Customer Reviews
NOT FOR MAC 
2008-07-24
This camera is NOT compatible with Macs... I also have Windows Parallels for my computer, but cannot get the software to run on that either. Well, I suppose it technically runs, but no video will show up when you try to download it from the camera. If you have a Mac, get something else!!!!!!!!
Great Camera 
2008-06-17
This is a great camera and easy to use. But the software is really BAD.
Husbands new toy 
2008-06-17
This is my husband's new toy and he seems to be very pleased with it. It really is just replacing the limited video feature on our Kodak Easy Share camera. It has great zoom so you don't have to stress if you are sitting towards the back at a soccer game or ballet recital. My favorite feature is its compact size. It fits very comfortably right in your palm.
If you're looking to take videos of the kids this camcorder should do the job for a decent price.
Great so far 2008-06-16
This was a group gift for a friend, and even with the free shipping, it got there in only 4 bus days, right on her birthday. She hasn't used it much yet, but so far is very satisfied and finds it very easy to use, which was huge because she's pretty technically challenged. Next step is to get a DVD burner.
Careful if you are looking for long battery life 2008-06-09
There are no batteries available at affordable costs for long run. Also the batteries mentioned in catalog are not shipping. Would have not brought this make, if knew this problem. Safer to go with brands like Sony.
not bad camera, bad software 2008-05-27
records MPEG-2 video files to built-in memory * 800,000-pixel CCD (380K effective) * digital photo mode with top resolution of 640 x 480 * 2-11/16" widescreen LCD * 42X optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 2000X) *
Nice camera but software sucks!! 
2008-05-22
The Panasonic SDR-H40 is a nice little camera with decent image quality, but getting the video off from the camera to your computer is big pain!
I bought the HDD camera just so I could download video to my computer and share it easily. First, you cannot download the video unless the AC adapter is hooked to the camera. Which means, transferring video when you are on the road is out of the question. Second, the video files are viewable only from the Panasonic software. You cannot open the files directly in Media Player etc. Third, the panasonic software is terrible to use. After you aquire the video, you have cut it down and 'export' it to your hard disk. Now you think you can see the video file in Media player. BUT NO!! Most likely you are missing a MPEG-2 Codec. And I find that after the codec is instllaed the image quality is not so great.
So after all that you finally have a manageable file (and file size) that you want to be able to edit in lets say Windows Movie Maker. Nothing further from the truth. There is some encoding in the 'exported' files which will crash movie maker.
I am so frustrated by this camera and its software, I wish I had not bought it. Please consider this camera only if you plan to invest in some other video editing software!
Software is a Total Failure on our PCs 2008-05-22
I bought this camera after checking it out on consumer reports. It is easy to use, and the video turned out well. We watched it on the camera and plugged into our tv. The problem is that the software is incompatible with all 4 of our PCs. (I've tried each one.) We can download the videos, but then can only hear the sound--no pictures. The manual appears to suggest that it only works with Vista, but we're not planning to update to Vista. The camera is useless to me if I can't edit and make copies of our videos. A big waste of $$. Don't buy it unless you have Vista.
Don't buy the combo of camcorder+ battery offered 
2008-05-16
Recently I order combo deal of the camcorder and
Lenmar LIP07 Lithium-ion Camcorder Battery Equivelent to the Panasonic CGA-DU07 Battery.
Yesterday I got the product and realized that the battery is not compatible with the camcorder. NExt week I am going on a trip and thought the spare battery would help me. Now in this situation, I have to settle with sinle battery .
Also, it is too early to comment, but few observations are
Pros:
--Small and fits very nicely in the palm.
Cons:
-- No view finder. My old canon cam corder has one, and was very helpful in the situation where it is very sunny.
-- No light at the front, which would help to take reasonably good video even at nights, even if there is no power supply. No I need to carry something else, for that lighting purposes.
I wil update once back from the next week's trip.
easy to use, portable, almost fits in a pocket 2008-04-22
so a month after buying this camcorder i had a chance to record my grandson's football( soccer) game in barrington il. seeing that it was my first time using it, it took me a few minutes to get used to steadying the camera. after that it was easy. the mic worked good with the audience noise( chanting) and the finger and thumb controls are comfortable enough for my big hand.
after i got home i had to install the software and transfer the movie to my computer. easy enough. the problem was that i shot in 16:9 and my movie came out on 4:3. now i had to resort to another programme to transfer it to 16:9. not good. you should be able to transfer from the camera to the pc in the same mode and screen type.
thats my only problem with this camcorder, the transfer.
the pictures(movie) were very good quality in my opinion.
one more thing. as of today, april 22, 2008. the batteries are very expensive and hard to get.
