Customer Reviews
Wonderful Camcorder! 
2007-05-09
I took quite some time in deciding which camcorder to buy. I wanted one that was small so it would be easy to take with me. I also wanted to stay away from tapes because I think it's much easier to organize videos on the computer rather than labeling and storing tapes all the time. This camera is wonderful for general use. It takes good video and good pictures. I highly recommend it for recording personal events.
The one thing that I did not like was the software that came with the camcorder. In my case, it does not copy the video onto my computer properly. It will not let me organize the videos so I can find what I want later. I'm irrated that such a nice camcorder comes with such terrible software. I'm currently using Windows Explorer to copy/paste the videos into folders that I'm naming based on the events.
No support from Panasonic 
2007-03-21
I have one and Panasonic doesn't have driver or processing downloads for it or even respond to requests. The proprietary video format requires special handling in your PC and can leave you with a camera full of useless clips. Are they abandoning this product? Look on the Panasonic website and see for yourself.
SDR-S150 user review 
2007-03-12
I purchased this camcorder just over two weeks ago and must say that I am more than pleased w/ its performance. After reading countless reviews of camcorders and handling several at local stores, I selected the SDR-S150 based on:
- size
- reviewed video performance
- SDHC recording format
I wanted a camcorder that was very compact so that I wouldn't mind carrying it anywhere. Being the size of an average digital camera, the SDR-S150 fits the bill nicely. Video performance is very good. Being able to pop the SD card into a card reader on my computer makes transfering videos pretty much effortless.
This camcorder costs a bit more than others out there, but I feel the extra $$ is well spent due to it's video quality, ease of use and expected durability. Since it doesn't have tapes to jam or hard drives to crash, it should have a long life v.s. other units that do.
One concern I had prior to purchasing this camcorder was whether it could be used indoors, as the reviewers said it suffers more than some in low light situations. My concerns were put to rest after seeing my first indoor video. It works just fine under normal indoor lighting.
Another concern I had was whether I would have enough recording time using SD cards. Happily, I find that there is little if any difference (to my eye) between the best quality and the medium quality modes. I tend to record using the medium quality setting, giving twice the recording time over the highest quality setting. My 8 gig card = 4 hrs recording.
I can highly recommend this camcorder if size & video quality matters to you.
As good as it can be, plus Mac iMovie instructions 2007-01-21
After opening the box and charging the battery, I had it shooting without cracking the user manual. Easy to use and confidence-inspiring. The menu system is mostly self explanatory, the only changes I made were to put it in XP (highest) quality mode, 4:3 instead of widescreen aspect ratio, disable digital zoom. Most of the options you'd want are there.
This is a tiny device, about the size of my 4-yr old 3x zoom digital still point and shoot. As such, the screen size is a little small, particularly if you are shooting 4x3 instead of widescreen. The case is mostly plastic but feels solid nonetheless. Be sure to attach the included grip extender to the tripod socket. This is crucial for one-handed operation of the zoom.
I like the use of thumbnails to identify each clip. So you can delete unwanted clips in the same way you would delete photos from a still camera.
I was pleased with the image quality. I tested it indoors in daylight and with bulbs and fluorescent lights. I didn't see the low-light problems some people have mentioned, but I wasn't shooting in candlelight... I've heard good things about the still image shooting so having a still camera with 10x optical zoom is a nice bonus.
I had no problem with the Mac connection, just download Mpeg Streamclip and Apple's $20 mpeg2 plugin, and you can convert to DV format for iMovie. Though some users may find this difficult or annoying.
UPDATE May 2007. Just a quick update on my earlier review, I wrote up instructions for transferring video from this camera to iMovie on a Mac. Once I'd written them out I realized it's more involved than I had thought, but hopefully these step by step instructions will help someone. Also hopefully Apple will make this easier in the future...
[...]
Almost perfect 2007-01-16
After reading the reviews here and at [...] on this baby, I was a little cocerned about its low-light and indoor performance. Let me be the first to say that my fears were largely unfounded.
