Panasonic SDR-H85 – remote video capture with large hard drive
Thumbs Up:
Full set of manual controls; well built; nice image stabilization.
Thumbs Down:
No slot for external headphone/microphone jacks; low resolution display.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Panasonic SDR-H85 is a 0.8 megapixels camcorder. It has inbuilt 80GB hard drive and memory slot that accepts SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. The SDR-H85 features 70x optical zoom, 3500x digital zoom, Electronic & Advanced Optical Image Stabilization and digital photo shooting mode. Exposure modes are Automatic, Program, and Manual.
2.7 inches LCD display is based on TFT active matrix technology. Zoom lens has F/1.9-5.7 aperture and 1.48-104mm focal length. Panasonic SDR-H85 has inbuilt lens shield and automatic & manual focus adjustment. Its stereo microphone has wind-noise reduction and zoom features.
Maximum shutter speed is 1/1800sec and minimum is 1/30 second. Shooting programs are Snow, Beach, Sunset, Scenery, Fireworks, Low light, Spotlight, Night scene, Sports mode, and Portrait mode. White balance types are: Automatic, Presets, and Custom. Its presets include Sunlight, Cloudy, Outdoor, and Indoor.
Supported image format is JPEG, while Panasonic SDR-H85 supports NTSC analog video and H.264 & MPEG2 video format. The audio recording format is Dolby Digital Stereo. The recording speed options are SP, XP, LP, LLP, LXP, and LLP. Image storage resolution options are JPEG 640×360 and JPEG 640×480.
The connector set includes 1×USB, 1×Composite video/audio output, and 1×DC power input. Panasonic SDR-H85 has 1790mAH lithium ion battery. Accessories supplied inside the box are one USB cable, one A/V cable, battery, drivers & software disc, and handstrap.
Razzle Dazzle:
Panasonic SDR-H85 is 2.5 inches tall, 2.2 inches wide, and 4.2 inches deep and weighs 9.6 ounces. The dimensions are same to that of Panasonic SDR-S50. The right side is made up of black matte plastic, while top and left side are mixed of chrome and black shiny plastic.
Inside Dope:
We had earlier reviewed the mini-telescope like Panasonic camcorders – the SDR-S50 (without internal memory) and the SDR-T50 (with 4GB inbuilt flash memory). Now, it is the turn of Panasonic SDR-H85. It costs $349.95 and offers 70x mega-zoom, 80GB hard drive and memory card slot that accepts SDXC/SDHC/SD cards for external storage. These three models will be the best fit for long distant recording, but their standard-def video quality is average. The low-light video quality is poor with image noise. If you need the same features and quality in low price with some internal memory, then go for $269.95 priced Panasonic SDR-T50.
Like the SDR-S50 and the SDR-T50, the Panasonic SDR-H85 has well positioned controls. Shutter release button, iAuto/Manual switch, OIS shortcut, and zoom rocker are located on the top. Movie record button sits on the right of battery pack at the back. If you want to capture still picture then directly press shutter release button. There is no need to toggle between picture and movie modes.
You can flip open the LCD display for easy access. Five-way joystick, Menu button, and auto-focus tracking button are located on the left of display. You can use the joystick for menu navigation and adjusting manual shooting options. You can also press the joystick to access mode-specific options such as aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and focus in Manual mode. Mini-USB port, memory card slot, and AV output are located in LCD cavity. You will also find Long Record, power, and delete button in the cavity.
Maximum recording time of Panasonic SDR-H85 at highest quality is 18 hours 30 minutes. You can press the Long record button to get the maximum recording time, but this video can not be played back on camcorder. The SDR-H85 has easy-to-use menu options and controls. We do not like that the LCD display has low resolution on all three versions – the SDR-H85, the SDR-S50, and SDR-T50. Also, there is no audio jacks for external headphones/microphone and accessory shoe on camera’s body. As an alternative, Panasonic is also supplying additional video light with adapter that attaches on tripod receptacle.
Panasonic has provided complete set of both auto and manual options. You have to press iAuto/Manual button to toggle between them. Manual mode in Panasonic SDR-H85 provides control on 10 scene modes, Intelligent Contrast, Color Night, Soft Skin, aperture, shutter speed, focus, and white balance. While, iAutio mode provides adjusts the settings automatically by selecting one out of five scene modes depending upon surroundings and subjects.
Panasonic SDR-H85 also has YouTube recording mode, like the SDR-S50 and the SDR-T50. Its Pre-Rec option prerecords 3sec video continuously until you press record. Backlight Compensation option lightens all the backlit objects while recording.
The overall video quality of Panasonic SDR-H85 was average. Video appeared soft with visible noise and artifacts. We noticed green as well as purple fringe on high-contract subjects. As already said, the low light video was of poor quality. The video from the SDR-H85 is only fine for sharing at YouTube like Web sites.
The battery life of the SDR-H85 is 2hr 55min continuous video recording.
Nitty Gritty:
Panasonic SDR-H85, SDR-S50, and SDR-T50 offer great and large zoom lens that money can buy now. If you want a mini-telescope like camcorder with 80GB hard drive, then purchase – the SDR-H85.
You can also check $249.95 priced Panasonic SDR-S50 without internal memory and $269.95 priced Panasonic SDR-T50 with 4GB flash memory. Both of them offer same mega-zoom lens, identical video quality, and similar memory card slot.
