Hard Drive & Storage - News & Reviews

Panasonic SDR-H18 30GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Panasonic SDR-H18 Camcorder is perfect for extended trips with its internal 30GB hard drive that holds as much video data as up to 22 8cm 1.4GB DVDs. That’s about 22 hours worth of high-quality video. The SDR-H18 offers a 32x extended range zoom capability. Stills and videos may also be recorded on SD or SDHC memory cards.

Technical Details:

• Built-in 30 GB Hard Disk Drive
• Optical Zoom: 32xVariable Speed
• Recording Format: MPEG2
• One –Touch Navigation for easy, intuitive setting and shooting
• On-Screen Display Language: English / French / Spanish
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 2.87” x 2.76” x 4.76”
• Large 2.7-inch widescreen LCD

Product Features:

• The internal 30 GB hard disk holds as much video data as about 22 8-centimeter DVD discs i.e., one can record for around 27 hours without changing a disc, tape or anything else. This camcorder is perfect for people who want to shoot for hours without worrying about memory space.
• SDR-H18 can record to either its built-in 30GB drive or to a SD/SDHC flash memory card, without any difference in quality.
• Optical Image Stabilizer minimizes the hand-shake that can be a problem with handheld shots.
• There is no image quality degradation since Panasonic’s system is optical.
• Panasonic’s MPEG2 engine is a wide-range, high precision engine that produces smooth, beautiful moving pictures.
• 32x zoom can fill the screen with even a distant subject. Since it’s optical, there is no quality loss - you get the images in their natural beauty.
• Selectable scene modes and white balance settings featured on this compact camcorder help you capture your memories in stunning true-to-life detail.
• With One-Touch Navigation, you need to just press the center of the joystick to display an operating menu. The operations used most often are right on the monitor, so it’s easy to change settings or operate the camera without looking away from your subject.
• It features MagicPix, which allows for full-color recording in low light.
• Soft skin mode automatically softens details to reduce skin imperfections when shooting close-ups.
• While recording there is an indicator “media remaining” which alerts you to know as how much media space is remaining, so you know how much recording time or how many pictures you have left.
• ImageMixer3 software lets you organize, rename, watch, edit print and e-mail digital video and photos.
• Its high-picture-quality 16:9 widescreen shooting mode captures widescreen video for added convenience.
• A built-in USB port lets you transfer images recorded on the 30GB hard drive directly to your PC or Mac for extended video storage or editing.

Combining the simplicity of SD recording, a roomy 30GB hard drive, a long zoom, and pleasing image quality, the SDR-H18 is a good choice for a standard-definition, hard-drive camcorder.