Panasonic SDR-S15 camcorder

The ability to record video straight to a memory card rather than to tape or DVD, as Panasonic’s new S15 does, gives a camcorder certain advantages.

Chiefly, it can be made much smaller than other devices – the S15 will fit in an inner pocket – and secondly, the amount of footage recorded and stored is limited only by the card’s capacity. If you want more video you can buy a bigger-capacity card, and with the popularity of digital cameras they’re cheaply available almost everywhere.

The SDHC memory cards compatible with this device can now store up to 32GB, which equates to 26 hours of the MPEG2 format footage the camcorder uses. Plus, as the recording media has no moving parts, there is – in theory – less that can go wrong.

This being the case, it might seem slightly perverse that the S15 apes the look of standard tape-based camcorder, giving the impression that it has been shrunk to palm-sized dimensions by some Rick Moranis-inspired tomfoolery.

Despite its size the S15 still fits in a clear 2.7in widescreen display for taking and reviewing shots. Flip this open and the device powers up almost instantaneously – the official timing being a-blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 0.6 seconds.

Like Panasonic’s Lumix compact cameras the S15 features an ‘intelligent auto’ mode which adjusts settings to take into account the surroundings for more natural, life-like results. Also present and correct are image stabilisation to counteract camera shake, especially when using the full 10x optical zoom, and a front-mounted torchlight for shooting in darkened conditions.

Other features we didn’t expect to find at the price include a stereo microphone, while shooting modes are selected by turning a side-mounted mode dial. Extras are basic, though: 640x480 pixel still shots and just five scene modes (including portraits and sport) to choose from.

The S15 may only shoot in standard definition, but the decent lens means video quality is impressive, and the clear sound and visuals put the cheaper high-definition pocket camcorders to shame. So if results are more important than the latest buzzword, the S15 is worth further consideration.