One of the best £650 We've spent (Panasonic NV-DS25)

Member Name: Brownsky

Product:	Panasonic NV-DS25
Date:	11/04/01 (1643 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: MultiMedia Card, so you can take still photo's

Disadvantages: Only thing I can think of, would like a bigger battery

My now husband bought me my very first Camcorder 13 years ago now, it was one of the first on the market, no thrill's, no zoom but took a moving picture, it was an Amstrad and that was me hooked. I've been wanting to update that camcorder for a long while now, but there are so many on the market it was quite mind boggling. 8mm, Hi 8, DV oh it left my head in a spin.

So one afternoon we took a quick visit to one of the big electrical retailers, had a play with all the camera's they had for me to look at and I tried about 18. The man behind the counter didn't have much to say, he just left us to it and the Panasonic came up trumps. I must admit we then looked at a NV-DS15 as they didn't have a DS25, but the DS25 had more features that we wanted.

without being shown how to use it or reading any instructions, I was off, zooming in/out, taking still images, playing back what I had recorded. It was fantastic and that was it, we decided to buy a Panasonic. I bought the What Camcorder mags, and found that the model we really wanted of all the Panasonic was the NV DS25. We then scoured the interent to find a retailer that sold it at the best price.

Note : You can buy European camcorders from wholesalers, at a huge discount, the DS25B retails at £850 ( B - being that it comes with English instructions ), we got the DS25E for £650 ( E - being that it comes from Europe, French/German instructions but photo copies in English ) that's a huge saving for English instruction, which you get anyway. Don't be put off, it is safe to buy a European model, we've had no problems and would do it again, especially if it save us £200.

One of the best features I like about the DS25 is that it comes with a 8mb Multimedia card that allows you to take still photo's as well. I'm a SLR person when it comes to still photo's but I find this so much fun to use, take a picture and see the results straight away
, then mail it across to the otherside of the world in no more than 5 minutes. A digital video camera and still camera all in one, no more lugging two lots of camera's around with you.

What would I like to change about it : I would like to buy another bigger battery, it comes with one that lasts about 30 minutes. That's not really long enough when you're out and about.



Panasonic DV-Ds 25 Spec

The New MultiMediaCard
20X Optical Zoom & 400X Digital Zoom
800,000 pixel CCD
2.5 inch Smart Turn LCD Monitor with 112,000 pixels
16-bit mode PCM Stereo recording
12-bit mode audio dubbing
PC Interface / Digital Still Picture Terminal
0-Lux Night View
Motion Sensor function
Zoom Microphone
Super Image Stabiliser
Digital Photo Shot - One 60-minute tape holds approximately 750 stills (LP mode)
DV Output Terminal
11-Digital Effects can be added during REC mode and 10- in PLAY mode
5-Mode Programme A.E. (Auto Exposure)
Variable Speed Digital Search
Manual Functions include iris, gain control, fade and white balance controls Backlight compensation
Infra-red remote control

Summary: