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.
Panasonic touts this as a 4-in-1 device: you can record MPEG4 video, digital photographs, and audio, and can play back MP3 and AAC digital music, all in an amazingly tiny package that weighs no more than 4 ounces with battery and SD memory card. BTW, now you can buy Secure Digital memory card of up to 512MB, with 1GB on the way, so the SVAV-10 can be expanded easily.
The SV-AV10, which is recently joined by two newer models SV-AV20 and SV-AV30, comes with a 64MB Secure Digital (SD) memory card, on which you can record up to 30 minutes of MPEG4 video. However, this is at the lower resolution of 174x124. If you go up to the "fine" mode, which shoots at 320x240, you can obviously fit a shorter footage. The framerate is 15 frames per second (vs. 25 fps for the NTSC video standard used by American TVs and camcorders), so the video is a bit jerky, much like using a webcam. The minimum required illumination is 120 lux, so you won't be able to shoot anything at a candlelight dinner. This is what I mean by "knowing your expectations." This is not to replace your regular camcorder; it's really a toy that you can carry 24 hours a day and capture those moments that no one could expect ahead of time.
The digital camera function captures images in the 640x480 resolution, and the SV10 has a built-in flash (but no optical zoom). Image quality is so-so; I'd say it's something you'd expect from an inexpensive digital camera that still shoots at this resolution. Given lots of lighting, the quality is quite acceptable. (Of course, you probably can't print the photos of this resolution. So don't throw away your regular, 2+MP digital camera yet.) Panasonic claims you can record up to 880 images on a single 64MB SD card. I haven't tested that claim yet.
Voice recording is nothing to write about; the quality is acceptable but again nothing on par with a dedicated device. MP3 and AAC (AAC is a better-than-MP3 encoding format; see my review of the Panasonic MP3-in-a-headphone model) playback is excellent, although you don't get too many options. The included stereo earphones are good, although you can always substitute your own ones.
Because of its small size, the SV10 only has a small number of buttons: one record button at the top, one power button that also opens the menu on the 2-inch LCD screen, one "mode" button that switches between play and record on the LCD, and one jog-dial button that plays, forwards and rewinds. The user interface is quite intuitive; you just need to know what the mode button does.
You can transfer files between the SV10 and your PC via the included USB cable and software. Everything works smoothly on my Windows 2000 and also a Windows 98 SE PC.
For a super-cool AV (audio/video, not "adult video"!) toy, the price is surprisingly affordable -you can find it for cheap at some places, hopefully at Amazon soon -and this is will impress the heck out of your friends.
Note: The newer AV20 and AV30, which only recently hit the retail market in the U.S., have the same resolution and frame rate as the AV10. They are slightly smaller and lighter, but their LCD screen has less resolution than AV10. Of course, this means they are more battery-efficient than AV10. AV30 comes with a cradle that allows you to play back on a TV, plus recording stuff from the TV!This product was a major letdown. I knew I wasn't getting an amazing camcorder with its small size, however I can see no evident use for such a piece of garbage. I bought it under the assumption that I would get some enjoyable use out of it with no real professional expectations; the MP3 playback was to be a mere bonus. The highest video quality was extremely choppy and of poor resolution. Theres a reason why the list price of this model is about [money] and can be found for less than half that at most retailers. I feel stupider for having bought it. Don't be deceieved by its stylishly small exterior and cool look. The menus and buttons were extremely hard to navigate and use, making quick recording all but impossible. This is not even of entry level camcorder quality. Better video can be found from a low end webcam 5 years ago. Even in the best lighting, it seemed as though I was filming at night. None of this was an exaggeration, I just dont want anyone else to waste their money and time. Hopefully some day in the future, Panasonic will be able to intergrate good video recording in such a small size, but definitely not today.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.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.
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