Camcorder Reviews

This battery works fine with your camcorder. Infact only problem you face is that you have to first identify that it will work with your camcorder or not and thats a problem. Its small is size and good as compared to other batteries

This battery is great. Infact i used many other batteries which are shown at amazon.com but this one works fine. Smaller in size with a good brand name. But please check that it is compatable with your product or not before ordering.

This battery is great. In fact I used many other batteries which are shown at amazon.com but this one works fine. Smaller in size with a good brand name. But please check that it is compatable with your product or not before ordering.

derek, if your camcorder is digital and have a firewire connector, buy a firewire card (usually come swith the cable and siftware) and connect the camcorder with the Pc through it.

I ENJOY DOWN LOADING THE STILLS TO MY PC BUT WOULD LIKE TO DOWN
LOAD THE MOVIE PICTURES AS WELL AS STILLS,HOW DO I DO THIS IS IT POSSIBLE? DO I NEED ANOTHER PROGRAM?

I had been looking all over for an extended life battery for my RCA CC9370 digital camcorder and... finally, this one appears to be it! I haven't used it thoroughly yet, but so far it works fine both with the camcorder and with the AC adapter/charger that came with it. It's also much less expensive than the one recommended by the manufacturer. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I haven't tested yet how long it lasts under normal use without recharging.

Not a powerful flash.
No significant difference between the on-board flash and this one.

Does this flash work with a Sony DSC S85 camera?

I believe so, but there is almost no information regarding this
on the web.

Since purchasing the Sony HVLF1000 Flash for use on my DSCF707 camera I'm continually amazed at its capabilities.

Bounce flash and fill-flash are wonderful. There's still some problems with red-eye, but that's always a problem when the flash is so close to the taking lens.

Only one thing to watch or be careful with is in removing the flash from the camera. It comes off the accessory shoe a little quicker and easier than you'd imagine.

Wonderful product with wonderful results.

More substatial than a glad bag yet half to a quarter the price of a dedicated waterproof enclosure.

Your girlfiend was probably laughing not at your aquapac but at your package mr. johnson...

I think the Aquapac is great! I use it so I can go in the water and video tape surfers, and although it's not recommended (Only because you might accidentaly hit the waterproof latch open) I go underwater with it sometimes to avoid waves. Whats great is all of the buttons are functional throught the plastic, and the camcorder can shoot right through the plastic with no problem.
The only problem is the price, unless you think you can make one then go ahead and save your money, but the aquapac is the only thing I could find without getting $$$ diving housing. The Aquapac is 100% waterproof.

I'd disagree that the Aquapac is just a plastic bag. The soft plastic means there's no problem using my handycam in the Aquapack as I can feel where all the buttons are.
The film quality is good, I took it to the beach in Greece for summer vacation and got some great footage.
I'd say its a great purchase for vacations and sports activities, and I even used it for an SLR aswell with no problem.
4 stars!

I've owned a Panasonic of this type for about 6 years. Nice zoom capability, good picture quality. However, it is not rugged at all. Mine has had to have been repaired twice, and now needs it again. I don't treat cameras hard at all, so this is very frustrating and I am now in the market for a new camera. Microphone placement with this unit is poor. It picks up a great deal of wind noise when outside. Also, the unit has a self protection feature that senses moisture. While this seems like a nice feature, I've missed MANY pictures because of high humidity situations. I don't mean just normal condensation like moving from air conditioning to outside-but in almost any humid atmosphere, this unit shuts down. Very few outside pictures in Alaska or Texas. Overall, very disappointing.

