Quick Camcorder Reviews: Panasonic VDR-D100

When compared to the slender silhouette of Canon DVD camcorders, the Panasonic VDR-D100 has a thicker frame, although it's thinner than the VDR-M53. The camcorder has a 1/6th inch, 680 gross, 640 effective pixel CCD that produced even color reproduction but lacked the visual pop synonymous with camcorders by manufacturers like Sony. Video resolution results placed the D100 squarely amongst similarly priced competitors.

Panasonic automatic controls and performance work well in general, although certainly not with the level of ease and results that we’ve come to expect from camcorders that heavily target the auto-mode market. Unlike the often confusing touch screen interfaces of Sony camcorders, the menu structure for the VDR-D100 is logical and easy to move through. This increased ease of use is largely related to the external control re-design, which now includes a joystick. When shooting with full auto controls, this camcorder will automatically make adjustments for all features except zoom levels. In addition to auto and manual controls, the VDR-D100 comes with a handful of preset AE shooting modes: Sports, Portrait, Low light, Spotlight, and Surf & Snow.

The Panasonic VDR-D100 is definitely an impressive DVD camcorder that won’t disappoint the manual control enthusiast. Controls span gain, aperture, shutter, focus, white balance, and exposure. The joystick on the camcorder's back panel, appropriately sized for larger fingers, controls these options and reacts well; however, transitioning through the options requires pressing the joystick in the appropriate direction each time. Shifting through the gain scale, for example, involves pushing the joystick fifteen times, an amount of bumping and jostling with which the image stabilization struggles to keep up. The manual controls' depth and interface can definitely be intimidating, especially for beginners, but the auto mode allows users to pick up control gradually.

In an interesting detraction from the M53, the new VDR-D100 does not have a still feature of any type. The first DVD camcorder by Panasonic which will provide a still image mode is the VDR-D200, which sells with an MSRP of $599.

Ease of use is inherent to DVD camcorders, thanks in large part to a menu structure in VCR mode that allows users to use thumbnail images to find appropriate footage. This is a far simpler process than the often laborious rewinding and fast-forwarding required when shooting with MiniDV tape. Actually getting footage off of the DVD in one piece with original audio can be a bit of a problem, although just popping these 8 cm DVDs in a playback unit is painless.

It should be mentioned that this camcorder doesn’t have a true 16:9 format and will instead crop and zoom images to fit a widescreen display during playback. While acceptable to some users, this process can look unnatural and will result in less, rather than more, information than the traditional television format of 4:3. In addition, the D100 doesn’t have the mic-in port found on last year's camcorder. While it's great to have a USB 2.0 port on the 2006 model, it would have been nice for Panasonic to leave both the mic-in and cold accessory shoe on the D100.

With vast improvements in manual control options, external layout, and intuitive menu navigation, the VDR-D100 definitely offers more than its predecessor, the VDR-M53. Unfortunately, if audio or hybrid functionality is important, the VDR-D100 is going to disappoint, and the M53 or D200 become good alternate options.  With this camcorder, it’s important to really weigh what is essential to your shooting style.

Panasonic VDR-D100 THE BOTTOM LINE Rating: 178.42

Likes

-Great Manual controls -Priced for budget consumers looking for the DVD format -Far better joystick interface in comparison to previous Panasonic models

Dislikes

-No still features -Dull video quality that struggled with heavy levels of noise -Swapping out DVDs every 18 minutes with highest quality record mode -Electronic rather than Optical Image Stabilization

Panasonic VDR-M53 Rating: 174.93	Sony DCR-DVD105 Rating:	Canon DC10 Rating:	Panasonic VDR-D200 Rating:	Hitachi DZ-GX3100A Rating:
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Currently found for lower price, although identical original MSRPs  -Stronger overall color performance  -Less noise in low light  -Cold accessory Shoe  -Higher resolution on LCD screen  -Still image options and card slot  -Mic in port	-Center channel microphone option  -Heavily weighted towards the auto control enthusiast  -Still memory mode  -123,000 pixel resolution on LCD	-1/4 inch, 690 K pixel CCD  -Still format option  -True Widescreen 16:9 format  -SD/MMC memory card slot  -Strong resolution performance	-SD memory card slot -Still image recording -LED video light -Purchase includes rudimentary video editing software	-Widescreen 2.7 inch LCD  -Analog in port  -Still image capture  -SD memory card slot  -Included editing software  -1/5th inch, 1.33 MP CCD  -External microphone jack
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-DVD format  -1/6th inch, 680K gross pixel CCD  -Electronic color viewfinder  -No true wide-screen mode or display  -Manual exposure mode  -Manual white balance  -Manual focus  -2.5 inch LCD screen	-1/6th inch, 680K CCD  -DVD recording format  -2.5 inch LCD screen  -Electronic color viewfinder  -Electronic Image Stabilization  -AV out port  -Manual control over Exposure	-Manual control over aperture  -No mic-in port  -Manual white balance -Manual focus  -Electronic color viewfinder  -In-camera stereo microphone  -DVD recording format	-Manual aperture  -DVD recording format  -In-camcorder stereo microphone  -No microphone input  -Manual shutter speed  -Manual white balance  -Manual gain  -Manual focus  -Interface design improvements with new joystick	-Price range  -DVD recording format  -Manual control over focus  -USB port  -Manual control over exposure  -Electronic Image Stabilization  -Manual control over white balance
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Darker image in low light shooting  -No USB port on camcorder  -24x optical zoom lens  -Poor external control structure led to confusing and non-intuitive  -No manual control over shutter speed  -No manual gain levels	-20x optical zoom lens  -Higher MSRP  -Poorly structured touch screen interface system is confusing  -No USB port	-Fewer overall manual controls  -Smaller Shutter speed range  -More external controls may confuse beginners  -Internally positioned battery will limit the ability to extend battery life  -10x optical zoom lens  -Higher price initially and currently	-Higher price range	-Falters greatly when it comes to ease-of-use   -15x optical zoom