In general, a decent option if you have a powerful personal computer. Notwithstanding the drawbacks, I believe high-definition (HD) video is the way of the future, and today and tomorrow, we will only be able to see content in this format. If I had used a different camera and known that the ones I named were worse, it's possible that I would not have included some of the drawbacks I listed. For those just starting out, a home camera will suffice. Has pros: I especially liked how light it was, how pretty it was, and how it could take pictures while it was recording. I also liked how well the zoom worked (quite clearly, even with digital zoom). Although not fully understood, both the benefits and drawbacks have already been identified. I really liked how it turned out. Amazing sensitivities! You are able to turn on the front illumination to provide lighting, which is not only easy but also helpful, particularly while filming in confined indoor locations. Having this drawback: Was hoping for more than what was provided. Because this is my first camcorder, I don't have anything else to evaluate it against. The viewing of the footage that was captured turned out to be the most difficult challenge for me. The computer is not even close to being ready to demonstrate it. While using various video players, the video sometimes freezes, the sound does not correspond to what is being shown on the screen, the playback quality is awful, or moving objects sometimes appear to have stripes. In summary, this is rather disappointing. Purchase a camera but don't bother seeing the film you take with it. I believe that the problem can be remedied by purchasing a more powerful personal computer (even though a dual-core laptop would not be able to master playback). The operation of the zoom button is another something that I find to be problematic; the increase is rather abrupt (you need to barely touch it for it to be smooth), which makes it rather uncomfortable to use. Indeed, the front microphone does not have a lot of sensitivity, particularly when used outside on the street. It was mentioned by a few of the persons I filmed while they were watching the video, and they all agreed that it was completely missing (I had to show them the camera to confirm that it was in fact present).