Camcorder Review: Panasonic SDR-S100 3CCD SD Card (page 2)

The onboard microphone on the SDR-S100 is located on the top-rear of the camcorder, so it picks up a fair amount of operator noise. The mic's directional performance is not ideal, as it struggles to pick up sound beyond 10 feet in front of the camcorder. Meanwhile, if you're not careful with your hands or you chirp in some dialogue from behind the camcorder, you'll overpower the sound from in front of the mic.

These issues are not made any easier without a mic input, so you'll have to settle with a mediocre pick up range with the onboard mic. The SDR-S100 does, however, offer a headphone jack, via an adapter cable that plugs into the A/V jack, to help you make the best of what you've got. Overall, the playback of the audio sounds very clean and full.

At the highest recording mode there is very little if any visible compression artifacts and is comparable to Mini DV. The real contributor to this high quality mode is the ability to record at 10Mbps, which is a slightly higher than the maximum bit rate for a standard DVD disc. During playback of our footage we were able to see that a good amount of detail and the colors look mostly accurate, with a slightly cooler look than most consumer camcorders.

Having the convenience of a small, lightweight and easy to use camcorder makes the SDR-S100 a top candidate for any consumer shooter. While it's limited in its expandability of battery and audio options, its portability could make it useful for the casual shooter who is on the go. All this and you can look incredibly stylish, too.

Format: MPEG-2
Media Type: SD Memory Card
Number of CCDs: 3
Size of CCDs: 1/6"
Pixels on CCD: (k) 800
Video Effective Pixels (k): 640
Focus: Auto/Manual (using dial)
Shutter Speed: Auto/Manual
Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/8000
Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/60
Lens f Stop: 1.8-2.8
Program Exposure Modes: 5
Optical Zoom: 10x
Focal Length: 3.0-30.0mm
Image Stabilization: Optical
Manual White Balance: Yes
Viewfinder: no
LCD Monitor: .8" wide, 21k pixels

• Good image quality
• Small and lightweight
• Some manual controls

• Non-expandable battery design
• Awkward handling
• Poor range with onboard mic

Gadget freaks and celebrities agree, this camcorder is easy to use, small and stylish.

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