Panasonic Sdr-t50k Std-def Sd Camcorder

Panasonic Sdr T50k Std Def Sd Camcorder @ Amazon.com

Most helpful customer reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful.
Great deal on a really good camcorder
By John C. procida
Just bought the Panasonic SDR-S50 (black) for our daughter. The camera is very similar to the SDR-H60 that we have for ourselves, but is is lighter, has 50% better zoom, and only runs on SD cards. SD cards can hold more than enough video unless you are shooting an single 60 minute shot. I prefer using SD cards over the hard disc on our SDR-H60 because transfer to the laptop is much simpler with no hardware or cables. Just remove the SD card from the camcorder and insert into laptop. The SDR-S50 comes with Panasonic VideoCam Suite 3.0 which make it simple to upload to PC, Record directly to your DVD, or simple to upload to YOUTUBE. The only downside to this camera is that if you wish to upload to YOUTUBE using the simple YOUTUBE wizard in the software, you MUST REMEMBER to switch your video recording setup to WEB MODE every time you turn the camera power on. The WEB MODE recording gets reset when the camera is turned off. You can still upload to YOUTUBE, but not with the YOUTUBE wizard. Other than that we are extremely pleased with the SDR-S50. Note, don’t fool yourself… if you think the 78x zoom will not be useful to you in your recordings, you are wrong. If you buy a camera without great zoom, then you find yourself looking for a new camera with better zoom! Panasonic also has the best OIS (optical image stablization)to take the jitter out of your zooms.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Nice zoom, poor indoors no match for HD
By Scientist
Spend 150 more and buy HDC-SD60 the high def panasonic camcorder.

I had just ordered an HDC-SD60 Panasonic with 25X zoom but was intrigued with the large zoom of this standard definition camcorder. Got this one at amazon for $150, but ended up returning it within a day.
This has nice optical image stabilized zoom but video quality is awful indoors and barely acceptable outdoors. If you need a telescope with basic recording than it probably is OK. To be fair this one would have been great for outdoor recording before the advent of HD, but cannot compete anymore.
If your budget is around 150-200, get a digital point and shoot with atleast 10x zoom. The video quality for those is better than this one and the zoom of 10x usually is sufficient for most shooting situations. Or stretch your budget a little bit and get the HD one like I did.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
SDR-S50A
By Shorian
The best feature of this camcorder is the 78X optical zoom. Actually, it is about the only redeeming feature. There are plenty of zoom tests on You-Tube which convinced me to buy this model. If you are a birdwatcher and want to really get up close, this is the camcorder for you. I haven’t yet tried it to record my daughter’s soccer games, but I expect it will be ok, especially for closeups.

Picture quality is mediocre and somewhat dark. Low light results are poor. It could use an LED light like Sony has on some of its models. If you need the 78X zoom lens it is a great buy. Otherwise, save your pennies and go with an HD camcorder that offers better quality or a good still camera with video capability.

For everyday use, I go with a compact 12 megapixel camera that also shoots short HD 720 video.

See all 24 customer reviews…

Panasonic Sdr T50k Std Def Sd Camcorder

Panasonic SDR-S50 Digital Camcorder SDR-S50K Camcorders

Compact Camcorder with a 33mm Wide-Angle, 78x Ultra Zoom and More!

Takes dynamic close-ups of distant subjects!
Enhanced Optical 78x Zoom and Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization)

The new Enhanced Optical 78x Zoom has been added to the compact body of the easy-to-carry camcorder. By taking greatest or most complete or best possible vantage of the effective CCD area, the camera makes it easy to capture a wide range of dynamic images, from sweeping landscapes with the 33mm wide-angle scope to close-ups of distant subjects with the 78x zoom, without having to worry in regards to effigy degradation. However, with long-distance zoom shots, even a tiny bit of hand-shake has a huge effect on picture quality. That’s where Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) comes in. It shifts a corrective lens as you shoot to help eliminate the effects of hand-shake, so you get clear, sharp shots even at high zoom levels. It’s an necessary feature for getting the most out of this unbelievable zoom lens.

Captures huge groups, even when shooting from up close.
33 mm Wide Angle* and Advanced O.I.S.

The 33mm wide-angle* setting on the Standard Series fits more humans and more of the background into the frame than a traditionalisti model. This is in particular handy when you want to take a group photo in a little room. It fits your subjects in even when you shoot from up close, and makes it possible to pick up even little sounds with the mic.

* 35mm camera equivalent

iA with AF/AE Tracking
Makes it easy to get a continually clear, finelooking shot

The iA function mechanically activates commodious functions for the duration of shooting. These include the AF/AE Tracking, which optimizes the focus and exposure for a chosen subject to see to it beauteous results. After you “lock on” to a subject at the center of the screen by pressing the AF/AE button, the camera follows it around, keeping it in sharp focus and decently exposed. The iA function, including Face Detection, Advanced O.I.S., Intelligent Contrast Control and Intelligent Scene Selector, gives rise to outstanding results beneath nearly all shooting conditions.