Summary: Just lucky

Comment: I paid $169 for this digital camcorder and it has features I will probably never use. I read all the pros and cons and realized the cons are all operator head space and timing. Read the directions and this is one great camera.

Summary: Owners of this product. PLEASE READ!!!

Comment: Owners of this product. Please post a video review of this product and let the quality or lack there of speak for itself. Thanks

Summary: Has some shortcomings

Comment: If you are looking for a camera with "true" 16:9 recording capability **DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA** as the 16:9 format is nothing other than stretched out 4:3. I saw someone make this comment and thought it cannot be that big of deal. But then after I shot my first video (and realized the images being recorded are in many cases things you see in person i.e. Kids, Pets etc) and they look nothing like what you know them to look like (unless of course you want to watch your recorded footage in 4:3 which is a complete waste of your investment into an HDTV). If you do not have a 16:9 TV and never plan to get one, this camera, for the money, is tough to beat.

I sent it back and ordered a Cannon with TRUE 16:9 recording capabilty.

Summary: Very easy to use

Comment: This is my first camcorder and was purchased to record a new baby. It is very easy to use and produces nice clips. The Easy-Q button sets up the lighting and other settings great!

Summary: Good Camera For $250

Comment: Specs: (Not in Amazon's description)
720p Normal - ~1200kbps 30FPS SDEG AVI w/ 22kHz Stereo ADPCM
720p Fine - ~1800kbps 30FPS SDEG AVI w/ 22kHz Stereo ADPCM
720p Super Fine - ~4000kbps 30FPS SDEG AVI w/ 22kHz Stereo ADPCM
*Determined with Winamp and Media Player Classic.

The normal and fine quality settings both look really bad. The super fine quality setting is decent and performs acceptably in low light when the picture gets grainy. I would consider this to be DVD quality, and would look just fine on a normal television.

Here are some things you can only learn by using the device:
- You can record with the display closed!
- There is no startup sound, and you can turn off the menu beeps.
- Menu navigation can be a bit slow, but is by no means annoying.
- You can do a slow zoom using the directional pad on the screen.
-There is a bit of DITHER in the audio from, and the STEREO MICs pick up wind.

On automatic exposure, I was unable to pick anything up at night, but results are better with the exposure maxed out in manual mode. I don't think this camera is suitable for night filming at all. One can boost the brightness and contrast in a video editor, (I use +.3 brightness and +.7 contrast in Vegas) but the end result is a blocky video.

Rewind and fast forward in preview mode are a bit slow and choppy but playback is smooth.

I may be selling this and buying a DV camera. With DV, you sacrifice some durability, but you get a better quality in return.