Took this on trip of a lifetime to Japan. PV-DV203 didn't make it back alive. The miniDVs started popping out while recording and finally stopped recording altogether. Upon return, replaced PV-DV203 with the PV-GS15 and tried to run the miniDVs from the trip. Picture and sound quality terrible with a lot of skipping and poor auto-focus. Hoping PV-GS15 is an upgrade.

I got the same "Dew Detected" problem as another reviewer noted, and if you do a quick search on any search engine, you will find that this is a very, very common problem with this camera. I now own a very expensive paperweight.

The optics on this camcorder don't make the rich colors I'm used to on my Sony Hi-8 8mm camcorder, but the camera is nice, lightweight and very easy to use. And the battery seems to last forever. DO NOT bother with the still photograph to SD card feature. There is *no* excuse for how bad the picture quality is. Get any cheap digital camera, if you want still pictures.

You can find these for far less than the original US$600 MSRP now, which makes them a good deal...

I bought this product (Panasonic PVD203 MiniDV Digital Camcorder) for a Christmas present after doing, what I thought, was good research. After charging the battery and starting up a message came up that it had dew detection and would shut down in 5 sec. I left in a warm dry place overnight, thinking it would solve the problem. It did not. After "Googleing": Panasonic PVD dew, I found out that more then one person has had this problem and once it occurs does not go away. I never did get it to work so cannot comment on other features. Apparently, some of the Panasonic cameras in various models have bad sensors. I returned it and bought another brand that so far is working fine.

I bought this camera as a total novice. I think it was easy to learn to use and I'm absolutely fascinated with it. It provides good quality video, lighting options and most of the accessories come with it. I love it!

I am furious.

A year and a half ago I got the dew detection error after a winter weekend ski trip and figured that perhaps some snow had gotten into the camera when I was changing tapes.

I called Panasonic's customer service and since it was still under warranty, I shipped the camera to someplace in Indiana and after about 5 weeks it was returned and I thought okay. All is hunky dory now. So I had to pay $25 out of pocket to ship this defective DV camera to be repaired. But now it seem to work just fine.

Then a few months later, out of curiousity I logged onto Amazon to read the reviews of my camera. That was when I found out that this 'dew detection error' appears to be a common problem with this particular model (and perhaps even other Panasonic models as well.

If this is indeed the case, why then hasn't Panasonic issued a recall on this model?

Flash forward to ....THIS MORNING just about 3 hours ago...

I get the old 'dew detection error' again when I was trying to film my twin boys in our backyard. Family friendly camera? Huh? Dew detection in the middle of a draught? It hasn't rained here in WEEKS!!! The camera is as DRY as a BONE. And the error message won't stop! I could probably aim a hairdryer at this camera for several hours and still get this error message. And there is nothing you can do. It shuts the camera off after 10 seconds and tells you to eject the tape.

I am so angry right now and I KNOW that by now my warranty has run out so now i am stuck with--as another customer wrote--a very expensive paperweight. UNBELIEVABLE. I plan to phone Panasonic today and find out if there's any recourse. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA PEOPLE. I usually trust the Panasonic brand, but in this case I would advise going with another brand at least for a digital camera.

--Bill

I was shocked to see that so many consumers of Panasonic camcorders had the same problem I did! The infamous "Dew Detected" error message will not go away on my camera after owning it for just little over a year. My camera is useless now and I can't even play my old tapes!! I have to buy a new camcorder just to play my old Mini DV tapes....You can bet I'll buy a Sony, Samsung, or JVC camcorder from now on!!