Panasonic HDC-SD20 a good GH1 Sidekick?

[tonydvcoste]

I noticed this camera advertised at my local generic big box store for a seemingly great price, and at first glance it looks great to use as a second camera at weddings and events.

I've already planned on getting an H4n or something like it to use along with mics for audio capture, so the idea of no mic input doesn't put me off. no hot shoe either, but all-in-all it shoots in 24p (i'm guessing not native) and 60i in AVCHD.

Can anybody give me any insight to why this may or may not be a good purchase?


Thanks

//td

[Jackson Miller]

After glancing through reviews... just go with a vixia. HF10s can be purchased for about the price of this camera and HF100s for even cheaper. Both are better than this camera.

[Jackson Miller]

Vixias are canons by the way. There are a couple generations and each generation has several versions (in case you didn't know).

[tonydvcoste]

yeah the HV20/30 (and now 40) are very popular sidekicks for the dvx100b, they both shoot on minidv tape, and i was thinking this panasonic camera would be good to pair up with the GH1 because they shoot on the same format of AVCHD

[Jackson Miller]

Well most of the vixias shoot AVCHD in fact. There are the tape based HDV vixias you mentioned, and then there are the HF series (flash memory), and the HG series (internal HD memory). And now they have a new HFS series which is flash as well. Anyways, ALL of these cameras (except the HV20-40s) are AVCHD cams. So I suggest you do a bit of research. the new generation ones just came out and might be a bit out of your price range, but last generations are a steal. The most popular is the HF10. I've got one of those and I am planning on keeping it when I get my GH1. They use the same cards and everything. Now if you want you can get the HF100 which is a step DOWN even though it is a higher model number. The HF100 is the exact same camera, but it has no internal memory (the HF10 has 16 gigs internal flash in addition to having a card slot for more). So yeah, HF100s are dirt cheap but they are silver. The HF10s look much cooler and more professional. They are black. HF11 is one step up from the HF10 and it is a waste. The only upgrade is that the internal memory is 32 gigs. But the price increase is nonproportional. Too much. So yeah. Hope that helps. The other choice would be the HG20 which is the same price or slightly cheaper than the HF10 and is hard drive based. I think it is 60 gigs. But that is a spinning HD, not flash. I think there is one card slot though. The HG20 has a max of 24mbits/sec while the HF10 maxes out at 17. Most people (including me) still choose the HF10 though for some reason. It is smaller. I forget all of the reasons why I chose the HF10 now, but everyone seems to be happy with it. I am. Haven't really used my DVX since I got it.

Hope that helps.

[JBH]

I have the Vixia HF11 and a HF100. The HF11 has 32GB internal memory, which is way too expensive, since you can get 2-16GB cards for $70 instead of paying the estra $200 for the internal memory. Plus, internal memory is four times SLOWER at transfering footage to your hard drive compared to simply putting your SDHC card in a card reader.

I edit with Final Cut Pro. I use the Panasonic HMC150 in 720p60, and then the HF11 in 1080p30. My iMac can't do multicam with HD anyway, so I just drop a 720p60 clip into the sequence to make it 720p60, and then drop the HF11's 1080p30 footage in after that. The HF11 is my wide shot, which I use rarely anyway, so it doesn't matter much that the footage is 30p. If I get a GH1 I'll use it for my main cam in 720p60 and then the 150 for my wide shot.

[Psynema]

Honestly I'd just buy another lens LOL.

The two cameras I had break on me were all lens issues. Break a lens on the GH1, the body's still good, that's what I really like. Body breaks, in under a year you can probably get a body on ebay for under $800, not buy a whole another camera at 3-4 K. Love having the separation to make repairs easier on the pocket book and turnaround time.

And I may sound dumb, but I really like the video on the prosumer, under 1K DSLR's better than a soccer parent's handicam. I'd think about saving the cash for another GH1 body or even a d90/t1i as backup instead, the price range is close enough to the d90/t1i. I'm sure there will be a 1080p 24p DSLR under 1k introduced in the next few months as well. Hell rumor has it that 24p is coming to the mark ii via firmware update, so it's possible perhaps for the t1i to also get a 24p update. You'll just have to pick your lenses carefully so you don't have to rebuy them, committing to all Nikon manuals or FD lenses with adapters for both bodies, but I think it would pay off in the longrun.

Just my 2 cents - if you have only a few hundred to spend on a backup camera, I'd gun for a prosumer hybrid, better video quality / flexibility than a handicam. HOnestly I don't think a vixia/hv20 etc would match that well either with the Gh1

[Martti Ekstrand]

In from the left field here; have a look at the Panasonic TZ7, I got one, very neat, love it and it's video is on par with good camcorders. A big plus is the small form factor, I have it in my jacket pocket most of the time now.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2009/03/21/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ7/p1

and Phil likes it too!

http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/06/02/the-perfect-pocket-hd-camera/

[Psynema]

In from the left field here; have a look at the Panasonic TZ7, I got one, very neat, love it and it's video is on par with good camcorders. A big plus is the small form factor, I have it in my jacket pocket most of the time now.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2009/03/21/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ7/p1

and Phil likes it too!

http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/06/02/the-perfect-pocket-hd-camera/

Nice vid

[Jackson Miller]

In from the left field here; have a look at the Panasonic TZ7, I got one, very neat, love it and it's video is on par with good camcorders. A big plus is the small form factor, I have it in my jacket pocket most of the time now.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2009/03/21/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ7/p1

and Phil likes it too!

http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/06/02/the-perfect-pocket-hd-camera/

That vid was HILARIOUS. Him sitting in the bathroom on the plane haha. Oh man. Phil is a funny guy. And then all of that "hoax" stuff.

Anyways, I kinda want one now. I mean I REALLY want one now. But I also don't need one compared to the other things I need desperately so that would be an unwise purchase atm. sigh*

Also, I think having a second cam with the GH1 is definitely nice in case you need to switch over just for one shot so that the problems with the GH1 don't limit what you can do. Extra glass is always nice though too.