I purchased my Panasonic PV-D300 less than a week ago, so this is a review of my initial impressions. I'll let you know in 3 to 6 months what I think of it then. It's an inexpensive and easy-to-use entry-level unit. I had it up and running less than 2 hours after I got it home. In the time it took for the initial battery charge, I was able to digest the easy-to-read instructions and play with the controls enough to be fairly comfortable with it right when I first popped in a tape and started it up. The controls are convenient, well-placed, and easy to use. The displays in the viewfinder are helpful without being obtrusive. The camera focuses well in all modes and re-focuses quickly after zooming in or out. the picture quality is very good for a camera in this price range. the sound quality isn't great but it's acceptable. Rewind and playback thru the viewfinder is a bit slow, and of course lacks audio, but not a major problem, and a good way to preview what you've just shot. The play-pack provided to use the VHS-C tape in a standard VHS machine was easy to use. Thus far (knock on wood) I've had no humidity-related problems like I saw in the review from Texas, and I live in Florida where high humidity is a fact of life. My only complaint so far is that the battery didn't seem to hold a charge as long as I thought it would, so (a word to the wise) get a spare battery when you buy the camera, and keep it charged and close by. Otherwise, you may be in the middle of taping something important and the thing will very quickly go dead on you. Naturally, this camcorder lacks some of the refinements and gimmicky options of high-end units, but it's a good deal if you're just starting out and just want to shoot some reasonably decent home movies. It's compact, light-weight, and easy-to-use. Hopefully, it will also prove to be reliable and not need frequent repairs since I opted out of the fairly expensive extended warranty/maintenance agreement the store offered with it.

We have found this camcorder to be a competent performer that is generally easy to use and takes good pictures. So far we have used it in the cold air of the Sierra Nevadas and the relatively humid, warm air of Houston without any problems. One unusual omission is its lack of an earphone jack; one can only monitor the audio by playing the tape back through a TV or some other monitor.

Good cheap cam with nice features...

Has firewire IEEE1934 interface to interact with the PC. Still shot capability holds up to 700 mid-quality images.

The problem is that the product is not even listed in the Panasonics site oficially, it's been missing between DV800 and DV950 models ( and 910 misses too ). But actually the info exists in the site when you edit the http address and replace the "950" with the "900". I couldn't confirm any problem with the 900 & 910 series but some dealers stopped to sells these models too.

So, go for the 950 which is lot more expensive but a real professional model or stick with the 800 one...

I bought this camcorder in 2000. The price was great at $500. It was a sale to get rid of the 900s before the newer series came out. The camera is basic. The eyepiece doesn't swivel. Which doesn't matter. I usually use the lcd, which drains the battery faster. The screen is 2.5" small but in color. All in all it is a good camcorder. Like the other reviewer, be careful. This camcorder is discontinued so the price has been jacked up.

There are many different dv camcorders out there for all kinds of budgets. My budget was no too large for my dv purchase, so I shopped around and found the panasonic. I had read both positive and some luke warm reviews of the pv-dv900, but decided to go for it. I am so glad that i did.

I am not a videophile, but the picture and sound i get out of this camera are amazing. It is still better than my old vhs-c camcorder after I dub onto VHS. It is awesome. Haven't installed my IEEE 1394 card yet, so I am not sure about vid capture.

The other reviewer is right about the few differences between the 900 and the 910. The 900 doe not come with the $40 light or the $30 remote control nor does it come with a blank video tape (that seemed kinda cheap to me). The 910 has a color viewfinder and a 3" LCD versus the 900's b/w viewfinder and 2.5" LCD.

I reccomend this camera very highly.

The camera locks up when recording, and it's already fallen outside of it's 90 day parts warranty.

I can't find much out about what's wrong on the Internet, and of course, since most of these types of repairs can cost nearly as much as what the camera cost, it's turning into an expensive paperweight.

This camera has disappointed me because I couldn't take movies of my Kauai trip.

I purchased this camcorder about 2 months back. Thought I'd share my experience with all. Overall, I am satisfied with this purchase.

''''''''''''''''LIKES :)'''''''''''''''
1. 680,000 PIXEL CCD
Camcorders at this price range (atleast the better brands) typically have 390,000 or 460,000 pixels. In a MiniDV camcorder, the number of pixels on each CCD significantly affect the video quality. So this one with 680,000 pixels should give you noticeably better video quality than others

2. IMAGE STABILIZATION AND PICTURE EFFECTS
It is surprising how much shake comes into a video even with what I thought was a steady hand at 10x Zoom. Image stabilization can make that shot much more viewable. The nice thing is that you can apply stabilization either while recording or playing it back. The other effect I use a lot is the Fade effect, to seperate different sequences of video

3. AUDIO EFFECTS AND ZOOM MIC
I like to be able to cut out the background noise caused by the wind howling. Also, in relatively quiet conditions, the Zoom Mic can filter out the ambient noise and try to make the sound (from the area you are zooming into) more prominent. Cute!

