Review: Panasonic SDR-H250 HDD/SDHC Camcorder


It's a 3CCD camcorder that offers a choice of recording onto either internal HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or high-capacity SD cards in addition to USB 2.0 for importing clips into your computer. It's not an HD camcorder, but potentially ideal for camcorder newbies.


Panasonic SDR-H250 HDD/SDHC Camcorder
It's amazing to see just how many new camcorder products from the big four makers now offer tapeless media recording in favour of old-fashioned DV tape. Panasonic is no exception in offering users the option of recording not just to DVD but also to internal embedded HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) and also to SD memory cards. As the capacities of both HDD and SD technology increases, so we're able to cram more and more video and digital stills pictures onto our media.

With new digital tape-based model camcorders now in evident decline, it's pretty much down to whether you want to record your movie clips to either DVD, HDD or SD. However, the signs are that even DVD is itself a declining format for home video makers - which leaves HDD and SD as the emerging front-runners when it comes to your making a format choice.

What's attractive about the Panasonic SDR-H250 is that it offers both HDD and SD card recording, so you have the best of both worlds. Whilst there are lots of HDD-only camcorders out there in the market (see JVC's Everio range for examples) it's possible that you might just fill up a 30GB or even 60GB hard disk drive whilst on an extended holiday or trip. 7 hours' recording would be more than ample for most users, but you just can't tell! Having a camcorder that records video and still pictures to an internal HDD and also to SDHC (high capacity SD cards) is therefore a considerable bonus.

First impressions


It's nice and chunky and it's not exactly a lightweight, but that's OK. It easily fits into a coat pocket or handbag and if you require this level of portability you can rest assured that the lens front element won't be damaged thanks to a lens shutter which is activated by turning what looks like a focus ring around the lens itself.

The camcorder is finished in an attractive shiny metal, on the main barrel, and brushed aluminium finish around the remainder. The concealed (and non-removable) 30 Gigabyte Hard Disk Drive resides in the part of the camcorder where you'd expect a DV tape to load (on the right, behind the strap) and this contributes to an equivalent body mass overall. At the rear, we have a collection of controls - independent on/off button, main function dial (providing Record and Play options for Movie and Photo shoot modes respectively), a Menu button (for selecting Record and Play functions) and a mini-joystick positioned in the centre of the main function dial which is used to navigate around the menus and make selections.

Something you don't find on tape cameras is a Trash bin. Select a video clip or image you don't want and hit the button. Gone.

Like the JVC Everio series of HDD camcorders whose general body style the SDR-H250 resembles, there's no viewfinder; instead, users have to rely on the widescreen LCD screen. Depending on how you'd use the cam, that isn't such a big deal since the viewfinders on many low/medium cams aren't that good anyhow, and if you support the camcorder properly you'll get stable and useable clips.

The Panasonic CGA-DU12 Li-ion battery pack slots onto the back of the camcorder and protrudes slightly, but not such that it impedes usage (given that there's no viewfinder to worry about). Remove the battery and a USB Mini-B socket is revealed with which to transfer media to a PC using a supplied cable and software - this forces the use of the AC mains adaptor, which is not such a bad idea either.

Features


The camcorder has a surprisingly good set of features that will be more than ample for the beginner in particular. Widescreen shooting is aided hugely by the incorporation of three CCDs (the imaging chips that turn incoming light into electrical impulses before being saved in digital form), each producing an effective 540,000 pixels. Optical zoom lens ranges from 3mm at its widest to 30 mm on full telephoto and operation is fast, thanks to a little zoom toggle on the top rear of the body. As to be expected from Panasonic, its Mega OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) is very good indeed - and works to smooth out hand-held shots most impressively when fully zoomed-in to a distant object.

A handy - though easily overlooked - feature is the shutter-style lens cap that is opened and closed by turning what you might think is a focus ring. This is very useful in avoiding scratching the lens when putting it your pocket - though it does mean that you don't have the manual focus ring you might have wished for.

