As you would expect from a Panasonic 3ccd camcorder, the video has very good color quality (as promised by 3ccd), although the resolution of 320,000 pixels is not very high compared to normal (not 3ccd) $1000-$1800 digital camcorder video sharpness is pretty good. To get the best quality indoors, you need strong lighting around objects. It doesn't have the optical image stabilization that one would expect from a camcorder in this price range, in exchange for a digital stabilizer, which I prefer not to use. Long-term recording (more than 1 hour) requires larger or larger capacity batteries or at least use the viewfinder instead of the LCD. The disappointment is the quality of the photos. images are blurry; Maybe capturing the jumpers with FireWire will give better results. If you are looking for high quality videos this is the best you can buy in this price range in my opinion. If you want your camcorder to use high quality footage then you have to compromise, leave this camcorder and try other normal camcorders (not 3ccd) or go a little further and buy a Sony trv900.