Panasonic HDC-HS250

The Panasonic HDC-SD250 is a high-definition camcorder recommended for new or intermediate users who desire an easy-to-use camcorder that can still produce top-notch, vivid video worthy of sharing with friends and family. The fifth of five Panasonic HDC-HS models, the Panasonic HDC-HS250 is a direct upgrade from the Panasonic HDC-HS20 in that it features a 120GB (versus 80GB) hard disk drive and Panasonic’s revolutionary 3MOS chip system that utilizes three separate full-HD MOS sensors to provide up to 9,150,000 pixels when capturing video. In all other ways, however, the HDC-SD250 is essentially a duplicate of its peer. For instance, the HDC-SD250 is also equipped with a 5.1 channel surround sound system with a 5 microphones and a zoom microphone feature, not to mention an SDHC/SD memory card so that users can record and store 1920 x 1080 HD video content on either a card or the HDD. In addition, the HDC-HS250 offers full support for Apple Macintosh computers, and in fact allows easy file transferring so that files may be edited in iMovie. Furthermore, the HDC-HS250 features touch-screen controls with icon-based menus, an auto power LCD, and a quick 1.9 second power-up so that users can more easily catch spontaneous moments on video. The HDC-HS250 also boasts a Leica Dicomar lens with a 16x optical zoom, a 40x digital zoom, auto focus tracking, a 2.7” wide LCD, and automatic LCD brightness adjustments. The HDC-HS20 retails for $999.95 (versus $799.95) and comes with a 1 year limited warranty.