If I could give a rating of 0 I would. I had this camera for about 3.5 months and maybe 30 minutes of recordings. I got the "DEW DETECTED" message and this camera has been useless since then. I would not recommend this camera to anyone. Save your money.

After 6 months of pleasant experience with this DV103, all of a sudden the "Dew Detected" "Eject Tape" warnings popped out, and it wouldn't go away even though the users manual said it would go back to normal operation after the msg was gone. Problem is that it never did. It's still under Panasonic warranty on parts, but the labor will cost $150 to start with, by Panasonic service center in Illinois. Other than this problem, overall performance and quality is satisfactory. I am disappointed in how many users have the same problem, quite a few. and on DV203 too.

After six months of ownership the camera will not connect to the computer for transfer of video. Contacting Panasonic revealed a flat labor cost of $200 for any repair with no alternatives or concern for me as a consumer. That is about half the cost of the camera. Stay away from Panasonic and try another brand.

Panasonic makes a great DV. I'm on my second one. The video quality is solid. The import to the PC works well. They have been reliable. Nice and light. Everything you'd want.

The only downside in my experience on my prior Panasonic was it broke after about a year of fairly frequent use. Their service policy is a flat $250 charge to fix it, regardless of the problem. That was about half the price of the unit new, which seems out of line.

Otherwise, if it doesn't break, great unit.

The PVDV103 is a Great camcorder. It is compact and records in high quality.

I purchased this DV Camcorder 13 months ago. Naturally 3 weeks after the warranty expired it shorted out. I will not eject the tape, not record, not play, nothing. I contacted Panasonic who told me, "Your camera needs to be repaired. $249.00 to start the process." Let me be the first to say I'm staying away from Panasonic forever. Terrible camera. Please save your money.

PS: Shame on you Panasonic.

At first the PVDV103 seemed like the best camcorder. Then after 2 years it started to fall apart. First, the battery had some problems. The battery would charge then after 10 min. of filming, it would show that 1/2 of the battery was dead. It would then quickly go dead. Other times, it would just be fine.

Also, the progressive feature sometimes turnes itself off, which can be annoying. I am also not as impressed with the image quality as I was 2 years ago. The viewfinder color quality is also very poor.

Overall, without those problems, the PVDV103 is just okay. For the money you pay you could get a better camcorder.

the "dew detected" sign is another way of Panasonic saying that the camcorder needs "servicing" and that you will have to send it in to be fixed for a price of at least $80. There are TRILLIONS of forums on the lack of reliability of this camcorder.. so DON'T BUY IT.. or any other camcorder from Panasonic.. because they're just unreliable.

It had been a good camera, but recently, the cassette compartment won't close. It makes a funny clicking sounds and does not close. 1.5 years seem a little short for reliability.

Let me just tell you that PANASONIC IS HORRIBLE!!! I have never in my life been soo upset over any electronic...EVER! I got this video camera as a birthday present in May 2004 for my first cruise. I played with the camera for just an hour and set it aside until my vacation. I left for my vacation a week after i got the video camera. I turned the video camera on of course on the plane to tape my friends being goofy then did not turn it on until we were settled in our hotel. I taped about 2 min while walking around and did not touch it again until of course our taxi ride to the cruise ship. While we were in the cab i turned my brand new video camera on to find the words "dew detected" and to hear this clicking noise! i almost immediatly broke down in tears. I tried to ask everyone if they knew what it meant, but had no luck. I saw a couple of people on the ship with the same camera and they were having no problems with theirs. i was soo desperate to video the beautiful sights from the ship that i even asked someone to borrow theirs and put my own tape in it! Every day i tried to play with it, fix it, turn it on, off, etc...but nothing! i got home and exchanged it for a brand new one! they couldnt tell me the reason why this was happening, but it did. I walk out with my brand new video camera that i wish i had for my trip, but its ok...my new niece was being born so at least i would have it for that! I used it a couple of times and then just put it back in my drawer until i needed it again...which was last week! I turned it on and it said "dew detected" and the tape compartment will not close! i cannot believe this is happening to me AGAIN! i have used this camera only 3 times! I am furious! i called panasonic only for them to tell me that it was going to cost me $250 to fix it. I explained to them this is my second camera that this happened to and they dont care! My next step, after reading the same complaints, is to take it up with a manager or someone else that has power other than some customer service rep who could care less about my needs. I am going on vacation next week and need a new camera. i am furious! Can someone please tell how they got a new camera? I am thinking just throwing it out?I am soo furious that this has happened to me again!

I have had mine for 3 years and not a one problem with it. Would recommend Panasonic to anyone.

I found a trick to go around it , well i am not sure how long this will last but for now it did the trick
I have used a paint tape, a blue masking tape , and covered the front of the camcorder where the microphone is, because i assumed that they have put their moisture detector overthere, and in fact after sealing the speaker/microphone holes in the front, the camcorder is back to working fine even after removing the tape --- good luck

it works ok but looks rough it was supposed to be refurbished would not buy again if i had to do over!

I love everything about it. I just wish I would've known ahead of time that I didn't have the right hardware to upload the content.

Thank you!