Panasonic HDC-SDT750

Still Features (12.21)

The advertised 14.2-megapixel still image capability on the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 is a bit misleading. The camcorder's total pixel count is just 9.15 megapixels, which means that any of its still photo resolution settings that have higher pixel counts than 9.15 megapixels are interpolated. For example, those images—like the camcorder's 4608 x 3072 still image mode—won't have more pixels or detail in their images than the 3600 x 2400 still image option (but they will be physically larger when viewed on a computer).

What this all boils down to is that the Panasonic HDC-SDT750's true maximum native resolution for still images is its 3840 x 2160 size option (captures at a 16:9 aspect ratio). There are plenty of other options on the camcorder that capture still images at a native resolution, but there's also a number of interpolated sizes (everything above 9.15 megapixels). So, does any of this really matter? Not exactly. As long as you take photos with one of the larger settings you should get similar quality out of your still images. Besides, if you're really that concerned about still image quality, you should probably be using a dedicated digital camera instead of a video camcorder to take photos.
 

Still Colour (13.46)

The Panasonic HDC-SDT750 did an excellent job in our still Colour test, producing numbers nearly identical to what we saw from the HDC-TM700. The camcorder managed a Colour error of just 2.6 with a saturation level of 103%. These values are even better than what the SDT750 registered in our video Colour accuracy tests (which were also very good). (More on how we test still Colour.)

The still photography Colour error map: the length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular Colour.

All of the camcorders shown below earned top-notch Colour accuracy scores in this test. You can see sample images with our Colour comparisons below. Each camcorder captured vivid Colours (all had saturation levels around 100%) and each had Colour error scores below 3.75.

Panasonic HDC-SDT750 Still Colour Comparisons
Panasonic HDC-SDT750	Canon HF S21
Sony HDR-CX550V	Panasonic HDC-TM700

Still Colour Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Sony HDR-CX550V
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700

Still Noise (4.98)

Noise levels on the HDC-SDT750's still images averaged 0.8%, which is not bad for a camcorder. Again, this noise level is essentially identical to what we measured on the HDC-TM700 (0.81% noise). The Canon and Sony models both had more noise in their still photos.  (More on how we test still noise.)

Still Noise Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Sony HDR-CX550V
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700

Still Sharpness (2.1)

Still sharpness was something of a disappointment on the HDC-SDT750. The camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of 1591 lw/ph with 20.7% oversharpening and a vertical sharpness of 895 lw/ph with 19.8% undersharpening. These scores are far lower than what the Canon HF S21 and Sony HDR-CX550V were capable of, which leads us to believe that a single, large image sensor helps produce sharper still images (although the SDT750 schooled the competition in our video sharpness test). (More on how we test still sharpness.)

Still Sharpness Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Sony HDR-CX550V
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700