Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic HDC-SX5EB Hybrid High Definition Camcorder (Memory & DVD)

Was considering either this camera or the Panasonic HDC-SD5, both high def camcorders (reviews on the SD5 were better than the Sony so excluded the Sony SR5E). The thing that attracted me to this one was that it recorded to SDHC card as well as to dvds whilst the other only recorded to SHDC card. Very glad I went for this one.

Firstly the cons - there is only one really and that is that it is bigger than my previous JVC mini DV camcorder which was really small, and I suspect it is bigger than than the equivalent Sony and the HDC-SD5 once the battery is attached. The only other con is that there is no SD card included, but bought an 8 GB SHDC on amazon for less than £20, and you don't get them included in other camcorders either so not a big deal.

The pros- the picture on the viewfinder(you can record in HD mode or standard mode) is very very clear. You can see immediately that this is no ordinary screen. The picture on HD TV too is very good and clear, and you can see the benefit of the 3 CCD and the Leica lens.

Also, as it has a dvd recorder built in you have an option of where you wish to record onto i.e. HD card or DVD. This can also mean that you have longer recording ability (or you can just carry a spare SD card with you). Also, it means that you can play your dvds directly from the camcorder, although please note that it takes the smaller dvds (not the full size ones).

Once I got used to the size (I don't want to make out that it is really really big, just bigger than I was expecting so before you buy it may be worth going to your local Comet to make sure it is suitable for you) which didn't take long it felt comfortable in the palm of my hand. Another good thing I like about it is that if you close the viewfinder it switches the power off (or v low) and its ready to use as soon as you open the viewfinder - not a big deal but saves messing around with the control buttons.

In Hi-def mode the 8GB SD card will take approx 80 mins of video, increasing to more than double that in standard mode. Likewise, the DVD can record approx 26 mins in HD mode and over an hour in standard mode.

The software supplied with the unit is fairly basic but does the job, and there is also a trial version of Pinnacle Studio HD which I have not used.

The menu system is straight forward and intuitive, and after a brief flick through the accompanying instruction manual (in paper, not cd, form)I understood the various menus and how to work around them.

Had it for 4 weeks now and must say am delighted with the quality of the picture, it has image stabilising software which helps steady the picture, and a 10x optical zoom (with a 700x digital zoom which is not clear at that resolution) and have taken lots of videos of the kids which have come out excellent.

The other feature (common to all SD camcorders) is that, unlike my mini dv cam where I had to scroll through the whole tape to get to an earlier point), each video you take is shown as a thumbnail so you can view easily the video that you want to playback.

To get an idea of other features of this camcorder see the reviews for the HDC-SD5 as, other than the dvd recording function and the size, I think both cameras are very similar in their spec.

Overall very happy (given 4 stars and not 5 due to the size)- esp as I got it for less than £350 from one of Amazon's suppliers.

The SX5 produces excellent quality in HD and the ability to transfer from card to disc and disc to card has come in handy on video shoots. The picture is better than the sound quality and on an HD screen it is superb. The connections are good with a full size HDMI out as well as USB , and the combined chrger / dc power is really good. Battery life is very good when using SDHC card but shorter using discs , the latter only last 14 min on HD . I have seen negative comments on the HD Writer but it is simple and easy to use on a pc ( not Mac. ).
My one criticism is the slowness of the Panasonic site to update accessories for this excellent camcorder.

I just got this camara this week and just now , I was able to play a DVd in my P.C. I have to say the image quality is good. Last year I bought a SONY camera (250 pounds) but sent it back because the image was so bad, that made me realize I needed a HD camera. At that moment were very expensive. But that camera was so EASY to use. (was my first camera).

With this PANASONIC is another story. I almost send it back because I thought It had a defect. I connect it to the P.C. using the USB cable and thought that was enough but this camera is very tricky. To play DVDs and Cards you need to finalize them and to do that you have to remove the BATTERY and conect the camera to the AC adaptor in order to finalize/format DVDs. Panasonic thinks in case the battery runs out you don't loose the info. But they didn't explain this early. I had to red 3/4 of the O.M. to learnt this. I hope this will help you, specially if you don't have much experience with this cameras. Also because they use a new format AVCHD that is used in blue-rays players, DVDs will play in your P.C. using only the software supplied by them.
Also because the camera writes to DVDs (note not DVD+ only minus) and SDHC cards(not just SD cards) is a litle confusing and you have to spend some time reading the O>M. to learn about this. Not the easiest camera so I give 4 stars.

Today is the second day with this camera. I left in the morning to record a DVD in Hd and then play it back. The point is you will need a powerful P.C. (mine is a Pent 4/ 512 Mb) so I was surprised when the main file to open the Panasonic software was missing. I removed it in order to re-install it again but it messed with the P.C. It asked me to re-boot. When I did this, The 2 external DVD players were missing. I tried to use SYSTEM RESTORE but it messed with it as well. It erased all the point restore and left only the last one. Just to cut, I couldn't use this software.
I tried to find some info in the web and red an article were they crtized all these cias for offering poor software for this kind of hardware. In 2 days I'm taking a holidays that will take me for nearly 2 years so I think I will be able to watch all the DVDs I get just when I comeback. At the end I don't know if it was a good idea to buy this type of camera using the AVCHD format that is just evolving....I hope the camera behave well and do a good job

Just Bought this cam from E-Bay for £227 (NEW) and what a buy. Have yet to have a real play with it but so far I have done some filming indoors at night in poor light and I must say I was impressed. Ok, it might be a little bulky by todays standards, but it is not that bad. The picture and sound are good....unless you are a profesional videographer. For me it is better that any cam I have had in the past, way better, and for the price I doubt if there is anything out there to match it.

I have yet to read the manual, but will do once I have the software on my PC, and start finding out this cam's true potential....not that I am already impressed.

I bought this cam mainly for holidays with kids, xmas and parties....etc.

Hope this review is of help....