Panasonic SDR-S26 Video Test

[rimalbloomingstar143]

CAN U PLEASE TELL ME THAT WHERE IS THE PAUSE BUTTON ON MY CAMCORDER I MEAN I CANT PAUSE VIDEOS ITS A BIG PROBLEM !!!

[YababaVideo]

Is it possible to get Depth of Field with this camera @NatureGrafix ?

[arraaron3]

pretty good camera

[ZombieSlayer8]

hey. i got this camcorder and i really like it.

but. can you please tell me how in ur video you get it to cover the whole widescreen format for youtube? 16:9

wat settings do i have to put into it?

thanks in advance!

[spammymonkey]

How did you get this to be HD?

[iHvn]

tell me plz how do u load vids on pc.. pc make my vids large then orgiginal on cam.. =( thx for answer

[NatureGrafix]

@iHvn There are a few videos on Youtube, that deal with this better than I am able. I suggest a search, good luck.

[iHvn]

@NatureGrafix thx but i ask you about program or method... how do you load video on PC =) not on YTube.. my vids load on 4x3 =(((((( pic is stretching

[NatureGrafix]

@iHvn I take the SD card out of the camera, connect it to my computer via a USB card reader. I copy it to a folder on my computer with a freeware program called SDcopy.exe, which has an option to flag the video at it's proper dimensions.

[iHvn]

@NatureGrafix thank you!! =) will try

[Gamer19975]

the zoom is way more powerful it can zoom 3500 x

[NatureGrafix]

@Gamer19975 The specs on the vidcam are 70x optical/100x digital zoom. I personally only use optical zoom... digital zoom exhibits pixelation and heavy artifacts. I'm not sure where or how you are getting the 3500x information?

[Gamer19975]

@NatureGrafix i have the same camera

[NatureGrafix]

@Gamer19975 Looking up the specs, you are correct. Digital zoom is listed at 70x-100x and Super Digital Zoom is listed as 100x-3500x. For my purposes, I never get past optical zoom, all digital zoom is turned off.

[Gamer19975]

@NatureGrafix 3500x zoom is enough to look inside a airplane, take pictures, video tape a tour, and see wat they're for lunch!!!!

[NatureGrafix]

@Gamer19975 I would agree if it was optical zoom. Digital zoom, at the extreme ends, usually results in a severely pixelized and useless image quality. 

[FireyFiringFire]

@NatureGrafix Look through the options.

There is a 3500x digital zoom mode.

[NatureGrafix]

@FireyFiringFire Yeah, I now realize this... I must have missed that because I purposely turn off any digital zoom, using optical zoom only for less picture degradation.

[xiaohang5588]

absolutely amazing vid !

[jimmyd3241]

this is the camera i use its nice

[Vreck93]

Great camera I hav 1 myself, although I get problems when I try to publish videos many times

[coolcassiex3]

how do you upload the videos in HD? i dont get what you said when you answered the question previuosly.

[NatureGrafix]

@coolcassiex3 This guy, is pretty much, doing the same thing that I do. I hope this helps. BTW, my camera is SD (or Standard Definition)... not HD (High Definition). The aspect ratio is wide @ 16x9 and Youtube erroneously defines this as HD.

[NatureGrafix]

@coolcassiex3 Sorry, I forgot to include the link to the guy's video. Here it is...

youtube.com/watch?v=m31Ji4U5jW­I

Or just do a google search for SDCopy, which is the .mod to .mpg software which will also flag your video files as the correct 16x9, if you choose to do so in the settings.

[ionutshowcase]

- Hey , can you please tell me how you did that this video not to be narrow ? I have a Panasonic SDR-S26 too and all my videos are narrow when they are on computer !

[NatureGrafix]

@ionutshowcase This has already been covered previously. Go back and read previous comments, I cannot keep restating the same things over and over.

[geomoviestuds]

What Cutprogramme have you got?