4. POWERFUL LIGHT
I found this to be quite useful. Digital photography products generally struggle in low light conditions, so this was a must have feature for me. And while it would certainly take up more battery power, my batteries didnt seem to drain out very quickly either

5. WEB CAM MODE
You can also use this as a Web Cam. I've never used this mode but expect it will do as well as any dedicated Web cam in the market

6. DECENT LCD
Though not exactly great when in bright outdoor conditions, the LCD is about as good or better when compared to other camcorders in the market

7. REMOTE - EASE OF USE; and RELIABLE
I found this camcorder to be easy to use. The remote helps playback / operate from a distance. The Camcorder has good build quality and that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling

''''''''''''''''DISLIKES :(''''''''''''''''
1. OPTICAL ZOOM - 10x
I think Optical Zoom is one feature which you can never have enough of! 10x is decent and useful, but frankly, there are tons of models there that offer 20x+. Though I would certainly love more zoom, be warned that the more the zoom, the more the shake that gets into the video; and the lower the picture quality (because there is lesser light incident on the lens). I never use Digital Zoom so Optical Zoom is all the zoom I've got

2. USB CONNECTION AND STILL PHOTO MODE
This has its caveats. Yes, you can transfer videos using the USB 1 connection, but its just not practical. One second of video takes 40 seconds to get downloaded onto the computer (because USB 1 has a bandwidth of only 12 Mega bits per second). Also, you can download only 1 minute of video at a time (which will take you 40 minutes anyway). Just not practical!
I wonder if Panasonic will be upgrading these models with USB 2 support soon - that will be good - its 40 times faster!
Regarding the still photo mode, I was disappointed. I thought 1.3 Megapixels (albeit interpolated) would give me decent shots, but it doesnt. Take others advise and plan on using a [good] camera for stills, they'll leave this for dead. And dont get impressed by the Memory Card feature - its not very useful to have poor quality shots caught on the card.

3. FIREWIRE TRANSFER LIMITATION
Honestly, I don't know how many people would use this feature to store / process their digital recordings. In case you are like me and intend doing so once DVD Writers are cheaper (so that you can dump about 1 hour of video after doing the necessary modifications on 1 DVD), there's a caveat. The firewire transfer mode only does 3 minutes of video at a time. I don't know about other digital camcorders, but this sounds like a trivial irritation

''''''''''''''''MUST HAVE ADD-ONS :O''''''''''''''''
1. MORE BATTERY
The battery that comes with the camera is good for about 40 minutes of Video - with LCD usage and Zooming. I found this out the hard way - the very next day I bought this camcorder, I went out on a cruise by the San Francisco Bay to watch the 4th of July Celebrations. I had captured details of the Alcatraz; and after waiting out in the cold for 3 hours, the fireworks finally started. And as Murphy would have warned, the battery gave way immediately! :'(
You've been warned. There's a decent Panasonic battery that I purchased for [a moderate amount]- that gives me about 2 hours more. Must buy!

2. VIDEO CASSETTES
These days you can buy a 60 minute cassette for [a small price], you'll need them as long as you don't start burning your videos onto DVD

3. FIREWIRE CARD and DVD WRITER
To burn videos onto DVD. I'll probably wait for DVD technologies to stabilize and prices to drop - maybe a year or two before I buy these

4. CARRYING CASE

5. OPTICAL LENS
I haven't done this yet, but am planning on buying a 2x Telephoto Zoom lens and a Wide angle lens. This way, I get to overcome my main gripe with this camcorder - the 10x zoom

This is an excellent Digital Cam. It has great features that are easy to use. Also, the quality is very good. The only negative is the slow digital picture taking between clicking and being to take another picture. I have owned this camera since it came out. I use it alot and never had any problems with quality or functionality.

on paper, the IP220 looks like a winner. but after a close look and i'm not as sold...

pros:
- delivers vibrant colors when shooting in daylight.
- 10x carl zeiss vario-sonnar T* lens.
- 2MP still capability.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, bluetooth, mic input, etc.
- has a built in pop-up flash for taking stills.
- steady shot and night shot.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to memory stick.
- top-loading cassette.
- boatloads of optional accessories.
- manual focus/zoom ring on lens.
- has NightFraming which allows you to focus and compose your scene in total darkness with the aid of the infrared emitter, then shoot a full-color still with the pop-up flash. very cool.

