I bought this for Christmas and I have to say I'm very impressed! light enough for comfortable work, good image quality, many functions at a low price. The LCD panel drains the battery quite quickly, but with the eyepiece (black and white. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa), it can shoot almost 8 hours straight. More than enough, which is recommended for owners of a first or second camcorder.