Rating: 
Summary: Beware Panasonic Service Rip-Off---STAY AWAY!!
Review: As the owner of a very similar Panasonic digital camcorder (the PV-DV702), all I have to say is that when everything is working well, this is a great camcorder.Negatives: (1) The heads on these mini-DV digital camcorders are so sensitive that any microscopic particles on the heads will cause the digital image to break-up--usually at the worst possible time. Constantly cleaning the heads with a head-cleaning tape becomes a joke after a while (and I baby my camcorders like no one else I know). (2) Panasonic service is a total rip-off. Only ONE (1) place in the entire USA is authorized to repair or clean your digital camcorder--the Panasonic Factory Service center in Elgin, IL.!! They use a FLAT RATE to service ANY Panasonic model digital camcorder. I found this out when my Panasonic digital camcorder began eating all my tapes, including brand new Sony tapes (head cleaning had absolutely no effect). Since it was just out of warranty, I called Panasonic to be told that it will cost nearly $300 (flat rate) for them to service it--even if all it needs is a de-magnetizing of the heads!!! TOTAL RIP OFF! I called Panasonic customer service to complain, and a head honcho was supposed to call me back--of course no one ever called me back. Sony also has flat rate pricing for repair, but at about 30% less than Panasonic. To the best of my knowledge, JVC's rates are based on hourly charges. (3) You have to use the digital camcorder as a PLAYER that patches into your TV using patch cords--further dirtying and wearing out the heads! Brilliant engineering. **What I did: my Panasonic digital camcorder is now a paperweight. I purchased a JVC VHS-C (analog of course!) model GR-SXM260u camcorder from Amazon, and it was the best move I made! It was 1/4 the price of the Panasonic digital camcorder, and I have no-fuss recording (no more prima-donna digital heads) that is RELIABLE and I just pop it into the included VHS tape adapter and pop that into the VCR to watch. Gee, what was I thinking when I bought the Panasonic digital camcorder??? Sheeple who enjoy getting ripped-off will like this product from Panasonic.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Software and manual
Review: Had the camcorder 6 weeks and I'm not happy. Video quality might be great but what does it help if you can't get anything else than still pictures onto your computer. Someone wrote in another review that this is not true. Well, if he is right he is welcome to provide the help that the poor software and manual doesn't give (hoej@sol.dk)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Camera
Review: I have had this camera for about 2 months and to date it has been great with a couple of little niggles. I have captured footage outdoors in fairly bright light and have to say that the performance has been far superior to my old analogue camera, the picture is clearer, the colours are heaps,heaps better, in fact the picture excellent all round. The 3ccd makes the difference. The sound is not the best, but not bad either, the zoom mic is a waste of space IMO. The sound from the close surroundings is good. So if high quality pictures/footage is what you after and you plan to edit on PC where you can add/clean up the sound then I would highly reccomend this product. I have downloaded footage to my PC via firewire with no problems (winXP) and used USB to transfer stills, all very easy. The manual is only satisfactory, but there is so much help on the internet I have not a problem to date, just post on a forum if you can't figure it out. Overall a great product.
Rating: 
Summary: Greast movie making camera!
Review: I have had this video cam for over a year. The picture clarity is the best and it is extremely easy to use. I have had the still pictures developed at Costco/Walmart and they rival any good digital camera. I have created many a family movie with Microsoft's free movie maker software. For the guy who said he can't get it on his computer, all you need is a firewire cable and movie maker (which is free with Win XP~ plus movie maker2 is downloadable free from Microsoft's website) Plug the camera in and the XP system will identify it. It worked great for me! Love my video cam!
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera/Lousy Manual/Software
Review: I recently purchased this camera from a company in New York for less than 1600 US. The deal included shipping and a ton of extras (pro pack it was called). Anyhow, aside from the lousy manual and useless software, the camera is fantastic. The video quality is stunning to say the least and the digital stills I am taking are impressive. As for the manual, I quickly remedied this by going online and hunting down reviews for the camera (DVD-Spot had the best/most thorough). I am still working on software for converting my home movies to dvd, but I will get that accomplished over time. If anybody knows how to disable the pop up flash (very anoying when taking pictures in adequate light) I would greatly appreciate it. Overall I recommend this camera whole heartedly
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera/Lousy Manual/Software
Review: I recently purchased this camera from a company in New York for less than 1600 US. The deal included shipping and a ton of extras (pro pack it was called). Anyhow, aside from the lousy manual and useless software, the camera is fantastic. The video quality is stunning to say the least and the digital stills I am taking are impressive. As for the manual, I quickly remedied this by going online and hunting down reviews for the camera (DVD-Spot had the best/most thorough). I am still working on software for converting my home movies to dvd, but I will get that accomplished over time. If anybody knows how to disable the pop up flash (very anoying when taking pictures in adequate light) I would greatly appreciate it. Overall I recommend this camera whole heartedly
Rating: 
Summary: No movie recording
Review: I would have given this Video Camera a 5 star rating had I been expecting what I got. I selected this camera over Sony DVR70 because this has higher still image resolution, has a bigger LCD screen etc. But one thing that was most important to me and is conspicuously ABSENT is the ability to DOWNLOAD MOVIES on a PC. This camera will be as good as useless for me if I cannot download movies. I can only download still images and that is not much help. I wonder why they have MPEG4 listed in the specs. In the manual they mention that the associated software downloads videos. But I tried the software and read its manual to the end. Nothing. So I called Panasonic for operational help and they said that I could not download the movies at all. I will now try to get this back to Circuit City and get the Sony DVR70.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this cam instead; the TRV950 is a total waste.
