We purchased this camcorder shortly after our son was born-to video him, of course! This was our first camcorder purchase and it's very mid-range, it seems. The camcorder is in an affordable price range, which was important to us. However, the videos are quite grainy, especially when taken inside. The camcorder seems especially sensitive to any low light. Outdoor videos are really quite good. I do like the size of the camcorder-it fits easily inside a palm and the controls for taking the video are easy to use, as well. However, the control buttons to allow you to review or delete scenes are very hard to manipulate and I have relatively small fingers. I think it would be next to impossible for anyone with medium to larger fingers to manipulate these buttons at all. The software that allows you to put your video on the computer and then edit it, is fairly easy to install and easy to use, as well.

LeahJR

Grand Rapids, MI

When we decided to splurge on an updated video camera for Christmas last year, we hunted up and down and read reviews left and right, and finally chose the Panasonic SDR-S26.  I couldn't be happier with it.  It's small enough to fit in my purse, much easier for technically challenged grandparents to use than our previous Sony Handycam, and the video quality is good enough for the price we paid.  The battery life is decent, and the camera recharges quickly. More importantly (and this is a biggie when you have kids) this camera has been above average in the durability category.  It has been dropped and abused and still fires up perfectly every time.  I am sure there are higher quality cameras out there, but if you need something without tons of extra features that you will never use, and need a quality video camera that fits into a tight budget, you can't go wrong with the Panasonic SDR-S26.  

davesgirl79

Springfield, KY

This camcorder is very lightweight and portable.  It is easy to charge, and the battery life is very long.  It is easy to delete unwanted recordings.  The joystick controller for the menu is easier than most to use.  Having an SD card option for backup is useful.  There is a still picture option.  That is why my husband  bought the camera.  We wanted a camcorder and camera all in one.  There are too many menu options, and the setup is very hard to navigate.  We tried to use the automatic picture options, and the pictures turn out fuzzy.  Same with the manual settings.  If you use the zoom for pictures, you end up with a bunch of crap.  What we we ended up with is a low quality camera.  We have ended up with hundreds of fuzzy low resolution pictures, most of tham had to be deleted.  This camcorder should only be used as a camcorder.  It feels like we lost money on this device, since we still have to go buy a new digital camera. 

cbess5

Oswego, NY

I purchased this camcoder because I wanted a small camcorder to take on outdoor vacations. So far I am happy with this camcorder. It is very small and easy to carry. The quality of the videos taken outdoor are excellent. The videos taken indoors are okay and about the same quality as my older mini dv camcorder; but for the price of this camcorder they are okay. I purchased a class 4 16 gb SD card for it and it holds a lot of recording. The camcorder has advanced O.I.S. which keeps videos from being blurry and skipping; this feature works great and is why I chose this camcorder over a HD camcorder (the videos with HD tend to be more jumpy than with this camcorder) to use for vacations. The pictures taken with this camcorder are also decent. It is very easy to use; even my small child makes good videos with it. The battery life is not as good as I would like. If you plan on using this for vacations then I would suggest to purchase at least one extra battery. Overall I think it is a decent camcorder for the price.

crazymonkey80

Twin City, GA

My husband and I received this camcorder for Christmas so we can catch our baby's first moments live.  We looked at all types of camcorders, and we decided on this one for several reasons.  One--it it small, yet it still has a handle so you can pan easily.  We looked at the Flip Video Cams, but it seemed that using something that looked a lot like a cell phone wouldn't allow you to capture the best videos.  I love how easily our video cam fits in your hand...and it's still small enough to lug around with us everywhere we go.  We also chose it because it has an SD card for easy uploading.  Instead of plugging into our computer or copying to tape or DVD, this copies videos to an SD card, so  you can easily transfer the videos to your computer.  It doesn't have the best video quality ever, but we are pleased with it overall.  It also allows you to search via date for the video you are looking for.  The only thing I don't really like about this cam is that the lens protector is manual.  I often forget to open it and I end up with a black screen at first when trying to video.  I also forget to close it, so that kind of defeats the whole protection part.  I think this should have been an automatic feature. 

stephanierosenhahn

Colorado Springs, CO