Panasonic HDC SD80 or Sony HDR CX115e

Boothy12

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Hello,

I am hoping someone with a little know how can offer some advice. On Sunday I bought my first camcorder and after doing a little digging about and reading a few reviews with a budget of £250 I settled on the Sony HDR CX115e.
I set off down to currys where the Sony was £220 and in stock locally but when I got there the assistant who served me pointed out that the Panasonic HDC SD80 had £50 cash back this month cutting the cost from £280 to £230, he said it was a better camera with better features than the sony so as it was only a tenner more I plumped for the Panasonic.
When I got home I figured I would check out some online reviews as I had not bothered previously with it being over £250 and I seem to be finding very mixed feelings about it and very little to compare it to the Sony.
The issue seems to revolve around it having a smaller sensor than the SD60 that went before it and having poor low light performance.
This has all got a little confusing now so I have left it in the box as I am not sure if I should take it back and swap it for the Sony?
I am no Steven Spielberg and I will just be shooting typical holiday, weddings, birthdays etc but some of this will obviously be inside. Will a novice like me really be able to tell the difference? The Panasonic has an LED light on the front for low light shooting and the Sony does not but according to which the Sony performs better :facepalm:
I do notice the Panasonic uses SD cards but the Sony uses their own more expensive memory stick duo cards.

So what should I do? Stick with the panasonic or swap out to the Sony?

Help

Andy
 
Can anyone help? I'm itching to get one or the other out of the box :D
 
It's hard to offer any advice unless you have hands on experience, so searching AVForums and google for user reviews, as well as expert reviews might be your best option.Here are a few of links

Sony HDR-CX115E specifications | Expert Reviews

Sony HDRCX115EB High Definition Handycam Camcorder: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-SD80-Full-Camcorder-Intelligent/dp/B004I1KPL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325805997&sr=8-1


Panasonic HDC-SD80 review (HDC-SD80, HDC-TM80, HDC-HS80) | Expert Reviews

Also just found this - The Sony CX115 records to Memory Stick PRO Duo Mark II, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo or SD/SDHC memory cards.
 
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Hi jonna,

Thanks for your reply, I have tried looking around the net and think I must of read every review going :laugh:
I just end up getting more confused as I don't fully understand how the different points effect real world performance or what would make one better than the other.
I suppose what I am asking is in the real world will one be noticeably better than the other to a novice like me or are we splitting hairs?

Thanks again

Andy
 
Hi jonna,

Thanks for your reply, I have tried looking around the net and think I must of read every review going :laugh:
I just end up getting more confused as I don't fully understand how the different points effect real world performance or what would make one better than the other.
I suppose what I am asking is in the real world will one be noticeably better than the other to a novice like me or are we splitting hairs?

Thanks again

Andy

Try and find a shop that will let you handle the two camcorders. Try shooting a few seconds of video, if you can find a dark corner and shoot there. Which feels best and what replay looks best especially video shot in low light conditions, any performance differences are going to be pretty minor
 
The Sony sensor is larger than the Panasonic, and this will make quite difference to the low light performance.
On the face of it then, the Sony is the better camcorder. The lower optical 'zoom' factor of the Sony is a function of the sensor being larger.

The one uncertain part of the specs is the definition of the Sony image stabilisation.

The Panasonic uses optical image stabilisation (OIS) ,which is significantly better than electronic image stabilisation (EIS). What is unclear is whether Sony's 'Steadyshot Active Mode' is OIS or EIS?

Is it only Sony's 'Super Steadyshot' mode that is optical?

Perhaps someone can confirm that.

If the Sony does use optical stabilisation ,then I would suggest it is the better camcorder of the two.....

If it uses electronic, then the Panasonic is probably better....

Unless you particularly want to shoot a lot, in low light (indoor) conditions .....

As you have already noted, they don't make this easy.:)

Depends on which factors are more important to you.....
 
Thanks guys, thats really helpfull :)

Your right Rogs they don't make it easy at all :laugh:

Total newbie question is digital the same as electronic thus making the Panasonic better due to it being optical stabilisation?

Andy
 
Total newbie question is digital the same as electronic thus making the Panasonic better due to it being optical stabilisation?

Andy

Yes it is. Electronic reduces the resolution of the image. You can do the same trick with many editing programmes in post production.
 
Great stuff! thanks Graham :thumbsup:

I'll stick with the Panasonic then I think :)
 
Hi there, which one did you go for and what do you think?

Generally, what is peoples opinions on the panasonics?
 

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