Review: I've been using the MX5000 (the Japanese version of the DV953)over a year, and I can assure you that this cam is a huge bargain. You can get one for $1100 or less (even cheaper than the 1CCD TRV80), and you know what? This cam incorporates the 3CCD technology that are widely used in professional video cameras today. Another great thing about this cam is the Leica lens that has special multiple coatings, and the Zeiss lenses in Sony cams are a joke in comparison. Buy this cam instead of the TRV70, 80, 950; by doing that, you'll save more money. *The Good Things about the DV953
-"optical" image stabilizer
-auto (not manual) ND filter
-great color reproduction (sometimes better than the TRV950)
-much more flexible, intuitive manual controls compared to the TRV950
-high resolution: 540 lines
-manual iris & shutter control
-much better audio than that from any Sony cam (TRV70, 80, etc...)
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder for a beginner like me.
Review: I've never owned a camcorder before, so I have nothing to compare this to. But, it's been an overall good experience for me. The "quick start" in the manual had me shooting movies and stills in no time. **** You'll need to spend another $150 if you want to download movies to your computer - read more below **** The digital stills are amazing high quality. I had been warned that camcorders don't take very good stills, but these are pretty darn good. I was quickly able to download them to my computer over USB. The movies are pretty good, and the image stabilization works like a champ. I'm not smart enough to take advantage of some of the more advanced features, but the zoom is smooth and keeps focus fairly well. Now, about the software: Of course, you'll need to install their USB driver in order to download from the SD card, but the rest of the software is worthless. Don't bother with the ArcSoft software. With the USB connection, you can treat the camera like a removable disk drive and just copy over the pictures. After that, just use your favorite image viewer like IrfanView. Maybe I'm just an ignorant newbie, but I expected to have everything I needed to download movies from the tape. This isn't the case. First of all, the download is over Firewire so you'll need to buy a Firewire card for your computer and a Firewire cable (if the card doesn't come with a cable). I got one for $50 from Adaptec. On top of that, you'll also have to buy software to handle the download (the software shipped with the camcorder doesn't support this). You have several options here, and each package comes with its own set of editing tools. I spent $100 for Pinnacle Studio 9, but you have other options, too. Finally, you need a computer with the horsepower to support the editing tools - and there are some pretty high-end requirements here. You'll need plenty of memory, a fairly fast processor, and a hard drive that can write fast enough to keep up with the tape.
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder for a beginner like me.
Review: I've never owned a camcorder before, so I have nothing to compare this to. But, it's been an overall good experience for me. The "quick start" in the manual had me shooting movies and stills in no time. **** You'll need to spend another $150 if you want to download movies to your computer - read more below **** The digital stills are amazing high quality. I had been warned that camcorders don't take very good stills, but these are pretty darn good. I was quickly able to download them to my computer over USB. The movies are pretty good, and the image stabilization works like a champ. I'm not smart enough to take advantage of some of the more advanced features, but the zoom is smooth and keeps focus fairly well. Now, about the software: Of course, you'll need to install their USB driver in order to download from the SD card, but the rest of the software is worthless. Don't bother with the ArcSoft software. With the USB connection, you can treat the camera like a removable disk drive and just copy over the pictures. After that, just use your favorite image viewer like IrfanView. Maybe I'm just an ignorant newbie, but I expected to have everything I needed to download movies from the tape. This isn't the case. First of all, the download is over Firewire so you'll need to buy a Firewire card for your computer and a Firewire cable (if the card doesn't come with a cable). I got one for $50 from Adaptec. On top of that, you'll also have to buy software to handle the download (the software shipped with the camcorder doesn't support this). You have several options here, and each package comes with its own set of editing tools. I spent $100 for Pinnacle Studio 9, but you have other options, too. Finally, you need a computer with the horsepower to support the editing tools - and there are some pretty high-end requirements here. You'll need plenty of memory, a fairly fast processor, and a hard drive that can write fast enough to keep up with the tape.
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