Very nice camera, but pricey

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great color balance, and nightshot. Quick recording, and widescreen mode,

Cons: Limited disc compatibility, noise in dark areas

The Bottom Line: 
But it. There are few alternatives in the DVD Camcorder market, and this one is probably the best.

Author's Review
I bought this camera half a year ago, and love the compact size and quality of the videos. It feels good to finally start recording on discs to replace those old DV tapes. It would be easy to play the movies by simply putting the DVD into the DVD player, but mine only takes DVD+R, and this camera records to DVD-R. I was also a bit disappointed that the camera can only record 30 min. per disc in good quality, and 1 hour in low. Maybe they'll make one with a dual layer burner some day... On the other hand, the camera offers a number of nice features such as widescreen mode, and night shot footage better then the competitors'. The best resolution is 720X480, which is about the same as competition. For the price however, I would have liked to see a higher number on the resolution. This camera also eliminates the problem that some other DVD camcorders have in recording video. The video records in real time, with virtually no waits after pressing the record button. The compact size is also impressive. I have noticed that the footage shows some noise when shooting in dark environments, or with artificial lighting. By the way, when you format discs, make sure the camera is on something solid. It does not record the movies correctly if the camera is being shaken, even slightly. The screen if very nice, and the bettery lasts for roughly 100 min. on lcd. You can buy a better one though. The 1 megapixel pictures are OK, but the color balance is far from a digital camera. Still nice to have it in case you really need to take that picture. Of course, this camera offers superior video quality that few can compete with (other then the noise above). Overall, this is a very good product in the DVD camcorder line, and is definetly a better choice to replace the DV cams, but does have some things that need to be worked on.