Customer Reviews

Panasonic SDR-S10 Flash Memory Weatherproof Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (2GB Memory Card Included)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are looking for a small quick shooter to grab clips of your kids or your friends, then this is exactly what this camera is made for. Its all about speed, speed to turn on, and shoot, and then share. (post online, youtube, even whip to DVD)

The Pros:

1. Small and relatively cheap, the next Panasonic is almost double the price SD150. When you compare it to the multitudes of SD cameras (Aiptek, Mustek DXG etc), the S10 is Mercedes, in terms of features, build quality, optics and controls. I replaced my Aiptek GO-HD with this one

2. Shoots Mpeg-2, since its not HD, it uses good ol'MPEG-2, which works great with most edit applications (I do have a couple of gripes about the 16X9 mode though)

3. "water resistant" I have yet to try, but they claim it works ;)

5. Did I mention small?

6. 10X optical zoom with Electronic image stabilization (yes optical would be better, but folks this is a $400 camera)

7. Decent editing software (for PC anyway)

The Cons:

1. No lens cover, I could not agree more with the other reviewer on this point, if this is being billed as an all weather camera, would it have killed them to add an auto door over the lens?

2. Screen does not swivel the full 180 degrees, obviously the engineers are too ashamed of how they look to enjoy making faces at themselves (or with their kids into the camera)

3. Battery could be better, if you are serious about it, get 2 batteries

4. 16X9 Mode seems to create some crazy compressed mpeg that needs to be recompressed by the MotionSD Studio software to be useable (if there is another way to do this please let me know). Otherwise, whatever player you have will squeeze the 16X9 into a 4X3 window or give you an image that looks like it went through a paper shedder and was randomly put back together like Premier elements 2.0 did.

5. Video quality is not fantastic, but still very usable....again its all about expectations, this is a $400 SD camera with 1 CCD, if you want to pull a George Lucas I suggest an HD-DV or high end Mini-DV camera (good luck trying to edit AVCHD)

6. Photo mode is camera phone quality (actually less than camera phone) This camera is not meant to be photo taker. In fact I have a great DSLR, I use this strictly for the moments that a photo isn't enough.

7. You have to connect the Power when transferring files to the PC via USB. That is not cool. (I understand its to ensure no corruption but come on we are adults, I can read the little battery meter as well as the next guy

So to summarize this is a great (better quality) inexpensive clip shooter, it goes back to my moto on video (especially with kids) "less than spectacular quality video is better than no video." You might have the best HD Camera but it does you no good if it sits in your closet. This is small enough to keep with or keep out so it's a quick grab. Then a few minutes later you are emailing out the clips or posting them for the family to see.

Finally if you want see exactly what comes in the box, you can go to flickr and do a search on the SDR-S10, I posted my unboxing photos.

Got this camera because of it's size and because it's a Panasonic. Unfortunately, video quality is not much better than the average webcam. The screen does not flip 180 degrees contrary to what the picture shows. There is no cover to protect the lens. Battery life is only 40 minutes per charge. To charge the battery, you plug the AC adapter directly into the camera. No external charger provided. Recording time on the included 2gb SD card is 27 minutes XP mode and 50 minutes SP mode. Startup time is advertised as 1.7 seconds, but that's only if you enable quickstart which is basically a standby mode that continues to drain the battery even when you're not filming. The true cold startup time is more like 3-5 seconds. E.I.S. (electronic image stabilizer) works okay, but lowers the resolution even more. Digital zoom is unusable, but the 10x optical zoom is not too bad if you have steady hands. Focusing is okay in outdoors, but slow indoors. Low light performance is similar to ISO400 or ISO800 on your average consumer digital camera. Still, despite all these problems the unit is very small and can fit in your pocket (or purse). It's perfect for anyone who plans to use it primarily for YouTube videos, etc., Extremely easy to transfer video clips to your computer. Since they're MPEG-2 video files, you can just plug the SD card into your computer's card reader and copy them over. No conversion necessary. Files open without problem on Windows Media Player and Windows Movie Maker. At $400, it's a tough sell (i.e. for about twice as much you could buy the HDC-SD1). If this camcorder were around $200, I'd give it 3 or 4 stars.

