I had no problems editing content that was transferred from my camcorder to my PC. I don't use the software that came with the camcorder, I use professional editing software and I've heard that it's best to buy separate editing software for each hard disk camcorder. The video quality is amazing. I edited my scenes and put together great DVDs, the scene transitions were smooth and impressive. MPEG2 is not as compressed as MPEG4 (Divx) but still a good standard. If you're not getting good results, upgrade your computer - this camcorder excels at nothing but perfection. The optical zoom is good, although I wish there was a 30x or 40x optical zoom. The digital zoom feature has limitations, but that's to be expected and applies to any camcorder. The controls are easy to use, you can perform basic functions, zoom, start and stop recording without using the touch screen. Advanced features are configuration options on an easy-to-navigate touch screen. The camera is light and small, making it easy to carry. It fits well in one hand - when picking up you can stabilize the frame with the other hand.