Panasonic VDR-D200 Camcorder Review

Still Features(6.5)
The VDR-D200 captures stills onto SD card, which are loaded through a card slot under the LCD cavity. As we’ve said countless times, bottom-loading anything is a hassle if you’re using a tripod. The still resolution is limited to 640 x 480, which is roughly equivalent to 0.3MP – that’s 3/10 of a single megapixel, for you non-math majors. Even the crudest dedicated still camera captured at 12x that resolution. 640 x 480 is hardly worth the effort it takes to transfer the files to your computer or printer. The VDR-D100 (Review, Specs, $299.95), the next model down, is the same camcorder with no still features. If you’re really torn between these camcorders, here’s some advice: take the $100 you saved by buying the VDR-D100, double it, and buy a cheap point and shoot camera.

If, however, you’re bound and determined to buy the VDR-D200, you might like to know some of the other still features. Stills can be saved in two quality settings, Normal and High. And despite the small resolution of the pictures, you do benefit from a delay timer, the impressive manual control suite that’s found in the video mode – aperture, shutter speed, gain, focus and white balance – along with auto controls like Soft Skin Detail, backlight compensation and the Scene modes. Unfortunately, you do not have access to digital zoom, stabilization or MagicPix mode.

As we always say, a camcorder is no replacement for a still camera, and this is especially true with a near entry-level model like the VDR-D200.

Still Resolution (1.8)
The stills of the Panasonic VDR-D200 were tested for their resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. In all, the 640 x 480 still produced an approximate resolution of 117612.0. The chart below shows the VDR-D200’s place in the spectrum of comparable camcorders. Because most of these models have larger imagers, and therefore larger stills, the VDR-D200 did not fare so well. It compares more favorably to entry-level MiniDV camcorders with 640 x 480 stills.

Still Performance (3.35)
The big advantage of the Panasonic VDR-D200, over its little sibling the VDR-D100, is its ability to take stills. However,  judging by the maximum resolution (640 x 480) and the quality, it’s not much of an upgrade. Camcorders process video and still images differently, and the stills, rarely, if ever look as good. In the case of the VDR-D200, the colors are not as accurate as they are in video mode. The green levels are lower, which tended to kill the entire green portion of the spectrum. Overall, the picture has a pale look to it. The fine detail is not too impressive, but the resolution is limiting. This is as good as a 1/6” imager can do.

Most of the competition we looked at produced larger stills, which increased resolution, but the color deficiencies were very much apparent. The Panasonic VDR-M75 captured 1280 x 960, but color performance was exactly the same. The Canon DC10, also 1280 x 960, was brighter overall. In fact, the brighter portions of the grey scale tended to look too bright. And while the image appears washed out, the colors were more balanced than we saw on the VDR-D200. Finally, the Sony DCR-DVD205, at 1152 x 864, has a strange yellow-blue dichotomy, virtually ignoring the reds and greens. The image was bright and sharp, but the colors were so bad that the stills would be essentially unusable.

This is not a still camera by any means.