OT: Panasonic HDC-SD100 Good deal?

xberk wrote on 3/26/2009, 3:37 PM

The price on the Panasonic HDC-SD100 has dropped to less than $500.00 over at thenerds.net.
I was interested in this camera as it had a sort of through-the-lens viewing (I hate using the LCD screen for shooting) .. I just wasn't sure about the quality of the image and relying solely on the SD cards. Anyone have opinions on the price/value of this camera for prosumer type use. I'm working off an old GS250 Panasonic and have a desire to move up to HD. Strictly using Vegas 8.0c and 8.1 for editing. Advantages - disadvantages.? Also is there a diff between HDC-SD100 and HDC-SD100K ?

Comments

tumbleweed7 wrote on 3/26/2009, 5:54 PM

I really like the little cam...

I come from a BetaSP beginning, to DV, HDV, & now AVCHD...

I haven't used the viewfinder very much because most of my shooting is not from my eye level, so I use the LCD, & it's pretty decent...

On the previous model(SD9), you had to shoot with the LCD open, as it would shutdown when you closed the LCD...
But with the SD100, you now have a choice between the LCD or viewfinder, & it will not shutdown when the LCD is closed...

Once I started using the SDHC cards, I've never really looked back.
I don't miss tape at all, & all the issues you can have.

As far as prosumer use, the PQ is very good, looks great on my friends 52" plasma, although it's a little grainy in low light... It has all the manual control of a prosumer cam, with some of it in the menu, but the more I use & get used to it, the controls are not that hard to use... the newer models, larger sensor & lens would be a better image & better low light though...

I use a short shotgun with a mini plug, in the shoe on top, as the on cam mic is quite noisey in the wind of course... you can control the audio levels....

I only use 8.0c ,on Vista32. You use the software HDwriter that comes with the SD100, & it offloads it to the PC, thru the USB supplied cable or simply use the card to plug into the card reader on your PC...

My final output is to DVD SD letterbox... & looks quite good IMHO....

Don't know the diff between SD100 & SD100K....

i c e wrote on 3/26/2009, 6:19 PM

i don't know much about the camera your asking about as I am a Sony adict.
I have been using the Sony HDR-CX12 for about a year which also records on to small chips (Pro DOU). I love using the tiny chips, so much easier than DV tapes. Really helps me keep everything small while I travel.
The quality is phenominal! The only disadvantage is the AVCHD is a bare...
Just maybe something that you could campare against. if you want you I can email you the details.

gluk, (good luck)

ice

newhope wrote on 3/26/2009, 8:39 PM

I've been shooting multicam with an HDC-SD100, HMC-152EN (150 series PAL Version) and HDC-SD9.

The images off the two prosumer cameras are quite stunning. They tend to slightly over saturate compared to the HMC-152 but really do perform well given their price and size, particularly when set to manual modes.

Can't compare them to the Sony HDR-CX12 but the HDC-SD100 is a three chip CMOS and, at the time we bought the Panasonics, Sony only had single chip cameras in the same range of prosumer AVCHD.

New Hope Media

xberk wrote on 3/26/2009, 11:20 PM

I use a short shotgun with a mini plug, in the shoe on top, as the on cam mic is quite noisey in the wind of course.

I have heard that the SD100's sound recording is the weakest link. My old GS250 Panasonic gets amazing sound with a very directional mic built in. Tumbleweed can you post a picture somewhere of the SD100 with the Shotgun mike mounted? This is a very small camera. Isn't the mic bigger than the camera? 90% of my stuff is done hand held in very fluid shooting situations.