Going to buy a camcorder tongiht....advice please

[007singh]

So with a recent addition to the family, I have decided I need to get a camcorder to capture those all important moments.

I have come up with the following two options that seem to offer the most for my money and budget.

Canon HFM406
Pansonic HDC-SD90

Both are well specced and from the reviews online, there seems to be very little in it. The Panasonic has more optical zoom (24x compared to 10x on the Canon). The Canon is said to have a slight edge on picture quality, but that is only a slight edge. The Canon does have dual card slots. Oh, and the Canon is £50 cheaper at the moment (£349 for Canon, £399 for Panasonic).

I am a little lost as to which to pick. I think I prefer the ergonomics of the Canon, and being a Canon DSLR user, I have a mild brand affinity.

But, putting all that aside, what do you recommend....?

Anyone have either of these and can give any advice?

Edited by 007singh on Wednesday 25th January 16:52

[007singh]

What makes it stand out as better?

[007singh]

Zoom and IS are two key items. The use of the 3D lens is quite limited, so not too bothered about that.

I will try to test out both this evening, still torn. Head says Panasonic, but heart says Canon.

[007singh]

Ok so I ended up getting a Panasonic SD800, for £360 from John Lewis.

It was meant to be 425, but was on offer.

Any good?

[SWAT78]

I got the same model about a week ago - decided I didn't want the extra features that the SD90 had (like external mic connectivity) but the SD800 claims better quality pictures due to the 3 sensors.

Haven't really tried it out yet though, beyond following the cat round the living room... Interested to hear what you think in a few days!

[007singh]

Just had a quick mess around with it and it looks pretty good so far.

Menu is not the best in the world, but once you get used to it should be ok.

Did a quick time lapse shoot of my wooden flooring being laid down, that looks quite good, handy feature to have.

Will report back in a week or so as will be using it in anger this weekend for a party we are having.