I just received my camera today. Of course, I've been researching this little gem since it was first announced for production by Panasonic a few months ago. Along with that research, I've been playing with it now for several hours and I wanted to run by some first impressions:

Pros:

* Lightweight! Panasonic touts this as the smallest, lightest HD camera available for HD recording (as of 1/2008). That's certainly no joke. You're expecting this to weigh like a brick given it relatively compact size, but it's extremely light. I'm not expecting any arm fatigue here!

* Exceptional image quality. HD recording at 17 MBPS (variable bit rate) is exceptional and image artifacting that occurred in previous generations (SD1 and SD5) are pratically eliminated. I typically burn to DVD, but I'm assuming that image quality should be good considering my eventual plan on burning to Blu-Ray through Sony Vegas Pro. The video compression uses AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) which is based on the very efficient H.264 compression.

* Flash media storage. No more dropped frames/corrupted media on magnetic tapes! No limitations imposed by a fixed hard drive! No more wasted DVD media for footage that I want to edit anyway! More importantly for me, NO MORE MOTOR NOISE. Now I can film an art gallery in true silence. Also, with the only motor in the camera servicing the camera lens (which can't be heard at all), there will be considerably less wear and tear on the camera overall. The SDHC cards are pricey, but you can get an 8 GB SDHC Sandisk Extreme III card for about $[...] - $[...] through independent sellers on Amazon, although I suspect the price for this media will be headed down. I bought 3 that way. An 8GB card will store about 1 hour of video footage at the maximum bitrate setting. Note: It is IMPORTANT to get at least a Class 4 card to record at the substantially quick bitrates. Personally, I just went ahead and got Class 6 cards (faster) since it wasn't that much more. Pony up the extra cash for the SDHC cards - at the rate that I film, it will pay for itself after several usages. Try and make the same claim about using a tape more than 2 times without some noticeable degradation.

* Image advisor. Are you panning too quickly? Subject too dark? Too much backlight? Are you not holding the camera still (pops up if you have the image stabilizer off)? The advisor identifies these issues and brings a menu option up immediately to rectify the issue; all you have to do is simply accept the advice and you're good to go! I've exposed the camera to several unfriendly environments and the advisor was quick to chime in with problem identifications/solutions.

* OIS. The image stabilizer on this camera is exceptional...and I have NEVER said that about any stabilizer for cameras that I've owned in the past. Image stabilizers are typically exaggerated on most cameras (i.e., super steady-no-motion claims), but this one does a "wow" kind of job. At 4,000 times a second, the optical stabilizer does an impressive job at stabilizing an image even at the full 10x optical zoom. This is approximately 5 times faster than Panasonic's predecessor's. I've tried the system on and off and it's extraordinarily impressive. Don't expect the same results, however, on digitially enhanced zooming which I never use anyway.

* Pre-record. Ever catch yourself saying, "Man, I wished that I had hit record about a second sooner to catch my kid saying that!" Well, with pre-record enabled, the camera keeps the last 3 seconds of video buffered in standby mode so if you do hit record at the opportune time, you can "go back 3 seconds in time to capture what you might have missed!"

* Exceptional sound. Yep, the camera comes with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. I'm a bit of an audiophile, so I truly appreciate being immersed in a home movie environment that has sound around me as if I was still there filiming it. There are 3 options with the micorphone: surround, zoom mic, and focus mic. The regular surround options records all ambient noise equally, although you can actually change the gain, if you want. The zoom mic actually directs more input to the front microphone if you zoom in closer to an object further away; this allows you to "zoom" in on sound originating directly ahead. I haven't had a chance to fiddle with the focus mic, but I'm sure that it works just as well.

Cons:

* Battery life. According to the manual, the supplied battery can optimistcally handle 1 hour and 45 seconds of continuous record time (a full charge does register at 119 minutes). Realistically, the manual says, it would last about 1 hour, if you factor in zooming, switching it on but not recording for a few minutes between shots, lighting conditions (and compensation), etc.; Panasonic's predicted time is probably close. I would recommend getting the Panasonic VW-VBG260 battery from a 3rd party dealer which will last twice as long (got mine for $129.95 - Panasonic charges $169.95). You could get the VBG6 battery which lasts a LOT LONGER, but it requires a separate pack to carry the power supply since the battery is so large. Not worth the hassle, in my opinion.

* No viewfinder. Minor inconvenience for me, but I prefer the old style viewfinder. However, the camera is so small and comfortable that using the LCD screen works fine. I'm willing to concede that this is a non-issue.

* No accessory shoes. You want to hook up a camera light? Forget it - nowhere to put it unless you rig something to it (shoestring anyone?). Again, though, I'm fed up with trying to light a completely dark room and I find myself not really wanting it. That said, the low-light function on the camera as well as Magic Pix (full color in both modes, not the green washed out night vision with scary eyes!) does surprisingly well with 1 lux of light available.

Overall, the camera is extremely impressive for the price and the 3rd generation of HD cameras from Panasonic are a cost-effective way to enjoy high quality images. For standard DVD usage, this camera is more than perfect. However, as a caution, check that your video software is capable of using the AVCHD video format. It's still in its infancy, but an increasing number of software vendors are adopting it is a viable alternative. If you're serious about video editing, I would highly recommend Sony Vegas Pro Version 8.0 (current version as of 2/08) or later.

I got this camera as soon as it came out. I'm extremely happy with how small and light it is - i can carry it around in a coat pocket and record easily. The pre-record function is very nice, especially if you don't want to be recording all the time.
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br /Video editing was a little sluggish, but that's not hte camera's fault - just takes a lot of muscle to edit HD video. I started out with the included software (Pinnacle 11 trial) with a Quad-core 2.4Ghz machine with 2GB of ram, 800mhz FSB, and the computer just about died. I upgrade the RAM to 3GB and it is still sluggish but works. So definately should make sure you have a FAST computer.
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br /I would agree with other reviewers that having the HDMI port behind the battery is bad. Also, you ahve to have the camera on AC power to move video from the card to the computer. Otherwise, you can just unplug the SD card and plug it straight into the computer througha card reader - seems to be alot faster that way anyhow.
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br /Battery life seems pretty good, especially since you are using the LCD screen all the time. Which, by the way, even in bright sunlight is very visisble.
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br /Overall, very happy with the camera, and looking forward to taking lots of videos of our upcoming newborn. But i will definately be looking to upgrade the software package to get better editing.

