"What an engineering marvel" we all said upon seeing the results on the PC. With the camera producing native MPEG2 files it was doing what I expected it should do files that can be edited with any desktop video editor. I still can not believe the no other word for it `blunder' on the part of Panasonic's marketing and software groups. This is the only tapeless video recorder under $800 (I paid $600 with a mfg. rebate coupon) that produces native DVD quality MPEG2 files period. Why don't they just say that? Why don't they suggest renaming the .MOD to .MPG and call it a short cut for advanced users? It's just weird.... My impressions point-by-point:
First Light Setup 10/10 (out of the box and shooting video as fast as I could unwrap the plastic very easy PC software on the other hand ... read-on below...)
Ergonomics 9/10 (minor same points made by others no tripod screw, buttons though not needed for most functions while capturing images require a bit getting used to located under and behind the flip screen)
Camera menus usability 10/10 (what you need for each mode where you need it)
Convenience (read: size) 10/10 (you will always take it with you you will find yourself taking video and capturing moments like never before)
Image quality 9/10 (Carl Zeis was a genius no CZ lens here; white balance quite sensitive, but good though there is a manual mode and this videographer needs to master it for low light, contrast-y, indoor shooting)
Image stability 10/10 (as good as my image stabilized binoculars even with the optical zoom extended)
Accessories 9/10 (comes with all you'll need but why is the charging system brick and tray assembly larger than the camera itself? Charging batteries separately in a small form-factor unit is a must out-of-the-box, Panasonic requires batteries to be charged in the camera apparently there is a third-party external charger available separately. I'll be buying one soon!)
Recording Capacity 10/10 (this may surprise you I use the NORM MPEG2 that's 22 minutes good but not quite DVD quality on the supplied 512M chip and over 40 minutes on a 1G chip how much video do you need to shoot anyway? For family and activities I've not had a problem plus I can dump the chip to hard drive in a few minutes. At $60/Gig buy a couple chips. The 2G chips are soon to be sold and 4G chips are on their way that will be three hours of video on one chip!)
PC Software 0.0001/10 (total utter failure on Panasonic's part. Fortunately it is not required at all as I came to find out. Simply take the chip out, plug it into your SD chip reader desktop or laptop unit copy and rename the files there is even a freeware utility available on the Internet)
Did I mention convenience `-) 10/10 !
When I first looked into this product I was in a quandary I worried about cutting edge: "high wow factor low performance" "sounds too good to be true" I took a chance anyway I am happy I did. For more info excellent source: Do a Web search on "SVAV100" and "Jack Brown" you'll find an excellent "SVAV100 Forum" Panasonic should give this group part of their marketing budget they are far more competent.This is a great little camcorder for having with you at all times to take short videos. You will have to download often to your computer since the SD card cannot hold much. These .MOD files for MPEG2 take up a lot of room. Most people don't like to watch long videos anyway. You will have this camcorder with you when the bigger one will be at home or in the car. The supplied software is not worth a dime. It cannot keep up with your files if you need to move them. Get Moonlight El-ecard MPEG2 Player software from the Internet. You can also transfer the videos to VHS, 8mm or DV tape. Actually, they look better doing this (then watching on your TV) than by viewing them on your computer.
Buy Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom Now
Even after reading about all the 'problems' with the SVAV100 I decided I still had to have one. I wanted a way to capture video of my daughter without looking like the proverbial "dorky-dad-with-a-video-camera." This camera lets me do that.But, surprisingly, I've either not experienced these problems or found very simple workarounds for them. Here are some examples:
Software: there are numerous, high-quality editing programs that handle the task of editing MPEG2 video with aplomb. Most offer free demos so you can decide which works best for you at no cost.
.MOD file format: simply change the files extension to .MPG and nearly any video tool (Windows Media Player included) can read the MPEG2 files produced by the SVAV100
CODECS: I have WinXP running on a fairly new PC I didn't need to install anything to get up and running.
SD Card: the camera records 10 minutes of MPEG2-fine on the included 512M card (I get just over 20 minutes from a new 1G card). Between the two cards, 30 minutes of storage covers all the video situations I've encountered.
Battery-life: I have found replacement batteries for less than $15 each. I carry a couple of fully-charged backups which provide all the battery life I could possibly need (certainly more than enough juice to fill both SD cards, and then some).
Anyhow, this has been my experience to date; YMMV. Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of the camera and it's output.
Finally, I'd like to give kudos to Jack Brown for establishing an extremely useful SVAV100 users' forum (see URL in his review here). It contains a wealth of information and is definitely worth checking out.
Read Best Reviews of Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom Here
The advantage is that it is small and light, even smaller andlighter than my cannon power shot camera. The biggst problem is
battery life, it claimed that it would be capable shoot about
60 minutes continuously, but in my experience, the battery is
gone before I finish all 20 minutes SD capacity (in Mpeg2 normal
mode).
Want Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom Discount?
While the Pansonic D-SNAP has the potential for usable video quality, you need to realize that it is going to take atleast an additional $799 card to make it functional. To reach a useful quality, the D-SNAP uses a high speed Panasonic version of the SD card, which is now available as a special version 32x SD card by other sources. Today, people try to get the best price for a 30 60 minute DV tape at $5. With the D-SNAP, you'll be shopping for a $799 32x SD card, with 1 gig of storage, so you can move from 10 minutes of video to a whopping 20 minutes (which really is the bare minimum) at $799. Also, beware that the manual is clear that the high speed write times will wear down the card, and you need to run special procedures to help reduce the errors which will start occurring.The goal with compact devices is to make recording on the road possible. So if you can avoid 2 devices, one for STILLS and one for videos, this goal is possible. However, while most cameras today consider anything less than 2 megapixels (2 million pixels) for STILLS bare minimum, the D-SNAP can only do .3 megapixel (330 thousand pixels). You can't even print a high quality wallet size.
The quality of the video is there with the D-SNAP. But the STILLs are completely unacceptable and you will be paying thousands of dollars to get 30 60 minutes of video.
The Sanyo Fisher is equally as compact, very solid construction, provides 3 megapixels for STILLS, and provides the resolution (30 frames per second) and size (640*480) required for TV. It also comes with a 512kb card, BUT it achieves 20 minutes of DVD-like quality or 45 minutes of VHS-like quality (which is very good), out of the box. It uses more recent compression technology to write at multi-mb speeds on a normal SD card. You even get 30 frames per second to meet your 360*240 PC requirements, which provides more than an hour of video. The interface is much better thought out on the Sanyo (everything is there at your finger tips, whereas the Pansonic makes you want to rip off the LCD at times because the controls are at the side). The focus is 6x zoom optical on the Sanyo, instead of 10x like the Panasonic, which is still excellent. And the ISO levels and features are exceptional. Bottom line, you can live with any downside of the SANYO. You can't live with the downsides of the Panasonic.
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