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  • Performance

  • Format

  • Tour

  • Auto / Manual Controls

  • Still Features

  • Handling and Use

  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity

  • Other Features

  • Comparisons / Conclusion

  • Performance
  • Format
  • Tour
  • Auto / Manual Controls
  • Still Features
  • Handling and Use
  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity
  • Other Features
  • Comparisons / Conclusion

Performance

CES, with its uncontrolled lighting conditions, crowds, and space constraints, is not a good environment for precisely testing a camcorder’s performance. However, one can at least make an educated guess as to the VDR-D250’s video performance, based on its innovative imager. Last year’s most celebrated DVD camcorder, the DCR-DVD403, was armed with a 1/3" CCD and 3.3 MP. It produced bright images with superior color representation. The DCR-DVD250 has three 1/6" CCD and 440K effective pixels per CCD – specs which promise an excellent images. In a 3 chip configuration, the incoming spectrum is split into red, green, and blue light, each striking a CCD dedicated to that color. The result – better color performance. Of course, one big chip has its benefits, as well, typically a greater light sensitivity and better low light performance. We have no examples of a 3 CCD DVD camcorder, but you can see the approximate difference in 1 chip vs. 3 chip MiniDV camcorders by comparing the Panasonic PV-GS35 and GS65, or the JVC GR-DF550 and GR-X5.

Low Light Performance

Due to the uncontrolled lighting environment at CES, the VDR-D250 could not be adequately examined for low light performance. One can only consider its innovative imager and hazard a guess. Previous Panasonic DVD models have faltered in low light conditions, capturing noisy images with lackluster color representation. However, their 3 CCD models, whcih are much closer in relation to the VDR-D250's imager have done well. The VDR-M95, last year’s top Panasonic DVD camcorder, had one 1/3.6 CCD with 1.23MP effective pixels. Comparatively, the VDR-D250’s 3 1/6"CCDs with 440K effective pixels may or may not top it. Smaller chip size generally means less space for capturing light, and therefore weaker low light performance. We’re eager to get testing.

Format

**Compression **

Similar to most DVD camcorders, this model captures video in MPEG-2 at a maximum of 8.5 Mbps per second. Stills are captured in the JPEG format. It will be interesting to see how the 3 CCD quality stands up to the heavier compression of DVD.

Media

Media compatibility has been one of the inconveniences plaguing Panasonic DVD camcorders. Past models could only capture onto DVD-RAM and DVD-R. Unlike the latter, DVD-RAM was reusable, but could in turn only be played on DVD-RAM capable Panasonic camcorders or specially designed players. Thankfully, Panasonic has embraced DVD-RW as well – a more popular, cheaper, and more universally accepted reusable format. Not that DVD-RAM is without its benefits: they can be rewritten approximately 100,000 times - 100 times more than DVD-RW - and are more durable.

Editing

Camcorders are not known for their onboard editing prowess. For that, you’ll need a computer and some decent editing software. We can’t wait to play around with this year’s new software bundles from all the manufacturers. No programs were on display a the booth, but we expect major upgrades across the board. People buy DVD camcorders for ease of use, and a big part of that is process by which you get footage from the camcorder to a DVD you can stick in the home DVD player. Last year, most major editing programs could not easily import the file types that DVD camcorders encoded in.

Tour

The Front

This camcorder’s front is an exercise in simplicity. It houses a 10x optical zoom lens and a stereo microphone underneath it. The lens has a 37mm filter diameter, with a focal length of 2.45 to 24.5mm. The Panasonic VDR-D300 possesses a built-in flash to the left of the lens, but the D250 lacks this feature. Below the stereo microphone, along the bottom of the body, is a gray port cover housing the USB, composite A/V, and microphone-in / wired remote jack.

The Right

Visually, the most striking feature on the right side of the gray VDR-D250 is the pale silver DVD mechanism. It draws attention to the bits of text within the lighter circle ("RAM," "DVD," "DVD Video Camera,") which was probably the intent of the designers. Also notable is the considerable bulge from the casing around the mode dial, probably designed that way in an attempt to create some type of undulating visual cohesion. On top of that protrusion sits a light gray Open switch for the camcorder’s DVD mechanism.

The Back

The rear of the VDR-D250 is only part of the camcorder we might consider "densely populated," and even here the design is sensible and functional. The VDR-D250 has inherited the joystick navigation system from previous Panasonics; the joystick protrudes from the mode dial that sits at the far right edge of the camcorder’s rear. A silver Record button sits to the immediate left of the mode dial with a menu button underneath it.

The camcorder’s battery slot commands most of the space on the left side of the camcorders rear. A color viewfinder rests above the battery slot. The power On/Off switch rests to the right of the viewfinder.

**

The Left**

The 2.7" LCD, when closed, occupies all of the visible space on the left side of the VDR-D250. When the LCD is open, within the cavity the user can find the power LCD button, beneath the Manual/Auto/ Manual Focus switch. To the left of these is a small speaker, for monitoring audio from captured footage.