There are already several very good reviews here, so I'll only hit on a few points that should be emphasized:
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br /1.) Very small and light; almost unbelievably so. This camera is already getting much more use than our older one simply because it fits easily into my wife's purse or a fanny pack.
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br /2.) Quick startup. I haven't timed it, but the startup is so quick that many spontaneous events, which you'd usually miss, get recorded.
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br /3.) Removable SD card. Very easy for transferring files to the PC for editing or backup. My wife and kids love the ability to shoot something, remove the SD card, plug it into the PlayStation 3, and watch it. DON'T pay for the built-in 16gb memory; it costs too much, but more importantly you lose considerable ease of use.
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br /4.) Awful low-light performance. The camera works like a dream in bright light, but suks donkey b*lls in anything less; It does work, but the quality is barely acceptable. I really really hope that a company will some day realize there are consumers who are willing to pay a significant premium for high-quality low-light performance in consumer (small and easy to use) camera.
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br /5.) Almost too light. The image stabilization is barely adequate offset how much this thing bounces around. I guess everything is a tradeoff (see point #1)
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br /All-in-all a wonderful camera as long as it's used within its limits. The low average score really represents the poor state of AVCHD editing software and, to some extent, the camera's poor low-light performance; it seriously mis-states the quality and usefulness of this camera.
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This camera is great! I have had this camera for 3 months... The highlights include great HD video quality, very straight forward usage, very good and easy SD to DVD transfer software and tiny size. You can take the SD card out and pop it right into your PS3 for immediate HD playback. You can also use the software to create same quality HD-DVDs on DVD-R-DL discs that hold 1 hour each. Buy the 8GB SD card to match 1 hour of DVD-R-DL. I thought that the price was good at $800 for this camera and now I see that it's less than $600. Buy it - you will want to send me a thank you note after you get it... (but it's really not me you should thank - I thank panasonic for coming up with this winner).
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br /PS. While some people here complain about the low light performance, I think that they should really read the manual... They probably tried the Low Light mode (which really isn't very good)... they just need to switch to manual mode and open up the iris a couple of notches (1 switch move + 4 clicks) , it's very quick and easy to do with this camera and then the low light videos will be good and the camera will also stop playing with the white balance as is commonly an issue with indoor video camcorder shooting).

I purchased this camera from a BM store (sorry Amazon) and since I always use Amazon reviews in my evaluation of new products, I wanted to leave an update for those of you looking at this camera and are concerned about software. There are plenty of reviews out there on performance, size, etc....read those for that info. This is specific to software and importing.
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br /Several reviewers have stated that the footage from this camera is not editable. Up until recently, this was true.
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br /iMovie 08 does not yet support this camera's files. There are rumors swirling that Apple is close to releasing an update to take care of this. Given Steve Job's personal endorsement of AVCHD and Panasonic at recent Keynotes, I don't doubt this will be addressed. That said, folks have said that a product called VoltaicHD can be used to process the .mts files into .MOV files. This software costs $30 but a trial is available.
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br /Another reviewer said that the included trial software, Pinnacle Studio Plus, does not handle the files either. As installed from the CD, this is true. However, go to the Pinnacle website and look for the latest update. After updating to 11.1.2 (you can do this while still using the trial, just bypass the product registration), Pinnacle is able to process, edit and export the .mts files. I have successfully exported to MPEG2, MPEG4 and DiVx from Studio Plus.
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br /The reason for 4/5 stars - it is only trial software and right now there is only the single software package out there that handles it. It should be expected that you will need *some* purchased editing software to edit enhanced codecs such as this but only having one to choose from is a little limited.
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br /Other than the software/editing hiccups, this camera is destined to be a terrific addition to my family.

OK, I knew about Apple software engineers getting caught napping regarding the new AVCHD format**, yet I bought this anyway. How could I opt for any other, after seeing what this one could do -- even more so, considering the price?
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br /For those not happy with the joystick, try using the remote instead. Works great! Perfect solution for us.
br /For those who mentioned poor picture in low light, try turning on the Low Light setting or even MagicPix, the later of which is intended for near-total-darkness.
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br /Another reviewer was not entirely correct about missing an accessory shoe. Reference item VW-SK12 (Shoe Adapter) which connects to the tripod mount; better than using a "shoestring", I imagine. A lamp can be purchased for this accessory, another way to resolve the low light issue many have mentioned.
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br /All of the included software, either trial version or Windows-only, was useless to me. But the included software wasn't even a factor in my buying decision.
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br /The included user manual is excellent - so far it has been very easy to use and sufficient for every question I've had. It is very well organized and it is even printed in full - an increasingly rare find, where often the printed manual is only an overview and the detailed manual is only available on DVD.
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br /Opening the little door to access the USB connection was a little tricky and the door hinge itself is just a springy strip of pliable material. I sure hope that little door is sturdier than it looks. I have very small, child-sized hands, yet even I find connecting the USB, AV, or DC cables to the camcorder a little hair-raising; the unit is just so tiny, and the connections require a significant amount of force to insert the cables.
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br /But the memory card is very easy to access, and the contents can be uploaded to a computer using a memory card reader - no need to remove the battery to access the DC input, no need to open the flimsy door to connect the USB cable, etc.
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br /Onscreen feedback (icons, menus, alerts, etc.) is very helpful and easy to understand. The video footage looks surprisingly good displayed on our 46" HDTV even with just the supplied AV cables. My husband captured some video in our rather-dark garage yesterday and I was worried about the lighting; but then when he handed the camera back to me, I saw that the low-light setting was ON, as well as intelligent contrast, and the resulting footage looks remarkable, clear as daylight, with no color cast.
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br /I purchased the VW-BN1 AVCHD-DVD drive for this camcorder to preserve my video in it's full AVCHD/5.1 glory, since I must then down convert the clips to .mov/2-channel sound using Voltaic to migrate it onto my iMac for editing. Contrary to product description, **Final Cut Express 4 does NOT fully support AVCHD, especially not from this camera, and it doesn't support 5.1 surround sound in any format anyway.

I purchased this camcorder to replace my old JVC DV camcorder. The great thing about this camcorder is that it takes excellent video and can fit in the palm of my hand. I purchased a camera bag to carry this camcorder. Play back videos on my mac are exceptional. The quality is better than my DVD player with component connections. The only drawback is the editing software that comes with your purchase. It's only good for playback on your computer. You will have to purchase third party software that can edit AVCHD files. I purchased Final Cut Express 4 for use with my mac. Excellent editing software and works great with AVCHD files. If you can afford a $700.00 camcorder, then just pull out your wallet and spend the extra $150.00 for the software and start editing!

