If you are looking for a small quick shooter to grab clips of your kids or your friends, then this is exactly what this camera is made for. Its all about speed, speed to turn on, and shoot, and then share. (post online, youtube, even whip to DVD)

The Pros:

1. Small and relatively cheap, the next Panasonic is almost double the price SD150. When you compare it to the multitudes of SD cameras (Aiptek, Mustek DXG etc), the S10 is Mercedes, in terms of features, build quality, optics and controls. I replaced my Aiptek GO-HD with this one

2. Shoots Mpeg-2, since its not HD, it uses good ol'MPEG-2, which works great with most edit applications (I do have a couple of gripes about the 16X9 mode though)

3. "water resistant" I have yet to try, but they claim it works ;)

5. Did I mention small?

6. 10X optical zoom with Electronic image stabilization (yes optical would be better, but folks this is a $400 camera)

7. Decent editing software (for PC anyway)

The Cons:

1. No lens cover, I could not agree more with the other reviewer on this point, if this is being billed as an all weather camera, would it have killed them to add an auto door over the lens?

2. Screen does not swivel the full 180 degrees, obviously the engineers are too ashamed of how they look to enjoy making faces at themselves (or with their kids into the camera)

3. Battery could be better, if you are serious about it, get 2 batteries

4. 16X9 Mode seems to create some crazy compressed mpeg that needs to be recompressed by the MotionSD Studio software to be useable (if there is another way to do this please let me know). Otherwise, whatever player you have will squeeze the 16X9 into a 4X3 window or give you an image that looks like it went through a paper shedder and was randomly put back together like Premier elements 2.0 did.

5. Video quality is not fantastic, but still very usable....again its all about expectations, this is a $400 SD camera with 1 CCD, if you want to pull a George Lucas I suggest an HD-DV or high end Mini-DV camera (good luck trying to edit AVCHD)

6. Photo mode is camera phone quality (actually less than camera phone) This camera is not meant to be photo taker. In fact I have a great DSLR, I use this strictly for the moments that a photo isn't enough.

7. You have to connect the Power when transferring files to the PC via USB. That is not cool. (I understand its to ensure no corruption but come on we are adults, I can read the little battery meter as well as the next guy

So to summarize this is a great (better quality) inexpensive clip shooter, it goes back to my moto on video (especially with kids) "less than spectacular quality video is better than no video." You might have the best HD Camera but it does you no good if it sits in your closet. This is small enough to keep with or keep out so it's a quick grab. Then a few minutes later you are emailing out the clips or posting them for the family to see.

Finally if you want see exactly what comes in the box, you can go to flickr and do a search on the SDR-S10, I posted my unboxing photos.

Got this camera because of it's size and because it's a Panasonic. Unfortunately, video quality is not much better than the average webcam. The screen does not flip 180 degrees contrary to what the picture shows. There is no cover to protect the lens. Battery life is only 40 minutes per charge. To charge the battery, you plug the AC adapter directly into the camera. No external charger provided. Recording time on the included 2gb SD card is 27 minutes XP mode and 50 minutes SP mode. Startup time is advertised as 1.7 seconds, but that's only if you enable quickstart which is basically a standby mode that continues to drain the battery even when you're not filming. The true cold startup time is more like 3-5 seconds. E.I.S. (electronic image stabilizer) works okay, but lowers the resolution even more. Digital zoom is unusable, but the 10x optical zoom is not too bad if you have steady hands. Focusing is okay in outdoors, but slow indoors. Low light performance is similar to ISO400 or ISO800 on your average consumer digital camera. Still, despite all these problems the unit is very small and can fit in your pocket (or purse). It's perfect for anyone who plans to use it primarily for YouTube videos, etc., Extremely easy to transfer video clips to your computer. Since they're MPEG-2 video files, you can just plug the SD card into your computer's card reader and copy them over. No conversion necessary. Files open without problem on Windows Media Player and Windows Movie Maker. At $400, it's a tough sell (i.e. for about twice as much you could buy the HDC-SD1). If this camcorder were around $200, I'd give it 3 or 4 stars.

So far, the main complaint that I have is that there is no lens cap. I cant imagine Panasonic did not come up with this. This is a small one, easy to carry around, which probably is the reason it is getting a lot of smudges on the lens all the time.

I bought the camera. I like its dimensions, easy usage and taking videoclips on a SD memory card. I have just a very big problem. The included software doesnt work properly. My computer is able to show the camera and card either. Unfortunatelly the motionSD studio software always sais that "there is nothing recorder, however a clips have been taken...

