Panasonic Palmcorder PV-DV953
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: Three-CCD color fidelity; compact design; competitive price; decent still-photo quality; large flip-out LCD.
The bad: Auto-exposure responsiveness; lack of mechanical controls for oft-used adjustments; zoom control; suboptimal low-light performance.
The bottom line: This model is a capable and easy-to-use three-chip MiniDV camcorder for advanced videographers who prize portability.
Cars made by Japanese-owned companies encompass full-size, intermediate, compact, and subcompact designs, and much the same can be said about MiniDV camcorders. Popular MiniDV camcorders run smaller than the VHS behemoths of yore, but even these compact ... Expand full review
Cars made by Japanese-owned companies encompass full-size, intermediate, compact, and subcompact designs, and much the same can be said about MiniDV camcorders. Popular MiniDV camcorders run smaller than the VHS behemoths of yore, but even these compact beauties segment into four categories, with a camera such as Sony's VX2000 at the full-size end and one such as Canon's Elura 50MC qualifying as a subcompact. In this world, Panasonic's PV-DV953 occupies the intermediate category. It's a larger palmcorder, weighing slightly less than 2 pounds when fully loaded with battery, cassette, and flash-memory card. It's still pretty portable and very compact for a model that accommodates a three-chip system to obtain maximal color fidelity, but it definitely won't fit into your pocket and probably not in your fanny pack.
User ReviewsSee all user reviewsMost Helpful User Reviewstars 5 of 5 users found this review helpful "Awesome Home Videos, Great Buy" ByPros Top quality videos, even indoors with moderate light. Full featured, easy to operate. Supplied with long lasting battery. Excellent 3.0 meg photo is a great option when you need a pix of a memorable moment. Large display keeps the kids thrilled with see Cons None, sketchy manual on downloading movies via firewire (which has to be bought separately) and no movie making software (the free Microsoft Movie Maker softare I downloaded is working fine). Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 23 reviews)Where to BuyPricing not available  Where to BuyPricing not available 
Which camcorder is right for me?
Before you fall in love with just any old camcorder, you need to know precisely what you're looking for, lest you realize somewhere down the road that you chose the wrong machine.
We've compiled a handful of typical user profiles that should help outline what type of camcorder is right for you. Ask yourself the hard questions, then match your needs to one of these user profiles. To bone up on the audio specs that matter for your user type, take a look at our section on capturing good sound with video.  
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