Whilst most would aspire to shooting hi-def and viewing the handiwork back on a large shiny plasma or LCD TV, the reality is that hi-def is not the be-all and end all. It’s the content and the story that counts in the longer run.

As such, if marketed that way, the new Panasonic SDRS50 should fly off the retailer’s shelves.

At $399, this little camcorder has some features not found in units 3 times that price; the stand out being Optical Image Stabilisation which is far superior to the more common electronic version. Mind you, if you take the lens to its full zoom, with a whopping 78x you’ll need it. And make no mistake; this is not a pixelated digital zoom but again, a full blast optical one! At 33mm , the wide is not too shabby either.

Controls are minimal however. Flip open the LCD and the unit powers on; the mode (playback or record) is set by a slider switch above the battery compartment – where the viewfinder would be if there was one. The top of the camera has a rocker zoom / wide switch, single shot button and the manual override/Intelligent Auto and OIS switches. The bezel of the LCD has the AE/AF, menu and an enter button. Finally, on the body and under the closed LCD is a button to set long record, an A/V port, USB connection and an SD card slot.

The SDR S50 as the model name suggests, only has provision for recording to SD cards and indeed, the record button won’t even allow itself to be pressed if there is no card in the slot! This I think is a Good Thing as I have been caught many times with dSLR cameras that warn on the LCD but not through the viewfinder that there is no card installed! And still allow you to “shoot”.

One bugbear though – and I have said this before – is that no card is supplied with the camera. It staggers me why even a rudimentary 512MB card is not thrown in with these cameras. They must cost cents for the manufacturers to buy.

The Intelligent Auto (iA) function, which automatically selects the most suitable shooting mode includes an AF/AE Tracking feature that tracks a moving subject to ensure that it continues to be recorded in optimal focus and exposure settings, Alongside, an Intelligent Contrast Control feature automatically adjusts brightness to maintain the best possible contrast. Other functions include Face Detection, Advanced O.I.S., and Intelligent Scene Selector. There is also a YouTube timer built in to make sure you don’t exceed the 10 minute limit.

The SDR S50 is tiny, small enough to fit into a larger pocket – say of a jacket – and weighs only a shade over 200g and for a small, light camera it fits surprisingly in the hand very comfortably and doesn’t feel at all fragile. If you are thinking of getting a Flip or Vado camera which are very popular right now, but are not that fussed about hi-def and prefer a ‘proper’ camera body, then the SDR S50 will fit the bill and you’ll love it.

www.panasonic.com.au

Price: $399

We liked…

Price

Optical Image Stabilisation

78x optical zoom

Ttrack exposure

We didn’t like…

No viewfinder

SD card not supplied

Auscam Scoreboard

• Performance                     7
• Documentation                 8
• Features                            9
• Setup                                 9
• Value for Money              10

By David Hague

David is the owner and publisher of AusCam Online. He has a background in media dating back to 1979 when he first got involved with photojournalism in motorsport, and went from there into technology via a 5 year stint with Tandy Computers. Following that, he ran a software distribution company on the Gold Coast and was one of the first to recognise the potential of Microsoft Windows.

Moving back to WA, David wrote scripts for Computer Television for video training for the just released Windows and Office 95 among others, and was then lured to Sydney to create web sites for the newly commercial Internet in 1995, building hundreds of sites under contract to OzEmail including Coates Hire, Hertz Queensland, John Williamson, the NSW Board of Studies and many, many more.

He went back into full time journalism as the Managing Editor for Channel 7's 'Gadget Guy', Peter Blasina's publications VideoCamera and Pixelmag, before starting Australasian Camcorder magazine when these publications were shelved. He lives at Sydney's Avalon Beaches nearly on the ocean front with dog Budweiser and in his spare time is a nut for motor sport, road safety, fishing, science fiction - especially Dr Who - and technology.

David can be contacted via david@auscamonline.com 

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