im getting the sdr-s26 when it comes out
the battery life is a short 1 hour, but the batteries are really cheap, i got 2 for $10 on amazon (i also have a sdr-s7). the h80/90 has a different battery which last for much longer, and bigger batteries can be used. the sdr-s26 battery cant be upgraded to a longer one
the zoom on it is huge. way bigger then anything out now. plus it has optical stabilization, which will help tons with keeping it sturdy
the sensor is a small 1/8", smaller then whats in my sdr-s7 (1/6"). low light will suffer, but panasonic offers a lot of controls to help; shutter speed, aperture, & gain. also, the resolution is only 290k in 4:3. this is surprising for a 2009 cam. its normally 340k, this is a step down. however, the small the resolution may match up good with the smaller resolution
like i said, i have the sdr-s7. i havent touched the software that came with it. you can use just about any software, including windows movie maker. the file come off the cam as .MOD. all you have to do is change the letters from .MOD to .MPG though windows explorer
I am interested in these two new models introduced by Panasonic with several new features such as face recognition, and 70x zoom.
I saw the H80 at the Singapore airport for $500.00, but did not have time to explore it. The S26 has essentially same features but without the hard drive.
Apparently these models are available in Asia but not yet on the US market.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=597303&Q=&is=REG&A=details
I would appreciate any input and the pros and cons on these models as I ponder on the decision to buy.
Questions I have are about battery life for SR26 and video editing software that comes with the camcorders -- having read the issues with H60.
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