Quality of video is OK. But its minuscule size and simplicity of usage makes up for that. Ridiculously easy to connect to the computer. It is a point-and-shoot video camcorder - good for quick impromptu videos - that is its primary function. If you want elaborate electronic image, look elsewhere. Don't bother with built-in camera as well - very grainy image, not unlike cellpohone pics. Battery life is fairly good. I need to get the 4GB card (2 GB is not enough). I have received many positive comments about its size - it does look very sleek and sophisticated, and ladies love it!!! There is no lens cap - no biggie, if you carry the camera in the bag. Overall - very satisfied.

I have been using this little camera for a couple weeks now and really like it. The picture quality is very good, with a caveat, the recorded files must first go through a computer. This is of utmost importance, and also the reason I suspect for so many bad reviews on this camera. I must say that I too was ready to return it when I first played back my initial clips directly from the camera via the supplied video/audio cable to my Sony 32" CRT TV set. The images were very jagged with pronounced aliasing and the overall video quality was definitely not acceptable. In spite of that, I decided to go one step further and burn a DVD using those same video clips. What a difference! I could hardly believe I was watching the same video, and on the same Sony TV set too. I presume that for some reason or another direct playback onto a conventional interlaced TV just does not work very well, the saving grace of course is that the actual recorded video on the SD card is indeed good.

Basic operation of the camera is just that, basic and simple. There are no moving parts, except for the zoom/focus lens as the images and sound are recorded directly to a removable SD camera card. I am using a 4 gig SDHC card that I already had, and it gives me about 1 hour recording time when set on high quality (XP). The camera also has a few lesser quality modes for increased recording times. Selections are made through a menu, via a 4 way switch, and a few small buttons, all of which are straight forward and simple to use.

I have found the video quality to be excellent in bright light having brilliant well saturated colors, however as light diminishes so does the image. I guess what this means is this camera is best suited for sunny days outside. Not that indoor pictures are bad, just not as colorful as in direct sunlight. Consider though that this is a weather resistant, shock proof, rugged little unit that was specially made for the outdoors. What there is here is a very small video camera specifically designed to be taken outside, dropped in the snow, splashed on by a waterfall, and still fit into a shirt pocket. To that end it is very hard to beat, especially for the price.

The camcorder is capable of recording in both 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio modes. I prefer the 4:3 mode as after all this is a standard definition camera, to be used on standard definition TV's. It makes no sense to stretch the pixel image unnecessarily in my opinion, since the electronics are already pushing the limits with size. The image sensor is a modest 1/6 inch with max image resolution 640x480 in 4:3 mode, the pixel count of course will drop in 16:9 mode. While on the subject of pixels, still shots are pretty lame. This is a video camera and should be used as such, bring along a good digital camera for stills! That said, it does a good job doing what it does, taking moving pictures.

Panasonic has provided several preset video scene selections, one being a sort of night shot mode. I found this to be pretty cool. The camera will take decent video of stationary, or slowly moving, objects in very low light. It does not have an infra red mode, so the image is captured using existing light. This gives a natural look to the video, although at the expense of frame rate and long shutter speeds. That means that while you would be able to take great shots of the Golden Gate bridge at night (using a tripod) you won't be able to shoot moving vehicles very well, or at all! Its limited I know, but fun nonetheless.

The steady shot feature works exceptionally well. This is an electronic type of image stabilization, not optical, which means resolution is cut back a little. I tried a series of shots both ways and I cannot tell the difference in image quality, but there sure is a very BIG difference in camera shake. It keeps the image solid right through the optical 10x zoom.

There are also 2 additional digital zoom settings, and as with all digital zooms are of dubious value. The optical zoom though is clear and smooth with good control using the toggle. Better than I had expected.

Playback is via USB and the aforementioned audio/video cable. AC needs to be plugged in for downloading, but so what. I guess so as not to corrupt the SD card by ensuring continuous power. The battery itself is tiny, and charges in a couple hours. It will run the camcorder for about 40 min or so. Extra batteries can be had on line cheap, so the relatively short run time is not a big deal to me.

