Product Description

When it comes to shooting videos, simpler is better. Panasonic DVD camcorders make it exceptionally easy to capture your precious memories directly onto several DVD formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R/DL) and SD Cards. When you finish shooting, just take the disc out of the camcorder and slip it right into your DVD player or recorder for immediate playback - there's no need to connect any cables. Imagine taking video shots on a moving boat and then viewing them on a large-screen TV. They're likely to appear blurry from the boat's movement and from your unsteady hands. Panasonic solves this problem with O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), which minimizes handshake in situations where it is most often a problem, such as with zoom shots - or on a moving boat. The system is optical, so there is no quality loss, and images look clear and beautiful on a big-screen TV. 37mm Filter Diameter F1.9 (Wide) - F4.3 (Tele) Shutter Speed - 1/30-1/8000 sec (Motion Image), 1/30-1/500 sec (Still Image) 2.7 Wide LCD Monitor Built-in SD/SDHC Slot Accepts 8cm, DVD-RAM, DVD-R DL, DVD-R/RW Stereo Zoom Microphone with Wind Noise Reduction Recording / Playback Mode - XP (10 Mbps/VBR), SP (5Mbps/VBR), LP (2.5Mbps/VBR) Recording Format - MPEG2 (Motion Image) Audio Recording Format - Dolby Digital 2-channel Recording Time - DVD-RAM/DVD-RW - XP(36mins)/SP(74mins)/LP(150mins), DVD-R DL - XP(35mins)/SP(69mins)/LP(138mins), DVD-R - XP(18min)/SP(37mins)/LP(75mins) Still Picture - JPEG format at 0.3MP (640 x 480) resolution Connectors - AV out, Analog Out, USB 2.0 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 3.52(H) x 2.08(W) x 5.06(D) Approximate Unit Weight - 0.88lbs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2006 in Camera & Photo
• Color: silver
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: VDR-D50
• Released on: 2008-01-31
• Dimensions: 3.54" h x 2.09" w x 5.06" l, 3.00 pounds
• Display size: 2.7

Features

• Capture video direct to DVD
• 42x optical zoom
• Panasonic's Advanced Mega OIS technology
• Widescreen LCD
• One-Touch Navigation for easy, intuitive setting and shooting

Manufacturer Description

Perfect for capturing your most important memories, the DVD-D50 DVD camcorder boasts Panasonic's Advanced MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization), which detects and corrects hand-shake approximately 4,000 times per second, about eight times more effective than Panasonic’s previous systems. The DVD-D50 also offers 42x optical zoom so you can always get a great shot, even from a distance.

Customer Reviews

Panasonic DVD Palmcorder Model VDR-D50P/PC
Panasonic Camcorder, Model VDR-D50P/PC

July 31, 2008 Update to below comment, solution found to reinstall software on "VISTA". To reinstall the software, the "restore to an earlier date" function was utilized to restore the computer to a date prior to the date the software was initially installed. CAUTION - Using the "restore to an earlier date" may delete files subsequent to the restoration date.

I have had no experience operating a camcorder until I purchased this one. Detailed instructions come with the unit and once I became acquainted with some of its many functions, I found it very enjoyable to use. The clarity of the movies recorded on DVD and photos stored on the SD card is of superior quality. Both, the movies stored on the DVD and pictures stored on the SD card can be viewed on TV by connecting the camcorder to the TV via the cable that comes with the unit. (I found that the DVD might have to be finalized first).

The software that comes with the camcorder which is advertised to allow editing of movies (particularly designed for "VISTA") does not seem to want to download into my computer. I have contacted Panasonic on the problem twice already, but the technicians were unable to help me install the software. I suggested that the software might be faulty, and asked for another disk, but have had no further response from Panasonic since the latter part of May 2008. Hopefully I can get the software to work on my "Windows VISTA". As that was one of the features I desired when I purchased the camcorder.

BEWARE - cannot record movies to SD card!
Despite Amazon.com's product description saying:

"When it comes to shooting videos, simpler is better. Panasonic DVD camcorders make it exceptionally easy to capture your precious memories directly onto several DVD formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R/DL) and SD Cards."

this camcorder is INCAPABLE of recording videos to SD cards.
Go to the Panasonic website and download the manual to see for yourself.
Here's a quote from p. 26 of the manual: "Motion pictures cannot be recorded on an SD card with this unit."

Apparently, only still photos can be recorded to SD cards with this camcorder.

This is despite the fact that SD cards are now up to 8GB, well in excess of the capacity of a DVD.

Problems with finalization
I bought this camera and have used it a few times. I had no problem with finalization at first, but the 2nd time that I used it I have gotten "finalization failed" messages, although I can watch the videos on the camera, it can't download to my pc because the finalization failed which is required to download it. This is quite frustrating. I'm trying to reach tech support for assistance but if anyone has experienced this, please let me know. I do not have Vista, I have XP Pro.