Unlike camcorders that utilise Hard Disk Drive or DVD disc recording technologies, a solid-state digital camcorder such as the SDR-S10 can read an SD/SDHC Memory Card instantly. With this in mind, Panasonic has developed a Quick Start function that allows the SDR-S10 to begin recording in as little as 1.7 seconds after the power is switched on (very useful when something has already started to happen and you're desperate to grab it as quickly as you can).