Panasonic SDR-T70

Panasonic has just about all the ends covered when it comes to bringing their digital camcorders to the mainstream. But that is not enough for Panasonic so they used CES 2011 to launch over a dozen more camcorders of various types where most of them are meant to replace the older models so consumers like you get to enjoy more features.

What is even nicer is that Panasonic did not leave the fans of standard definition video cameras behind. Standard definition digital camcorders like the new Panasonic SDR-T70 are still good to use for capturing memories and taking non-professional video. You do hit a few limitations in terms of image quality but you also get a number of useful features that are not present in digital cameras with video recording features. Plus the asking price is so low compared to any high-definition camcorder.

Panasonic SDR-T70 Camcorder

Design and Interface

The Panasonic SDR-T70 is a bit smaller and much lighter than some of the other standard definition video cameras because the SDR-T70 lacks a hard drive since it opts to use the speedier flash storage instead. When you take out the battery, the Panasonic SDR-T70 weighs only 213 grams which is definitely a plus if you want easy and effortless video recording. It has most of the standard functions that you should find in any basic digital camcorder like the 2.7-inch wide display and obvious buttons.

Features

The Enhanced Optical 78x Zoom serves as the highlight of this low-budget digital camcorder. That rests on top of the max 3500x digital zoom but the 78x zoom is the one that you will utilize more often because it is optical so that means that you won’t notice much image distortions when you try to get close to a subject. The quality of the video only depends on how steady your hand is but you won’t even run into that issue because of the Advanced O.I.S. (Optical image Stabilizer) technology so your video quality won’t blur if you slightly shake your hand.

The 33 mm wide-angle setting is the other main highlight which is extremely useful if you want to capture more individuals in a scene. It is also good for recording landscape footage so you capture more detail. When you play back the video in an HDTV, you still get pretty good quality as it uses the common 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. You will also notice some instances of good and accurate color which is the work of the Pure Color Engine.

You can also adjust certain parameters to further boost the SDR-T70′s image quality. You can start with the Intelligent Contrast Control to prevent blocked shadows and blown highlights. Add the Intelligent Scene Selector to the mix so you won’t have to shuffle through the different scene modes just to get an optimal recording preference. This mode sets the aperture and shutter speed settings for you.

The Panasonic SDR-T70 provides you with limited 4 GB of internal storage memory. While that may seem like an average flash drive, remember that you are only limited to standard definition recording so should still take long periods of video. Plus if you really need additional space, you can add a small SD card for some extra mileage or go for a huge leap and add a 64 GB memory card since the camcorder supports the SDXC format as well.

Extra Features

The SDR-T70 is great camcorder to use when filming people because the face detection features effectively captures faces and smoothens out those skin tones. You can even do more with the skin tone by removing blemishes and other flaws using the Soft Skin mode. This is a completely safe feature to use because it only softens the focus of skin areas while leaving other areas alone so the background and other parts of the video stay sharp. You can also use the AF/AE tracking button to keep the focus optimized on a certain subject.

The Panasonic SDR-T70 has some sound recording extras as well starting with the Zoom Mic button which links directly to your current zoom setting so when you zoom in to the subject, you are focusing the audio capture to that area so you can cancel out the background noise. You can even get rid of the annoying wind noise by using the Wind Noise Canceller function.

Bottom Line

The $270 price tag makes this a very competitive camera that even pits itself against those HD pocket video cameras that yield questionable video quality. The SDR-T70 brings a lot to the table including some unique features and other flexible options that can expand your creativity even without the high-definition push.

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic SDR-T70K
Enjoy Free Shipping & Secure Shopping