The Top

Sticking out of the VDR-D250’s crown is the top curve of the DVD mechanism. This protrusion serves as a great handgrip. A silver zoom toggle and photo button rest atop the mechanism. The camcorder’s cold accessory shoe sits forward and left of these buttons, atop the adjacent lens barrel.

Auto / Manual Controls

**

Automatic Control**

Panasonics typically have moderate-to-good automatic controls. On the showroom floor at CES, most of the camcorder’s automatic adjustments performed fairly well and reacted relatively quickly. The VDR-D250 is capable of making automatic adjustment to exposure, focus, white balance, and shutter speed. This model made adequate and intelligent modifications to exposure. The camcorder’s automatic focus responded seamlessly to quick zooming, but seems to lag a bit when reaching full zoom capacity. This is not unheard of; most camcorders suffer such minor hindrances at full zooms.

The Panasonic VDR-D250 offers five Automatic Exposure modes: Spotlight, Sport, Portrait, Backlight, and Low Light. These features are a set of programmed responses, meant to be used in certain shooting conditions. Users can access these features in both still and video mode. Of course, since life and its environments are not tailored to the modes on a camcorder, we encourage you to explore the manual control options.

Manual Control

Similar to past generations, the VDR-D 3 CCD series is equipped with a slew of manual control options, accessed via the black mode switch found underneath the LCD. Flip it to Manual and you’re in business, with control available over focus, exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and gain. The actual manual control adjustments are made with the joystick navigation system that was borrowed from last year’s Panasonic MiniDV line. We like the joystick system over the previous four-way controller.

Zoom

The VDR-D250 has a 10x optical zoom with 700x digital zoom. The camcorder’s menu does not provide the user with varying zoom speeds, as you’ll find on this year’s Canons, but the user has the option of capping the camcorder’s digital zoom capacity at 25x. While the zoom toggle’s location (directly underneath the user’s thumb) makes it easy to access, its design does not provide optimum control. The sliding switch-type, as opposed to a raised toggle, has a greater tendency to rock the camcorder’s body and upset the picture.

**

**

Focus

In the VDR-D series, manual focus is initiated by pulling down on the switch in the LCD cavity, marked Auto / Manual / Focus. Two icons – portrait and a mountain – appear on screen. Adjustments are made with the joystick. The user angles the joystick left or right towards the appropriate icon (portrait or landscape) to push focus closer or further away. Similar to most camcorders on the market, this camcorder does not offer any numerical indicators as to where in the focal range you are. Without actual focal length measurements, users are simply making assumptions based on what they can see on the screen or through the viewfinder. It’s not a perfect system, and worse, it appears to be an industry trend.

Exposure

The VDR-D250 offers manual exposure adjustments with true aperture controls, F-stops and all! The 16 manual exposure steps range from f/1.8 (fully open), f/2.0, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4.0, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.8, f/8.0, f/9.6, f/11, f/14, and f/16. By providing numerical values, the user is able to make precise manual exposure adjustments, and not guess the correct exposure by looking at an LCD screen that solarizes when viewed at an angle. We aren’t sure why Panasonic elected to favor exposure with numerical indicators and not focus. But we’re thankful for the aperture control. Most manufacturers offer only exposure value (EV) steps, and even then getting a numerical range of stops is spotty; more often it’s just a plus or minus sign.

Shutter Speed

The manual shutter speed feature presents the user with even more autonomy over the quality of the image. The high-end VDR-Ds offer manual shutter speed control from 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, and 1/8000 of a second. Last year’s Panasonic DVD models were not capable of making shutter speed adjustments, so this is a welcome change. The VDR-D series’ top competitors, the Sony DCR-DVD405 and DCR-DV505, do not have manual shutter speed control.

White Balance

The VDR-D250 has manual white balance in theory (at least, it does so according to the specs provided by Panasonic). However, actually locating this option on-camcorder was a different story. At CES on the showroom floor, after several scrupulous searches of the VDR-D250’s manual control menu, there was still no sign of this camcorder’s white balance option. Maybe this was a defect with the model on the show floor, or perhaps the white balance option was put in a highly unintuitive place. It is unfathomable that a Panasonic cam would not include manual white balance. If the VDR-D250 is in fact guilty of this omission, it has failed its lineage and price tag. For fairness, let us (safely) assume that the D250 has the same white balance options as the VDR-D300: manual setting, auto white balance, fluorescent mode, and outdoor mode.

Gain

Manual gain is scarce among DVD camcorders; for example, the Sony DCR-DVD505 has neglected to provide manual gain control. Panasonic, however, has equipped its two high-end VDR-D models with the ability to make manual gain adjustments from 0dB to 18dB in 1dB increments (only every 3 dBs register on the numerical scale). Even though manual gain is a great option—we always like to see as much control available to the user as possible—it has its own pros and cons. Gain amplifies the video signal, making the image brighter, but increasing the noise as well. Use with caution, and experiment before you need to shoot something important.

Still Features

**

****Still Features**

The VDR-D250 has solid digital still capability. This model can capture stills to DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW, or an SD card at resolutions of 2.3 MP, 1 MP, 0.3 MP in the standard aspect ratio (4:3) and 1.7 MP for widescreen capture. In contrast, the VDR-D300 can take stills at maximum resolution of 3.1 MP.

