I'm very happy having bought this camcorder by the advice of a friend.

It has fascinating image quality.

The voice quality is great if there is some background noise. Otherwise the built-in microphone will catch the engine's noise. The camera doesn't provide you with a microphone input to overcome this problem.

So you have to make sure your voice sources are loud enough so that the built-in microphone amplifier will not kick-in.

The camera will go to standby after 5 min while video conferencing.

Still image quality is low, comparable to 320x240, which is common in most miniDV camcorders.

I bought it online from www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com for $391 including taxes/shipment.

Thanks to Panasonic for best quality/price combination.

I'm experimenting and learning video shooting and non-linear editing for now with my PVDV51. I'm quite satisfied with it. When time will come to shoot professional footage I'll so possibly get a Panasonic PVDV953 : http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com/products/product_detail.asp?Inventory=2642

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 391