Instruction manual
CAMCORDERS
22 Which? Right Choice September 2009
www.whichrightchoice.comwww.whichrightchoice.com
September 2009 Which? Right Choice 23
PRICE (Rs)
RECORDING
FORMAT
HARD DISK
RECORDING TIME
(mins)
SIZE (hxwxd) (cm)
WEIGHT (g)
OPTICAL ZOOM
LCD SIZE (cm)
VIDEO LAMP
EXTERNAL MIC
VIEWFINDER
OVERALL VIDEO
QUALITY
EASE OF USE
SOUND QUALITY
FEATURES
STILL PHOTOS
BATTERY LIFE
IMAGE
STABILISATION
AUTOFOCUS
MODEL SPECIFICATION TEST PERFORMANCE SCORE %
HIGH DEFINITION
1 SONY HDR-SR11 58,995 HDD/MC 60 430 7.5x9.5x14 640 12 8.1
79
2 CANON HF10 70,400 MC/FL 6.5x8x13 430 12 6.6
76
3 PANASONIC HDC-HS9 49,995 HDD 60 460 7.5x8.5x12.5 440 10 6.9
76
4 PANASONIC HDC-SD9 45,785 MC 6.5x7.5x12.5 330 10 6.9
76
5 CANON HF100 69,300 MC 6.5x8x13 430 12 6.6
75
6 CANON HR10 74,350 DVD 9.5x8x13.5 600 10 6.9
75
7 SAMSUNG VP-HMX20C 49,900 MC/FL 7x8x14 500 10 6.6
70
8 CANON HV30 70,500 Mini-DV 8.5x10x14 610 10 6.6
61
STANDARD DEFINITION
9 PANASONIC SDR-H280 36,995 HDD 30 420 7.5x8.5x14 480 10 6.9
68
10 CANON FS10 24,850 MC/FL 6x6.5x12.5 310 37 6.6
58
11 CANON FS100 21,825 MC 6.x6.6x12.5 310 37 6.6
58
12 CANON DC330 26,160 DVD 9x7x12.6 430 37 6.6
52
13 SONY DCR-HC62 15,995 Mini-DV 8.5x7x11.5 460 25 6.6
51
14 CANON DC320 22,050 DVD 9x7x12.7 430 37 6.6
49
15 CANON DC310 17,580 DVD 9x7x12.5 430 37 6.6
48
16 PANASONIC SDR-H90 27,225 HDD 80 1080 7x6.5x12.5 351 70 6.9
46
17 PANASONIC VDR-D50 17,795 DVD 9.5x7x14 460 42 6.9
42
18 PANASONIC SDR-S15 17,550 MC 6x5x10.5 188 10 6.9
41
19 SANYO VPC-CG65 15,970 MC 10.5x3.5x7.5 180 5 6.1
41
20 PANASONIC SDR-S26 17,550 MC 6.5x6.5x10.5 257 70 6.9
39
21 SANYO VPC-CA65 17,470 MC/FL 11x4.5x9 250 5 6.1
39
22 PANASONIC SDR-S7 11,050 MC 6x4.5x10.5 190 10 6.6
37
We tested the best-selling camcorders.
Right Choices are highlighted in red
(see p3). The more stars the better.
SPECIFICATION
Price The price shown is a guide as at
August 4, 2009.
Recording format Recording formats
that the camcorder accepts. FL = flash,
HDD = hard-disk drive, MC = memory card.
See‘Recording formats’, p19.
Hard-disk recording time The amount of
footage, recorded at the highest quality
level, that the hard disk can store.
Weight Includes memory card, disc or tape,
battery and hand strap.
Optical zoom The higher the number, the
closer you can zoom in. 10 = 10x
magnification.
Video lamp Provides additional light when
the scene is dark.
External mic Whether you can attach a
separate microphone for better sound
quality.
Viewfinder Whether the model has an
eyepiece viewfinder.
TEST PERFORMANCE
Overall video quality Tested in various
light conditions, including daylight, dim
light and artificial light.
Ease of use Expert views on each
camcorder’s portability, recording,
playback, LCD, viewfinder and
instruction manual.
Sound quality Performance of each
camcorder’s built-in microphone.
Features How useful each model’s
features are.
Still photos Image quality, shutter delay
and start-up time of still photo function.
Battery life Based on recording time
on a single charge.
Image stabilisation Reduces the effect of
hand shake. Some camcorders have better
systems than others.
Autofocus Reliability and speed of
autofocusing system, tested in various
light conditions.
SCORE
Scores for HD and standard-definition
models are directly comparable. They
ignore price and are based on:
Overall video quality 40%
Ease of use 20%
Sound quality 15%
Features 10%
Still photos 10%
Battery life 5%
USING THE TABLE
For great standard-
definition video quality
Rs36,995
The SDR-H280 is an excellent choice if
you want a standard-definition
camcorder, perhaps because you don’t
have an HDTV set. It captures sharp
movies, both indoors and out, and is the
closest of all our standard-definition
camcorders to matching the video quality
produced by our Right Choice HD
models. Autofocus works reliably, even
when zooming in dim light. It is quick,
too, which is handy if you’re filming a
scene with lots of objects at different
distances. The sound is also good,
although some mechanical noises —
such as the zoom and the disk drive —
are sometimes picked up by the internal
microphone. It has 30GB of hard-disk
storage (holding 420 minutes of footage
recorded at the highest quality setting).
Battery life is excellent. We managed
143 minutes of recording on a
single charge.
HARD-DISK SIZE (GB)
JARGON BUSTER
We translate the complex language of camcorders.
AUTOFOCUS Nearly all camcorders allow you to
focus manually, and though this is sometimes
useful, a good automatic focusing (autofocus)
system helps you focus quickly and accurately.
AVCHD This is an HD format that captures footage
more efficiently, and makes editing slightly easier.
It is commonly found on high-definition hard-disk,
DVD and memory-card camcorders.
CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICE (CCD) Every digital
camcorder has a sensor inside that picks up the
picture. The most common type is CCD. Some
camcorders have three CCDs – these usually offer
better video quality but are more expensive.
FIREWIRE Camcorders that record on Mini-DV tape
usually have a FireWire connection. FireWire is the
best way to transfer Mini-DV footage from your
camcorder to your computer for editing, as it’s
quick and retains high original image quality.
PANNING The technique of moving your
camcorder from left to right or vice versa to
film across a scene.
68
%
PANASONIC SDR-H280
Recording format
Hard disk (30GB)
Size 7.5x8.5x14cm
Weight 480g
Optical zoom 10