Camcorders > Panasonic Camcorders > 750 GBP and more

Advantages: Awesome video quality; superb camera for amateur moviemakers.
Disadvantages: Charger design 'flaw'; below-par stills; no pro audio sockets.

...I was told by a Panasonic salesman. I, too, found no differences in the specifications and it was at least £100 cheaper than I could find the 'B' model for online and £550 lower than Panasonic's UK list price! Just the UK warranty is missing, but you can register online for a warranty anyway. The box includes UK, US and European power cables and an English manual, so everything really is there. I bought from eBuyer but it could now be cheaper elsewhere. ...
...outdoors in good light and is helped by the top quality Leica lens. Each CCD is larger than the single one in most consumer cameras! Colours look fantastic and detail is excellent. Even in low indoor light, the large lens and CCDs help it perform very well. Budget moviemakers should look no further. For a film-like look, the true 16:9 widescreen mode is essential and really does widen the angle of view over the standard 4:3 ratio. No dodgy cropping ... Read review

Advantages: It's not a Sony
Disadvantages: I haven't got the money for a second one

First impressions was that it was better than I had hoped for! The styling, weight and general appearance was what I expected for £800 (bought November 2007 but I did have to shop around to find one at that price). All the reviews I read about the poor electronic stabilization were right! If you want to hand hold it be prepared for some pretty poor results. Anticipating this I invested in a decent tripod, jib and steadicam (from B Hague's) so I ...
...but thankfully there is a mic input so I use an external Rode stereo videomic which produces great results. The ability to plug in an external screen makes using the jib simple. When I read the spec and saw the 60 Gb HDD I thought I'd never use all that ... last weekend I was left with just 20 minutes of space left at full HD recording! The files are recorded in .TOD format which, as I understand is almost the same as mpeg2 but you have to use ... Read review

Advantages: NON
Disadvantages: Spent £350 for only 1 hour of footage

Completely useless and Samsung far less than helpful when things Go wrong as were PC world not interested in either replacing or repairing mine even though I was told it had a two year guaruntee! The camera lasted for one and a half hours of recording and now does not work at all. Could not even finalise the disc that was in it when it packed up lost valuable footage of baby daughter. Bought another off e-bay if only to finalise the disc but it ...
...at all! DO NOT BUY SAMSUNG VP-DC161 I have wasted over £350 to date and have now decided to write to the BBC Watchdog program as feel sure hundreds of people have bought this duff product from Samsung and it is high time they owned up to making a dud and provided replacement of refund. ... Read review

Advantages: Huge drive capacity, good quality images, ease of use and transfer of images
Disadvantages: Battery included only lasts for max. 2hrs

I brought this camcorder in June 2008. The camcorder itself is very easy to use and comes with all of the necessary leads to connect it to your television or your computer via USB. The battery that is included is very slim and fits nicely on the unit but the life of the battery can be very limited if you leave the unit on standby rather than turning it off. This is because the unit has a quick start feature which is excellent if you don't want to ...
...the battery lasts for about 2hrs of continous filming or playback. I would recommend that you buy a spare just in case. In terms of transferring photos to your computer, this is very easy if you have a PC as it comes bundled with the software. If you have a Mac like me, this is not a problem provided that you have the latest version of ilife 08 otherwise, you will have to transfer the files manually and then convert them. The quality of the pictures ... Read review

Advantages: Lightweight small ease of use
Disadvantages: limited features

I purchased this camera last week. Its very easy to use, it also has a switch for nightshot mode which allows one to capture whats going on in the dark. If you don't want to spend too much on a camera this is the one you should go for. Another feature i like is that you can drag and drop the mpeg movie files from the camera to your pc, the camera registers as an external hard drive. The camera is light weight so for day trips etc its perfect! Its ... Read review