This camcorder is probably the tiniest of its category.
br /It fits in my jacket pocket.
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br /It has many interesting features : face detection (the video is always well focused on the faces), pre-record (to record 3 seconds before the "record" button).
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br /But the best of all, I would say, is the optical stabilizer, which is very powerfull (and particularly useful on this 270g camcorder, because your hands shake more).
br /The colours are pretty good, and the sound quality is simply outstanding, far better than anything I've heard from a camcorder (I don't use 5.1 though, just stereo).
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br /However, I suspect the sharpness of the videos would be better with a DV camera. But then it would be heavier, noisier, and more fragile than with SD cards (my previous camcorder was out of order within a year because the heads were dirty).
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br /The only BIG issue, with the camcorder, is the software compatibility.
br /On windows, it seems only Vegas recognizes the files.
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br /On mac (the platform I use), il works with FCE4 (and FCP, i've read) in 1080 and 24p only, after installing the latest perian.
br /After importing the videos, you can do pretty much everything with them (the process converts the fils to .mov), including importing them in imovie 08.
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br /But you will need patience to edit in high res with FCE4 or imovie (compression time take about 4 times the movie's length in mpeg4).
br /And beware of the export settings : I noticed that using h264 with quicktime, or with imovie, washes out the colours and makes red look magenta, even though less pixels are noticeable.
br /I prefer to use advanced mpeg4, which produces genuine colours.
br /And also, don't expect much difference of quality between 720p and 1080p, because the AVCHD is still a bit limited by the bitrate (17max on this particular camcorder, which is still better than many others).

I own a Panasonic digital camera which I enjoy very much. it takes great pictures and it beats Nikon, Sony and Canon in many aspects. Despite my satisfaction with the camera, I did not think of Panasonic when I was on the market for a high defiction camcorder. So I came across the SD9 and was surprised by the low price as by reading the specifications: 3CCD, full HD at 1080p, 24p film mode, it appears to be a very high quality camcorder. But after two weeks of use, I am completely disappointed. The video quality is OK when in very bright condition(day time outdoor). Other than that, video is very noisy with color way off. In my opinion, it can not even compare to a $300 regular camcorder. I wanted to give it one star but considering that it is very compact, light and is generally easy to handle, I give it two stars.

I purchased this camcorder from Amazon just after it came out, and discovered the price dropped considerably not long after. I contacted Amazon within 30 days and promptly received a credit back for the difference. Nice job!
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br /Not much more to add that hasn't already been said, but I have started using the HDC-SD9 for taking stills as well. The shots are in widescreen format to boot, and the image stabilization helps. The shots are quite flattering to faces (it seems to rosy up cheeks though - not totally natural). The flash does overkill - most people are whitened out. If you are in a flash situation, I am learning that it helps to back off a bit, or actually cover the flash partially with your finger.
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br /If you don't have a good card reader for SDHC cards yet - I recommend getting one asap. I've small USB key style one from Sandisk that works quite well (read that: fast) and only cost $10.
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br /Not many packages support the AVCHD format used by the HDC-SD9, but I have purchased Vegas 9 Professional. It is NOT new user friendly, and has a steep learning curve. In retrospect, I discovered that the Nero 8 Ultra Edition that I already owned has very good support for files created by this camcorder, and is quite fast and should work well for most users. Nero 8 also provides a great program for recoding to other formats.
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br /If you think you want Vegas - I suggest downloading the 30-day trial from Sony's website and see what you think - but in the meantime - get Nero 8 and save yourself a lot of time and money...
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br /BTW - you do need a good PC for editing with any of the software (Panasonic's, Nero, Vegas) - most notebooks don't have enough horsepower - I strongly recommend at least a Core2 Duo desktop system with a large hard drive and a fast graphics card and adequate RAM (min 1GB, higher is better).
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I'll start by saying that I did what seemed like endless research and tried out every camera in this range before ultimately deciding on this one. What I hope to do with this review is share my experiences and hopefully provide the kind of information I wanted to see when I was doing research.
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br /Now, about the specifics of this camera. It's a 3CCD model, which was one of the major selling points for me. I do a lot of outdoor shooting of high action sports (rock climbing), and this camera surprised me with it's quality and it's ability to capture colors so accurately. The 3CCD design also means that if you're going to be doing some blue/green screen effects that you'll get a better key. It's build quality is very solid; and by that I mean it doesn't seem flimsy at an point. The the automatic lens cover is wonderful. It has 4 recording quality modes, and a 24p cinema mode. I use the HA1920 mode, which records 1920x1080i60 resolution at 16Mbps AVCHD and works out to 2 hours 8 minutes on a 16GB SDHC card. While I don't use the 24p mode shooting action sports outdoors, I have tried it indoors and it really does give a cinema-like feel to the video; it's a nice feature to have. I'm using this card Transcend 16GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD CLASS 6) with Co Card Reader, and the included card reader tends to transfer files slightly faster than the USB connection on the camera does; plus-it allows you to charge the battery while you're importing the video. The optical image stabilizer on this camera is nothing short of amazing. It records consistent jitter-free footage, even while hanging from a rock face 30 meters above the ground. The zoom is also VERY smooth, and there is absolutely no zoom motor noise picked up by the microphone. The intelligent shooting guide, and the other assist features are great.
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br /Pros:
br /-Amazing quality video
br /-Superior optical stabilization
br /-Intelligent shooting guide
br /-Battery life is very good, often better than the manual quotes
br /-Smooth zoom/zoom noise not picked up by microphone
br /-Uses SDHC cards, which are cheap enough to keep a few on hand
br /-Editing is easy on OS X. iMovie imports the video into it's amazing user interface, and the Final Cut products let you browse and select which video to import using the Log and Transfer window (Shift+Command+8). I prefer importing the footage into the Apple Intermediate Codec using Final Cut, then importing to iMovie if I want to browse it quickly.
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br /Cons:
br /-Extra batteries are expensive.
br /-You can't use the camera on AC power and charge the battery at the same time.
br /-The thumbstick is awkwardly positioned, but you get used to it. It's kind of like playing tetris with the controller sideways.
br /-AVCHD can take a while to import if you have a slower machine(I don't but I can see how others might become frustrated).
br /-Manual focus is essentially impossible to use effectively.
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br /Other Thoughts:
br /This camera has 3 few user-assist features that I found helpful.
br /1) Zebra stripe mode: This will put zebra stripes on the screen to help you identify areas of the video with poor exposure.
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br /2) Wire frames: These can be set to various sizes, and they help you to center your shots.
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br /3) Intelligent Shooting Guide: With this active, the camera will warn you, on screen, if you have any serious errors going on such as panning too fast, incorrect contrast settings, low light mode, etc. It even pops up the on screen menu, and skips to the screen where the option it recommends is located. For example, I was shooting outdoors and I walked into a bike tunnel, the camera recommended I activate low light mode and it skipped to the proper menu, so all I had to do was press a button to confirm. You can also ignore it's advice and it won't keep nagging you. A very helpful feature, useful for both novices and advanced users.
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br /One last thing to consider, when you convert the raw AVCHD footage to Apple Intermediate Codec or ProRes 422 the resulting files are going to be massive. Make sure you have an external hard drive to store this stuff on. As far as transcoding the raw AVCHD to AIC or ProRes422... some may say that you will lose quality, etc. This is nonsense, AIC and ProRes422 were created for this very purpose--to make editing high res, high bitrate video more feasible on modern machines. They were designed to preserve quality, and ProRes422 is even touted as being visually lossless. If you wanted to edit raw AVCHD you would need a 8-core machine.
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br /Summary:
br /While I did list a few cons, they pros FAR outweigh them, even to the point where I can forget about the cons altogether. For the features and the quality this camera provides, I think it is an excellent buy.

