Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [6.96mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DCXJJ
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,580 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 18, 2003

Product Description

You can use it as a digital video camera, or a digital still camera. It's the D-snap SD Video Camera, which uses small SD Memory Cards and adds incredible versatility to the way you enjoy AV files. The D-snap SD Video Camera means total mobility. It makes it easy to enjoy images and sound just about anytime you want, almost anywhere you go. The D-snap SD Video Camera.Free-Angle LCD MonitorThe tiny AV100 features a 2.5-inch diagonal LCD monitor that rotates a full 180 degrees, giving you more shooting flexibility. The rotating lens also makes it much easier to include yourself in the scene.Super Image Stabilizer (S.I.S.)This advanced Panasonic video technology helps to prevent the jitter that can result from hand movements made while shooting. With technology like this on your side, you won't have to worry about losing great video because of the jitters.MPEG4 and Still Image Mode for Web ApplicationsThe AV100 can record MPEG4 moving images and still images, suitable for posting on Web pages or attaching to e-mail.Thumbnail DisplayScenes from both moving images and still images are displayed as thumbnails, making it easy to find the file you're looking for, or to delete scenes you don't want. And you don't have to worry about accidental overwriting. You can edit images right on the spot.The SVAV100 is an ideal companion to the DMRE100HS DVD Recorder - programs recorded on the DMRE100HS can be viewed on an SVAV100, so you can watch your favorite programs wherever you are. Pocket-size, DVD-quality, MPEG2 SD video camera 10x optical zoom for dynamic shooting Rotating 2.5-inch diagonal LCD monitor Super Image Stabilizer helps reduce jitter Thumbnail display for easy viewing and editing SD Memory Card included (512MB)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sale almost returned - glad I read reviews here first, December 13, 2004

By 

Ken Randall "Ken" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

(...) I purchased my Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap tapeless video recorder three days ago from a retail store - within the first six hours (six hours in a car without Internet access) I was ready to return it. I could not get the MPEG2 video to play outside the camera. The supplied software, as it has been aptly described by others in the above reviews, is one of the worst applications I have seen in recent years - as one reviewer put it "what were they thinking?" I was ready to return the camera - really - I was making plans to go back to the store - then finally got to the Internet and I read the oh-so-simple comments on the this review board about renaming the .MOD to .MPG and I completely changed my mind about the camera - the results are spectacular!

"What an engineering marvel" we all said upon seeing the results on the PC. With the camera producing native MPEG2 files it was doing what I expected it should do - files that can be edited with any desktop video editor. I still can not believe the - no other word for it - `blunder' on the part of Panasonic's marketing and software groups. This is the only tapeless video recorder under $800 (I paid $600 with a mfg. rebate coupon) that produces native DVD quality MPEG2 files - period. Why don't they just say that? Why don't they suggest renaming the .MOD to .MPG and call it a short cut for advanced users? It's just weird.... My impressions point-by-point:

First Light Setup - 10/10 - (out of the box and shooting video as fast as I could unwrap the plastic - very easy - PC software on the other hand ... read-on below...)

Ergonomics - 9/10 (minor same points made by others - no tripod screw, buttons - though not needed for most functions while capturing images - require a bit getting used to located under and behind the flip screen)

Camera menus usability - 10/10 (what you need for each mode - where you need it)

Convenience (read: size) - 10/10 (you will always take it with you - you will find yourself taking video and capturing moments like never before)

Image quality - 9/10 (Carl Zeis was a genius - no CZ lens here; white balance quite sensitive, but good - though there is a manual mode and this videographer needs to master it for low light, contrast-y, indoor shooting)

Image stability - 10/10 (as good as my image stabilized binoculars - even with the optical zoom extended)

Accessories - 9/10 (comes with all you'll need - but why is the charging system - brick and tray assembly - larger than the camera itself? Charging batteries separately in a small form-factor unit is a must - out-of-the-box, Panasonic requires batteries to be charged in the camera - apparently there is a third-party external charger available separately. I'll be buying one soon!)

Recording Capacity - 10/10 (this may surprise you - I use the NORM MPEG2 - that's 22 minutes - good but not quite DVD quality - on the supplied 512M chip and over 40 minutes on a 1G chip - how much video do you need to shoot anyway? For family and activities - I've not had a problem - plus I can dump the chip to hard drive in a few minutes. At $60/Gig - buy a couple chips. The 2G chips are soon to be sold and 4G chips are on their way - that will be three hours of video on one chip!)

PC Software - 0.0001/10 - (total utter failure on Panasonic's part. Fortunately it is not required at all - as I came to find out. Simply take the chip out, plug it into your SD chip reader - desktop or laptop unit - copy and rename the files - there is even a freeware utility available on the Internet)

Did I mention convenience `-) 10/10 !

When I first looked into this product I was in a quandary - I worried about cutting edge: "high wow factor - low performance" - "sounds too good to be true" - I took a chance anyway - I am happy I did. For more info - excellent source: Do a Web search on "SVAV100" and "Jack Brown" - you'll find an excellent "SVAV100 Forum" - Panasonic should give this group part of their marketing budget - they are far more competent.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Size & lite weight are its strong points., November 25, 2003

By 

philrgtn "philrg" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

This is a great little camcorder for having with you at all times to take short videos. You will have to download often to your computer since the SD card cannot hold much. These .MOD files for MPEG2 take up a lot of room. Most people don't like to watch long videos anyway. You will have this camcorder with you when the bigger one will be at home or in the car. The supplied software is not worth a dime. It cannot keep up with your files if you need to move them. Get Moonlight El-ecard MPEG2 Player software from the Internet. You can also transfer the videos to VHS, 8mm or DV tape. Actually, they look better doing this (then watching on your TV) than by viewing them on your computer.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Problems, what problems?, July 26, 2004

By 

B August (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SVAV100 D-Snap MPEG4 Digital Video Recorder w/10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Even after reading about all the 'problems' with the SVAV100 I decided I still had to have one. I wanted a way to capture video of my daughter without looking like the proverbial "dorky-dad-with-a-video-camera." This camera lets me do that.

But, surprisingly, I've either not experienced these problems or found very simple workarounds for them. Here are some examples:

Software: there are numerous, high-quality editing programs that handle the task of editing MPEG2 video with aplomb. Most offer free demos so you can decide which works best for you at no cost.

.MOD file format: simply change the files extension to .MPG and nearly any video tool (Windows Media Player included) can read the MPEG2 files produced by the SVAV100

CODECS: I have WinXP running on a fairly new PC - I didn't need to install anything to get up and running.

SD Card: the camera records 10 minutes of MPEG2-fine on the included 512M card (I get just over 20 minutes from a new 1G card). Between the two cards, 30 minutes of storage covers all the video situations I've encountered.

Battery-life: I have found replacement batteries for less than $15 each. I carry a couple of fully-charged backups which provide all the battery life I could possibly need (certainly more than enough juice to fill both SD cards, and then some).

Anyhow, this has been my experience to date; YMMV. Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of the camera and it's output.

Finally, I'd like to give kudos to Jack Brown for establishing an extremely useful SVAV100 users' forum (see URL in his review here). It contains a wealth of information and is definitely worth checking out.