Yes, if you film in very low light, it will darken many colors. But we're talking 60 lux, which is the roughly equivalent to the light put off from the candles of a birthday cake. Just keep the lights on when your kid blows out the candles, and viola! Seriously, I have had absolutely no problems with it filming too dark indoors, outdoors, or even when I film local bands playing in dark bars.
The reason I wanted to try this camera was because it is the only flash-based camera that is receiving even mildly positive reviews. I do not want a tape mechanism that will break, nor a fragile hard drive that cannot be used in many film-worthy conditions (think snow skiing, as the drive mechanism will freeze up on you in very cold weather).
As I said, I was skeptical when I purchased it, but no more. The videos are far better than any other camcorder I've owned. My last was a Canon ZR 50 mini DV, and this camera takes VASTLY superior videos than that one.
The four stars is only because of the mpeg2 format this records to. I have a mac, so editting requires that I convert to DV with streamclip so that imovie can import the movies. Mainly, I just don't edit my home videos so that hasn't been a problem. But if would have been nice for it to be an easier option, and it could have been if they encoded to mpeg4 with h264 and mp3/aac, which appears to be the next standard.
If that concerns you, or if you want HD, you might wait until the Panasonic SD1 is available because it records in AVHDC which is a form of mpeg4. Of course, imovie doesn't yet support that either, so you may have to wait until iLife 07 to really use it.
In parting, I will also mention that the size of this unit is absolutely fabulous. I no longer dread lugging around even my smallish mini DV camera. This thing literally fits in my jacket pocket, so I end up filming a lot more than I did with previous cameras. If you're looking for small, flash-based, and good quality video, get this camera, you'll love it.
Solves everything I hate about tapes. 2008-05-25
I don't like to take video for many reasons. You end up with a lot of bad scenes in the middle of the tape, if you review the tape you have to forward to the point where you can begin taping again and it takes far to long to transfer the video to the PC if you want to burn it to DVD. This camcorder solves all those problems. Because of random access of the SD flash media, scenes where you accidently filmed your leg for 10 minutes and didn't notice it till later can be deleted on the fly. It automatically begins to record at the end of the series of scenes so there's no fast-forwarding to find the spot where you can record again. And copying the video to your PC is as easy as pulling out the SD card and plugging it into your computer. You can begin burning a DVD immediately. Now I don't hesitate to video. With 3 CCDs, quality is much better than the previous few single-CCD miniDV camcorders I've owned from JVC, Sony, and Samsung, particularily the white balance and color correctness. On a big screen TV the difference is very noticable. It is dead silent when you video something. With a 4 GB card (which only cost me $29) I get about an hour of video at the highest quality setting. This means an hour worth of high-quality taping will copy to a single current generation DVD. The video camera is very small but feels very high quality and substantial. I ordered this from J & R and they did a great job getting it to me as promised and I paid a very reasonable price.
Excellent Low-Priced Standard Definition Flash Camcorder 2008-05-08
I've owned this camcorder for a couple of months now. I really like it. I paid just under $400 for it. For the price, I can't imagine a better standard definition flash camcorder.
Pro's
-Tons of manual controls. They're fun to play with. I'm just learning videography, and this was exactly what I wanted.
-The "easy" mode works well. So if you don't want to fuss with the controls, you'll still like this camera. I find most of the menus easy to navigate.
-Really nice image quality when viewed on my 22-inch monitor. I was surprised when I viewed my first footage -- the color was pretty much perfect (vivid but natural, not hypersaturated), no noise under decent lighting, auto focus worked perfectly. The motion was very natural looking.
-Works with my 16gb SDHC card. So I can store about 15 hours worth of video at one time.
-The still-photo mode is also fun and includes tons of manual controls. You shouldn't buy this just for the still camera, but it's a nice extra.