As some of the earlier reviews have pointed out, this awesome little camera suffered from lack of support in Apple's editing applications like iMovie 08.
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br /Well that's all in the past. With the release of OS 10.5.3 and QuickTime 7.5 a few days ago, the HDC-SD9 (and the hard-drive-based HDC-HS9 as well) are now fully compatible. You can easily import and edit your HD movies in iMovie, in all the camera's formats.
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br /I love this camera. My only complaint is that spare batteries are absurdly expensive. Other than that, it's fantastic.

UPDATE2: I finally got an Infrared Light array to test the Panasonic HDC-SD9 in 0-lux. Low-light mode barely picks up anything while in MagixPix mode, it's bright but the motion is so choppy it's useless. If you're looking for a camcorder to record in 0-lux conditions(like in a cave with no light sources)Sony is the only way to go with their Super Night Mode unless you want to pay up big bucks for Panasonic's prosumer line.
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br /OIS is impressive, i set the camera on the dash of my car and drove to work and back on the freeway and it's very impressive
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br /Size and convenience are major pros to the HDC-SD
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br /Incredibly convenient to take snapshots during video mode at 2.1MegaPixels and at 4.0MegaPixels in photo mode. Flash is bright. Red eye works well and face recognition is a pretty cool feature.
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br /CONS: Battery only lasts 1 hour. 2.5 hours to charge. Another 1 hour battery is expensive at $80 bucks. There's a long life batter w/adapter for sale from Japan but it was over $300 for it and it was held in a case that you wear around your waste. If you want accessories, or prosumer features this it not the camera. This is a pick it up point and shoot with some cool manual features that does all the basics well.
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br /The low light is grainy but can see up to about 10 feet in darkness with a flash light decently (i used a 3 LED flashlight in complete darkness outdoors).
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br /The night mode magixpix motion is practically useless. Good for still shots in very dark situations only.
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br /Fine for the amateur home video maker. After trying lots of software, Nero 8 Ultra (w/Nero Vision 5) for PC is best to use for editing. iMovie 8 for Apple computers.
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br /PROS:
br /Size is very small and size is awesome. It's a great size to fit in a purse, small bag and palm in the hand. 2.7inch LCD is decent enough as well.
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br /It's quite flexible in that sense you can save onto multiple types of SD cards if you're willing to sacrificing the higher quality video. But even at 1440x1080i(6MBPS) it's decent enough to use.
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br /Low light mode is OK and grainy. Some lighting is still needed to make the white look white and not yellowish.
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br /Night mode MagicPix is a novelty. The concept is great. It brightens the darkest of settings. It increases gain, adjusts white balance and sucks all the light well, BUT the shutter speed is horrible slow and processors are too slow and makes it choppy. Unusable except for still shots.
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br /Daytime and well lit situations are in very good color. More so than a Sony CX7, but the CX7 seems sharper sometimes... The colors are great and I'm amazed at the level of quality at zoom on bottles and small items.
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br /COULD WORK ON:
br /OK, everyone has been saying the joystick is one of the most annoying features on the HDC-SD9. It is but not so it takes away from using it.
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br /No cold or hot shoe mount, but I guess Panasonic camcorder are not really known for their accessories. However, you can by arms and accessories that fit via the tripod mount on the bottom.
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br /CONCLUSION: It's a really cool camera.
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br /Included software does all the basics.

My bottom line is results, and my first glimpse of HD video from this micro HD camcorder was a revelation - a bed of multi-colored tulips, in sharp focus and with astonishing color saturation. Macro shot of a caterpillar that showed every fuzzy hair and even the yellow black patterns on his body. A trip to the National Zoo yielded video of some sun-basking otters that made it feel like I could reach out and touch their fur. The backlit stained glass windows of the National Cathedral glowed with color and amazing resolution. I see I now have to take this HD camcorder and revisit every place I've shot regular, standard-def video. Several reviewers have noted drawbacks that include the hard-to-reach HDMI and power connections, but I'll put up with it. No one has yet mentioned a great in-camera editing feature that lets you easily snip out the bad parts of any given shot and delete them, made espically easy by using the remote control. With a little shot planning, I can edit a no-frills finished video right on the card. Use of the AVCHD standard allows one hour and four minutes of recording at the highest quality on an 8-gig SDHC card, now selling for 30 bucks or less. Since the price will probably keep getting lower, I just plan on saving videos on their memory cards, with the eventual option of editing on the home computer (whenever I get the time, which is never). Playback using the remote lets you freeze, slow mo and (unlike tape) instantly jump to the next shot...all without even a hint of jitter or breakup. I was torn by conflicting reviews, but what put me over the buying edge was the director of photography for Fox TV's "House", who tried out a Panasonic HDC-SD9 and told the LA Times "it's mind blowing". He added that he put the video up on his studio monitors "and the engineers were amazed. You could shoot a TV show with it--without a doubt." I finally pushed the buy button when Amazon chopped over 200 bucks off the 799 suggested price.

I had been looking to buy a second camera for my Video Productions that I just started, and after reading the reviews, I decided on the Panasonic SD9. I was blown away at the quality of the footage at full HD. Now I can cut and splice my Canon A1 footage with my tiny Panasonic. I am also planning to use the Panasonic as my roaming Camcorder at weddings, etc, no arm fatigue here. I'm going to pair my Panasonic with a Calicocam stabilizer, and it would just be simply amazing. This camcorder is so light that I think my wallet weighs heavier than the camera. This is the one to take on trips with unlimited storage on multiple SDHC's. I am waiting for the 32GB from Panasonic or Toshiba, and 64GB cannot be too far down the road. I tell you this is the future. My A1 takes superb videos, but it is just too heavy to walk around with, and this Panasonic gave me a lot more option. The software that came with it is superb, I just bought an XPS420 from Dell, and it handles the AVCHD like a pro, no glitches at all. Although I also installed the same software on my aging laptop and it was able to handle to SDHC with no problem at all. The HD writer that came with the package is excellent in transferring SDHC clips to your hard drive, then for editing I used the Pinnacle that came with the camera and it worked to perfection. I'm already using a lot of the editing program available like Vegas, Adobe Elements, etc, and this Pinnacle HD version is perfect for editing AVCHD footage. So if you have an old outdated computer, you will experience a lot of problems and you will blame it on this Panasonic package. Time to update your gears, prices of this computer has gone down quite a bit, so staying with your Dino is not worth the frustrations. With this camera, I am holding the future in my hands, and I am glad I did it. Highly recommended.