[NatureGrafix]

@geomoviestuds This has already been covered previously. Go back and read previous comments, I cannot keep restating the same things over and over.

[NatureGrafix]

@geomoviestuds I used Windows Movie Maker when I did this test. Now I am using Adobe Premiere 7.0

[Juanod09]

Amazing zoom ! and this video is very stable, no shaking. Did you use a tripod?

[NatureGrafix]

@Juanod09 Yes.

[geomoviestuds]

great work, its very nice!!

[thekeyofx]

is the picture shaky if tripod isnt used?

[kevinwong530]

With any camcorder it will be "shakey" when zoomed in this far and with no tripod used.

[swimsuitparker]

@thekeyofx yeah very when zoomed in

[gillbert1027]

i cant get my videos to come out wide screen like this on my sdr s26 can some one mesage me how to do this ive tried everything

[jackass1993911]

get a better video editing soft ware dont use the web mode thats built in use like an editing software like whatn i use just look in my channel

[syrett]

After reading other reviews i think i will buy this camera, it looks great for the price! Im planning on using it for some snowboard holidays so dont want to spend a fortune on a camera i might break and it will fit neatly in my pocket.

Does anyone know if using a higher class SDHC card will make any difference on video quality? Or what the write speed of the S26 is?

[Tornfromreality]

I have the same camera but i cant my footage to look this high quality. How did you do it?

[onlineWOF]

Im finding that when i upload videos onto youtube - that were filmed on my own Panasonic SDR-S60 just like this - they take absolutely ages to upload ; on average it takes about 2 hours to upload a 6min video. Is it just me or does eveyone find that?

[Strideo1]

The 70x optical zoom in such an inexpensive camera makes me want to drool. Gorgeous shot!

[ShredTheEast]

i was debating for a while on either the canon fs100 or panasonic sdr-s26 and i chose the fs100. was that a good choice?

[pepsico8]

You're right for choosing Canon camera as I got Panasonic sdr-s26 which is no good, It is suitable for outside use not inside cos dull view, I've adjust the brightness but still no good

[BunkerBoards]

no not at all the panasonic has a great

70x zoom and has a clear picture and it is good indoors too, im getting one this week hopefuly and the reason i no this is if u look at other vids it has great review and comments, the only bad part is tht it isnt HD but thts not all its cut out to be rly

[bigmitch2911]

anyone know if you can edit on movie maker etc because ive heard different comments. some say that you cant edit on movie maker (different format) others say you can??? im thinking of getting this for christmas, it looks like such a good cam for the price, any help would be appreciated

[quiteobserver]

although the zoom is impressive, the quality is rather weak

[oblomoff87]

very nice. thanks. 5+

[ScannerPortugal]

Does the Sdr-s26 and sdr-h80 have the same quality ?

[JultedRyan]

@ScannerPortugal yeah they do, but i would recommend the sdr s26, because the sdr h80 is very very fragile. im using a sdr s26 and ive dropped it plenty of times and it hasnt broken. the h80 will break almost the first time you drop it. hope this helps

[ScannerPortugal]

thanks man !

[arun989]

Nice video. Great camera. Thanks man.

[totodepatas]

I have a problem man. I just broyght this panasonic camera and, yeah, it works pretty cool. But i can see the images in my pc as windows media player, i dunno why. I took the ntcs zone because im from latin america, but it still doesnt work. I tell you this because i want to edit on windows movie maker. If you help me i will apreciatte :) thanks.

Greetings from Perú

[denylach]

should I buy this camera....I mean..it looks awesome,the features are great but some people say that its not worth the money...what do you think?

[7121895]

What is the price of this camera?

[pagloota]

It's priced $330 US dollars.

[TehNoobinShow]

its now $269.99 US dollars

[ravi930]

got it today for black friday for 240 dollars

[HaveNoFearTomIsHere]

black friday?

