;)
Traditionally, camcorders are sensitive and delicate. Too, they've become so small that the traditional Velcro hand strap has been replaced by the same flimsy tether as used on lithe digital cameras, as is the case with the SDR-S10 Compact SD Digital Palmcorder Camcorder from Panasonic. Unlike most, however, the SDR-S10 offsets such flimsy safety measures with remarkable durability in the unit itself; a hallmark characteristic that might also make up for its lack of shooting modes and other features.
In fact, Panasonic's SDR-S10 practically demands recklessness and unusual shooting conditions, like water volleyball, rock climbing and the like. Well, sort of...
The S10 is more water-resistant than waterproof, as in rainfall friendly as opposed to dunk-in-the-pool friendly, and even then you've got to manually shut and locked the panels that hold the SD memory card and battery.
As for shock resistance, the S10 can technically take a drop of up to four feet, the conventional chest-high height of a device held out in front. Oddly, the S10 is generally designed to be held higher than that, knuckles up, thumb at the back, arm crooked so that it's near head high. Assuming most users are at least 5-feet tall, maybe holding the thing over the heads of the crowds to at least seven feet high, a 4-foot drop resistance seems like underkill... or easykill.
Still, dropping it on concrete -- purposely, for the sake of review -- with unit's ample 69mm LCD viewscreen closed, and again on a wood floor with it viewscreen open, the thing took the punishment with nary a scratch.
With that sort of user in mind, the SDR-S10 is also simple to use. You'll want to read the manual to get a handle on some of the nuanced uses, but you can get a grasp on its primary functions just by turning it on and pressing record.
Speaking of which, there are two record buttons: one at the back for thumb access, another at the front near the lens if you prefer your pinky for the job.
The shooting mode options are a pretty thin. Auto mode is really just point & shoot, while manual mode offers user-tweaks to things like white balance and night view. That said, night view specifically makes video capture so sensitive to movement that it blurs anything that moves, even with the S10 on a tripod.
Other modes, like sunlight and soft skin, are better but only really help to slightly improve what is already a pretty grainy image. This is supposed to be standard-definition camcorder -- aka Palmcorder -- but the net result often looks more like some guerrilla-style filmmaking technique. Footage from the S10 would make one think that a trip to the mall was an undercover operation. It can be a humorous effect, but the general quality isn't great, though it tends to be better in 4:3 format rather than 16:9 widescreen, probably because of the reduced pixel count.
The SDR-S10 can also take still photos, but that's not exactly a compelling feature considering the resolution is only 0.3 megapixels, which means that even your cell phone can do better.
As for stylishness, the S10 resembles a cross between a point-and-shoot camera and a electric shaver circa 1980. Of course, it's a unique product in its own right; shock and waterproof camcorders certainly aren't a dime a dozen, even if they do look a little like 80s kitsch.
Panasonic SDR-S10 Compact SD Digital Palmcorder Camcorder is never going win any awards for amazing video capture quality, but it can handle the rigors of camping, beach-side bashing, the pool partying and any other activity that you wouldn't bring an expensive camcorder to anyway.
Still, $US400/C$500 isn't exactly cheap; it's still something of an investment, one that won't net great picture quality, useful stills or even anymore than 30 minutes of footage at the highest recording setting on a 2GB SD card. But it will give you peace of mind knowing that a little sand and water and a drop and a bang won't slow it down one bit.
Reviewed: Jul. 09, 2007
Type: Camcorders
From: Panasonic
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