cons:
- microMV format is proprietary and may go the way of betamax.
- microMV video quality is noticeably worse than MiniDV.
- images emerge washed-out when shooting indoors.
- uses an mpeg version that may not be compatible with your current video editor.
- Super Night Shot, Color Night Shot very choppy in low/no light.
- not Mac compatible.
- very bad ergonomics - zoom and photo shutter controls are poorly positioned.
- LCD can't tilt backwards - if you've had it before, you'll miss the ability to show kids themselves as you videotape them.
- the advantage of microMV is size but that's not reflected in this camcorder. this is the biggest microMV camcorder out there: 3.9"W x 3.0"H x 5.3"D, weighing 1.5 lbs. you can get smaller camcorders like the panasonic's gs70 or sony's trv33 or the pc105. granted, those have less features, mainly still camera capability (2.0 megapixel vs 1.0 megapixel).
- as with most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.
- the included 8MB memory stick (for a 2 megapixel still camera!) is unacceptable. you'll need at least a 64MB memory stick with if you want to take full advantage of the higher resolution pics you'll be taking.
- although bundling the camcorder and still camera together means you only have to carry one piece of equipment, it also means that if one breaks, you have to replace both.
- as an alternate to this bundling strategy, you can get a gs70 or trv33 or pc105 and get a 3 megapixel still camera and still save money in the process!
- battery life could be better.
- only 2.5" LCD and it's not as crisp as others in the sony line-up.
- non-intuitive menu system.
- bottom loading battery so you can't replace this while mounted on a tripod.
- the accessory shoe is not a hot shoe.
- no built in video light but you can get one less than a hundred bucks.

in the end, the microMV format is a deal breaker for me. it is sony proprietary and not widely supported. and the main reason for even using microMV (size) is not really reflected in this camcorder. if you're looking for a camcorder/camera hybrid, i'd say wait a couple more years (hopefully). the still quality is just not there yet. your best bet is to get a decent camcorder and complement it with a stand-alone digital camera.

i hope this helps your buying decision. peace.

I bought the Sony DCR IP220 because of its 2.0 Megapixel capabilities and while I love the resolution that it displays on the TV, I am not impressed with the quality of footage after capturing to computer. Here are the pros and cons that I have found:

PROS:
1.Great resolution and great quality video produced (530 lines and 2.2 megapixels). (5 star quality)
2. Digital zoom (X700) works fine using a tripod and produces somewhat clear images. Any zoom magnification up to X120, produces very clear moving images.
3. The still pictures are compatible with any 2.0 megapixel camera.
4. Low light video never appeared grainy.
5. Touch screen menu-Many options are available & can be reached quickly. It has a similar feeling to a PDA Palm pilot.

CONS:
1.Video Editing or video email is only possible if your computer system is Windows ME, XP, 2000, and above. If you have Windows 98/98SE and below, then you need to upgrade.
2.If you are into serious computer editing, then this is not the camera for you. The Micromv format is supported only by Sony's Movie Shaker (included), Ulead's MediaStudio Pro 7, and Pinnacle's Studio Deluxe 8.1 . MovieShaker captures with the best quality, but it produces pixellated moving images and stores the files as .mmv. After capturing, the file must be exported to mpeg/avi/etc format. To render 1min 46secs of mmv footage, it took me about 30 mins for mpeg 2 and 8 mins for mpeg 1. MediaStudio 7 captures micromv footage very easily (after downloading the patch) and offers the quickest,most compatable options (direct output to avi/mpeg). Capture is instantaneous (as is cpaturing from most DV camcorders). However, the quality is also somewhat pixellated and the playback is jerky in moving areas. I have not tried Pinnacle.
2. No microphone input jack! It is hard to record a speaker's message if you are in crowds of people. If you have large hands, you may end up covering the bulit in mic and receive no sound at all.
3. Tiny Buttons!It is very difficult to zoom using the very tiny zoom button. Also,the record button is sticking out and you can accidently knock it.
4. Touch screen menu. If for any reason the touch screen is damaged, then it is dificult to command function of the camcorder.

