The Panasonic VDR-D100 DVD camcorder is a stripped-down model that lacks many features normally found on similar competing units, but it delivers excellent ease of use and a surprising degree of manual control for a DVD camcorder in this price range.

If you are looking for a no-frills DVD camcorder at a budget-conscious price, Panasonic's entry-level VDR-D100 could be the one for you.

The VDR-D100 offers all the convenience and flexibility of the DVD format, enabling you to record to write-once DVD-R and rewriteable DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. The VDR-D100 features a 1/6-inch CCD imager that delivers 680,000 effective pixels for video. For a budget model, this camcorder offers a surprisingly powerful 30X optical zoom capability, as well as a large 1,000X digital zoom function. In average to favorable shooting conditions, the VDR-D100 succeeds in capturing sharp images with accurate tones. However, as you might expect, the overall quality doesn't compare to that produced by higher-end DVD camcorders.

In full automatic mode, the VDR-D100 is a breeze to operate, even if you have little or no previous camcorder experience. The menu is accessed via a joystick control, and for the most part, it is intuitive and simple to follow. If you want to take greater creative control over your video, the VDR-D100 provides an impressive array of manual controls for gain, shutter speed, aperture, white balance and focus.

What the VDR-D100 offers in manual control, it lacks in digital stills functions. This DVD camcorder has no stills capability, although most budget consumers are unlikely to complain, as the quality of stills from camcorders in this price bracket is generally poor. A digital image stabilization system and a clear 2-1/2-inch color LCD monitor round out the feature set on the inexpensive but effective VDR-D100.

For a functional, easy-to-use, and affordable introduction into the world of DVD camcorders, check out the Panasonic VDR-D100.

Pros: Reasonable price, simple to use, impressive manual controls for the price
Cons: No digital stills capability, rather short on features

Warranty
90 days labor, 1 year parts