I wanted a small camera to record my driving and occasional recording of varios events. It came down to this camera and I bought it as soon as it was out. Here are cons and pros:

Pros:
Great size (fits perfectly underneath headrest in the car to record driving in front of you)
Good quality recording under normal conditions
SD/SDHC support (with included 2gb card you can record almost up to 2 hours in LP mode)
10x zoom is excellent
No Focus issues whatsoever

Cons:
Not very user friendly format for conversions or youtube (MOD)
Battery life could be better (Although this is no longer a con, I've finally found replacement battery, it uses same battery as Panasonic FX cameras and you can get one for $5 on ebay)
Low light is horrible

It's not all flowers of course, but if you understand its limitations the camera will satisfy your needs.

I'll give it 5 stars because other reviewers gave it a low rating. For what you get it really is a 4 star camera.

Quality of video is OK. But its minuscule size and simplicity of usage makes up for that. Ridiculously easy to connect to the computer. It is a point-and-shoot video camcorder - good for quick impromptu videos - that is its primary function. If you want elaborate electronic image, look elsewhere. Don't bother with built-in camera as well - very grainy image, not unlike cellpohone pics. Battery life is fairly good. I need to get the 4GB card (2 GB is not enough). I have received many positive comments about its size - it does look very sleek and sophisticated, and ladies love it!!! There is no lens cap - no biggie, if you carry the camera in the bag. Overall - very satisfied.

Were I to market a lovely high tech product, I should write instructions user-friendly to those unfamiliar with multiple cords, ports, and so on.

I purchased this camcorder for its small size, ease of use and ease of uploading video to the internet for family. I have been very satisfied. It is small enough to fit into a coat pocket or purse without having to lug around a large camera bag. It is perfect for recording the events of three active children. It is so easy to load the video onto the internet for family to enjoy who live away from us. I was not very sure what to expect with the low price of the camera, but have been pleasantly surprised. It is a very affordable camera for a busy, active family.

We purchased this product for review after finding the DXG 5.0MP Ultra-Slim totally unacceptable. The challenge was to find a flash video camera small enough and rugged enough to carry for action videos in skateboarding or snow boarding.

Merchandising and advertising promises we found misleading and false. The camera saves the video files in a non-standard file format, even though advertised as MPEG, and they would not transfer to the computer. Oddly enough, there was an ad included in the box for a program which would transfer to the computer if we paid another $99. The box and sales information promised Mac compatibility, but later we found it applied ONLY to the still photos -- 2MP at best, also unacceptable.

Calling the Panasonic tech support took some effort and after some time they admitted it does not produce standard MPEG files and recommended we return it. (Which also turned out to be a nightmare!)

We cannot recommend this camera.

DTG Magazine

Obviously this won't have the picture quality of larger cameras, but the fact that it weighs less than half a pound means that I can easily take it backpacking into wilderness areas.

My photos will be used for display on the internet, and it will be fine for that.

I also wish they would have included a lens cover for it.

Other than that, I am very happy with this camera.

Found this product to be very handy. Although the video resolution is below my expection, it's good enough for viewing in my computer.

I got this camera in late january 2008. I give two thumbs up for the toughest electronic 10mbit a second widescreen recording masterpiece I have ever encountered...and it is to an SDHC card as fast as 10mbit seems.8gb class 6 highly recommended. As of now the "transcend" version claims 11mbit write, and true reviews make it a choice until more brands and prices continue to drop for sdhc. This camera uses every bit of it. I will not go for the 4GB as listed in the panasonic manual. the 8gb seems to add to necessary bandwidth, even if it is large for its battery life (ac adapter for car and home does that problem good as well as spare batteries like all cameras). Also, my next still camerawill be a panasonic lumix, as the batteries and chargers are the same. I did not want too many functions in a vid camera claiming tough, and panasonic made a winner with this one.
Called anything but High definition (the vid is too small) the quality can make some so called cheaper hd with bigger picture, a shame in comparison.Pleasant surprise after getting codecs and the norm for mpeg2 on my pc to get the most out of it. WOW.
Add to that 55 minute recording time on one battery charge, I got the entire lunar eclipse into the umbral shadow in one shot. I have had it in -12F in the wind, 3 ice storms, rain, snow, fog at 33 degrees (oh the 3000 dollar hd camera loves that NOT),on a the dash bouncing around in a 500hp caterpillar diesel rig (EIS almost keeps up). then put it back in your pocket, to have no concerns if it falls out...unless you lose it.
I hope to get another..it seems the prices as of this feb29 2008 review is higher than what I just paid a month ago. My other choice was a cheap HD and gave that up considering where I live (they are for the dainty, no doubt, with a big wallett to spare as well...) No regrets what-so-ever. 5 stars truthfully. I hope panasonic continues this train of thought with future cameras like it (the all waterproof for example). I have never had a camera survive in a single winter where I live. This seems justice deserved for folks in my situation...HD in the same package will be a sight to see, I hope.