Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

The first video I took with my SDR-H40 camcorder was of a small conference inside a moderately illuminated, windowless hangar. Since I was new to the camcorder, it was set to auto-white balance. The video came out fine, and better than I expected. When it was accidentally unplugged I was glad to see that it automatically fixed the video file in just a few seconds. Outdoor video is excellent, as is it's optical stabilization. Panasonic uses a larger image chip than many manufacturers do in this price range.

My only disappointment was that it doesn't have a very wide angle lens. Personally, I'd be willing to trade the long 42x telephoto for a decent wide angle shot. Unfortunately, this problem is widespread among most camcorder manufacturers.

What I like is the simplicity of operation, it's excellent video, it's large hard drive capacity which gives many hours of use, it's ability to also record on SD & high capacity SD cards, it's small size (you could fit three of them inside my old 8mm camcorder,) optical stabilization, and value. The software gets the job done, though it isn't feature-rich. That's fine with me, and preferable to software with a steep learning curve and lots of features that I'll probably never use.

I searched long and hard for reviews on the new SDR-H40 camcorder from Panasonic with very few results. I decided to go ahead and buy it from Amazon and just try it out. Amazon was the least expensive price by the way. This camera is exactly what I was looking for and fits my needs to film my two little boys perfectly. I was buying it to replace a 10 year old panasonic vhs-c camcorder that was well worn out. Right out of the box I could not believe how small this camera was. It literally fits in the palm of my hand. The 40 gig hard drive holds over 9 hours of video on the highest quality setting. More than enough for me I think. The sound was very crisp and clear. The video was average I thought but for the price I paid I have no complaints. I was actually between buying this camera and the Sony DCR-SR45. I opted for this Panasonic because of the price and my satisfaction in the old Panasonic vhs-c camera we owned previously. If you are looking for an entry level, low priced hard drive based camcorder, I strongly recommend the Panasonic SDR-H40. The only complaint I have so far is the included software which is no big deal.

Buy Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Now

Purchased the Panasonic SDR-H40 about a month ago and have been pretty pleased with it so far. Filming indoors is pretty grainy as I would suspect most cameras in this price range will be. Turning all lights on and up when filming indoors helps though. Sound is OK, but good for basic use.

I'm running it on a MSFT XP system and the software that comes with it to pull the video files off the camera in a viewable format is clunky at best. I'd recommend upgrading to a more sophisticated or 3rd party video editing software vs. using the standard tool that comes with it. I'm running Adobe Premiere Elements now and it is a much better user experience -from transferring files to editing the video.

On the positive side, the Zoom with optical image stabilizer is fantastic. The menu, interface, design, features/functionality are great -easy to use yet flexible enough to meet most average users filming needs.

If you are looking for a basic HDD camera, I'd give this one serious consideration.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Here

I'd been contemplating a camcorder for several months, and when the funds became available, after careful thought, I bought this one. Why:

1) The built-in 40 Gig hard drive is a huge blessing. More than adequate for my needs

2) Small size and ease of use and learning for a first timer like me

3) A lot of good features for the price

4) Better optical zoom than many in this price range (42X optical, 2000X digital)

5) More than acceptable sound quality

I was also aware of some of the limitations of such a unit. For lighting, I did purchase a small LCD movie light that definitely helps in dim situations, (I may een get an infra-red light for night shots). Other thing to keep in mind is that there is NO external audio input, just the built-in condenser mic which is actually pretty decent.

Ah, the infamous enclosed software question. Simple, I DON'T USE IT!

Instead, I just simply copy the video files onto my 500 Gig external HD when the unit is hooked up to my PC. Then, I edit them in different software altogether (in my case, uLead/Corel Video Studio 11, which works way better than the enclosed Panasonic software by far and offers much more functionality and features, not to mention ease of use).

No, it's not going to produce a cinematic epic (you'd need at least a $40,000 broadcast quality unit to do that with) but it'll not only capture your life's moments but it can be utilized to produce a pretty cool low-budget film if you're so inclined, heck I've produced some comedy videos with footage from this thing in part and was very pleased.

My only real MAJOR gripe is the battery, I just wish it could last more than one hour! Are there batteries compatible with this unit that will go 2, maybe 3 hours? At least they were kind enough to include a charger/power supply.

Looking for a good place to start camcordering, this is a good one!

Want Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Discount?

so a month after buying this camcorder i had a chance to record my grandson's football( soccer) game in barrington il. seeing that it was my first time using it, it took me a few minutes to get used to steadying the camera. after that it was easy. the mic worked good with the audience noise( chanting) and the finger and thumb controls are comfortable enough for my big hand.

after i got home i had to install the software and transfer the movie to my computer. easy enough. the problem was that i shot in 16:9 and my movie came out on 4:3. now i had to resort to another programme to transfer it to 16:9. not good. you should be able to transfer from the camera to the pc in the same mode and screen type.

thats my only problem with this camcorder, the transfer.

the pictures(movie) were very good quality in my opinion.

one more thing. as of today, april 22, 2008. the batteries are very expensive and hard to get.