I tried both the Panasonic HDC-SD9 and Canon VIXIA HF100. While the Panasonic wins hands-down on size, the picture quality just pales in comparison to the Canon, especially in low light.
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br /Plus, as of this review time, the files created with this camcorder crash iMovie!
br /
br /So, I'm going with the Canon HF100 instead of this one.

HDMI Port is behind the battery, this is a major design problem. You have to remove the battery to use HDMI. They could have placed this port where the component video port is located. Also, to use HDMI you will need to buy an [HDMI to HDMI Mini] cable.

You need a very fast machine to edit video shot with this camera, I didn't have much luck with Pentium 4, 2.8ghz using the trial version of Pinnacle Studio 11, the video was garbage, make sure you have a dual core processor as the minimum requirements for AVCHD editing require. I also have Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum which touts support for Panasonic AVCHD in the updated version 8.0c, but have had no luck getting this software to open the video stream files. Sony suopport has been horrible addressing my issue.

It seems almost a year after AVCHD, there are still issues trying to edit video on personal computers.

If you have a Blu-ray player make sure to get the Panasonic VW-BN1 DVD Burner to copy your footage to disc and play it back. Also this burner does not accept +R media you must have DVD-R (4.5GB) or DVD-R Dual Layer (8GB) to write your media to disc. Playback from disc was excellent using Samsung BDP-1400 Blu-ray player.

The camera is a technical marvel. I've been wanting an HD camera ever since they came out. The HDC-SD9 has not dissapointed me. Five years ago you'd have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get video this good. Now the downside.
br /
br /The files are kept in a complex file structure on the memory drive. I wasn't able to copy the MTS files from the /STREAM folder and play them on my T61 Thinkpad. I tried downloading various CODECs and stuff, but wasn't succesfull. I finally loaded the HD Writer software from Panasonic and that worked. But when I exported to MPEG the result was lousy.
br /
br /I haven't tried editing software with it yet, but I know this much. It will be another two to three years before this format plays in all the media players. But I can't see this format failing so I'll be glad I have my kids in HD later on.
br /
br /Bottom line is that the technology and price are right, but file-format ease of use is still a few years away. You'll love making videos, but you'll hate post-production.

Pros:
br /Price.
br /Lightweight.
br /Compact and easy to use.
br /Good High level light pictures.
br /SD Card is located nicely and easy to access.
br /Sound Quality is great.
br /
br /Cons:
br /Extremely! poor low light video quality. I mean POOR, Crappy, decrepid, lame, sub-par, not good etc, etc.
br /Bundled Software is crap.
br /Have to open the viewer to remove the battery.
br /Poor Still Picture Quality.
br /
br /I almost returned this camera due to its poor low light performance. Not what I would expect from something that carries the "HD" symbol. I got this camera to document our new babies life and you have to know that things like family get togethers and X-mas are not going to be outdoors or even during the day time hours sometimes. The picture quality starts to degrade right just before dusk. Lots of grain in faces and video noise when the lights are even slightly low. During the day or with direct light on the subject...no problem. When I first got the camera it was almost dark, so out of the box, I was really pissed at how bad the videos turned out. Only after recording the next day did I even get close to true HD looking videos.
br /
br /If you plan on any type of low light level recording, stay way away from this camera.

Pros
br /Extremely small (fits in the front pocket of my shorts)
br /Awesome picture quality outside with good light.
br /3CCD
br /Great zoom
br /The best image stabilizer I've ever used on a video camera.
br /Really like that is uses memory cards rather than tape or hard drives.
br /
br /
br /Cons'
br /Low light performance is not good.
br /LCD is great but if you wear sunglasses it goes completely black.
br /I didn't think I needed a viewfinder but if you're inside somewhere dark you have no way to record without distracting the people around you.
br /Needs a good manual focus ring not a menu driven manual focus that's hard to use.
br /Poor low light performance.
br /There is a flash on the front of the camera that should be replaced with a led for the video camera portion.
br /AVCHD requires lots of computer horse power to edit.
br /
br /Not a lot of software to view the .mts files with but Nero Vision 4 for Nero 8 Ultra works fine.
br /
br /
br /Definitely a great camcorder for outside daytime use but not great of dark environments.
br /

For those who were hesitating on this camera due to the lack of support in Apple's iMovie, the problem is now fixed. With the latest updates, including the most recent Quicktime, my SD9 now imports smoothly right into iMovie.

I finally 'justified' replacing my 8 year old camera with this one. I am totally satisfied, if not surprised, by this product. Panasonic has really done a great job in the design and feature/functionality with this camera. I absolutely love it - from the size, to the weight, to the picture quality!.

Don't get me wrong, this camera is amazing. from how everything looks on the LCD screen, it's fantastic. I bought a Century (schneider) 37mm mini death lens which fits on perfectly with no adapters and is amazing for up-close action.. skateboarding and snowboarding follow-cams specifically. This camera also weighs nearly nothing, is extremely portable, and fits well in your hand. It is also very small too.. it's a little bit smaller or about the same size then a 12oz can of soda. It only records onto mini-sd cards which you can get a 16 gig card for pretty cheap. All around, I love using this camera.
br /
br /Now the bad. It does not work with any of the good/popular video editing softwares yet. Imovie/final cut pro.. forget about it. sony vegas, adobe premier, avid, pinnacle.. I wish. When you try to import footage into any of the editors, they all crash. I've heard there is some success with importing video filmed in 24p, but I am unsure. as far as I am concerned, it is not fully, or even half supported yet, so all the amazing things you film will sit on the camera/flash cards until the video editing software is updated to be compatible with this camera.

