Panasonic VDR-D230 Camcorder Review

by Michael Perlman
Published on Dec 10, 2007 7:40 AM

 
Intro Performance
Format Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity
 Other Features
Comparisons / Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Audio (3.0)
The Panasonic VDR-D230 has virtually no audio options. There is no mic jack and no headphone jack. There’s an accessory shoe on top, but no place to insert an audio line-in if you have a mic. Neither is there a mic level control. Panasonic doesn’t leave you entirely high and dry. In the main menu, you’ll find two options for audio control. The Wind Cut feature clips some of the low-end off of the audio track – the tone that wind typically creates when it rumbles across the mic. The second feature is the Zoom mic, which works in tandem with the optical zoom. When you zoom in, internal processing shifts priority to sounds coming from the front of the camcorder rather than the sides and rear.

Playback (4.75)
Playing back clips is one of the definite advantages over tape-based MiniDV camcorders. Rather than having to fast forward and rewind, you can simply skip to the clip you want. When you shift the VDR-D230 into playback mode (via the mode dial), all your video clips appear as thumbnails, ten to a page. To play a clip, toggle through to the clip you want and push in on the joystick. The clip will open up to fill the entire screen. A series of icons in the lower right corner instruct on how to use the joystick as a playback control for play/pause, rewind, fast forward, and stop.

Main Menu (Video Playback Mode)

Play Setup Play Mode, Resume Play
Edit Scene  
Disc Setup Finialize, Un-Finalize, Disc Protect, Format Disc, Information
Setup Display, Date/Time, Date Format, Power Save, Beep Sound, LCD Set, EVF Set, TV Aspect
Language English, Francais, Espanol

 

Playback screen

  

Playback menu

Connectivity (6.0)
Panasonic has been known to allocate ports in a particularly inopportune location on most of its camcorders—the battery chamber. We’re not sure what the deal is, but the PV-GS85 features DC-in, FireWire, and USB jacks all hiding out behind the battery. Luckily, the VDR-D230 escapes with only a DC-in jack embedded within its battery chamber. Still, this means that you have to interrupt a shot if the battery is running low in order to plug in the external power supply. Bye bye, continuity.

All other ports can be found on the left side of the camcorder, beneath the LCD cavity. A thin plastic shield houses the A/V port/S-Video port and USB terminals while a smaller hard plastic hinged door can be extended out and down to reveal the SD card slot. Keep in mind that the SD card door’s downward-swinging design makes it impossible to open fully if the VDR-D230 is mounted to a tripod. The VDR-D230 also includes a cold accessory shoe on top, but since the camcorder is devoid of a Mic jack, your only options for external attachments are limited to battery-powered video lights and...well, just battery powered video lights. The VDR-D310 proudly sports a Mic jack, but that’s because it’s also Panasonic’s top of the line DVD camcorder.

 

(Above) The AV and USB ports on the left;
(Below) The cold accessory shoe on top

  

(Above) The SD/SDHC card slot on the left;
(Below) The DC power jack behind the battery
 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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