[ravi930]

its the day after thanksgiving where every big stores have big sales on t'v's camera's and etc.

[narutofan9tf]

i got mine at amazon + 8gb sd card 4 only £180

[moovieman2200]

will it work with windows movie maker?

[ScannerPortugal]

Well, im thinking about getting this camera in the christmas, altough i prefered if was in HD.

Does anyone know if panasonic (or any any other brand) is releasing a Super-zoom (60x,70x...) HD Camcorder anytime soon ?

thank you

[TehOwchies]

Samsung should soon be releasing their SMX-K40, K44 and K45 cameras soon. They have 52x optical zoom (65x intellizoom) and, although they record in SD, they can upscale the footage to near HD.

[rofoshomedia]

is there a macro on this camera

[wilddogz48]

does any1 no if there is a waterproof case for this cam? i doubt it but just wondering if there is?

[Zico10101010]

what a cam

[hamsterDUDE999]

just got it about 45 mins ago but forgot to buy sd card

[StevenMovieMaker7]

LOL.

[ninmachine109]

i bought this 3 months ago to edit stuff on windows movie maker and still haven't found a way to do that? They have you install a program to edit your videos but it's a joke compared to windows movie maker

[LiLB51]

i know me too. its so confusing :(

[RFeFilms]

use sony vegas then becuz i hv this camcorder and i can just put the files straight on there

just type "sony vegas pro 8.0 free trial" in to google download the trial to get use to the software after that its costs £500 but there is a way of getting it for free just type "how to get sony vegas for free" into youtube and it will come up

[ninmachine109]

awesome thank you so much. Is there any way to videotape in night vision?

[RFeFilms]

no it doesnt have night vision! but it does have a night view, its not as good as night vision but isnt 2 bad but it runs slowly when recording oh and its doesnt use tapes it uses sd cards

[JonahsFilms]

wmm wont take mpeg4 vids

[JC250870]

Great video NatureGrafix, it shows us how powerful this zoom is. Do you prefer this camcorder to your Canon FS100?? Is it better?

[NatureGrafix]

@JC250870 I preferred the Canon FS100. The autofocus seemed to be more exact and the build quality better on the Canon. For the price and for what it it, it's not a bad video camera to have in my gear bag, though.

[kitebabe05]

very nice!!

[brianutube]

nice shot

[diversandy]

When I look at the properties of the video file it says mpeg file

[diversandy]

When I try to open the file with windows movie maker it say '' 10072009_094244.mpg is not a valid Windows Movie Maker Project File.''  Please help. Getting very frustrated. :-(

[drappleman]

Make the image a little darker when you edit. Trust me, a lot of people seem to not know about it but it makes it look a lot better sometimes.

[NBGZerO]

Increasing contrast and darkening the video a bit gives it more depth, thats right

[EmilieBee123]

i'm thinking about getting this, but i need to ask one question, is the quality if the footage actually like the HQ mode in the video or is the quality of the footage like it is in normal mode on the video?

[Jim9298]

If it ever fails, good luck getting it repaired

mine failed in less than 2 weeks, waited 2months only to have it returned still doing the same thing google them and you will see all the complaints! D

[rofoshomedia]

how did you get this into 16:9 using windows movie maker! please please please help me! jsut tell me what step i need to take to make this happen. by the way i am shooting in the 16:9 format on the camera

[skateclown410]

how do i upload it to youtube in widescreen

[elkarpi]

Hello I am a boy from Spain he(she) excuses my translation I observe that your you have had the Canon fs 100 and the Panasonic SDR-S26 which(who) of both chambers(cameras) is better?

In that format they record?

Is format .mod problematic?

I request you me compare both chambers(cameras) I want to buy me one of these graces

[rofoshomedia]

i just got this for my birthday and i have a few questions, first, when i put it in 16:9 recording mode it still dosent show widescreen on youtube, also, is this compatable with windows movie maker? and are there any editing features on the program in the box?

