Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder w/24x Optical Zoom

Other products by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 5.3 inches ; 5.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007QN888
• Item model number: VDR-M53P-S
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,678 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > Digital DVD

• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

DVD Recording is Easy, Convenient, and Fun
Record directly onto DVD-RAM or DVD-R discs for multiple recording and playback options. With DVD-RAM discs you never have to worry about erasing a recording or finding blank space. You can just start recording. DVD-RAM discs can also be played back in compatible devices, like select computers and home DVD-players. DVD-R discs are strong and versatile and can also be played back on most home DVD players.

Panasonic's Digital Electronics Image Stabilizer (D-EIS) and 24x zoom deliver sharp photos from far away.

Take Digital Still Images with the Built-In Digital Still Camera
The VDR-M53 has a built-in digital still camera which lets you capture incredibly lifelike still images directly onto a DVD disc or SD Memory Card. Now you can store all your memories from a special event conveniently in one place.

Get an Incredibly Close Shot with 24x Optical Zoom and 800x Digital Zoom
The optical zoom acts like a telescope to produce close-up shots with extraordinary clarity. And, with variable zoom speeds, you can adjust how fast the camcorder lens moves from wide-angle to full telescope. In addition, the digital zoom ratio can be increased up to an extraordinary 800x. Now that's close up!

The VD-RM75's 2.5-inch rotating LCD provides multiple framing angles.

Digital Electronics Image Stabilizer (D-EIS) Helps Eliminate Blurred Images
Digital EIS compensates for unintentional hand and camcorder movement to help stabilize your recordings, even while you're recording from a moving vehicle or while walking. With Digital EIS, you will not have to worry about shaky soccer games or family outings.

SD Memory Card Slot for Digital Still Images
You can also record onto SD Memory Cards. These versatile, high-capacity storage cards are extremely small--about the size of a postage stamp. They work as "digital film," letting you capture images and then transfer them to a compatible PC, TV, PDA, or other device equipped with an SD slot. It is an easy way to share your images with friends and family.

Rotating 2.5-Inch Diagonal Color LCD Monitor for Easy Viewing
Our LCD monitor provides excellent viewing clarity in full vivid color. The 2.5-inch color LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles, providing sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. Now you can enjoy your finished recordings right on the spot.

Product Description

Record directly onto DVD-RAM or DVD-R discs for multiple recording and playback options. With DVD-RAM discs you never have to worry about erasing a recording or finding blank space. You can just start recording. DVD-RAM discs can also be played back in compatible devices, like select computers and home DVD-players. DVD-R discs are strong and versatile, and can also be played back on most home DVD players.The VDR-M53 has a built-in digital still camera which lets you capture incredibly lifelike still images directly onto a DVD disc or SD Memory Card. Now you can store all your memories form a special event conveniently in one place.The optical zoom acts like a telescope to produce close-up shots with extraordinary clarity. And, with variable zoom speeds, you can adjust how fast the camcorder lens moves from wide-angle to full telescope. In addition, the digital zoom ratio can be increased up to an extraordinary 800x. Now that's close up!Digital EIS compensates for unintentional hand and camcorder movement to help stabilize your recordings, even while you're recording as a passenger from a moving vehicle or while walking. With Digital EIS, you will not have to worry about shaky soccer games or family outings.You can also record onto SD Memory Cards. These versatile, high-capacity storage cards are extremely small - about the size of a postage stamp. They work as "digital film, " letting you capture images and then transfer them to a compatible PC, TV, PDA, or other device equipped with an SD slot. It is an easy way to share your images with friends and family.The LCD monitor provides excellent viewing clarity in full vivid color. The 2.5" diagonal color LCD screen rotates up to 270-degrees for multiple viewing angles, providing sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. Now you can enjoy your finished recordings right on the spot.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, April 30, 2005

By	R. Cutter - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just bought this camcorder and am not a good reader of manuals. I had it recording in a matter of minutes. You do have to format the mini dvds, but that is easy to find in the manual. The quality of the recording looked great on my computer screen. I bought office depot mini dvds and they worked fine, for the great price. This Panasonic is great and recording straight to mini dvds is a wonderful idea. I would have given it a 5 star rating, but the finalizing of the mini dvd took a while and you have to plug it in, you can't do this using the battery. Also I was warned, that if you use the dvd-ram instead of the dvd-r, they will not work on all players and they prefer to work on Panasonic equipment. This is why I opted for the non re-writable mini dvd-r from office depot. I also bought the PNY SD card from them and the card reader, all very affordable and easy to use.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great camera BUT, December 18, 2005

By	D "D" (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

It does not have any USB connectivity. There is no way to hook this up to your computer except through the TV type of hookups. Other than that it works great.
You need a software to convert the DVD to something els to be able to edit it on your computer though (to edit movie and make copies)
I like that it write direct to DVD so if you don't want to edit it, there is no need to bother with the computer.
Be aware it only works with certain types of DVD's. Won't work with DVD-RW. Has to be DVD-r and only a certain typre of RAM disk.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No USB Port, does not use DVD-RW that is compatible with most drives and dvd players, January 1, 2006

By	NPJ - See all my reviews

Has good features, but the biggest downsides are it does not have a USB port and it uses DVD-RAM discs (re-writable) which do not work on most of the DVD players.

Note that it does not use DVD-RW discs that come with most notebooks and desktop computers and allow re-writing.

So there seems to be virtually no way to transfer your videos to your computer, other than buying a DVD Multi drive that can read DVD-RAM discs.