SDR-H80-A blue SD/HDD camcorder
- 1CCD camera system
- Records to 60 GB built-in Hard Disk Drive or SD memory cards
- 70x optical zoom; 100x digital zoom
- Intelligent Auto Mode automatically selects Face Detection Scene Selector Optical Image Stabilizer and Intelligent Contrast Control
- 2.7-inch widescreen touch-panel LCD
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Don't Be Confused O.I.S. vs. E.I.S. and Camcorder Movement!
This Panasonic SDR-S26 camcorder is by far the best you can buy for the price and is rated best camcorder of 2009 CES!
I have owned a few others and none of them had true O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) and I assure you that this one does. My others had E.I.S. (Electronic Image Stabilization) and believe me there is a big difference. I have noticed a few other reviews on this camcorder and some say the image stabilization works great out to 20x and good to 40x 70x is still tripod territory. That's good advise as a tripod will assist in producing great videos with virtually no camcorder movement. Please don't be confused between the O.I.S and plain old camcorder movement with camcorder movement at 70x optical zoom the object that you are looking at may move somewhat due to arm and body movement BUT notice with O.I.S. the image remains clear and crisp with great detail even with some hand shakiness. With E.I.S camcorders which usually have less zoom capabilities approx. 40x optical zoom you'd notice while zoomed out not only is there camcorder movement BUT the image is also a bit blurry and has limited detail due in part to hand shakiness. So don't be confused or fooled by plain camcorder movement or the difference between O.I.S vs. E.I.S as Panasonic's SDR-S26 with O.I.S and 70x optical zoom will absolutely exceed your expectations as did mine and amaze you with a spectacular camcorder experience. I am an extremely satisfied owner of the Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder and I know you will be also.
You can also search the WEB for the Panasonic sdr-s26 and view some of the you-tube video zoom tests that were performed by camcorder owners and see the quality of the O.I.S. and the 70x optical zoom for yourself.
P.S. Don't forget to pick up a SD/SDHC flash memory card (preferably a 16GB priced around $40.00)and possibly an extra battery (part # B-9681 priced around $14.00) both at AMAZON.COM.
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The picture quality of a '90s cell phone
I bought the Panasonic SDR-H80 digital video camera from Best Buy yesterday (May 23 2009). It cost $399 + extra for a backup battery and a warranty.
The Good Stuff:
The optical image stabilization feature is quite adept at stabilizing a shaky image.
The 70x zoom is kinda cool though you really need a tripod for anything over about 30x.
The camera looks attractive is light weight and has a relatively easy to use interface. The buttons are mostly positioned well except the zoom lever which I couldn't easily reach without jostling the camera.
The Bad Stuff:
The image quality of this camera is utter trash. Pure garbage. My picture phone literally takes better quality video at a higher resolution. I was absolutely stunned at how bad the image quality is. It looks like some kind of highly compressed late 90's webcam or something.
And it gets even worse in low light. And here by "low light" I mean anything less than direct sunlight. My first attempts with this camera last night turned out so bad that I couldn't see anything.
I did have the camera set to the highest quality and I followed the instructions for the different lighting types (fluorescent mercury etc) with no luck.
The camera claims to have an intelligent auto (iA) feature but I didn't notice it doing much but fiddling with the white balance at odd intervals.
There is also a special low-light feature called "magic ..." something or other. I forget. But it reduced the frame rate to 1 or 2 fps which makes it completely unacceptable as a video recording device.
I am surprised at how good the reviews are for this piece of equipment. Really people set your bar just a little bit higher.
I returned this product this morning to Best Buy. I brought my laptop and while I was there I tried out other cameras of this model to make sure that mine was not simply defective. They were all trash.
I ate the $60 Best Buy restocking fee but that's okay because I'd rather be out $60 than $400 for a camera that won't do anything but sit in my closet.
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