Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is a no brainer it takes minie and runs operates and even the battery is excellent. Not only can you film but also take pictures. Now the blimish is have to be in well lit area and have to acceserize example: tripod, extra lighting. Definately useable easy and you can buy 2rw disc @30 min and never run out of flim. Oh yea you can't format a disk from your pc

This camcorder is great if you're looking for something easy and quick to use for everyday filming, but the quality is very disappointing. It has an impressive number of features (powerful zoom, image stabilization, still photo capture, wide screen viewing/recording) compared to other cameras in the price range. I have had positive experiences with Panasonic products in the past, so I enthusiastically purchased this model when it first came out, prior to reading any reviews. In hindsight, I wish I had waited and researched it later because I probably would have chosen another camcorder. The far zoom and OIS features work wonderfully, but they don't compensate for the overall poor quality of the video and still photos. Even at the highest resolution recording mode, the video still looks grainy on a 32 inch widescreen TV. I find it necessary to always record at this resolution, but it limits the length of video that will fit on the disc to 10 minutes. The quality of the still photos is even worse. I wasn't expecting super high quality photos, but I had hoped to get decent shots so I wouldn't have to carry a separate digital camera. Unfortunately, the photo quality is unbelievably poor and this feature is not worth using at all. Basic operation of the camera is very simple and easy to learn. However, finalizing and transferring video is not only extremely time-consuming, but a big hassle as well. Video is unplayable on any other device until it is finalized, but the process of finalizing is very slow and requires the unit to be plugged in, which means carrying around cords and the charger unit. The battery can't even be charged during this long process. I installed the software that comes with it on my WinXP computer, but it will not run due to an error, so I must use another program for editing and viewing. The quality of the camera itself seems good, with the exception of the door to the mini DVD compartment. It does not close well at all and pops open at unexpected times. Overall, this is an OK camcorder with many features, but I wish I had either gone with a better quality camera without the features or spent a little more money to get a camera with it all.

Bought this over the weekend and tried it out. The reviews here were a little confusing. some hate it others liked it a lot. Picture quality is about the same as the old vhs recorders maybe a little less quality. The magic pix setting for night time shots is pretty bad. Just as well not advertise that it can record in dark settings. Still for about 400 bucks with the extra battery its not bad. The quality of the recorder itself is pretty good. Seems to be made well. Better read the manual pretty close to make sure you format the disk right. I set it for a VR setting to edit it before playing it on a dvd player and it didn't play on any of my dvd players. So I have to record it on my dvd recorder first then use that dvd to play in my other players. Haven't tried formating to Video setting that doesn't allow editing and see if the 3inch will play on the players then.

i just bought this camcorder today, and in about a 15 minute read of the manual, i seemed to be an expert. the high recording speeds is exactly what i wanted when i shopped, most of the things i film are of fast moving things like skateboarding or ATVs. there is an auto and a manual recording mode so whenever i wanna film something i think might look cool slowed down i already have my manual settings set to high shutter, this works great because i can do it quickly instead of going to the menu then settings ect... the menu is easy to use and the playback is great... when you start recording to the time you stop it saves it as 1 clip, all your clips will show up in a thumbnail view on your screen, you can also do some minor editing before you upload your clips. i also like the frame by frame or slow-mo playback modes. i have only had it for a 1 day and i am already impressed by its features, i definatly racomend this to someone who will be using it for recording sports or anything with fast movements.

I really like the size,ease of use,image stabilization,& the price of this camcorder. I have tried everywhere,even Panasonic,& can't find an extra battery.

Great Camera for the Price! You can record 38 minutes of video on a single sided 3'' disc. You can also record video and/or still images onto memory cards and then transfer the video via USB or just pop the card out and insert into your PC or you can even burn the video or images to a DVD in the camera. The machine is very durable with strong hinges and other parts that don't easily break off. I've dropped mine a few times already on the ceramic tile, I'm hard on things, I know. It's still going strong without a scratch. The audio isn't the best in the world; but, it isn't the worst either, and yes it was like that before I dropped it. It has a "Zoom Mic" feature that boosts the mic performance when you zoom the camera lens in. That's a cool feature; but, it's not a quality recording feature by any stretch of the imagination.

