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General discussion

Canon S20 or Panasonic hdc-sd700?

Nov 18, 2010 5:37AM PST

I'm about to buy a camcorder and i'm in the prize area of these two cameras..

what do you suggest? (or others opcions?)

thanks
Phil

Discussion is locked

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Canon S20 or Panasonic hdc-sd700
Nov 22, 2010 3:56PM PST

I am in the market for a camcorder and these are also my top choices. Actually, I'm looking at the S21 in stead of the S20, but they are virtually the same. I've researched both the Panasonic and Canon for a few months, and have decided to go with the Panasonic. This was a hard decision, b/c I've been a life long Canon owner. Canon makes great quality products, especially when it comes to cameras and camcorders. However, this Panasonic has alot more to offer. What sticks out to me the most is the ability to record 1080p/60fps. It's the only prosumer cam on the market with that capability. The panasonic also has a much wider lense than the Canon by default. I'm looking at the HS700, so the 240GB harddrive was also a selling point for me. But the feature list goes on and on, check this link: http://panasonic.net/avc/camcorder/hd/hs700_tm700_sd700/accessories.html. Also, camcorderinfo.com compared the 2, and the Panasonic won in almost every test (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Panasonic-HDC-TM700-Camcorder-Review-37681/Canon-HF-S21-Comparison.htm). And if that wasn't enough, the Panasonic is cheaper.

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beware hdc -sd700
Dec 6, 2010 5:57AM PST

my new hdc -sd700 operated for 20gb before packing up (won't lock panasonic memory card in anymore) & of course repair will take forever ( already 3 weeks since putting it into an autherised repairer) I would think vry carefully about totally relying on sd cards & if I could revisit my buy ,I would choose hd -sd

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sd700 is better
Dec 11, 2010 3:35PM PST

Im in the same boat.. In factI already use a Panasonic HMC151E for work but need a smaller camcorder for other outdoor projects.

For me, the SD700 wins it with the manual focus ring and the 1080/50P. I don't think Panasonic build the sturdiest of machines.. e.g SONY's always feel better in the hand, but the Panasonic feels not worse than the Canon but does indeed win over Canons lack of 1080/50P. I can vouch for the Dicomar lenses, they are good, as is the one on my HMC151E (a much bigger brother to the SD700!).

My only question is what are the best and cheapest SD cards to use as the SD700 peaks a bit rate of 28MBps. Im wondering if one can get away using Class 6 cards with the SD700's highest settings? Be interesting to see what everyone else is using for the SD700.