Panasonic SVAV50 MPEG-4 SD Video Camera

The trouble with most combination devices is that they try to do too much, and thus end up doing lots of things poorly. With the D-Snap 50, Panasonic has avoided this all too common design flaw... mostly.

The D-Snap 50 is an excellent gadget for professionals on the go, combining a two megapixel video camera, a digital voice recorder, and an MP3 player all into a package smaller and lighter than a pack of cigarettes. The bundled software is complete (if unexceptional) and the controls are fairly intuitive most people familiar with digital cameras should be able to master the basics in a few minutes of use.

Nonetheless, there are a few questions I'd like to ask the D-Snap engineering team. First, did you intend for me to amputate my right index finger in order to take a decent picture? Second, just how many songs, memos, pictures, and videos do you expect me to fit on a measly 8 megabyte memory card? Third, why so many different quality settings for images when only Superfine (or Fine and big) is even good enough for email? Finally, would Macintosh support have killed you?

Despite these grievances, this is a great buy for a select target audience, such as people considering the Palm Zire 71 that prefer to organize their thoughts using spoken words instead of text. With a little practice and a 256 MB or 512 MB Secure Digital Card the D-Snap's annoyances will quickly fade. Three-and-a-half stars now, four when the price comes down a little.

I purchased the camera a few months ago. I saw it first at a stand at JFK, and thought it was a really neat and fantastic little product. I knew straight away all the my tech friends would love it. Cool design, easy to use. Small, smaller than most mobile phones. Good flash, even sometimes it is to good, and can flash away your picture, meaning close-up photos may become to bright. But I guess it also has something to do with the person operating it. :-)

So then there are of course a few downsides to it too! 1. Inside filming is a bit tricky. You either need very good lighting in-doors to get a good video, or you need to turn on the night view option, which then slows down the FPS (frames per second) which really means that the video slows down, and you really have to hold it still to make a good video. Not a good option I think. So that really sucks, because it means you really have to have some good light indoors. Outside is ok. Not the best video quality there either, but it is more than acceptable and the sound is good.

The second thing here is that it is only a 2 mega pixel camera. And most people today probably have a compact digital cam that has from 3.2 and up. There is no doubt that a compact cam of 2 mega, bets this cameras 2 mega. The pictures are ok, but once you are used to better quality cams, then you kind of feel like you are stepping back with this one. Would be cool to see this cam with at least 3.2 mega...

Unfortunately I lost the CD cover with the installation code for the installation of the MP3 software, so I have not been able to test that yet. But the earphones that came with the cam seem to be of pretty good quality. We'll see.

My overall conclusion is that this is an OK cam to have, but should not be your prime camera to use for those special occasions, vacations etc. I would then stick to either a digital camera with better mega pixels, or just a regular film camera. (but that takes away some of the fun taking pictures I think) Good luck.

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I got this for my birthday a while ago, and is my first of a couple of digital cameras that i like to use regularly. most other cameras only take aroung 8 to 15 mins of video with a high memory card but this one takes alot more. with a 512 mg SD card you can take over 1 hour of video and hundreds of pictures on high resolution. the "mp3 player" is a little low rate but its ok. and i never really used the voice recorder, but when i did test it it sounded ok except for a low static sound in the backround. if you do get it i suggest getting an extra battery, and at least a 256 mg card. Most of the problems that occur can be fixed with the manual, and if you have a dot on your screen that doesnt change its alright because it wont come out in the picture. 2 megapixels is a little on the grainy side, but you can print regular sized pictures without any of the grainy effect. Overall it is a very handy and useful camera for everyday use and catching those spur of the moment things.

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I really enjoy this product. I ordered it off the internet and i had read some reviews saying it was just ok... so i felt a little wary. However, this is the coolest product ever! All of the photos and video are good quality and the MP3 is really cool! I am so pumped to show all of my friends! It is a real attention getter and I love it! It is so tiny that you can take it ANYWHERE. SMALLER THAN MY CELL! Its a great product and i encourage anyone to buy! Im gonna go use it some more now! LOVE IT! 5

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I recently bought this on sale (very good price I might add) and am going to be sending in for the rebate. For what I paid it is a great little product. It's nice to stick in your purse or bag and you have everything at your fingertips voice recorder, camera, video and music.

Drawbacks:

1 It only plays MP3 files (it comes with software which you must use, but it is easy).

2 When playing music if you accidentally nudge the little orange button (used for making menu choices etc) it will go back to the start of the song very annoying. I am going to try putting a piece of tape over it if I will be listening for awhile and if it will be in my purse or pocket at the time.

3 Only comes with an 8 MB card! It hardly holds anything! You WILL want to buy another card if you are going to use it much at all so factor the cost of a 128 or 264MB card into your budget.

For everything together it is great. Obviously it is not as good as a normal digital camera, but I am not going to carry my camera with me. With this in my purse if I see a picture I can't resist or (God forbid) I get in a fender bender I will have it right there to snap a few shots.

It's a nice little splurge to have fun with at the right price.