Well I bought this camera back in March, but was forced to use the crummy software that came with it on my Vaio. As of today, with version 7.1.2 of iMovie, video produced by this camera imports just pretty quickly. When playing it in iMovie there were some oddities, but I think that is related to the fact that I have a MacBook and thus do not have a real GPU.
br /
br /On to some points of the actual camera:
br /
br /I've taken this camera skiing. Even with some of the advanced features that it suggests, it is pretty easy for the CCDs to be swamped by the sheer amount of light that you get on a sunny day near the end of the season. The "wind cut" feature helps with some of the sound that you get when skiing on a windy day at 14+ mph, but it is still pretty prevalent. Fortunately, while it does leave the wind noise in there, you can hear people talking pretty well.
br /
br /I've taken this camera to a concert. As expected, the flashing lights backlighting a dark stage give this camera a bit of trouble. When it is recording in 1080p, it seems to be a bit worse, but that might just have been a different set of lights being used.
br /
br /I've also used this camera in a poorly lit restaurant. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on the feature to focus the microphones on the subject of the lens, and thus the 5 microphones defeated me with the large background noise. Using the low light mode, the camera was able to take video, but it is incredibly noisy with poor resolution. I don't think I will use it without sufficient light in the future.
br /
br /All in all I like the camera and how compact it is. Now that it is fully supported by Apple, I plan on using it more often.

I think this is a great product. Lightweight and handy. I read some bad reviews about the picture quality, but I don't agree. Low light performance is still acceptable for point and shoot users.
br /Cons: The software is not that great to edit movies, but works pretty well to save and burn them.
br /Pros: Everything else.

Camcorder is easy to use and produces great results, battery last for a long time image stabilization is great so is focus and exposure
br /
br /negative: creating dvds for tv use is time consuming

This is an excellent choice if you are on a budget and want to buy an HD camcorder. I paid $569 at Amazon and I am very happy with my purchase. Though I agree with the software limitations, I have no doubt that this is something you can resolve by using third party programs. Image quality is outstanding. I also bought a Trascend 16GB SDHC memory to go with the camera.

I bought the HDC-SD9 about 2 weeks ago. I am very happy with it though there have been some frustrations. Great video in bright outdoor light. Not so great indoors with less (but not bad light). I discovered a few things through trial and error and by reading user reviews.
br /
br /Use the manual controls when indoors. Open up the iris and lower the shutter speed. You must turn on Intelligent Contrast with the joystick. This makes all the difference. I went from cloudy unwatchable video to very nice clear video with very nice and accurate color. Do not turn the camera off after you set it. Just shut the LCD and settings will save.
br /
br /The video does not look good in iMovie 08 version 7.1.4 on a MacBook. It plays just fine but lacks contrast and is a bit noisy. This is not the case when I hook the camera up to my 65 inch Sony HDTV. I have not played the video with any other player other than Toast Video Player. It is jerky and noisy. I am ordering a copy of Final Cut Express 4. I have heard good things about using it with AVCHD.
br /
br /The size of this thing is remarkable. It is tiny and weighs almost nothing. Great manual controls (except the focus which is almost impossible) but the auto controls are lousy anywhere except outdoors. I got this one for $300 dollars on line. AVCHD support is not quite there yet but is getting better everyday. I get just over an hour on an 8 GB SDHC class 6 card at the highest setting.
br /
br /I recommend this camcorder very highly. I wish the auto functions were better but considering the size/price/video quality equation it is hard to beat.

This camera is amazing. Some of the video that I've taken is as good as High Definition on PBS. However, the setup has to be right. Most importantly you need to take the video outside or if you must be inside then with as much light as you can get. It reminds me of the old super 8 movie days - I wish I had kept my light stick !
br /
br /Now with the negatives on other reviews.
br /
br /No viewfinder - so what? - good riddance.
br /
br /You have to remove the battery to hook up the hdmi to your tv - again, so what?
br /
br /No auxilary external mic input - so what.....
br /
br /you get the idea - if you want that stuff (by all means) go buy a different camera - personally I wouldn't pay $50 more for all of that stuff...
br /
br /There is no "defect" that has baring on using the product as an everyday family camcorder.
br /
br /Anyhow, I'm amazed at how much High definition video fits on a 8gb sdhc card. I would say an hour of video fits easily.
br /
br /The software that comes with the camera is not usable. Seriously - it is junk. Plan on buying other software to video edit.

I 've read a lot of reviews before purchasing this camcorder. Excellent video in sun light, even overall it 's a little bit yellowish to my taste. Amazon is best price, and they refund me the difference when the price went lower in within 30 days after purchase.
br /
br /Low light is OK. and I found it better than the JVC HD camcorder that my brother has. Extremely low light is not acceptable.
br /
br /I do not have time to test the 5.1 audio on my NAD receiver.
br /
br /Insert the SD card in to a playstation 3 SD slot and there you go. Or copy the files to a DVD and watch it thru the PS3 bluray drive. HD resolution!
br /
br /Go for it! Small size and picture quality will make you happy.

The camera is very impressive, intuitive and small. The quality of the picture is excellent. Playback is easy. It was good choice.

I liked it very much.
br /i bought it to capture moments of my new born baby, and its fantastic, very light, easy to handle, good looking, good quality pictures.

I love this camera. It slips into a pocket and is amazing value. The HD shots are stunning in the right light and conditions. The two main downsides are well known - the auto low light is not great and the fiddly little control that you must move to navigate to change settings and view pictures is irritating. But overall it is a great value package - not least now that you can get 16GB cards at an economic price (eg Transend). Interestingly, I used a cheap 8GB Sandisk catergory 2 card with no problems even though the spec says you need category 4 minimum.
br /
br /

I'm very satisfied with this camcorder. It's small, the video is crisp and clear and I like the features. I can get anywhere from 1 to a little over 2 hours on a 4 GB sdhc card depending on the video quality settings I use and about 90 minutes on a fully charged battery.
br /
br /Some people have complained about their hand blocking the microphones but mine seem to fit just fine. My hands are not exactly tiny and they fit well.
br /
br /The only downside of this camcorder is the low light video can be quite bad.
br /
br /You can view video samples for this camcorder on my website at [...]
br /
br /Eric

This fancy (and tiny) piece of technology delivers all you can expect from a 1K HD camcorder. Indoor video quality is ok, outdoor videos are very colorful and sharp (on my 1080p 42' LCD). Great quality!! I cannot imagine that Sony offers much more for twice the price.
br /
br /I also bought a 16GB memory card for about 75$. This is probably all you need for your family movies.