Con's
-Some of the controls are less intuitive. In particular, the four-way macro/ backlighting control is sort of confusing (to me, not necessarily to you).
-Neither photos nor videos look all that great in low light. Even the special low-light video capture is not terribly effective (though still fun to play with). But I did not deduct any points here because I believe that you don't get good low-light images at this price point -- no exceptions. If you want really good low-light images from a flash-based camcorder, then you have to move up to a higher price range.
-The design is slightly awkward. There's really no way to maintain a comfortable, relaxed grip on the body. (Contrast w/ the body of the Samsung SC-MX10 and HMX-10, which allows the camcorder to rest more naturally in your grip). But I'm really nitpicking here because the grip's really not a problem in real-world use (just not ideal).
-Neither the camcorder nor the editing software are Vista-compatible out of the box. You can get them to work with Vista, but it is a bit of a pain. It involves separately downloading a series of drivers and firmware upgrades. The whole process took about 2 hours.
-Panasonic's US website is 99% worthless if you're looking for support for the s150. I had to Google around until I found the upgrades on the Panasonic global website.
-The editing software is of marginal quality.
Conclusion
-I'm very happy with the camcorder itself. All the problems I mentioned are really minor and don't even come close to outweighing the camcorder's many virtues. The biggest problem I had was getting it to work with Vista. But I think it was worth the minor hassle.
Best pocket size camcorder 2008-05-05
I needed a camera that fits in my handbag to carry around everywhere I go. This was my primary priority, second was image quality and the third was to be able to record on a memory based media. And this camera is the best you can get considering all these factors. It is not the smallest camcorder in the world but small enough to fit your coats pocket, very easy to use, just pop the lcd screen and lens cover slide open and you are ready to shoot. There is an auto everything and manual switch where you can override all or some auto functions. I rarely use manual overrides, because not only auto shooting does a decent job but also manual functions are very deep in the menu system that makes it hard to control, and this is one of my few complaints about SDR-150. I wish there was a few quick access manual adjustment buttons.
Image quality is surprisingly good, 3CCDs are really make a huge difference, accurate vivid color rendition, no visible compression artifacts etc. very very good. Another cool function is the Image stabilization system "OIS" works really good. It is hard not to shake this camera in your hand, it is not shoulder mounted, and your grip is even weaker then the old big DV camcorders. There is a finger grip that comes with the package that you can screw on the tripod mount, this way you can also use your ring finger instead of only index and middle finger for additional grip.
For the recording and editing SD cards, or any memory based recording system is the future of camcorders, long gone the days of magnetic media tapes, dv, dvd, hard drive all kind of rotating mechanisms, motors, gears, pulleys, belts etc. which makes the camcorder heavy, big, unreliable, vulnerable to dust, water, shake, vibration, heat and cold. These systems also need bigger batteries because they need lots of energy to drive the mechanisms. Another drawback of some older systems that you have to transfer your files to your editing application in real time. 1 hour video will transfer exactly in 1 hour. With this camcorder you can transfer hours of video in minutes. Editing software is altough not very advanced pretty decent, simple and easy to use. It can also output to DVD.
After I bought this camcorder, we have been using it almost everyday, every other camcorder we had owned before was stored in a bag somewhere at home occasionally used. With this camcorder, we have recorded more than our entire collection in just a few months. Yes there are certainly better camcorders out in the market, but you just can't carry them with you all the time.
Highly recommended !
first class - but beware the mike placement 2007-09-11
This really is a first class camera for its size... easy to use, good quality output.
Only one thing to bear in mind... the microphone is at the rear of the device... perfect for picking up "heavy breathing" - or side comments on the action.... can be a bit of an embarrassment....
Friendly and useful camera 2007-05-14
I enjoy this camera alot.
Friendly and photo video even in very low light conditions.
High quality video is eventually going on the tv or computer.
I have some problems with taking out the movies using the program but it's simple to copy the movies through the micromate reader.
I think it's the best product I have ever bought.
Meiri
