Panasonic HDC-SD9

89% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

77% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Now we've had a chance to give Panasonic's HDC-SD9 a proper going over, we can't help being rather bowled over. It's definitely not a camcorder for the serious hobbyist, even if it can shoot great-quality video in all but the worst lighting conditions....

The HDC-SD9 has a similar basic specification to its predecessor. It sports Panasonic's trademark trio of CCDs, in this case 1/6in units with 560,000 pixels apiece. These will have a good effect on colour fidelity, but sensors this small usually have a...

Stylish design ; Solid build ; Impressive spec ; Compact ; Good picture quality

Awkward controls ; No microphone input

A good looking and tidy package, great value

While you must sacrifice a little quality to get a camcorder as diminutive as the Panasonic HDC-SD9, given the ease of use and responsiveness, many will may feel it's a sacrifice worth making.

Small yet well constructed, fast in operation, storage capacity expandable via larger SDHC media

Storage via SD media only, picture and sound not as impressive as competing larger-build models

While it seems like a good mid-range option, performance in low light is not as good as the others, with overall picture quality not as sharp. Auto white balance performance is also variable, and its audio is not quite as 'full' sounding as we'd like....

Small yet well constructed, fast in operation, storage capacity expandable via larger SDHC media, easy to use and can be carried in the pocket

Storage via SD media only, picture and audio not as impressive as competing larger build models

The Panasonic HDC-SD9 is small and perfectly formed, but appears more a triumph of design and engineering over performance - meaning that there are models out there (JVC's GZ-HD3) that will deliver better overall results for a similar price or a little...

While you must sacrifice a little quality to get a camcorder as diminutive as the Panasonic HDC-SD9, given the ease of use and responsiveness, many will may feel it's a sacrifice worth making.

The HDC-SD9 is, like its Hybrid sibling model the HDC-HS9, an excellent camcorder which is aimed firmly at users who seek a starter camcorder capable of shooting and playing back high definition video which will look and sound great on large-format...