[wilddogz48]

i think if u import it to ur computer or laptop then u can use it with windows movie maker but i haven't tried it i will in a while though.

[2Beast4funkyMUSIK]

how do u make it widescreen? when i import my clips its fullscreen

[2Beast4funkyMUSIK]

wut type of video flie is the clip? an mpg?

[NatureGrafix]

The files, out of the camera, are .mod files... which I copy to my hard-drive with a program called SDCopy.exe. This renames the file extensions to .mpg and sets the file properties, or flags the file as 16:9 format, if I choose.

[2Beast4funkyMUSIK]

thnx but wut do u mean by choose the file as 16:9 format?

[rofoshomedia]

16:9 format would be widescreen

[NatureGrafix]

Do a Google search for SDcopy & sektionschef . This is the software I use and it is discussed in many online video forums.

[diversandy]

I have just bought a Panasonic SDr-S26. I have noted your comments about SDCOPY and have downloaded the same. When I open SDCOPY I think I am putting in the source directory and target directory okay :-) but what do I put in the 2 rename fields ?? I just want to use Windows Movie Maker :-( Please help...help....help........

[diversandy]

I have now put in .MOD to .Mpg in the rename fields. This changes the file to mpg but still will not open with windows movie maker. Any ideas ?????

[M0rrigan1]

aww what a cute little birdie!! I just wanna go hug him ;-)

[MeNtAlmil]

Yea i recently bought this camcorder and i cannot get the high quality option on any of my videos. I record them in XP and i upload them through the VideoCam Suite 2.0 software that came with it, Are you doing anything different then me? I can't figure it out, Thanks a lot!

[NatureGrafix]

I use a program called SDcopy which flags the video file as wide format, I then do my video editing in Windows Movie Maker. When I upload to YouTube, I just use my browser and Youtube, I do not use the software that came with the camera.

[ItsVideos]

I also have this camcorder. How are you uploading the videos? Are you using the YouTube upload function in the VideoCam Suite 2.0 software that comes with it? What settings are you using when you record (XP, SP, LP)? When I upload I do not get the HQ button and I am trying to figure out why. Thanks.

[NatureGrafix]

I record in XP. I just upload the video file using my browser and youtube. When I first take the video off of the memory card to my hard-drive, I do however use a program called SDcopy, which flags the video as wide format and changes the extension from .mod to .mpg. Do a google search for sdcopy sektionschef and you will find where to download the program.

[NatureGrafix]

@ItsVideos XP mode on the camera... I upload straight through YouTube, I do not use the software that came with the camera.

[Pownagezy]

does this have a focus like for really close up filming?

[Wolstie23]

What is the microphone like on it, decent quality etc...

[joyx81]

wow hehehehehe

[st23r]

hmm. it's a good video, but it seems pretty... hazy? is it the lens, or was it just like that on the day?

thanks for posting this. i'm quite interested in buying a video camera for bird photography (cinematography?), and i'm trying to decide if it's worth getting a HD one or not. The problem with HD cameras is that they don't have as big a zoom as standard definition cameras like the S26 (but of course they have better quality).

was it fully zoomed in here? cheers.

[NatureGrafix]

Yes, this was fully zoomed, with the bright evening Sun of the late afternoon coming in from camera left. I think the lens shows a bit of flare from the light , as I said in the info box above. At max zoom, the compression of the scene does seem to make everything appear hazy, I would say it was a bit hazy that evening.

[osm73]

Were you using tripod? The video doesn't seem to be very shaky at max zoom.

[NatureGrafix]

Yes... this is on a tripod.

[st23r]

thanks. the video quality seem pretty good, especially for a 70x zoom lens. were you using a tripod?

[NatureGrafix]

Yes... tripod used. I normally use an SLR with a tripod 90% of the time, so I'm used to using a tripod.

[NatureGrafix]

Fully zoomed.... hazy because of bright side lighting in the evening.