Customer Reviews
6 Years Using Palmcorder 
2008-01-10
After using the Palmcorder brand for 6 years, I just purchased a second one to use for a 2-camera setup (both running at different angles since I produce martial arts instructional videos). For those new to digital camcorders, my opinion is that this is a great camera. For those who are intermediate and advanced, naturally you already know that you will want to spend a bit more for a bigger, better camera to meet your needs.
The Palmcorder takes good video but you should have additional lighting available. They say it's good in low-light conditions, but admittedly I've never found that to be true, even with a LOT of experimentation. Outdoors, though, or indoors with normal lighting? You will find a good video result.
The audio is passable but connecting an external mic, you will hear a slight "buzz" in the background (removable in post). A pain but still passable for the price.
Zooming in and out finds zero noise, but I rarely zoom much anyway. If I need a closer shot, I get the camera closer since the pixelation is always noticable to some degree when zooming. It's not "too" bad zooming in just a bit, but beyond 1/3 of the bar you see will find a lot of pixelation.
Tape change is great vs. Canon (Canon tape door is at the bottom and you have to remove it from the tripod, whereas Panasonic and most others are on the side). Battery life is 1 - 2 hours depending on the age of the battery. My first one is over 6 years old and I just had to change it last month. 5 years isn't bad.
Manual controls could be improved but passable. Automatic controls work well for new users and you will probably not even need the rest. If you want to learn it, though, it's a simple process.
For best shots, I recommend a good tripod to keep the camera steady (for all cameras, too), particularly if you zoom in. There are lots of techniques for holding the camera steady when zoomed in but the Palmcorder must lose it's mind after zoomed in too far. It comes out with a lot of pixelation. Read that as "don't zoom in unless you absolutely have to and you'll be fine."
I've used my Palmcorder in all sorts of weather and conditions, and it's worked like a dream. Good video, good audio, good battery life and easy controls. The only "bad" thing you might encounter is that in humid weather, you need to acclimate the camera for 15 - 30 minutes or so. But since you have to do that with every camera, anyway, it's not Panasonic's fault so no biggie there.
All in all? This is a great camera for the price, as well as being a solid piece of equipment that you will enjoy. It's good to learn with as well as being a good backup camera or using as a 2-camera system.
Assistance to convert your video to computer 2007-05-24
I know the frustration of wanting some software with this product. Yes its a nice little camera and all but if you want to get some actual video out of it to be put on your computer you could use video capturing software like snag-it which has a free download and trial. Granted the video will not be the best of quality but if you absolutely have to have this on video on your computer snag-it will give it to you but at low quality. You can also snap still images from the videos using it too. Hope this helps
a good camcorder for a good boy 
2006-01-28
This camcorder is good but not great. Sure its not expensive but with this amount of money you can get a much better one on ebay. 1/6 in ccd is average for this price range. It has no mic input. But it does last a good amount with the battery, has acceptional quality under lighting when i use two or more lights...for my movie aspire which is a musical. During shots that have fast sequences, you can tell as it looks jagged and not smooth. This had to be fixed in post, which, if you're only paying 250 for this cam, you probably won't waste your time fixing this in post. The manual white balance is nice.
Great for the patient mannered 2005-11-17
This camcorder is absolutely wonderful. Though I don't think I'd pay top dollar for it. While it works great recording and playing back, there is minimum software availible ( Id didnt recieve any) and figuring out how to download it to the computer to burn to a DVD took a while. Though I only paid $195 for this camera that also came with a brand new camcorder bag and additional battery. I kinda wish I would have spent the extra money to invest in a DVD camcorder. But, if you are willing to take the time to learn how to burn to DVD, then this is a great camera!
Camera 2005-11-10
I bought this Camera for my 13th Birthday and I was happy until i tried to put the video onto the computer. I you realy want to edit video on the computer then you NEED to get Firewire for your computer.After I got Firewire The video worked fine, but I suggest you get a good editing softwear like Adobe. windows is ok to start but has very low video capture. When you burn it on to a DVD using windows is is all blury but can still make out picture. So a Great Camera but you have to get firewire to make it better. Firewire is only like 25$.I love this camera and I hope you will to.
Nice style, good performance 2005-03-15
Panasonic's vision of the digital future is driven by the needs and aspirations of its business customers and millions of consumers around the world who use its products every day. The company shares their dream to live a fuller life by providing ways of working smarter and enjoying the rewards of technological advances.MultiCam camcorders feature digital camcorder and digital still camera capabilities, all in one easy-to-use camcorder.
Good DV Camera 2005-02-16
I've been happy with every aspect of this camera except for one: The night shot mode isn't an infared type deal like some other cameras where the pictures gets that greenish tint but you dont loose frame rates. The night-shot on this camera (MagicPix) turns the shutter speed WAY down so the video becomes very choppy, even with a tripod. The build in LED light works in gain mode, but only for short distances.
Otherwise this camera is great. It hooked right up to my firewire card and Adobe Premiere already had drivers built in for it. the Video and sound quality are excellent, the size of the camera is great, and the features are very straightforward. Plus, if tweaking settings to your liking is your thing, the instruction booklet is very easy to follow. So, if you are going to be doing a lot of VERY low light recording, like I figured that I would, you might want to look at how other brands' night modes perform. Otherwise, this is a great camera for you
Great little camera 
2005-01-30
I bought this camera after having numerous problems with my Sony. Although it is only 4 years old my Sony has been repaired 3 times and broke once again. I paid alot of money for my Sony and was very unhappy with it. So I decided against Sony for this purchase. I may have just had bad luck with them because I know they usually make good products... but to be on the safe side we decided to go with another brand. I did alot of research on the internet for different camcorders. I also went and did alot of store research. I felt all the store employees out for what they felt to be good and how many of the various brands get returned for different reasons. Although the Panasonic was not the most recommended camcorder, it did not get bad reviews either.
After shopping around for sometime and playing with the different camcorders on the market, I went with my "gut feeling" and chose the Panasonic.
After using it a few times, I have to say I LOVE IT! I am so happy with my purchase and am so glad I chose Panasonic.
I have to say I am not real Technical when it comes to all the features it has and will probrably never use 1/2 the features it does have. But the recording quality so far has been excellant! I have no complaints with it being grainy or anything. It is simple to use and weighs less than 1lb. And when you have 2 kids who require a whole suitcase to go anywhere that is a major plus!
All kidding aside though, I give it a 10 on the scale of 1-10. Again it is very simple to use and the quality of the recording is great if not excellant.
This is a great camcorder for anyone who does not want something real technical. The 20X zoom lens it awsome!
First Family Camcorder 2004-12-17
My wife and I purchased this camera as our first camcorder. We are delighted by how easy it was to film and download to the computer. My computer came with video editing software, so it's not a big problem that none was included.
Great Cam for the price... Nice Job 2004-08-05
People have to remember that this is a very affordable ENTRY level cam. It does the job very well. Nice viewfinder, excellent zoom (one of the deepest at 800x) and simple features. This is a beautiful cam at a great price!!! I have not found any drawbacks on transferring or downloading either. Fun also to add zoom lenses and/or wide lenses affordably. Overall a great buy!!!!!! If you believe you are a director, you may need to look into advanced models at much higher prices. Enjoy!!!!!!!!
