Customer Reviews

Panasonic SDR-H60 60 GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 50x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This camcorder is great, it is my first dive into the consumer video world and so far I am pretty impressed. The zoom is killer, the ease of use is great. I am a tech so I did not feel the need to install the built in software since I feel that the bundled software stinks, that goes for most consumer products. I filmed a couple of videos, plugged the camera into my pc, and voila! There they were, ready for me to watch and/or edit using any software I wished to use. This process took approximately 10 seconds. For those wondering my setup consists of Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1, but I imagine if I plugged it into xp or the other versions of vista, I would get similar results. The editing software I used is Adobe Premiere elements 4.0, although I am confident that if I plugged the videos into the built in video maker, I would not run into any problems as the format is pretty standard.

I only write this review because I feel some of these low ratings are unwarranted. The camera itself is great, and although the picture quality could use some improvement (then again I have not played with all the settings yet) I think this is a great camera for a lower budget, the only real improvement I could see by going to another camera is if a High Definition camera is purchased.

Hope this review helps.

This HDD camera is outstanding and wonderful when you are recording moments in your life. I have had this camera for over a year and used it to film two conventions and other events. I think this camera films beautifully, it is the converting that can drive you crazy. The software that comes with this camera stinks and you will end up buying other software to convert the footage you recorded. I decided to buy AVSmedia, which converts my footage to anything version I ask it to (MPEG, MPEG4, AVI, etc.) Panasonic is not to be fully blamed, though they could have included better software. Otherwise, you will love this camera to death!

I don't know who came up with the video processing software for this item but they should go back to school. The manual claims to not guarantee that it will work and they were right. I use Windows XP service pack 3 and it only works with Vista or service pack 2. You have to make sure any other program is closed and even then trying to transfer a video to DVD took me a couple of hours becauses I had to keep restarting the program. that said, I am still trying to figure out a way to make it work because the camera is so easy to use and the functions are great. So, a double edged review from me.

I'll start by saying what everyone else is saying, for the price, this camera is a gem. The 50x zoom with OIS is amazing and you can't really describe it, you have to see it in action to understand. To really understand how much of a difference it makes, just turn it off and you'll wonder why there is even a reason to be able to turn it off at all.

The main complaint is the video software - I didn't even install it. The camera records video into files with a .MOD extension. Just plug the camera into your computer via the USB cable and copy those files over then rename them to .MPG and you can play and edit them in any software that supports .MPG (just about everything). Point is, the software is not a reason not to get this camera - and video conversion is a snap as long as you know that you really aren't recording in a proprietary format, it's just a quick change of the file extension and you're good to go.

(I'll leave video/sound quality to the other reviews as it's fine for my needs.)

Excellent Camcorder for the price, got it few days from 6th ave. Did lot of research and decided on this. Upgraded from Panasonic MINI-DV. Seen people complain about the software, but I found it good software. But you have to upgrade it from panasonic web site, go to support and upgrade the software and you will have the latest software for the product.

Pros: Small size, nice optical zoom, BIG hard drive
Cons: Video quality little grainy in low light, but all camcorders in this price have the same issue

We bought this camera to capture life with our new baby girl. So far, it has worked great. It seems to hold a charge for quite some time (we haven't ran the battery dead yet) and is very easy to operate. I was able to upload our videos to our PC with no problem.

I know the big complaint has been the accompanying video editing software, but we're not "techie" folks, so we will likely never even attempt to use that software.

I do wholeheartedly recommend buying and using a SD card with any camera; if you store only to the HD and something happens to that HD, you're out of luck completely, whereas with the SD card, you may be out whatever was on the card (which is why you should upload frequently), but at least you can get a new card.

This is a great camera. Be careful when you buy a spare battery. Some of the larger time batteries require an adapter kit that you must buy from panasonic and costs $100.00. It would be better to buy extra smaller time batteries and save some money. The larger time (7 hr) battery also costs more than $100.00.

I bought this camera based on a Consumer REports recommendation. IT is a great product, small, light and very simple to use. Simple functions makes it easy to use by everyone.

I just wish it had a Flash for its still picture function. It doesnt include a memory stick, it should.

This video camera really is amazing. We just turned it on, hit record and it worked perfect. The quality is great but mostly what I wanted it for was to be able to import it onto the computer, edit it and burn it onto a DVD. I didn't even bother installing the software that came with it because of the bad reviews on it but it works perfect with IMovie '08. It's as easy to use as a digital camera and being able to edit the video is a great feature. I would absolutely recommend this video camera to anyone.

I got this camera about two weeks ago and it is great! I had read some negative feedback before I bought the camera but went ahead anyway and purchased it. I am glad I did! It is easy to use, well designed and is a pleasure to use. Okay, the software is not too great but I use it just to convert into a video format and then edit the movie with Pinnacle software which I have been using for years.

The price is fantastic, the image quality is high and it is easy to use. If you are looking for a simple camcorder with a huge hard drive that is affordable then this camera is for you. It is a GREAT VALUE!!!

I am very pleased with it and strongly recommend it!!!!