Panasonic VDRM30 DVD Digital Camcorder

The innovative, sleek VDR-M30 DVD camcorder records high-quality digital video and still images onto removable 8cm DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, offering the ability of non-linear editing of home videos right in the camcorder. Other features include a color viewfinder, 10x optical/240x digital zoom, digital electronic image stabilization, and compatibility with Secure Digital memory cards for storing still images.

DVD Format
The VDR-M30 combines all the technological benefits of the rewritable DVD-RAM format with the compatibility of write-once DVD-R media. DVD-RAM offers the highest quality in digital imaging, huge storage capability--capturing up to 120 minutes of digital video and 1,998 still images to DVD media--and rewritability up to 100,000 times, with virtually no degradation of picture quality no matter how many times the disc is played back. The DVD-R format offers the ability to record onto affordable DVD-R discs for sharing with friends and family, and archiving memories for everyone to enjoy.

With the DVD-RAM format, you can access recorded scenes without the hassles of searching, fast-forwarding or rewinding. Indexed thumbnails are displayed on the 2.5-inch color LCD. In addition, the camcorder will automatically find blank space on the DVD-RAM disc whenever a recording begins, eliminating the possibility of recording over what you've already shot. Camcorder editing features include delete, rearrange, fade in/out, wipe, divide, and splice.

Recorded video and still images captured by the VDR-M30 can be played back on DVD-RAM and the majority of DVD-R compatible MPEG2-conforming devices. Just slide the disc out of the new disc cartridge and place it into the DVD recorder or player, or into a PC or laptop computer equipped with DVD playback. The camcorder has a USB port for easy direct connection to a PC.

Optics
The VDR-M30 is equipped with a 12x optical zoom, and also features a 240x digital zoom that allows you to zoom in on incredible close-ups.

Digital Stills
In addition to moving pictures, the VDR-M30 can record still images (640 x 480 pixels) onto a DVD disc or SD Memory Card. A DVD-RAM disc can store JPEG photo data and video together on the same disc. The VDR-M30 lets you keep family memories, in both still and moving pictures, on a single disc. You can also save still images to an optional Secure Digital (SD) memory card

More Features
The XTRA mode uses an advanced MPEG2 data compression technology called VBR (variable bit rate) to record high-quality images. Real-time VBR controls the rate of MPEG2 compression in real time, depending on scene complexity, varying it to enable more efficient recording. In XTRA mode, the VDR-M30 can record continuously for 36 to 120 minutes on both side of an 8cm DVD-RAM disc.

Other features include:

800K pixel resolution
2.5-inch LCD screen
5-mode Program auto-exposure (AE)
USB 1.1 connectivity
S-Video and A/V output
Stereo microphone

Size and Contents
The camcorder measures 2.25 x 3.5 x 5.3 inches and weighs 1.1 pounds (without battery). This package includes the VDRM30 camcorder, AC adapter, battery pack, shoulder strap, A/V cable (M3-RCA), lens cap, USB cable, DVD-R disc, and video editing software.

1 what happened
I bought this video camera to record the birth of my child. I got it and immediately checked it to make sure that everything was in working condition. It worked fine. Several months down the line I took the camera out to make sure what kind of card I needed to purchase for taking still photos. When I turned it on and tried to use it, I got the recording of sounds in the room but no picture. Now keep in mind I thought that I was maybe looking at the lens cap, but it was no longer covering the lens. I adjusted everything pertaining to the darkness of the screen and was still unable to get anything other than a black screen on the LCD or through the view finder. Thank goodness it is still under warranty or I would just be out $800.

2 Don't buy this product!
I have had my Panasonic VDR M30 camcorder since Christmas, 2003. I have made five calls to their tech support line, where their technical people admit there is a problem and tell me they are working on fixing the drivers for the camcorder's software to make it work with Windows XP. They refuse to return my telephone calls, and they refuse to exchange my camcorder for another model. They treat their customers very poorly. I would give this product, and this company, zero stars if that were an option.

3 really cool
I'll go into the negative first.

Software: the software did take me a few tries initially installing it on our desktop, was kind of a pain, because the instructions are not very detailed. When I installed it again on my laptop, was much easier, just have to make sure you do it in the right order (do not plug in the USB cable until you click on USBReady.exe, then plug in cable into your camera and the pc. Then install the following: DVDRam Driver, MyDVD, DVD MovieAlbumSE. You'll have to restart the computer after installing each one of these).

