Panasonic HDC-SD10

Compact camcorders are all the rage right now, and Panasonic's HDC-SD10 is among the smallest full we've seen. Measuring a mere 48 x 115 x 63mm (WDH) and weighing just 174g, Panasonic claims it's the lightest Full HD camcorder in the world.

We're not convinced - after all Toshiba's budget Camileo S10 also does full HD (to 1,440 x 1,080) and is even slimmer and lighter. It's far from bulky though, and it carries a good deal less ballast than the Sony HDR-CX105E, which itself isn't much of a pocket-bulger.

But with that small size and light weight also comes a hefty price tag. The HDC-SD10 weighs in at a high £409 exc VAT- that's £59 more than the Sony and nearly £400 more than the Toshiba. The question is, does it justify that premium?

It's certainly packed with features. It shoots Full HD, naturally, and similar to the Sony this is in 1080/50i to AVCHD format at a maximum bit rate of 17Mbits/sec. It boasts a superior 16x optical zoom and optical image stabilisation, rather than the electronic mode of the Sony - and the latter two features are just about enough to justify the Panasonic's extra cost. The CX105E does, however, boast higher resolution stills and 8GB of integrated memory.

Other useful features include an automatic assistance light for when lighting conditions are less than ideal, plus a pre-recording feature that buffers footage so when you hit record, the resulting clip begins a few seconds earlier.

But does it all result in better quality? Well, with a smaller 1/6in CMOS sensor we weren't expecting much and close analysis of our test shots proved the Panasonic's output to be inferior to that of the Sony. Noise in our indoor test was coarser and, despite a nominally higher maximum bit rate, compression artefacts were more visible. We're not too keen on a blue-ish cast to the picture either, and the light only really helps with subjects close to the lens.

In outdoor shots, things look up, with the zoom and optical stabilisation coming into their own. Colours looked balanced, but that compression obscured some fine detail again, with the Sony's footage looking crisper and more balanced.

For all of that, this Panasonic isn't a bad camcorder. It has some impressive attributes - the big zoom and optical image stabilisation chief among them - and image quality is still good. The problem is that it's just too expensive. With the Sony offering better all-round image quality, higher resolution stills, and built-in memory, we'd choose that phone every time.

Author: Jonathan Bray