The Panasonic VDR-D310 is a replacement for last year's top-of-the-line VDR-D300 and offers a step up in features and performance from the rest of Panasonic's range of DV camcorders. The VDR-D310 is much cheaper than its predecessor, although Panasonic has omitted a couple of features to bring the price down. Still, this DV camcorder offers solid video performance and good value for money.

The VDR-D310 offers all the convenience, flexibility and ease of use you'd expect from a DVD format camcorder. The unit records to mini discs in one of several different formats, either write once DVD-R discs, rewriteable DVD-RW or rewriteable DVD-RAM discs. It is also compatible with Dual Layer DVD-R discs. Choose the format that is compatible with your home DVD player or recorder and you can play the finalized discs directly out of the camcorder.

Panasonic has updated the styling of the VDR-D310 from the older model but the optical set up remains the same. Like the VDR-D300, this unit boasts a Leica Dicomar lens along with three 1/6 inch CCDs, each delivering 640K effective pixels in 4:3 mode and 540K in true 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The 10x optical zoom is combined with Panasonic's excellent optical image stabilization system to eradicate those camera shakes that can ruin handheld footage.

In good lighting conditions, the VDR-D310 delivers some excellent quality video. Colors appear accurate and well saturated, with clean, sharp lines. The performance falls off in lower quality light as the unit does not feature a video light. Colors lose their saturation and detail is lost in shadow areas. Since this is a DV camcorder aimed strictly at the point-and-shoot enthusiast, though, low lighting shooting is probably not a priority. The VDR-D310 doubles as a digital stills camera, capable of capturing images at a maximum resolution of 2048x1512 pixels. While the VDR-D300 featured a built-in flash for use with still photography, that feature has been stripped from the VDR-D310.

The 2.7 inch LCD screen is ideal for framing and viewing footage shot in 16:9 widescreen mode. As well as a built-in microphone with a wind noise reduction system, the VDR-D310 offers a mic input for adding an external microphone. It also boasts a convenient SD memory card slot for storing stills and short video clips.

The one touch navigation system is accessed via a joystick control and makes the VDR-D310 a straightforward DV camcorder to use, even for novice videographers. The unit offers easy to access to manual controls for aperture, shutter speed and white balance but, as with most DVD camcorders, serious home movie makers are likely to feel restricted by the limitations of this device. For casual users looking for point-and-shoot simplicity, though, we highly recommend this DV camcorder. The Panasonic VDR-D310 is a top of the range DVD camcorder that delivers solid performance for a reasonable price.

Pros: 3 CCD video performance, convenience of the DVD format, optical image stabilization system, mic input, inexpensive
Cons: Loses some features from last year's VDR-D300, including built-in flash and external controls.

Warranty
90 days, labor; 1 year, parts