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The more sophisticated sibling of the company's $380 VDR-D210 (both are DVD models), Panasonic's VDR-D310 ($630 as of April 24, 2007), produces better-quality video and still images. It uses three CCDs (each assigned to detect red, blue, or green wavelengths), whereas the D210 uses a single CCD to record all three colors. Not surprisingly the VDR-D310 earned one of the highest scores we've seen in a camcorder for color accuracy on still images, though its overall score was a less impressive Good. The VDR-D310 can record photos at sizes ranging from 0.3 megapixel to 3.1 megapixels to an SD card.
The camcorder has a microphone jack, though its built-in mic isn't too bad; in our lab tests, the VDR-D310 earned high marks for audio quality. Playback on the built-in monitor is fairly easy to control. The joystick on the back of the body falls under your right thumb; you use it to select the video you wish to play, and the controls appear on screen. You can adjust the volume by moving the zoom lever atop the camera, and the built-in speaker is strong enough to be audible in fairly quiet areas. There's no headphone jack, which would have been useful in noisy environments, but you do get USB and AV-out jacks.
A delete button on the front of the unit is convenient for disposing of unwanted scenes and stills, and the remote control permits access to all basic functions, including still photos, zooming, and file management.
To charge the battery, you must remove it from the camcorder and place it in the small charging bay; you can't just plug the VDR-D310 into the wall.
You do plug in the camcorder to transfer video or stills to a PC, and when finalizing a DVD disc (to make it readable in other devices). This makes sense--given that losing power would result in an unreadable disc--but requiring AC power for transferring files, especially stills from the SD card, seems like overkill; most digital cameras can transfer files on battery power alone.
The VDR-D310 lacks full manual control, and there's no built-in assist light for recording in dimly lit settings. Also conspicuously absent are any optional wide-angle or telephoto adapters. But there is a shoe for attaching the optional $85 VW-DC10 video light, which requires a battery pack (also optional).
If you can accept these limitations, the VDR-D310 is likely to please, thanks to its excellent video quality. Besides offering the convenience of instant DVD burning, the USB port supports easy data transfer to a PC.
John Poultney
