The Panasonic SD90 HD Camcorder is one of the best selling camcorders of 2011 featuring great quality full HD video in an ultra-compact package. This camcorder features a 28mm wide-angle lens with an intelligent 40x zoom, face recognition, 1,080/50p recording and the ability to shoot 3D images with an optional 3D conversion and lens. This camcorder really is extremely light and really handy for slipping into your pocket and carrying with you all the time.
Click here to buy the Panasonic SD90 HD Camcorder
The 28mm lens gives a field of view equivalent to that of a compact 35mm camera and will allow you to shoot at a close distance from your subject whilst still getting both the subject and surrounding area into the frame. As a result it’s great for recording indoors or where you have little space to move.
Intelligent Auto a Panasonic SD90 Review
The HDC-SD90, Which?, Best Buy, September 2011
The SD90 has a built-in iA (Intelligent Auto) system to senses shooting conditions and automatically makes the settings and activates functions that will deliver optimal results. This lets you use the camcorder without having to fiddle with menu options and allows you to capture beautiful, crisp images. The iA system has six functions : Face Recognition, new HYBRID O.I.S., AF/AE Tracking, Intelligent Scene Selector, Face Detection and Intelligent Contrast Control.
The Panasonic SD90 also has an extensive manual mode using the touchscreen, which will allow you to independently operate the shutter and iris, varying the shutter from 1/50th to 1/8,000th and the iris from F16 to F1.8. There is an auto slow shutter feature which allows you to reduce the shutter speed even further to 1/25th to cope with even lower light conditions.
The 40x ‘intelligent’ zoom is astonishing and incorporates the Image Processing LSI “Crystal Engine PRO,” a super-high resolution technology to achieve ultra-telephoto 40x shooting beyond the optical zoom range. Basically this means that the optical zoom of the lens will take you to 26x, after which the camera uses the Intelligent Zoom option to boost zooming to 40x with little or no impact on picture quality.
As part of the Intelligent Auto features, the Panasonic SD90 features a HYBRID O.I.S. (optical image stabilization system), which detects subtle blurring by arm movement and corrects it using a lens in the optical system and a sensor in electrical system. This delivers beautiful images even when shooting on the move or zooming and will really help you get shots previously impossible due to shake. Although you don’t need to use it, once you have the subject in view, it is possible to ‘lock’ the stabilization, using a button on the touchscreen although some may feel this a bit of a fiddle and would prefer to use a tripod.
Recording Formats
This camcorder will record in a range of formats, including the standard AVCHD modes which deliver full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080)1,080 with 50i (interlaced fields) . It also provides the ability to record in 50p (progressive recording) to give you a smoother motion to your recordings by recording at 50 frames a second and you will find that this easily passes the test when viewed through your HD TV. You should note that, this mode switches the recording to a different file format and so it’s worth checking this out if you want to start editing your recordings.
Recordings are stored on an SDXC/SDHC/SD Memory Card and the SD90 will accept up to 64Gb cards.
Adaptors & 3D Recording
It is also wort pointing out that there is an adapter included that slots on the rear to provide a standard-sized shoe which will let you mount an optional external video light and there is a 3.5mm mini-jack for connecting an external microphone.
If you want to record in 3D, you will need to attach the optional 3D Conversion Lens (VW-CLT1) to the camcorder to record 3D images in AVCHD format firsthand. It is worth pointing out that this does lock the zoom on the camcorder.
SD90 Zooming
The following video provides a Panasonic SD90 review.
Click here to buy the Panasonic SD90 HD Camcorder
All in all this Panasonic SD90 review shows that it is a fantastic camcorder for the price offering fantastic quality full HD video in a small and light device. With it’s 28mm wide-alngle lens and 40x zoom it is easy to see why it is currently one of the best selling camcorders.
(The information on this site is the webmasters opinion only, www.tvandmedia.co.uk).
