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Home > Consumer Camcorders > Camcorder Reviews > Panasonic Camcorders > Panasonic SD Camcorders > Quick Camcorder Reviews: Panasonic SDR-S150 Camcorder
Published on November 02, 2006
Panasonic SDR-S150 Compared to the...
Quick Camcorder Reviews: Panasonic SDR-S150 Camcorder
by David KenderPublished on November 02, 2006
The Panasonic SDR-S150 has changed little since its appearance last year as the SDR-S100 – an ultra-compact camcorder that records to SD cards. We liked it back then; however, the user response was lukewarm and the competition has evolved. The hope was that the updated model would make the leap to HD. It did not. As it stands, the SDR-S150 has been outclassed by both JVC and Sony.
The SDR-S150's greatest strength is image quality. With three 1/6” CCDs packed into a tiny frame, the camcorder showed excellent color balance and low noise. Smooth motion proved to be a problem, though, despite having a purportedly robust compression engine. We found hooking the SDR-S150 up with an AV cable created a better looking image than playing it directly from the SD card or USB cable – the image quality loss with the AV cable is a small blessing.
In low light, the SDR-S150 did not fair so well. Under these conditions, the number of CCDs matters less than the size of each chip. The relatively small chips disappointed last year and should have been a priority for redesign this year.
The SDR-S150 is about as small as they come and could easily fit in a large pocket. The design is hardly meant for professional shooting, though, as it lacks a hand strap and the size makes it difficult to hold steady. This is addressed more or less successfully by an optical image stabilization system. Curiously, the interface is designed ambidextrously. Nearly all of the controls run down the center of the narrow spine, including a four-way touch pad for menu navigation. Panasonic packs in the manual controls, but their over-reliance on icons rather than text for each control can confuse new users. You may want to pack the manual in your bag for reference reading.
An Auto/Manual switch on the back will help users locate the simplest path to idiotproof operation. In full Auto mode, the SDR-S150’s quality control decisions could run slow, but they were accurate most of the time. Low contrast shooting, where the background and foreground colors are similar, and low light shooting caused some auto focus problems, which is sadly typical in consumer camcorders.
The manual control set is Panasonic’s biggest draw, and the SDR-S150 is no exception. Included are fully independent aperture and shutter control, exposure, focus, white balance, and gain. No other manufacturer offers this breadth of control at this price point.
The SDR-S150 also ranks favorably as a camcorder/still camera hybrid. Capturing photos up to 3.3MP, the sharpness and color reproduction were far better than most camcorders are capable of.
The major update from last year is a slight improvement in the recording medium. Last year’s version recorded to SD cards, which had a maximum size of 2GB. This year, SD technology has advanced to SDHC, or SD 2.0, with a much larger potential storage of 32GB and a faster data transfer rate. The Panasonic SDR-S150 can use these new SDHC cards, though it only ships with a 2GB SD card. At that capacity, you’ll only get as far as 25 minutes of the highest quality video, making SD cards one of the weaker choices for a recording medium. Yes, prices are falling rapidly for high capacity cards, but it will surely be a few years before a 32GB card is within easy reach. By comparison, the 30GB hard disk drive that comes on the Sony DCR-SR100 or the JVC GZ-MG505 stores up to 7 hours of video.
The Sony DCR-SR100 and the JVC GZ-MG505 are both serious competition for the SDR-S150, with their better handling and much higher capacity. For a few hundred dollars more, Sony also dangles the HDR-SR1, with the enormous allure of high definition. For a few hundred dollars less, Sony and JVC offer multiple HDD models, and strength in numbers (and shelf space) makes for a powerful sway on consumers. Panasonic’s lone flash media camcorder, the SDR-S150, not only has a hard time getting noticed, but the wider variety and better choices from Sony and JVC render the SDR-S150 outgunned.
| Panasonic SDR-S150 THE BOTTOM LINE Rating: 222.67 |
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| Likes |
|
- Small, simple design and high-quality video
- Lots of manual controls in a small package - SD recording media is convenient and expandable - and durable |
| Dislikes |
|
- Relatively expensive camcorder and SD cards are expensive on a per-MB basis
- No external audio options - Handling is awkward |
Panasonic SDR-S150 Compared to the...