If you are not into Computer editing or emailing video, then this camera deserves a "5 Star Rating". However, considering that I bought the camera with the intentions of editing, I have to say that I am a little upset with the finished quality.

Pros: Small size. Good ergonomics. Screen on back. Still photos. Compact tapes & batteries.

Cons: Expensive. MicroMV format may or may not equal MiniDV. Lens could be more wide-angle.

I found the camera easy to carry, though I kind of wish it had a neck strap. I think the size is about right - not too small to handle, but still very easy to carry. One complaint/frustration was that its lense doesn't seem to be as wide-angle as I'm used to - trying to tape inside buildings, etc. I found myself constantly backing into corners and still cutting people off at the waist, etc. - I may have to look into getting a wide-angle lense for this. Of course, I was trying to tape inside 150 year old houses with small rooms, so that didn't help. As for video and still quality, all I can say is that they look fine to me - I watched for pixelization or other artifacts reported as being problems with MicroMV, but haven't noticed any even in dark areas. I will say that experimenting with the night shot and super night shot, I don't see much use for them - I could hardly distinguish what I recorded in these modes. I was impressed by the ability of the still camera and flash to take decent photos of buildings from around 50 feet away in near total darkness. I didn't expect the flash to work at such a distance, but the photos came out quite well. One reason I selected this camera was that I thought it was better designend for use in underwater housings than the PC120BT I was also considering - primarily because the screen is on the back rather than flipping out to the side (which requires a much larger housing, or not using the screen). I didn't get a chance to try the camera in an underwater housing on this trip, but I still think the design will lend itself to this application. Ergonomically I prefer the IP220, but I have lingering questions about whether I sacrificed video quality by going with this model. But that's based on others's comments on previous MicroMV camcorders - not on any problems I've seen with my own camera or video. I haven't yet loaded video or stills onto my PC for editing, so I can't comment on that.

I STILL can't find the fine print that says "Base Station Not Included!" This just went from a good deal to not-worth-the-money. I hope it works like magic....

Actually, this is a good thing (atleast for people like me). I already have an Intel wireless base station and mouse. This seprate keyboard gives me the flex to add a keyboard to it.

I don't have it, so I cannot rate it. Its in my wish list, if anyone wants to donate ;->

Before the age of the internet and multimedia, the 101/102 key IBM-style keyboard was predominant. Only recently keyboard makers switched to something much, much more useful. Intel's new keyboard features a semi-connected wrist-pad, a few internet buttons, and a wireless connection to your PC. So far, so good. it does not feature the one-click sleep-mode button and because this is not a PC vendor-supplied keyboard, it does not have a button connecting you directly to the vendor's upgrade site. This in itself is not bad.

New keyboards have volume knobs, which is so useful nowadays, when so many people watch DVD movies on their PCs. Unfortunately, Intel's internet keyboard does not have a volume-knob. You will be satisfied with this keyboard, but I would suggest to look elsewhere. It's quite an expensive keyboard, but for the same price you will find the full-featured peripheral.

Hi,
We dropped ours and would like to purchase a broken one so hopefully we can repair ours. If you have a JVC GR-SXM740U Super VHS-C Camcorder with 3.5 LCD by JVC that you would like to sell cheap please contact me. Thanks,
cricketbags@hotmail.com

I recently purchased the Jvc GR-SXM740U Camcorder and took it on a trip. The picture quality was super. However I was very dissatisfied when I returned home and started to view the movies I had taken. The sound was awful. I filmed some of our movies outdoors and you sort of expect the outdoor sound quality to be less the perfect. But when I watched the indoor movies I could not believe it. Four people in one room and at times three of us could not be heard. It gave me a headache trying to listen to it. Then randomly the camera would just pick up stray noises outside. So beware of this model if you value sound and video.

The sound on this camcorder is good. My 12 year old son was able
to make a very understandable commentary on his video shoot.
The video is very good, even on standard "SP" mode-not S-VHS.
I was able to use zoom to follow a cat outdoors at 30+ feet and
on playback on a 48" RPTV I could see each of his whiskers
very clearly. The controls are not in the most ideal position.
The camera has good balance. I feel this a good family use
camera with a lot of features to keep it up to date.