I bought this camcorder before I left for a sporting event. I found it very easy to use and the film quality was terrific. I was pleased with the purchase and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive, compace unit

I purchased this little while ago and so far it's been very good. Picture quality and The 42x zoom is also great. It has very use friendly controls makes it very easy to use and also very easy to carry. Would recommend this to anyone who is interested in buying it

I bought this camcorder thinking it would be at least okay with it's video quality. That was expecting way too much. I've owned numerous Panasonic products over the years and have found their stand alone DVD video burners to be far superior to Sony, Phillips, etc. But this unit is a major exception. This camcorder had the absolute worst video quality I've ever seen in my life. I tried recording at the XP mode since these mini-dvd's don't have much storage space and the quality was still bad. The best example of it's quality would be a VHS recording at the SLP speed. In some ways that would actually be better. I have a Sony digital 8 camcorder that I bought back in '99 that blows this away. I know it's 8mm tapes have more storage space with which to work but good Lord. My sis in law has a Sony DVD camcorder and it produces excellent (well compared to this anyway) video. Sony has a hard time producing products (other than DVD players and DAT recorders) that aren't junk but they make great camcorders. That's what I will be getting after returning this Panasonic.

I got this camera as a present. It is one of the worst cameras that I have ever used. It is slow reading the disc, it has a flimsy case, you can't take video on the SD card, it has a worthless megapixel resolution when taking still images (my cell phone camera has more then twice the megapixels), because of the poor resolution it makes buying an SD card pointless (especially an SDHC card), in low light the video gets pixelated and any other time it looks like a standard VHS camera, it is not compatible with DVD+R which is the newer format of writeable DVD, so you have to use DVD-R. I think that panasonic paid for things like a SDHC port and image stabilization as selling points that pop out and nothing more. Also, the software on the CD that is included gets a runtime error when it is loaded so it is non-functional on a WinXP machine for which it states it is compatible for. If I knew what I know now I would have not opened it and exchanged it for a hard drive camcorder or one that writes video to flash memory.

If you are in the market for a dvd camcorder, I highly recommend this one. It has many features that you usually find in pricier camcorders. You can edit your movies and still pics on the camera or download to your PC (software and cables ARE INCLUDED) and edit from there. Lightweight and comfortable to use all day. The image stabilization is great. If you plan to record for a long period of time from one position I would recommend a tripod.

I bought this Panasonic DVD camcorder a while ago. It is easy to use and very reliable so far.

I just purchased this video camera in the last few days and I am already very pleased. Not only was the price right but the features are awesome. Plus, the customer service was outstanding also !!! They provided specs and reviews of every video camera that I was looking at, which made things very helpful !!

I've only had the camera a few weeks but have found it to be very easy to use and it comes with more than enough functions for the "weekend warrior" who just wants to capture the kids events. I bought it for the price but also for the "Optical Image Stabilization" feature. I don't usually carry around a tripod for the times I use the camera. That feature alone is worth the purchase because you can zoom in and out and get very little "bounce" to the picture. I have found that Panasonic is the only camera to offer such a feature.

I just bought this camcorder last weekend, & Im completely satisfied with it for the $290 price I paid except for the problem with the DVD case not always shutting

I bought this camera for personal use, taking pictures of my kids, etc. and it works wonderfully! It was easy to use, I figured it out without reading the instructions (I have since read them in order to figure out the extra features). I have no issues with the quality or the finalizing of the DVDs for use outside of the camera. It wasn't a terribly expensive piece of equipment, so I don't expect perfection, but it is a great camera for the money!

I just bought this camcorder the other day and already I'm happy with it. It has many nice features, is a perfect size that allows anyone to take it anywhere without any hassal, makes great quality DVDs, and has great filming and sound quality. Overall, I so far love this camcorder. It's a great product and I'm glad I bought it. I would definatly recommend it to anyone.

This camera was very easy to use and it works great. You can watch what you recorded right off of it.

This was a gift and I love it! Have been able to capture amazing moments with my family. Picture is great and comes with all the information and software you need. I'm so glad I have this one. I looked at a few others that were more expensive and this one is just as great.