SD card or a 3yr warranty.

Steve.

b2sbailey · 30-04-2009, 10:14 AM

Still avaliably at QVC for £367.70 (inc p&p).

Still a good price considering Amazon want £429.10 and Argos want £547.99

Steve

trivallica · 30-04-2009, 12:17 PM

Got mine yesterday (from QVC of couse), its a lovely little camcorder, but one thing that is a bit poo is the nightshot, its terrible but all the reviews about low light well i used it last night and it was fine

havent got a mini hdmi yet so i havent plugged it to my tv but i hope its good. Also editing software seems easy but not bad as it comes with it.

Altogether an awesome buy

Jason

ciarancummins · 30-04-2009, 12:30 PM

Have you tried the component cables to the TV, they should allow you so see the HD capabilities of the camera? (once the TV is HD and has component connectors (red-green-blue)).

Ciaran

trivallica · 30-04-2009, 1:00 PM

Yeah i have but the picture was pretty poor, my tv is a 37'' full 1080p HD tv as well

bad times. But hdmi might make it look better. I hope so anyways.

But thank you for that

Jason

drmoore · 30-04-2009, 4:44 PM

Amazon marketplace has the official panasonic mini hdmi lead for £1.35 + £4.39 delivery
i ordered one and it arrived next day

b2sbailey · 30-04-2009, 5:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmoore

Amazon marketplace has the official panasonic mini hdmi lead for £1.35 + £4.39 delivery
i ordered one and it arrived next day

Great find, just ordered one myself. Thanks.

Smurfin · 30-04-2009, 5:49 PM

Is this better than the Sanyo HD2000?

drmoore · 30-04-2009, 5:54 PM

Where's the cheapest place out their to purchase an additional battery

Oidal · 30-04-2009, 7:29 PM

Bought from QVC. Very impressed with Video quality, build, and even playback with Component cable. The only problem that has arisen, is with the 'Editing Software'. I am finding it difficuilt to partially delete scenes from a 'file'.

CJSIMPSON · 30-04-2009, 9:51 PM

I would also like to know where a battery can be got cheaply. I have seen some on ebay but not sure of the quality.

b2sbailey · 01-05-2009, 8:38 AM

Bought this 16gb SDHC card from 7dayshop for £19.99. It works a treat.

7dayshop.com - Online Store

Steve.

rawdonwhite · 01-05-2009, 8:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b2sbailey

Bought this 16gb SDHC card from 7dayshop for £19.99. It works a treat.

7dayshop.com - Online Store

Steve.

steve

cracking price for 16gb

what are the delivery times like from 7day shop ?

regards

b2sbailey · 01-05-2009, 8:57 AM

It took 4 days (Ordered Sunday and arrived Thursday).

Steve.

rawdonwhite · 01-05-2009, 9:15 AM

thanx for that - will get one ordered

still awaiting my sd20 (from qvc) to arrive. getting a bit jealous with all you guys getting yours wednesday/yesterday

regards

ciarancummins · 01-05-2009, 10:25 AM

If anyone finds a nice sponge/neoprene case/sleeve that works well with the SD20, please post a link. I plan on carrying it either in a jacket pocket/wifes bag/or with my DSLR in a lens slot, so the snug fit of the sleeve will keep it safe but still small.

trivallica: There is a setting on the camera for Component out setting, make sure to set it to 1080i to get best picture on your TV. The only advantage the mini-hdmi should have, will be 5.1 surround when using a AMP to input to your tv/proj and surround system.

still waiting on mine, impatently.... What courier/delivery system do QVC use for posting, can it be tracked? nothing on their website.

regards, Ciaran

b2sbailey · 01-05-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciarancummins

What courier/delivery system do QVC use for posting, can it be tracked? nothing on their website.

regards, Ciaran

Royal Mail Special Delivery was used for mine.

Steve.

aerofly2 · 01-05-2009, 1:22 PM

Hi all,
Received my SD20 a couple of days ago from QVC. Cracking price, I've not seen it anywhere for less than £399.
Ordered one of these batteries from Techstore Panasonic VW-VBG130 - Panasonic VW-VBG130 Battery for HD Camcorders, haven't received it yet, but I'd read on other forums that Panasonic chip their batteries, and a lot of the cheap ones on the market (ebay etc) say they will work, but people are saying they've tried them and get the "this battery will not work with this machine" message.