Before I publish this review, I've been using the camera for almost 2 weeks. I've been contemplating hard whether I was able to get my money's worth. But the sad thing is, I didn't. Here are my reasons:
br /
br /1. The HDC-SD9 has awful low-light performance.
br / -I thought that the camera's manual iris and aperture would solve the problem since the Magicpix mode is obviously intended for still shots only and the low-light mode barely improves lighting conditions on dark scenes. But the shots still have a lot of noise and grain whether you adjust the manual iris to 18 dB and aperture opening to 1/24 or 1/30. It's really frustrating.
br /
br /2. The auto-focus has a hard time focusing when on 5x-10x.
br / -True, there is the tele-macro mode function so that distant images look clearer. But when you are already recording, the tele-macro mode can't be used. So, you have to establish your focus before you record distant images either on manual mode or you have to switch on the tele-macro mode, which is really a big hassle when you need to make a quick zoom on a subject. Another problem is that it usually takes a second or two for the auto-focus to stabilize.
br /
br /3. The 24p and cinema color mode seems overrated.
br / -One reason why I bought this camera is because of its 24p and cinema color mode. But to me and for others who probably have a good eye too, the movement of the camera doesn't seem fluid or just like that of the
br /movies. There is still the home video feel to it.
br /
br /But to be fair with the HDC-SD9, there are some aspects that it was able to perform well.
br /
br /1. Sound quality is incredibly awesome!
br / - I see no reason why one has to purchase a directional microphone separately when using the HDC-SD9. The zoom and focus mic mode of the camera does the job excellently! And if you want to have a movie feel to your clips, just use the surround mode. This is probably one of the reasons why there is no need for an accessory shoe for the SD9 (except of course when you consider lighting).
br /
br /2. Image quality is excellent under good lighting conditions.
br /
br /3. Still pictures are decent enough.
br /
br /
br /Overall, I would rate this product with 3 stars or 60%.

I like the camera which I could not get off amazon because they won't ship to Canada..
br /
br /It has nice picture, some great features. There are some annoying things though. You can't open the door for the sd card while on a tripod. The little plastic covers for the av/usb are a pain. Can't plug the camera in and charge the battery at the same time.
br /
br /Editing with the computer is a pain. The included software doesn't do much and I don't much care for pinnacle studio which if you do buy the full version isn't very good. As well, you need to pay for each feature you want and register on line.
br /
br /I would be happy with ulead video studio 11 if it recognized the file format which it doesn't. As it sits right now, I can't do a good job editing and converting my videos.
br /
br /If you are looking for software to view the files on you computer. Nero 8 will do this.
br /
br /If anyone has software recommendations, I would be happy to hear about them.
br /

Absolutely beautiful recordings in nearly every situation. Easy to use, compact, and convenient. However I have two problems with it:
br /
br /1. The software that comes with it is even worse than most software that you find with a camera, plus you're nearly forced to use it. With a digital still camera you can use just about anything to transfer/edit your photos, but on this camera the video is stored as AVCHD and there's very little choice. I've just ordered Ulead Video Studio, let's hope that helps.
br /
br /2. This one may seem a little nit-picky, but it gets really annoying. The joystick is slippery. That means that moving around in the menus (which you will have to do more often than normal on this camera) is sometimes very difficult. I'm considering putting a little friction pad or something on it.
br /
br /I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, but I can't. With the software I ordered and little sticky pad, I think I might just marry this camera. :)

We bought this to record important family events and for us it has worked very well. The quality of the raw image files seems quite high and the ease of use and portability make it a good choice for amateurs in my view.
br /A 16 gig SD chip can hold a couple of hours of recording, more than a single battery can film. I don't have experience with other software video products but found the programs bundled with the camcorder servicable running under Vista Business.

Let me first say I was nervous when buying this camcorder because of the mixed reviews. Then I started to look closer and realized most were because of the incompatability of the software that comes with it and the poor performance compared with other "more expensive" camcorders.
br /
br /well first off when you campare this camcorder with one $300 - $500 more than duh, the more expensive, bigger, camcorder video will probably look better when using it inside and taking pictures. Oh yeah, taking pictures that is grainy but do I care....NO! That is why I have a digital camera, and ofcourse the pics aren't up to par it has a freaking 2.1mp camera mode. I mean come on it says that on the box. Now I will say that indoor the video is kinda poor, it only has a 1/6" image sensor, so if you plan on a lot of indoor shooting this may not be for you, but I travel alot and the size of the camcorder and the outdoor performance are important for what I need.
br /
br /Software- I just ordered the Corel Ulead 11.5 editing software for 59 from amazon. I will write a review on this after I use it. The generic software that comes with the camcorder is not bad for basic software, I will not even try the Pinnacle since I have the other software coming.
br /
br /All in all for $699 from CC this is not a bad camera.
br /
br /Also warranty through square trade for 3 years and the accidental damage warranty were $70. This was with the "FIFTYOFF" code for people who have used square trade before if you are new you can find other 10- 30% codes online just google search.

After returning from a trip and having iMovie crash while trying to import the files, I did some searching for a fix. I found that a program called VoltaicHD that will convert the AVCHD files into MOV and into a format that iMovie likes. There is no compromise in quality during the conversion. Just do a search for VoltaicHD or go to the shedworx.com website. Hope this helps all the mac users!
br /Overall I am really pleased with the color and quality of this camera. The small size is perfect for travel and the O.I.S. helps out tremendously when using a small camcorder.

I failed to find this out before purchasing. Since I intend to use this in my car to video on track laps I will have to find a way to ensure the screen stays open during the laps. I can't believe there is no way to override this. Any help?

The software is a pain. Very simple to use, but painfully slow to edit. Once I got the hang of it, marginally acceptable, but will definitely look into buying better software. Camera itself is great. Sound is amazing looking at how little the mic is. Picture is everything I expected it to be. Don't have a blu-ray player yet, so all my playback has been converted to DVD.
br /
br /If you turn on the "auto help", they do cover part of the display, but they are somewhat transparent and you can turn them off after you understand all you options to fix bad pictures.

This is a very well made camcorder that offers more technology than the current software is able to handle.
br /
br /Well designed and made with quality in Japan.
br /
br /After filming try popping SDHC card directly into PS3 connected to a 5.1 Audio system to fully appreciate the high quality video and sound.
br /
br /Love it.
br /
br /Got a great deal on it at Amazon. Thanks Amazon.
br /
br /

This little camera takes great HD 1080p video and the sound was amazing. The joystick control for the menu options is a little hard to use and would not work well for someone with large hands. Overall for the price it is a good HD camcorder.

Unfortunately, this high-definition camera doesn't work with iMovie, so I had to return it. I am buying a Canon HF-10 which is listed on the iMovie page as a truly compatible model. Hopefully it works better. I am interested in seamlessly downloading movies from a camera into iMovie and onto DVDs and the web. I am NOT interested in using video conversion software. Simply put, I should be able to plug a camera into my mac and make movies very easily (that's why I bought the mac). Whether or not this problem is Apple's or Panasonic's, I don't really care. But I had to punish Panasonic because it is too late to return the Mac. (Actually, Apple won't let you return a mac at all!)
br /
br /The Canon HF10 seems to be the only other high-def camcorder that offers 1080p (progressive) scan at 60 frames per second. Although, it is nearly impossible to discern this from reading the marketing garbage that is all over the web. "True Hi-Def" is thrown around for virtually every camera, even though most appear to be 1080i (interlaced), which is the only format hi-def TVs play currently. In 3 years, they will all be 1080p though (in my ignorant imagination) so I want a camera that will support that.

