Panasonic HDC-SD100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom

Records on SD-Storage - 8GB Included / Leica 12x Zoom Lens / Up to 1920x1080 Resolution / 3 CMOS Sensor / Face Detection High-Speed Bust Shooting lets the camcorders snap up to 24 consecutive 2.1 MB resolution still images in a second, or up to approximately 72 consecutive shots in 3 seconds. Pre-Rec enables the camcorder to continuously record three seconds (while in the Pre-Rec mode) internal buffer memory. Then, when the Record button is actually pressed, the three seconds immediately prior are added at the beginning of the clip. Wide-Viewing-Angle LCD has 300,000 dots and a 170-degree viewing angle both vertically and horizontally. This LCD provides extended viewing from both high and low angles. Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) detects hand-shake and then triggers the lens to shift to correctly align the optical axis, helping to ensure videos are sharp and reduce blur. This happens at a rate of 4,000 times per second. Face Detection automatically adjusts the exposure, contrast, skin complexion effect, and focus so that faces are always clear. Face Detection can detect up to 15 faces in a frame. Intelligent Contrast Control continually measures the ambient light intensity and adjusts the contrast
List Price: $1,681.92
Amazon Price: $857.81
Used Price: $588.99
Customer Review: Very good camera for your dollar
This is my 3rd HD camera. I first had a JVC HD-7 which took very good video in high outdoor light only, indoors was utterly very poor. I do a lot of videos of my toddler indoors and even with all the lights on it was very poor quality so I went with the panasonic new 3MOS system for all the praise it got on low light conditions. That was the worst camera I've ever ever used. the video quality was like a camera phone. This camera is my favorite of the 3. IT's very very small but heavy and feels very well built. I love the fact that I can dock it on it's little cradle and no fiddling with usb and power cables. I love that it closes the lens cover automatically unlike the jvc. I love the touch screen. The video in high light is very good, probably as good as the more robust 26Mbps mpeg recording of the jvc. low light is still not everything I would hope but still better than the jvc and a million times better than the panasonic 3MOS chip. It's good enough to make me happy after two HD failures. on another note, bundled software is lacking power. This camera is capable of 60i but for some odd reason the bundled software is not. you can only use power director if you record in 30p mode. even premiere cs4 saw the 60i mp4 files as 15fps and would not convert them right. AVS video tools finally worked well for me and has an available lifetime upgrade option.