What are you guys using to edit the AVCHD files? I've got Pinnacle Studio 10 at the mo, so I know I'd have to upgrade to Studio12 to handle it. I'm just a bit worried about my PC's spec. It's an Athlon 64x2 3800 with 2gb ram and GeForce 9800 GT.
Don't know if it'll be good enough. Any of you 'experts' out there care to enlighten me?

Steve

nikonuser11 · 01-05-2009, 2:01 PM

should be good enough aerofly2, however, just setting mine up tonight on a slightly worse spec than your, why not try and post back as I will do.

Guys, is it worth getting the mini HDMI lead or is component good enough? will view on a Pioneer 42" so its not a 1080p TV

nikonuser11 · 01-05-2009, 2:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b2sbailey

Great find, just ordered one myself. Thanks.

can you link to it please, cant see any mini HDMI on Amazon under £14

drmoore · 01-05-2009, 2:21 PM

Panasonic Mini HDMI Cable - 1.5m - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

trivallica · 01-05-2009, 4:27 PM

Ciaran thank you for that mate, it looks pretty good through that but instead of playing it from the camera im just putting my sd card in my ps3 the quality is outstanding

very pleased.

And guys just saying im editing a few clips of my garden with the camera to put on youtube so if no one has brought one yet, you can see the quality for yourself

I'll put the link on here when im done

Jason

E.B.G. B`s · 01-05-2009, 5:34 PM

If anyone has any samples I`d be interested to download them !

As usual manual is a but of a minefield: unit will only work with SDHC in movie mode There are three 1080p qualities and one Bog standard which QVC broadcast as full 1080p!!

The card has to be formatted on the unit and not via PC and you have to not cover the Mic with fingers as atop the unit.

Best battery deal I`ve found is the Panasaonic Starter Kit comprising of a nice case and VW-VBG130 battery from Amazon for £80.00 post free.

A word of warning counterfit batteries have to have lugs applied to get around the patented chip that relays the battery status. Thus Panasonic battery prices are Sky High and they know it. This makes this deal with bag a good deal (and the battery has a bit more lworking life than the bog one supplied . There`s excellent delivery by the way ), but not a particularly cheap one, oh and any warranty would be invalidated by using an "inferior" (but cheap) knockoff.

So for newbies there`s a few hoops to jump through before shooting can commence but any posted samples would be welcomed. The macro for some reason is called Tele Zoom by the way!

Ron5982 · 01-05-2009, 11:35 PM

Ordered mine on Saturday from QVC (£304.95) and on Sunday ordered the 8g SD Card. The camera arrived on Thursday by special delivery and the SD card arrived a few hours later by Royal Mail. I charged the battery tonight and had a quick play around with it but so far haven't downloaded to pc. I already have Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 so hoping it can handle this camera ok. I have a Panasonic BluRay player and a Sony PS3 so hoping to be able to stream movies to PS3. I have used the supplied software before and it is very basic. I think it's best to use it to download to pc and use something else to edit.

nikonuser11 · 02-05-2009, 7:19 AM

QVC told me until I get an SD card it will record to the HD on the camera? well I cant figure out how to do this?
Did QVC lie to me?

Camera does seem light and reasonably easy to use but cant comment on recording yet.

alsina · 02-05-2009, 7:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee1111

QVC told me until I get an SD card it will record to the HD on the camera? well I cant figure out how to do this?
Did QVC lie to me?

Camera does seem light and reasonably easy to use but cant comment on recording yet.

The camera will not function without an SD card inserted. It has no HDD (hard disk drive) to record to. The HDD model is HS20, not SD20.

nikonuser11 · 02-05-2009, 11:38 AM

thanks, so they did lie just to get another sale, makes me want to send it back straightaway, however, will buy a card (whats a good one fellas?) and give it a try

b2sbailey · 02-05-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee1111

thanks, so they did lie just to get another sale, makes me want to send it back straightaway, however, will buy a card (whats a good one fellas?) and give it a try

I got myself this one for £19.99 (inc Delivery) from 7dayshop.

7dayshop.com - Online Store

Took 4 days to be delivered.

Works perfectly with my ne sd20.

Steve.