Panasonic SDR-H85S Standard-Definition Camcorder with 78X Zoom, 80GB HDD - Silver (Discontinued by Manufacturer) Review

This camcorder is beautiful and compact and that's the only good thing about it! We watched a year-old video on TV and also indoors. The videos outside were TERRIBLE! I would understand if the interiors were taken at night and in low light, but it was in the middle of the day in a very bright room. Outside the same, only the quality is terrible! I wish I could send it back but it's too late.

Easy to use, compact and with hard drive, handy as you don't have to worry about storage. It shoots decent video, and being able to capture a still image while filming is a good thing. I'm not going to claim this is the best camera and I'm not a video or photography expert to show you the subtle differences in buying this camera versus any other camera. But it works well enough to accommodate our twins far and wide, and it was affordable. Not HD so don't expect it to be super sharp, but then…

Bought for my 8th grade video production class on teacher's recommendation. ADVANTAGES: - Pretty good price. The teacher wanted the children to use hard disk camcorders and specifically asked them not to buy HD quality video models. Larger files put a strain on desktop computers at school. The lightweight, portable, small profile is great for students' hands and backpacks. CONS: Not noticed yet. I wasn't able to verify other reviewers' comments on the video quality. Remember, this is not an HD…

But for being so cheap and practical, it's a good camera. I shot different videos when my baby was born and the battery was still full. Don't expect cinema-quality footage, but for fast and hassle-free video recording at home, don't worry, this camera is exactly what you need. The 78x zoom is also impressive. It has an anti-shake feature that really works. I can't believe how far this thing can get and take sharp pictures. And for those who don't know, having an internal hard drive is cool…

I wasn't expecting Hollywood quality when I bought this camera and I didn't get it. It's fairly cheap, small, light, has a large hard drive for recording long videos, and great zoom options. On the other hand, I can't get better low-light video than a 7-11 safety band for life. When recording school concerts, I had 100% hits and misses depending on how much light there was. This camera has a lot of great little features, but low light photography is very important to me. If you're outdoors…

Excellent video! It had a great sound! It's nice and compact. I would have liked it if it wasn't for the touchscreen. It has a tiny round pin about 1/2 the size of an eraser tip with up/down/left/right arrows. You have to use a nail because the finger is too big. You have to go slow and make sure you're pressing correctly or it will jump to a function you didn't want. He is VERY sensitive. For that reason alone (and believe me you would too) I sent it back. Now I'm trying to find a device with…

This camcorder is great for the price, it's very small (almost shocking) and easy to use. The hard drive option is great and gives you 18 hours of video if you go that long without uploading a video. The main functions (power on, record/playback and zoom) are nice and easy to use. The software and video upload is also very easy. All other functions are tedious, as accessing this function requires navigating through a long menu (e.g. manual exposure/focus, disabling anti-shake functions, etc.)…