jgkurz Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I'm considering a purchase of a new 1080i HiDef camcorder and was wondering if anyone had some experience. Looks like the major drawback is support for the AVCHD format. So far I like the Panasonic HDC-SD1. I'm going to Bonneville Speed Week in August and want to get some decent video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Woj Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 What do you plan on doing with the footage after you have it on your SD card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgkurz Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Right now I'd either burn it to DVD and upscale to 1080i or convert to MPEG2. I might also leave it in the AVCHD format for later HD-DVD or Blu-Ray burning. I understand the Play Station 3 will play M2TS format but I haven't confirmed it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I bought the Sony. I was tired of grainy video on the big screen. The pic is amazing! I burn the video I want to keep to a DVD and play it on the blue ray disc player. Really have not done any editing. Just copy and save. Well worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgkurz Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 I bought the Sony. I was tired of grainy video on the big screen. The pic is amazing! I burn the video I want to keep to a DVD and play it on the blue ray disc player. Really have not done any editing. Just copy and save. Well worth the money. I hear the Sony default software is way better than the Panasonic. Nero 7 is suppose to support AVCHD so I might try the demo before I buy. When you burn to a DVD and play to your DVD player as opposed to a Blu-Ray player does the video look still look good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Woj Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 For what it's worth, my instructor lectured on HD formats right after I made that post (was on lunch at the time). He said there were ~150 HD formats and singled out AVCHD as an example of a proprietary format that is nearly un-editable. It is also currently unsupported on Apple computers (which may not apply to you). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Just a +1 for Panasonic cameras. I have a panasonic mini-dv recorder that is nearly HD. It's the model just below their HD stuff but still widescreen. It uses the 3 CCD technology and the picture looks amazing on my Samsung HD DLP TV. I would recommend Panasonic products with the 3 CCD tech. It also uses an optical image stabilizer built into the lens mechanism. I record in DVD format and just drag the folder it creates on the mini DVD to my PC hard drive. Then the floders play with any DVD software. I play them through my Media Center PC on my TV. Of course they can also be converted to any other format with software. Then I format the Mini DVD-RW and use it again. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgkurz Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 For what it's worth, my instructor lectured on HD formats right after I made that post (was on lunch at the time). He said there were ~150 HD formats and singled out AVCHD as an example of a proprietary format that is nearly un-editable. It is also currently unsupported on Apple computers (which may not apply to you). I would have agree with your instructor a few months ago but there are now a few apps that say they can edit AVCHD aka M2TS such as Nero 7 and Ulead. I haven't personally tried any yet. Just a +1 for Panasonic cameras. I have a panasonic mini-dv recorder that is nearly HD. It's the model just below their HD stuff but still widescreen. It uses the 3 CCD technology and the picture looks amazing on my Samsung HD DLP TV. I would recommend Panasonic products with the 3 CCD tech. It also uses an optical image stabilizer built into the lens mechanism. I record in DVD format and just drag the folder it creates on the mini DVD to my PC hard drive. Then the floders play with any DVD software. I play them through my Media Center PC on my TV. Of course they can also be converted to any other format with software. Then I format the Mini DVD-RW and use it again. I like it. I agree that the 3-CCD is a differentiator for the Panasonic units. When it comes to camcorders I usually prefer Sony or Canon but the HDC-SD1 just seems to be the best unit for the money. I also like the idea of no hard disk drive to fail since it's all SD memory. Supposedly the included 4GB card will provide 40min of recording time. SanDisk has just released an 8GB SD card which will be even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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