Rating: 
Summary: Does it all, and does it well
Review: We bought a top Sony analog model last year as a gift, when digital cameras were just coming out. When we went shopping for ourselves, this one blew the Sony away on all fronts. It's smaller, lighter, easier to use, has a color viewfinder (which is SO much better outdoors where things like flowers just seem to vanish in black and white) and the digital interface is tremendous. Digital gives you a 300x zoom that only a Private Investigator could love but the optical zoom is very, very good. The best part about digital, though, is that it give you a tiny tape (we backpack) and an interface to your PC that is absolutely tremendous. Using the "fire wire" interface to the PC works flawlessly. I bought a PC card that Panasonic recommended (mine came from "Radius") and I was instantly hooked. I can capture any image from the videotape, even a single frame from a moving picture, and turn it into a digital snapshot. It's a terrific software/hardware add-on, almost a MUST if you buy a digital vidcam. No, it won't replace film for this purpose - it's still too grainy to hang on the wall - but for sending a photo of the kids by email it's wonderfully easy and addictively fun. Do try to find a spare battery, though - any Vidcam with a TV screen eats up electrons. The spare is "big" only in the sense of run-time, by the way - it's still smaller than a "C" battery. This is a very compact camera in every way but functionality.
Rating: 
Summary: poor repair service
Review: When my camera was 4 months old, it malfunctioned. Per instructions, I checked the error code, recorded the code and sent for repair. The response was frustrating to say the least, I would assume an error code would give an indication of the region of problem since there are a series of codes. However, the response is a clerical person calling to get authorization for a blanket charge of $295 plus shipping to even look at the camera. There is no refund if the problem proves simple to repair. I will not take another chance on needing Panasonic service for future equipment purchases.
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