| Sony HDR-SR1 Rating: 269.51 |
JVC GZ-MG505 Rating: 216.52 |
Sony DCR-SR100 Rating: 215.73 |
Sony DCR-SR80 Rating: 184.76 |
JVC GZ-MG77
Rating: 178.80 |
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 |
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| Better | Better | Better | Better | Better |
|
- 1/3" CMOS sensor for better video resolution |
- Automatic Control
- Zoom toggle nicely balanced - Still Features - Still Perfomance - Low Light Performance - LCD / Viewfinder - Much better audio options with mic, headphone jacks - Widescreen - Jacks / Ports / Plugs - More features overall - HDD offers longer recording time |
- 1/3" imager yields better video resolution |
- Storage capacity (60GB HDD) |
- Zoom - Low Light Performance - Audio - Handling - Widescreen - Other Features |
| Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal |
| - Video Performance - Overall manual control comparable as ring balances lack of some independent controls - Similar ease of use - 10x optical zoom |
- 3CCDs
- White balance - Other manual control - Ease of use comparable - Still Resolution - 10x optical zoom - Editing and compression are similar |
- Other Manual Control |
- Highly portable - Similar handling |
- Automatic Control - White Balance - Other Manual Control - Ease Of Use - Zoom Ratio - Editing |
| Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse |
| - Shutter Speed - Gain - Much larger and less portable - Compression - Media - Editing - AVCHD still a questionable value |
- Video Performance
- Video Resolution - Overall Manual Control - Focus - Exposure - Shutter Speed - Gain - VCR Mode - Wide Angle - Handling - Larger, less portable - Battery - Media support for both HDD and SD cards - Expensive camcorder |
- Video Performance - Overall Manual Control - Shutter Speed - White Balance Gain - Ease Of Use - Still Perfomance - Portability - Compression Media - Value |
- Video performance |
- Video Performance - Video Resolution - Overall Manual Control - Focus - Exposure - Shutter Speed - Gain - Still Features - Still Resolution - Still Perfomance - VCR Mode - Wide Angle - LCD / Viewfinder - Handling - Portability - Battery - Compression - Media - Jacks / Ports / Plugs - Value |
| Area | Weight | Raw | Adj. | Poss. |
| Video Performance | 4.00 | 8.00 | 32.00 | 20.00 |
| Front | 0.20 | 9.00 | 1.80 | 2.00 |
| Right | 0.30 | 3.00 | 0.90 | 3.00 |
| Back | 0.25 | 6.00 | 1.50 | 2.50 |
| Left | 0.20 | 9.00 | 1.80 | 2.00 |
| Top | 0.15 | 7.00 | 1.05 | 1.50 |
| Automatic Control | 0.50 | 5.00 | 2.50 | 5.00 |
| Overall Manual Control | 0.60 | 7.00 | 4.20 | 6.00 |
| Zoom | 0.75 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 7.50 |
| Focus | 0.70 | 5.00 | 3.50 | 7.00 |
| Exposure | 0.65 | 6.00 | 3.90 | 6.50 |
| Shutter Speed | 0.60 | 7.00 | 4.20 | 6.00 |
| White Balance | 0.55 | 7.00 | 3.85 | 5.50 |
| Gain | 0.50 | 7.00 | 3.50 | 5.00 |
| Still Perfomance | 1.20 | 8.50 | 10.20 | 12.00 |
| VCR Mode | 0.30 | 8.00 | 2.40 | 3.00 |
| Low Light Performance | 4.00 | 3.50 | 14.00 | 20.00 |
| LCD / Viewfinder | 0.60 | 6.75 | 4.05 | 6.00 |
| Audio | 1.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 10.00 |
| Handling | 1.25 | 6.00 | 7.50 | 12.50 |
| Jacks / Ports / Plugs | 0.80 | 3.00 | 2.40 | 8.00 |
| Other Features | 0.70 | 4.00 | 2.80 | 7.00 |
| Value | 1.25 | 5.00 | 6.25 | 12.50 |
| Total (weighted) | 119.30 | 170.50 |