The VDR-D250’s main competition, in terms of price, is the Sony DCR-DVD405, which can capture stills at 3.0 MP. Only testing will tell how these camcorders will match up in quality, but Sony is looking to take the lead.

Handling and Use

**Handling **

At 1.43 lbs., the VDR-D250 and VDR-D300 are bulkier than most DVD camcorders. But a little extra bulk for 3 CCDs might be worth it. And besides, size has its advantages. The VDR-D250’s bulk will provide some stability during hand-held recording, and the top curve of the camcorder’s DVD mechanism, which protrudes upward, serves as stable grip.

This year, Panasonic added a joystick navigation system that it borrowed from its MiniDV line of 2005. The system makes the menu system easier to navigate through; users can engage and adjust manual controls with a thumb. The other buttons on the VDR-D250 can be comfortably utilized with the thumb and index finger as well.

A great feature new on this year’s camcorders is the in-menu information feature (represented by an ‘I’ icon). Selecting the icon provides an explanation of what the other icons mean, and what the feature does. Of course it’s helpful, but be aware of what this means: the menu’s icons can so arcane that they bear immediate explanation. If you’re a new Panasonic user, give yourself a good day or two to play around with the camcorder before you take it on an important shoot

 

LCD/Viewfinder

Panasonic has outfitted its VDR-D series with a 2.7" widescreen LCD. This is an improvement over last year’s models and this year’s 1 chip DVD camcorders, the D100 and D200. Even though the LCD will surely help when shooting in 16:9, the slight distortion that occurs when viewed at different angles is a hindrance. Solarization at angled viewing means that the user will have trouble seeing from high or low angle shots. The camcorder’s color viewfinder presents a similar issue. The viewfinder only extends out towards the user but does not pivot up. Both of these viewing concerns reduce the camcorder’s mobility and versatility.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

Audio

The VDR-D250 can capture audio at 12 to 16 bits with a stereo microphone that is situated below the 10x optical zoom lens. This model’s microphone has a Zoom In feature that allows for recording sound at a moderate distance. This feature can be engaged in the camcorder’s menu system. The VDR-D250 also has an external microphone jack, which it shares with the wired remote control input. We always love to see a mic jack, and consumers have shown an increasing interest in it, too. It makes the camcorder more versatile and lets users have greater control over audio quality. Last year’s Panasonic VDR-M95 and M75 did offer this feature; this year’s Sony DCR-DVD405 does not. An external mic could also be attached at the top via the accessory shoe, but you’ll still need the cord; the shoe is cold. Once the VDR-D250 captures audio, the user can listen to its playback via the small speaker that rests within the LCD cavity.

VCR Mode

The main appeal of the DVD format is the convenient access to the captured image, and the VDR-D250 does not disappoint. MiniDV and other tape-based formats force users to search through the entire tape to find the desired segment. In playback mode on the Panasonic VDR-D250, users can find the clips simply by scrolling through thumbnail images. Playback mode is initiated with a turn of the mode dial on the back of the camcorder to the Play/VCR icon. The joystick doubles as the VCR controls.

Ports

2.0 High Speed USB , composite A/V, and microphone input / wired remote control jacks are found along the bottom of the camcorder’s front. Unfortunately, the front of a camcorder is a cumbersome place for input jacks. Wires can end up dangling in front of the lens. The A/V port is, unfortunately, an output signal only. This camcorder does not support analog-to-digital conversion.

The VDR-D250 also provides a cold accessory shoe at the top of the lens barrel, towards the back.

Other Features

**

Other Features***

Electronic Image Stabilization* The VDR-D250 offers Electronic Image Stabilization, which differs from the VDR-D300’s Optical Image Stabilization. Optical Image Stabilization will produce better images because the lens itself moves and compensates for unwanted motions and shakes, while Electronic Image Stabilization tries to limit shakes by electronically shifting the image. Electronic Image Stabilization will often degrade the quality of the image in the process. *
*

Wind Cut The 3 CCD VDR-D series offers a Wind Cut feature that will help reduce auditory distortion from gusts of wind by cutting the low-end of the audio signal. *
*

Fade In Users can add black or white fade transitions between each shot. This is one of the few editing options featured on this camcorder.

Comparisons / Conclusion

**

Conclusion**

The VDR-D250 (MSRP $899) shares the legacy, along with the VDR-D300, of being part of the first generation of consumer 3CCD DVD camcorders. The D300 offers optical image stabilization, 16:9 aspect ratio chips (as opposed to the zoom and crop method the D250 employs), and 3.1 MP stills (vs. 2.3 MP). All this for only a hundred dollars more seems like a bargain. If you’re already in the high-end DVD market, why not go all the way and get the top model? Sony gives some serious competition this year with the DVD405 and DVD505. If you’re completely torn, sit tight and wait for our reviews. The DVD405 is due out in February, but the DVD505 and D250 aren’t going to be ready until May 2006.

Meet the tester

Nick Hyacinthe

Nick Hyacinthe

Editor

Nick Hyacinthe is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.

See all of Nick Hyacinthe's reviews

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