Panasonic VDRM55B

DVD camcorders have limitations but they’re very easy to use. For those who want to point, shoot and play back video footage on a DVD player without a computer, the Panasonic VDRM55B is perfect.

With an 800,000 pixel CCD and 24x optical zoom, it provides excellent detail in close-up and distant shots. The Auto All button provides automatic adjustment in various lighting environments, while manual settings for fine-tuning white balance, focus, backlight compensation and so on are also available.

Panasonic DVD camcorders will only write to 8cm DVD-R and DVD-Ram discs. DVD-R can only be used for capturing video and, because it’s a write-once format, you can’t edit or delete footage.

The DVDs also have to be finalised before being compatible with a DVD player – a process that can take up to 20 minutes for a 1.4GB disc.

DVD-Ram is more versatile. Using this format you can edit, delete and re-record over footage as much as you like. However, these discs cost around £5 each and will only play in DVD-Ram-compatible DVD players.

Recording quality is good and the image-stabilising feature really impressed us when shooting at full zoom. Three quality modes are available, each allowing a specific amount of recording space on a disc. However, the most you’ll get from a 1.4GB disc is 30 minutes – DV tapes can hold one hour.

The control buttons are intuitive, but the only way to finalise a DVD-R is to delve through a few sub-menus. We’d have preferred to see a dedicated finalise button.

It’s more expensive than DV camcorders but can’t be beaten for ease of use. If you want a good-quality camcorder that burns your video direct to DVD, the VDRM55B is an excellent, if pricey, option.