There was no point in buying this product. It doesn't work with macs. It would have been nice for the description to say that. This camera is useless if you have a mac. I am very disappointed.

The good: everything related to the hardware. The images captured by this camera are exceptional. It works very well in low lighting conditions, I was able to shoot at night with the "Magicpix" feature and got outstanding images.
br /The bad: the SOFTWARE. The camera comes with two discs: one contains Panasonic's home grown HDWriter and the other one is a 15 day trial version of Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus.
br /Let's start with HDWRiter: this is typical crippleware. HDWriter allows you to transfer scenes between the PC and the media (flash card or DVD), do some very basic editing (split/merge scenes, create top menu) and play the videos on the computer ONLY from the flash card or DVD. As strange as it may seem, the software says it cannot play a clip stored on the hard disk of the PC! In reality, if you open the clip in edit mode (it can take a few minutes for this to happen) it does play, but at a reduced resolution. HDWriter also offers the option to save a clip in mpeg2 format. The punch line is that it always saves the clip in mpeg2 format at a reduced resolution (720x480), even with "Maximum Quality" setting. There is no way to convert the AVCHD clip to a 1920x1080 mpeg2.
br /Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus: This software simply does not work. It imports AVCHD clips from the camera, but the video it plays is garbled and when it renders it after the edits it is garbled too. I tried this software on 4 different computers, some extremely powerful that exceeded the minimum requirements by quite some margin. The result was identical - this editor cannot import, play and edit correctly AVCHD files produced by the HDC-SD9. The video is always garbled. All the computers are PCs with Windows XP SP2 or Vista.
br /Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus can import, play and edit the mpeg2 file that was produced by HDWriter. For this one it worked well. However, this is a file in standard definition (720x480), not high definition.
br /Pinnacle Systems wants $79.99 to upgrade from the trial version to the full version of Studio 11 Plus. Given that the software has proven itself unable to edit the high definition footage produced by this camera, this would be a $79.99 gamble with the odds against you.
br /At the end of the day, it is not possible to edit any high definition footage beyond the basic split / merge operations in HDWriter. You cannot add text, background music, adjust brightness / contrast or any other basic operation one might expect to do with raw footage. Morevoer, it is not possible to play the high definition footage directly from the computer - you need to burn it on a DVD or transfer it to a flash card.
br /Because of these shortcomings I am returning my HDC-SD9 back to Amazon. I am really sad because the hardware is top quality, when played from the camera the images are nothing short of exceptional. But what's the point if you cannot edit them in any meaningful way?
br /

This is a potentially great camera but has one serious flaw, it does not import into iMovie. I have also read that is crashing other video editing software.
br /
br /Check the forums at Apple BEFORE you purchase this product. Apple has stated that IF it fixes the problem it won't be until the next software update.
br /
br /No point in reviewing any further, if it doesn't work in your editing software why bother?

bought this camcorder a couple of days ago. Loved the crisp images in BRIGHT light. Tried to load film to imovie08 and it promptly caused it to crash. Imovie08 crashes every single time. So if you own a mac and are using imove you are out of luck. Lots of rumors about apple fixing problem in the latest update of ilife/imovie but I am not going to wait. Going to take the 15% restocking fee hit and getting something that allows me to edit on my mac. Check out the apple discussion boards and see what others are saying.

Please look at the iMove 08 support forum. There is a thread on the front page titled hdc sd9. There is absolutely no person who has been able to fix the crashes between the camera and iMovie 08. Apple is silent. There is hope for a fix soon, as the camera is likely to be popular. It is irresponsible for anyone to claim ANY LEVEL OF COOPERATION between this camera and iMovie 08. APPLE and PANASONIC NEED TO GET IT TOGETHER QUICK OR THIS CAMERA WILL CRASH AND BURN.

After reading the other 3 reviews, I was pretty excited to get this camcorder. I was super excited when I opened the box and saw the size of this camcorder - it's definitely a very nice small size and handles well (although the joystick is hard to use)
br /
br /After I charged the battery and started shooting a few sample videos - that's when the disappoinment started. I have a 47" Visio LCD HDTV, and if I play the video directly from the camcorder to to the HDTV it looks pretty good - so long as you're not shooting after the sun goes down. The problem is that's not how you watch videos you record with this camcorder (unless you plan on buying a new SDHC for every hour of video you shoot) - you need to encode the videos.
br /
br /This camcorder comes with a trial version of Pinnacle Studio 11. I encoded the videos I shot (which come off the SDHC cards as *.MTS files) using Studio 11 using a variety of formats - and they all look grainy when played back directly on my 24" 1980x1024 LCD monitor or streamed to my HDTV. In fact, even using the 'HD Writer' software that comes with the camcorder (which can play the *.MTS files directly) the video looks grainy with lots of artifacts. I can't tell if this is AVCHD or this camcorder, but I don't really care - it doesn't look good.
br /
br /I also downloaded trial versions of Nero 8 and Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition hoping to compare their outputs with Studio 11, but sadly both of them could not import the *.MTS files that this camcorder produces - so good thing Studio 11 could.
br /
br /I should point out that I even bought the Extreme III SDHC SD card that has a 20MB write speed so I could shoot video at the highest quality setting (this camcorder can encode at 17MB). Sadly, this made little difference - even shooting video outside.
br /
br /The video appeared more grainy and choppy than I would expect from an HD camcorder. I upgraded from a two year old DVD camcorder - and sadly the video from this camcorder looks only ~20% better when played back on my quad-proc computer with a 1900x1080 monitor - or on my HDTV.
br /
br /All in all, a big disappointment. The camera looks very cool and small - but first and foremost I want to be able to record great looking HD video - and this little camcorder doesn't do the job. I'm going to send it back and wait for the Canon VIXIA HF10, which releases in April and has a bigger chip (1/3 CMOS as opposed to the 3 1/6 chips in this unit).
br /
br /If all you're going to do with the video you shoot is encode standard definition DVDs you're probably fine. But if you want to encode Blu-Ray or stream high definition video to your HDTV, I'd pass.
br /
br /

The single still picture taken from this camcorder is blurred and too bright compared to the video or a picture grapped from the recording/recorded video, even on the same scene and light condition. There must be exposure defects from the product. Also the HD video has lower sharpness than Canon or Sony, and is blurred on bright spots on high contrast condition. I think the factory should recall this product.