Panasonic - Digital Camcorder with 80GB Hard Drive and 2.7" LCD Monitor - Silver

To start off this is not a HD camcorder and you shouldnt expect that kind of quality, what you can expect is a high power zoom camcorder that when you learn all its capabilities gives you great images with good to great image quality. What ever standard definition camcorder I use I still run it through Pinnacles or another video editor that lets you add contrast.saturation, and sharpness which most need to get that "Wow" factor!! If you plan on indoor shooting there is a low light setting which is decent but not great ,over all ,this camcorder does best in good light, like most harddrive camcorders. Ive taken single clips from video and run through my photo editor and I am well satisfied with results this way I know if at 78x I can get the results I want.. I also bought the 2 year extended warrantry .

After glancing through the manual and seeing it was fairly basic on operating, I went around the house and turned all the lights on so I could go through with my shiny new cam corder. I set the video for low lighting, wide scene capture, and in standard {mid range) video quality. After going through the whole house giving what I hoped was a decent audio/video commmentary of the various items in my home, I found to my dismay after uploading all the footage onto my PC that the picture quality friggen stunk to high Heaven, and there was a BIG difference in sound when merely walking 10 feet away from the camera. For a cam corder that was retailed at 350 bucks I really expected more from it. So seeing that the shiny new camera stunk when videoing indoors, I went outside and adjusted the settings accordingly. I took some footage of my Dog and the outdoors in general, then put it all on my PC once more for reviewing. I just could not believe that on high quality that the footage was still noticeably grainy. I could list a couple more things I was not happy with about this cam corder but seriously, there's no point if the actual picture sucked.

I've had Mini-DV camcorders before and I liked the flexibility of pulling tapes out; however, recently I've had issues with tapes and I didn't want to be locked into one sort of media. I looked at the Sony and Panasonic before settling on this model. I don't shot HD (mostly kids and family activities) so that wasn't important. What was important was ease of use and longevity of the battery. I really love the fact that you can record on both the HDD and memory cards. Personally I shot video on the HDD and pictures on the memory card, but you can certainly do it how you want. It's super light weight and easy to use. I was very impressed with the battery life. Takes about 3-5 hours to fully charge and average usage of the unit latest for about 8 hours of filming/picture taking. (Avg usage meaning 15-30 minutes here and there, putting it on standby, shooting again, rinse and repeat).

Lightweight, easy to hold (once you've adjusted the strap), extremely fast response and very stingy with battery power (uses it sparingly). Just don't expect to be able to switch modes, settings, etc. -- or even set date/time -- too quickly. They all rely on the toggle switch (alongside the LCD screen), and the only way I could navigate with any degree of success was by using a pen -- very gingerly. The switch is almost too sensitive to touch -- it tends to "accept" info before you're done. Which means, of course, you have to start from scratch again. Only other complaint is typical of all such products -- the manual. It's just not organized, and there are way too many "jump-off" points. OK, if all I can do is nit-pick, it's obvious this is a great camera!

I've been looking for a moderate priced harddrive camcorder with good quality pic and ease of use.. I went into a Hawaii Best Buy and asked the associate to recommend one for me after seeing what my needs were. I'm so glad I listened to him, and the bonus was it was on SALE !!!... Very user friendly, charge the battery, point and shoot. It was also very easy to transfer it to my computer for saving. Huge harddirve. I never have to purchase another tape.... and not have to worry about running out of tape and missing alot of special moments... ZOOM is also PERFECT, but the quality of the pic becomes pixelly, but still fits my needs. And can fit into a small bag... Too many pluses to list

I have had this Camcorder for about a month now & really like it. It is easy to upload videos & simple to use! I decided to go w/this, due to the $ale price & that you had the option/s to use a SD card and/or the 80GB of internal memory/Hard Disk Drive on the camcorder. It doesnt have the external light on the outside to film the objects/subjects at nighttime, however, it does have 10 diff. optional scene modes to choose from!(-one of them has the night vision mode.) It is small, compact & lightweight. The battery life on this camcorder is great. The picture quality is good, but not Great. - because it isn't in HD & that's fine (w/me personally). This make/model doesn't have the Touch userscreen on the LCD to operate some of the functions. - I prefer using the toggle buttons(there are only 3).-I can still operate the functions on the camera w/using the toggle buttons & watch the video/s without having to touch the screen/ and having the finger being in the way. I like the 78X Optical zoom!! Overall, I'm really happy with our purchase!

I bought this to replace my JVC which broke due to a ripped LCD ribbon cable. Right away I liked the feel of the camera in my hands and the ease of use of buttons. After recording some video in highest quality option and in different settings like indoors and out, I uploaded them to my computer. The picture quality was horrible indoors, very very grainy. It reminded me of low quality video my digital camera takes except that there was more color and of course the sound was camcorder worthy. Outdoors the quality was about what I expected from the camera overall, the zoom is the best I have ever seen from a camcorder. The quality of that was actually very good, no where near the grainy quality I'm getting indoors. If your looking for a camera that will be used mainly outdoors with good lighting and are recording things in a distance, for the price this camera will suit you. The hard drive size and battery life is also great for the price. Reading other reviews of this camera across the web, many are also complaining about the grainy quality, but not enough to make them regret buying the camera. Well I am one who is regretful and plan on returning it.

I got it to record my sons football games and I love it. The battery is pretty standard with recording lengths but I did not mind buying another one. I love it. The videos and pictures are great. The sound is amazing. It picked up the coaches talking from the field which was a good distance. Overall, you can not go wrong with this purchase. I can be hard to please sometimes but I love this. :)