This camera uses MPEG-1 compression which is basically VHS quality, not MPEG-2 which is the current DVD standard of choice. Despite high pixel count for still images, MPEG-1 is only 352X240 and it shows. Also, software provided is PC only. Finally, the small (8cm) format discs don't play well in cheaper players. I've had problems where the small disc does not have enough mass to keep the spindle PLL in the player locked so the movie hesitates on playback. Very frustrating. All in all a big disappointment.

If you are concerned with picture quality don't buy this camera. This cameras selling feature is that you can record to dvd. Which is does very well. The picture quality is very poor. The color fidelity and saturation is very poor. The detail in the blacks is non existent. If you are like me and tape the kids bithday party's, etc & want any kind of picture quality don't buy this camera. Most of my recording was being done under 3 60 watt light bulbs. Such as in a living room or kitchen. So there's plenty of light to work with. What you are paying for with this camera is the dvd recorder. As others have said the supplied software is useless.

At this point I was fed up with the consumer garbage camera's out there so I went out and bought a Canon GL2. This camera Rocks. Email ne if questions. mrrjm@1meg.net

I've had this camcorder for three months now, and it still amazes me. It's so simple and I was able to play with it straight out of the box. The stills are great quality. Most images taken with camcorders are pretty bad, but this unit take great still shots. Even in low lights, it does wonderfully. This camcorder was rated really high in consumers report as one of the best camcorders out on the market. The editing on this unit is very easy and no need for a PC and I was abe to play it back on my DVD player right away. You cannot go wrong with this.Happy filming!

The Panasonic Digat Palmcorder DVD Camcorder is one of the easiest and most advanced dvd cameras I have used to make movies and stills. The instruction book is very easy to use and all the pictures in the instruction book are very clear and look like the camera itself. After I got the camera it was not long before I was taking videos, stills and learning about all the extras in the menu line up. Also putting the dvds in and out of the camera was a breeze. What really impressed me was the joy stick. By just moving it right, left, down, or up you could access any of the thumbnails or start the dvd anywhere you wanted. If you are looking for a good dvd camera that takes exceptional movies and stills and makes it easy, the vdr70 is the camera for you!

These instructions suck! They leave out vital information on procedures (like the exporting and burning onto disks) and then stick it somewhere else in the book. It does not give the "how to" in step by step format. I have had this complicated mess for a year and still don't have it figured out. Recording is a breeze but getting it off your dvd-ram onto your computer is a load of crap and best of all I have yet to find a place that sells the magical dvd-r's that are compatible to this thing. I finally exported my recording from the dvd-ram into the software and now I will have to thumb through these instructions for days to find out the small paragraphs just thrown about in bits and pieces throughout this manual to figure out how to save it to a dvd-r (wherever you find the ones that go with this fickle panasonic camcorder)

I have had this camera for about a year. I have used to record sports events, home events, etc. I have been satisfied with the recording capability. I did have to upgrade my home dvd player so that I can use the DVD format. I have been able to transfer movies to my PC for professional editing using third party software from Pinnacle and Dazzle. The software supplied by Panasonic for PC operations does not work, period. I have tried to contact Panasonic for support, and have received absolutely no response, not even an acknowledgement. There is no way I can find to replace or upgrade the software, or to get a human to answer questions. Customer support is crucial to me, I will not buy another Panasonic product given my experience to date.

One star is one too many for this camera. It will only work with RAM discs with frequent errors. Found many errors in owners manual. The drive motor has gone bad and now I have nothing. Panasonic wants $500 to fix it! I don't see myself EVER buying another Panasonic ANYTHING !

I've had this camera for a couple of years and think it is great. In response to a couple of the negative comments posted here: 1) Using DVD-RAM discs is a huge advantage over other cameras like the Sony. It is great to be able to re-use the discs. 2) Yes, it's true that the software that comes with the camera isn't very good. I don't use it. I use Ulead Video Studio, which works great with this camera. It is even easier to use if you get a DVD-RAM drive for your PC (which will cost less than $20). I shoot a disc's worth of video, import it into Video Studio, then erase the disc and shoot some more. It is good to format the discs now and then - that should prevent disc errors. The picture quality is quite good. It is only lacking in low light, which is true of nearly all video cameras.

I got this camera as a Christmas present and loved it for awhile until my Dell broke and I finally got a new Mac!! I was surprised to find out that that this camera does NOT work with Mac's unfortunately. Now I can't even use it because burning to a DVD and then bringing it into iMovie reduces the quality so much, it's not even worth the hassle. When I used this camera on my dell, it worked perfectly though so no worries there!

Despite it not working on Mac's, I have to say I was NOT impressed with the image quality. The auto focus is constantly searching and the manual focus doesn't work too well. I've used Sony MiniDV cameras and they are SOO much better for image quality. It's a good camera for anyone taking simple video and not taking too much action shots. Okay Camera, but there's better ones for your money out there.