Panasonic PV-DV73

The menus and controls were easy to use, with informative names and simple navigation. Button and dial placement worked well also; we liked the combined zoom and volume control, as well as the smooth-action jog wheel. However, the menu-key placement (on the upper-right back panel next to the viewfinder) is difficult to get to with your right thumb: Instead, you have to reach around the viewfinder with your left hand.

But in many ways, the PV-DV73 fails where its more expensive cousin, the PV-DV953, excels. It feels uncomfortable: The sharp corners of the case dig into your palm after a few minutes. The PV-DV73 also turned in the shortest battery life of all the MiniDV models we tested: a disappointing 1 hour and 2 minutes from the included 800mAh battery in our tests.

You can record and use the menus using the viewfinder, but for playback, you have to flip out the LCD. While you do get a jack for an external microphone, there's no accessory shoe for mounting it on top of the camcorder. For photos, the DV73 captures 640 by 480 resolution and can interpolate (which adds extra pixels) up to 1280 by 960 pixels. The interpolated images the camcorder produced looked fine.

The FireWire and USB 2.0 ports are under the LCD, forcing you to keep the panel flipped out when you're connected to your PC. But the S-Video port is hidden under the battery pack, so you'll have to remove the battery and run the camcorder from AC power if you want to watch videos on an S-Video-enabled TV.

Upshot: The PV-DV953 is a decent enough camcorder, but it can be uncomfortable to use for long periods.

Bryan Hastings