Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder Review

The Panasonic HDC-SD9 is the company’s third generation AVCHD camcorder that records exclusively to SD/SDHC memory cards. The improvements over its ancestor, the HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99), are numerous. The SD9 records in full 1920 x 1080 with a new maximum bit rate of 17Mbps (up from 13Mbps). The optical image stabilization has been improved, and – for the time being – it’s the world’s smallest 1920 x 1080 camcorder. If it’s a winner, we’re hoping Panasonic grants it a longer life than the six-months-old-and-already-dead HDC-SD5. But the SD9 begs the question, how small is small enough? The reduction in size has clearly begun to hurt handling. Despite this, the SD9 shows advances in image quality long awaited in the AVCHD format. It’s not a perfect camcorder by any means, but the HDC-SD9 is among the best ultra-compacts we’ve seen yet.

The Front (6.75)
Panasonic’s latest AVCHD small fry is all lens up front. The lustrous 10x optical zoom Leica Dicomar lens has a focal length of 3.0mm – 30.0mm and an aperture range of f/1.8 – f/2.8. The lens is preceded by a knurled metal ring that houses the automatic lens cap. The ring has a filter diameter of 37mm for attachments, but it can also be removed, revealing the bare lens and the same 37mm threads. A small flash sits off to the left side of the lens—a disadvantageous placement for obtaining even lighting. Below the lens is the remote sensor with the recording lamp built in. That’s all you get on the HDC-SD9’s façade—no ports, video light, or built-in microphone.

The Right Side (5.5)
Behold the glorious emptiness that is the right side of the HDC-SD9. And you thought the front was lacking… Here, the only item to speak of is the hand strap, which is simultaneously comfortable and uncomfortable. The construction is a bit on the cheap side and adequate padding is nonexistent. However, this camcorder will stay glued to your hand because it’s positioned in just the right place. It doesn’t flop to the side like so many Canons, and the right side is molded to conform to a broad library of hands. The overall ergonomics of the HDC-SD9 will make up for the feeble hand strap.

The Back (4.75)
The back of the HDC-SD9 is peppered with hidden treasures—some of which are placed in vexing locations. The drab grey battery is the most prominent component in back, sliding out from the left side and accessed via a small tab in the LCD cavity. Panasonic pulled another David Copperfield here with the ports, as you’ll find the mini HDMI and DC jacks stuffed behind the battery. This means you can only view your footage on an HD monitor if the camcorder is plugged into its power supply. So much for carefree playback. The HDC-SD9’s pint size stature would be an ideal excuse for this cumbersome design, but Panasonic buries ports behind the batteries of all its camcorders. Nice try, Panasonic—you’ve got that open expanse of virgin real estate on the right side just begging for ports.

Underneath the boxy battery is a small tab that when, shifted to the right, pops the SDHC card door open from the bottom. Luckily, the position is far back enough that you can swap cards while the camcorder is mounted to a tripod. Above the battery is the rectangular Mode switch that shifts left for Playback and right for Record mode. The Record Start/Stop button is mounted on an ergonomic plastic protrusion that aligns quite nicely with the thumb.

The Left Side (6.0)
From an external perspective, the HDC-SD9 looks fairly innocent. Only two small buttons are located above the LCD screen: Face Detection and Pre-Record. Once you fling open the 2.7-inch wide LCD screen, you’ll be ambushed by a battalion of buttons, ports, and controls stationed all throughout the LCD cavity. The Auto/Manual/Manual Focus switch is located along the top with the Joystick saddled to its right. We’re not fond of the HDC-SD9’s joystick or its placement. The joystick is embedded too deeply in the LCD cavity, making it difficult to attain a solid grasp with your finger. Also, you have to reach your finger in front of the LCD screen to use the joystick, which will block the screen. We mourn the loss of the rear-mounted joystick, which was a Panasonic standard.

One nugget of goodness exists within the LCD cavity, and that’s the OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) button. Instead of having to wade through a menu to activate and deactivate stabilization, you can do it with one press of a button. Why would you want to turn off the OIS? Good question. When shooting on a tripod or a steady surface, leaving an OIS engaged can lead to a “wandering eye” phenomenon that makes the lens float around.

The Disc Copy, Power LCD Extra, Delete, and Menu buttons are also located in the LCD cavity. The Menu button is too small and can easily be mistaken for the Delete or Power LCD Extra button, so take caution.

A rectangular plastic cover is located along the bottom of the LCD cavity, housing the AV, Component, and USB terminals. The cover is tethered by a thin strip of plastic and is sometimes difficult to snap back into place. The LCD panel does not contain any controls or buttons.

The Top (5.0)
We’re back to minimalist design here. The HDC-SD9’s built-in stereo microphone is located toward the lens end, which is not optimal by any means. A top-mounted microphone on a camcorder this small is bad news for those with hands, but others will not find this a problem. When you go to shoot, just be cognizant of your finger placement

The playback speaker is located in the middle while the Zoom toggle and Photo Capture button reside toward the back end. The HDC-SD9’s Zoom toggle is like driving a freshly tuned Cadillac. This thing is big, and flashy, and shifts like a barrel of churned butter.