Panasonic SDR-H18 30GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I love the camera. It does everything it was marketed to do. I wouldn't buy again from Amazon though. The seller charged me over $30.00 for a 3 day delivery and it took 10. Amazon wouldn't help and the seller never responded to any emails.

I really enjoy this little gadget. It's small enough to fit in the same bag as my digital camera and the quality of the pictures is excellent. Easy to use.

I got it to upgrade from a tape-based camera that had a difficult user interface. This camcorder has an excellent interface and is easy to shoot good videos with. What's not to like?

I can't get the videos out to download to a useable computer.

1. It is really hard to transfer usable files to a computer. I can transfer to an XP computer, but my computers with video editing software are a Macintosh and a Vista system.

The Macintosh cannot read the files at all, even though they are imported by Panasonic's software to the Mac successfully. Quicktime and iMovie both give error messages that the file is not a video file.

The Vista computer can display the video from the SDR-H18, but there is no audio. Back to silent movies.

By the way, it can make a DVD on the XP computer, but the DVD is just a bunch of unedited clips transferred to DVD.

2. Even on overcast days outdoor shots get "solar flare" diamond-shaped internal reflections into the picture. So it is not a decent outdoor camera.

So for the purpose I had planned to use the camera, it is pretty much useless. I don't enjoy only being able to watch the video on the viewfinder.

I just got this camcorder so I'm still learning about it but so far it is light and compact and easy to handle. THe instructions are clear and simple and easy to follow. The lighting seems to be good and the pictures clear. So far I haven't transfered the picture to a DVD so can't comment on that.

This camcorder was purchased as a Christmas gift for my 20 year-old son. He uses some very fancy, and very high priced cameras in his film classes at college and wanted a camera of his own for personal use. I couldn't afford $1000s for a high-end camera so decided on this one. After much research online, the price at Amazon couldn't be beat.
The camera itself is an excellent buy for the price. Although the audio isn't the best, the other features work great and my son uses the camera almost daily. I waited this long before leaving feedback because I wanted to see how the camera held up over several months. It works as well after almost six months as the day it came out of the box.
In hindsight, the one thing that has really paid off is the 30GB hard drive. No need for expensive discs. The hard drive holds plenty, and my son also uses a high capacity SD card for even more storage.