Using the power dial at the rear of the cam will produce a nice warm glow - literally. By selecting the Record mode in either movie or still shooting modes (and having selected either HDD or SD as the primary medium for the session in the menu), you'll see that the upper rear panel will start to pulsate a nice red glow. Switch to Play mode respectively and it will glow blue. Is it gimmick? Perhaps - but we quickly found it to be a useful instant mode check whilst recording.

The SDR-H250 makes it possible to choose between recording onto the internal 30GB hard disk drive or to a SD card, but not both simultaneously. Thanks to ever-increasing SD memory card capacities, it's now relatively cost-effective to buy one or more 4GB SDHC Class 6 (high capacity SD, of a speed suitable for full spec video) cards.

It's good to see Panasonic steering away from overly-complex menu systems with the H250. The Menu button provides the entry point (in all camera modes) to the choice of functions. Like retrieving digital stills images in a camera, we can review movie clips and stills by using the mini-thumbwheel to navigate our way around the pages of thumbnail representations on the 2.7" LCD and select one (or more) to view and play. It's also a relatively easy job to create a Playlist of clips that can be recalled when you want to show only a selection of clips on a TV screen or even burn to DVD.

In addition to having a button - positioned inside the opened LCD screen recess - with which to increase the brightness of the LCD screen in three steps, Panasonic has included a simple "DVD Copy" button; when the camcorder is connected to a Windows or Vista PC via USB 2.0 cable (supplied), and where the bundled Image Mixer software CD is installed, it's possible to make a quick, no-nonsense, DVD backup copy of your clips as stored on either HDD or SD card. Just click the button and off you go.

Performance


As you may know, SimplyDV prefers to give selected camcorders "real world" tests rather than re-gurgitate manufacturers' spec sheets, and as such this model was afforded a very real test by using it during a lengthy family day outing in central London during July 2007. What's interesting is the way in which the cam seems to perform superbly in virtually all settings and in all modes - even in Auto.

On a bright summer's day, we were able to fill a 2GB SDHC Class 6 card with movie clips and stills, having recorded in both fully auto and manual over-ride modes. In all situations, images and sounds are crisp, whilst producing beautifully-rendered colours and contrast ratios.

Shooting in manual mode is easy; simply flick the Auto/Manual (plus Focus Check) switch in the LCD recess to Manual and use the mini-joystick to set the values according to an onscreen display. Although a bit fiddly to get used to, it's actually possible to ride exposure levels manually with relative ease - and doing so produced pictures that were (it has to be said) marginally better than if we shot in fully auto mode in the same situation.

Altogether. pictures and sound are excellent in both widescreen 16:9 and traditional 4:3 modes. Moreover, the resulting DVD creation using Pinnacle Studio Plus 11 produced a final recording quality that was - to the untrained eye, at least - virtually indistinguishable from anything shot on an equivalent MiniDV camcorder. Using the camcorder's own "DVD Copy" function on a PC produced clone backups of files recorded onto both the HDD and SDHC card.

The tiny zoom toggle control - on the upper rear of the main body - is small and a bit fiddly to use and doesn't really lend itself to smooth, long-drawn-out steady zooms. However, it's always a good idea to use the zoom only for rapid reframing of shots, and so for the most part this won't really be an issue for many users. In any case, the best way to shoot is to zoom out fully and get in close and don't use the zoom in your shots at all. Simple!

Conclusion


As we always go to great efforts to point out here in SimplyDV reviews, it's vitally important always to regard the target usage for any model when assessing its performance and, therefore, its suitability in the marketplace. Like so many low-cost digital camcorders today, the SDR-H250 is aimed at the beginner or casual home user who's looking for a camcorder that can be used in all the usual social domestic situations and which enables the recording anc subsequent transfer of movie clips and stills to TV or DVD (etc) with ease. In that respect, the SDR-H250 does everything the total camcorder newbie will require of it - and more. It's not aimed at professionals or even serious enthusiasts - it's aimed at ordinary users, and in that respect it provides what many users will consider to be great value indeed.

Reviewed by: CB. June 2007.

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