Handling such a small camera without the attached strap would be really hard to do. Fortunately the carry strap also secures itself to the tripod socket thus forming a loop that fits the hand, similar to the bigger cameras. I found this to be a saving grace in getting a firm purchase on the camera. One should note here that this carry strap/hand loop attaches to the tripod socket using special threads, meaning that the strap must first be screwed into the camera and the tripod then screwed into the strap socket. Some may find this annoying, but it's a non issue in practical terms. There are 2 separate shutter buttons, one being conventionally located below the zoom toggle, and another located forward and on the side allowing the camera to be held in the palm while the index finger operates the camera record button.

The visual LCD display is bright and crisp, rotating up and down but not forward, meaning you can't stand in front of the lens and watch yourself, not an issue for me. It is easier that I had expected to see in bright light.

Sound is via a built in mic with no external jack. Audio quality is excellent when close, delivering crisp clear sound, but tends to fade with distance as most small units do. There is a zoom mic feature which increases volume according to the zoom setting, I found that not particularly effective. Nonetheless I am quite satisfied with the sound quality.

Output files are saved as .mod file extensions. They convert to Windows Media compatible .mov automatically as soon as the files are downloaded to the computer when using the supplied software. This allows the downloaded clips to be instantly viewable in Windows with no further conversion. As for the supplied software itself, although I have read numerous articles to the contrary, I've found it to be simple, easy, and powerful for basic editing. It's a great little editing program that works well, however it seems to have been made by people that did not speak very good English. I think that may well be the reason for the negative software reviews, and I confess it is a little annoying reading hacked up English. Get beyond that though and you'll find it to be a simple, easy to operate editor providing good basic special effects, titles, ability to add background music and burn DVD's quite easily. If a person just wants to get the clips out of the camera with no edits at all, that's a cake walk. Simply drag the clip thumbnails to the time line in what ever order you chose, then just click the burn DVD button and it will make a high quality DVD that plays wonderfully on a standard resolution TV. You won't be disappointed with the video quality when doing this. Beyond that a pretty impressive production can also be made using the full editing features.

Bottom line is this is a very nice camcorder for those wishing durability and simplicity while still getting a decent picture and sound. Fact is this will be the camera most often taken to the beach, or snow skiing, or packed along on a hike while bigger cameras will stay home safely planted on a closet shelf. It's a good choice for active people. It will not equal the image quality or features of those bigger, more fragile camcorders, but it will most likely be the camera actually there when Bigfoot waves to you on a rainy day in the deep forest! My only real complaint is I sure do wish it came with a lens cover, actually the lens itself is protected by a clear glass window, but it'd sure have been nice to be able to cover that. I guess one could improvise. Also the plastic door that covers the output/power jacks is a little flimsy, but with care should last. The battery compartment door is spring loaded and more substantial, although both doors are rubber lined to keep water and dust out. I gave this camera a 5 star rating because it does what it is claimed to do.

I purchased this camcorder for its small size, ease of use and ease of uploading video to the internet for family. I have been very satisfied. It is small enough to fit into a coat pocket or purse without having to lug around a large camera bag. It is perfect for recording the events of three active children. It is so easy to load the video onto the internet for family to enjoy who live away from us. I was not very sure what to expect with the low price of the camera, but have been pleasantly surprised. It is a very affordable camera for a busy, active family.

I got this because it was on (bundle) sale. Bad idea. The picture quality is awful. It is only acceptable if used outdoors in broad day light. My phone and camera have better video quality.

Found this product to be very handy. Although the video resolution is below my expection, it's good enough for viewing in my computer.

Obviously this won't have the picture quality of larger cameras, but the fact that it weighs less than half a pound means that I can easily take it backpacking into wilderness areas.

My photos will be used for display on the internet, and it will be fine for that.

I also wish they would have included a lens cover for it.

Other than that, I am very happy with this camera.

Were I to market a lovely high tech product, I should write instructions user-friendly to those unfamiliar with multiple cords, ports, and so on.

I bought the camera. I like its dimensions, easy usage and taking videoclips on a SD memory card. I have just a very big problem. The included software doesnt work properly. My computer is able to show the camera and card either. Unfortunatelly the motionSD studio software always sais that "there is nothing recorder, however a clips have been taken...