OT: Panasonic SD1 or SD5

xberk wrote on 11/17/2007, 4:24 PM

Thinking of moving from SD to HDV for hobby and travel videos.
Is anyone using either of these cameras with VP8?
Care to comment on quality and pros and cons to either of these cameras.
Love the size and convenience of SD cards for media. Generally travel with
a laptop for downloading daily.

Comments

Ben1000 wrote on 11/17/2007, 7:40 PM

Howdy...

I chose the SD1 over the SD5 for several reasons.

I talk about that choice in my podcast (2nd half of this show):

http://www.neo-fight.tv/2007/10/episode_184_ipod_nano_classic.html

Best,

Ben
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neo-fight.tv - {The Weekly Technology Podcast}

Spot|DSE wrote on 11/17/2007, 9:17 PM

I prefer the SD 5, YMMV. having used both in different situations, IMO the encoder is more clean on the SD5.

Terje wrote on 11/18/2007, 10:19 AM

If you are editing your videos, quite frankly I would recommend none of them. I moved from Panasonic to Canon a few months ago when I purchased the Canon HV-20, and in my opinion, this is superior to any of the AVCHD based camcorders on the market today.

It uses tape still, which some people don't like, but which I prefer. If I am out and about I can get a new tape in an emergency from anywhere at close to no cost. I can't get a new memory card in most places outside of urban centers, and I don't want to miss a good shooting opportunity just because I forgot to dump my memory card to my laptop when I came back from the bar last night.

xberk wrote on 11/19/2007, 9:03 PM

Thanks .. Especially Ben and Spot .. Ben's review of the SD1 is worth watching and makes some good points on why the SD1 is a better choice. I was able to shoot a few clips on an SD1 at a retail store (just brought my own SD card) in HiDef and it moved into VP8 with no problems. Cake, really. I used a simple card reader to make the transfer from the SD card to my PC much faster than real time. Drag and drop and I'm done. I know the HV-20 is a great camera and produces great video for it's price range. But what I see out of the SD1 works for me and the convenience of the SD card media is tough to beat. Still have not made the purchase but nudging myself closer daily. Thanks again guys.

CineGobs wrote on 11/20/2007, 1:41 AM

I just got an SD1. IMO it shoots some great video outdoors, and it's pretty decent indoors too.

Canon HV20 and other cmos based cameras were not an option for me, since I'm doing a lot of matchmoving.

PixelStuff wrote on 12/9/2007, 1:16 AM

I'm curious. How do CMOS based cameras affect match moving?

CineGobs wrote on 12/9/2007, 2:28 AM

Unlike CCD cameras global shutter, CMOS cameras have a "Rolling shutter" which distorts the geometry of the shot. Match moving is highly dependent on the correct geometry.

Bo