Rating: 
Summary: Great Gadjet, but wait till the next generation comes out!
Review: ... It was fun, I liked the MP3 player functions and voice recording functions. However since you have to use the RealJukebox software provided to get the audio tracks onto the device I decided it wouldnt be as useful as it could have been as the only source of music would be my home PC unless I bought the RealJukebox CD with me. The same goes for the battery charger.The built in camera is good for subjects a few meters in front of you. As you need to turn the flash on to get some good photos, close ups are out of the question as with the flash on close ups are just whited out. The Resolution is 640 by 480 for photos, and half that for mpeg video. The video is poor. Overall I was impressed with the concept, however the quality is too low. If however you want a low end webcam/low end MP3 player then this is it. Small size is cool, as big as a pack of cards, maybe when the photos are 1 megapixels and the video is 640 by 480 I would buy this. ... It does come with a 64mb SD card and card reader which is neat, you can use it very easily.
Rating:
Summary: Great Gadjet, but wait till the next generation comes out!
Review: ... It was fun, I liked the MP3 player functions and voice recording functions. However since you have to use the RealJukebox software provided to get the audio tracks onto the device I decided it wouldnt be as useful as it could have been as the only source of music would be my home PC unless I bought the RealJukebox CD with me. The same goes for the battery charger. The built in camera is good for subjects a few meters in front of you. As you need to turn the flash on to get some good photos, close ups are out of the question as with the flash on close ups are just whited out. The Resolution is 640 by 480 for photos, and half that for mpeg video. The video is poor. Overall I was impressed with the concept, however the quality is too low. If however you want a low end webcam/low end MP3 player then this is it. Small size is cool, as big as a pack of cards, maybe when the photos are 1 megapixels and the video is 640 by 480 I would buy this. ... It does come with a 64mb SD card and card reader which is neat, you can use it very easily.
Rating: 
Summary: This product is EXACTLY what I intended it to be
Review: ...I absolutely love it. It is so nice to have a digital camcorder for just sending to people over email or to make VCD's. I have already made many VCD's and I am taking the camcorder when I go to the Cayman Islands this spring....
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks Functionality
Review: A cool little gadget, i purchased it back in May 2002 (I figured it was a pretty good deal). Was it? Not really. Good things include: Small and compact, can take pictures and stores audio...but that's it. There is no zoom! There is no darklight function. It records to MPEG 4 format, which is very similar to a streaming video that you would see on the internet. So basically, the video quality is [bad]! The software is lacking everything. Overall, save a few extra bucks and buy a real camcorder. This one is one that you'd give to you 4-year-old.
Rating:
Summary: Descent
Review: A nice camera to carry around to capture life's unexpected moments. Good to have around, but the quality of the picture and MPEG are not very good.
Rating:
Summary: Cool But Useless Gadget
Review: Although I can appreciate the positive reviews from people who like gadgets, there are simply too many things wrong with this device - no matter what use its intended for. I'll summarize the low points: 1. Terrible video quality. Even though you expect it to be low resolution (320x240 in the highest quality mode), you don't expect it to be motionless - which it very often is! 2. Flash washes out close-ups. I'd blame this on the unit's size but, unfortunately, almost all Panasonic digital cameras suffer this same fate. Even the high-end models. (NOTE: The pictures are, as expected, low res 640x480) 3. The battery must be recharged using a wall adapter. This is absolutely the biggest drwaback to the unit because if you want to travel with it, you have to add the size of the bulky AC adapter to make it at all useful. This s a HUGE design flaw considering the use for which this device is intended. 4. The battery takes 2 hours to charge and DRAINS IF IT IS NOT USED. Panasonic even admits this in the manual and tells you to remove the battery when the device is not in use. What this means is that you either have to use this gadget every day, or remove the battery after every use, or expect to charge the device before every use. With a 2 hour charging time, none of these options are feasible. 4. MP3 files require special encoding using Real One Player. If you're expecting to just transfer your MP3 files to an SD card and play them in this device, better think twice. You can't do it without using the included software. Another serious drawback. 5. The case is made of cheap (but lightweight) plastic. Too flimsy for my taste. 6. The included travel pouch is useless. They should have included a real case for free. Summary:
The device does a lot of things, but nothing terribly well - even for techno-junkies. In fact, the only real positive feature is the unit's small size, which is rendered meaningless considering you have to travel with the AC adapter in order to charge the battery. And it's rendered even more meaningless considering the battery drains itself even when the unit is powered down. So there's no way to get around the need to carry around a bulky charger which takes too long to charge anyway. Obviously, standard off-the-shelf batteries would have added a little extra size. But it would have been well worth it. So, what we're left with is a cool gadget that you'll probably never use. And that's quite a shame because, like so many other Panasonic products, they had the right idea with the wrong execution. My advice: Hold out for better things which are sure to come.
Rating:
Summary: Makes a GREAT gift
Review: I bought another from amazon last month for my dad's birthday, and he loves it! He's 70 and generally awkward around the latest electronics, but he's having a great time shooting videos and pictures and even bought an extra SD card for music. He doesn't mind the webcam-like video quality or the VGA resolution for pictures, and he's now the "video man" in his circle of friends. I'm just glad it brought so much joy to my old man. Thanks, Panasonic!
Rating: 
Summary: A big let down !
Review: I bought this camcorder/camera/mp3player/voice recorder with high expectations for it,but when I received it and tried it
out,I was very disappointed with the quality of the video and pictures. ... I thought this item would have more to it than just record and playback.It doesn't even have a zoom,so you can't get a wide or close-up angle.Again,with the price being as it is,I was hoping to get alot more from this item.
Rating:
Summary: An ok gadget for the techphile, definitely needs zoom
Review: I bought this gadget for it's many functions although I mostly used it to take video and pictures, sometimes record audio. I really did like it, but after a while I couldn't justify the cost versus the quality... The video quality was ok, about what you get with a medium resolution avi file, but nowhere close to divx quality. Picture resolution at 640x480 was decent, but you'd definitely want better if you want quality pictures. Sound recording was good, but I could only playback on the unit. With SD cards you don't have to worry about memory. My main gripe about this gadget though is the absence of a zoom. I was using it one time when a friend asked me if it had a zoom feature. I told him "this is the zoom" and ran up closer to the subject. If Panasonic added a zoom feature I would definitely recommend it, but overall it doesn't excel in any area. You're probably better off picking up a megapixel digital camera that also takes video.
Rating:
Summary: This camera is good depending on what you want it for...
Review: I carry this camera everywhere. I bought mine when it was still pretty new and I didn't really know much about other cameras.
The size is definitely convenient. As a few other people said, it definitely impresses people because of it's size and design.
I was also impressed with the sound recording, but the quality of the pictures and video isn't at all near great.
If you care about picture quality, DO NOT get this camera. For the same amount or a little more, you can definitely get something better.
I've owned mine for a while and the screen has developed two little black dots in it, and I've never done anything to it to cause it. I've also noticed that some images seem to be domed or curved. The flash also will wash anything out if it is too close, and not help that much at all if the subject is sort of far.
If you just want it for random snapshots, I think you could definitely find a different cool, small camera that has the same calibur resolution for possibly for less.
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