Lighting: In dark spaces and at night, honestly, the lack of lighing can make the picture quality in these settings horrible, depending on how dark the atmosphere is. In certain instances, you can go back and use your picture editing software to improve the quality and it turns out fine, but in others, it remains awful, and theres nothing you can do. Make sure you have proper lighting!!! Not sure if there is a light attachment yet, but one is SEVERELY needed.

Thats really it on the negative - grant it they are pretty big negatives when talking about an expensive camera like this, but I found everything else to be great, including the picture and movie quality.

Playing Double-Sided 2.8GB DVDs (smaller than normal DVDs) on your computer:
Despite what others have said, you CAN play these discs (they are about half the size of normal DVDs) on your computer, without having to use the camera as a device attached to your computer to access your pictures. Included on the install disc is a DVDRAM Driver - after you install this, you can pop the DVD into your computers DVD drive, and view pix (pix are stored as JPGs, but you'll need to use the software to play the movies - and make sure you have enough RAM on your pc - my laptop has only 256MB of RAM which nowadays is not enough to run anything, and movies sometimes don't play well - not because of the software (I think, I hope) but because of our memory capacity the laptop).

Picture Quality:
Picture Quality, with the right lighting mind you, has been exceptional, from what I have seen. Keep in mind I have not owned any other kind of camera like this before (really went from throw-away cameras to this one), so I might not be the best one to comment here, but to me it looks great!

Ease of Use:
I don't undertand when others say it is not intuitive to use. The disc navigation is very straight forward and joystick oriented. Changing modes is very easy from stills to movies to the stick memory cards.

Size:
This thing is so compact, you can fit it in the palm of you hand, and doesn't weigh a ton. Awesome!

Zoom:
Pix - 40x.
Movies - 240x.

Overall:
I really do enjoy this camera, it is great.

Advice:
Wait until the next version comes out to purchase. Some of the above wrinkles should be ironed out and it should be much cheaper than the @ $800.00 we paid. But DVD cameras I'm thinking are going to the new standard, and you'll want to jump on board this cool technology as soon as you can. Plus you can play the DVD-Rs (In my experience, I have not been able to play DVD-RAM discs yet) in your non-computer home DVD players, and now they are making progressive scan DVD players with a built-in memory stcik attachment - too cool, but again right now too expensive. We should have waited but we just had a baby!

4 Don't go with Panasonic
I urge you to take a look at the Sony DVD200 or 300 series camcorders. From soup to nuts the Sony product is much better. Do a simple compare and you will find that the Panasonic camcorder does not have half the technology or enhancements. If you are looking at spending 700+ dollars on something to record your families memories, I would consider spending an extra $200 for something that is going to give you pleasure throughout the years. Also, Sony has many add-on products (Lens, Tripod, Filters etc.) that are handy!

My only advice is that if you are going to spend this much money, either wait until you can afford a real product or buy the right product first.

5 Like it!
Small, cute, fairly intuitive - works good, except night vision(not that great). Needed to refer manual for seeing couple of things - "DVD needs to be finalized to play in DVD/laptop" & "how to connect AC power to finalize disc". Very convenient that output goes to DVD disc directly! Price much cheaper than Sony DVD camcorder :)

6 Half Decent
I purchased this camera for the birth of my first child. I figured this was the way camcorder technology was going (actually, this is considered a "palmcorder" due to its small size). All digital. Compatibilty with Windows XP is questionable. I had difficulty getting software to load. Resolution at high zoom is grainy. Other than these two issues the camera has a nice dynamic controller joystick for on-screen navigation. It also is extremely small and easy to carry. Be prepared to fork out a pretty penny for DVD RAM recording media until more manufacturers start making is type of camera.

7 great
Panasonic VDRM30 DVD Digital Camcorder
by Panasonic theres no question about it looks and iam sure its beter then the old camcorders and I can't wait to own one.

8 Good Idea, but need great improvements
Great idea, but not very functional. I bought one and kept it for three weeks until I got frustrated and almost drop kicked it. Picture quality is OK, but very frustrating when you try to view it. DVD disc does not work w/ any computer or DVD player. It works sometimes when connected directly to computer.

9 Great camcorder but it's missing something
I absolutely adore my camera... but I'm glad I got it as a gift. It's extremely expensive. The dvd viewing capability is good, the film quality is excellent but...
It has no light. In dim/dark situations, it films ok and plays ok on the viewer but other readers like the computer or dvd player can't see anything. There needs to be a light for this. It looks like there is a place to buy one and attach it to the top but I can't find it anywhere at the Panasonic website.
The software is also a bit of a problem. It doesn't work well with Windows XP.
So, while the camcorder itself is excellent, it's peripherals aren't.