Panasonic VDR-D310 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Jul 16, 2007 8:48 AM
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Still Features (6.75)
The VDR-D310 records JPEG images to an SD card in the following sizes: 2048 x 1512, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480 (VGA) in 4:3 aspect ratio. When shooting in 16:9, images can be captured only in 1920 x 1080. Two quality settings are available—high and normal—and the same basic menu is carried over from video mode to photo mode, including scene modes. The VDR-D310 is devoid of a flash and video light. It also lacks an exposure compensation tool, so you’ll have to play with the shutter speed and aperture in order to let some light in. This can be intimidating for beginners, but you’ll find that the benefits of a more dynamic aperture/shutter control outweigh the loss of an easy exposure comp tool. But seen as a whole, the still features are definitely lacking. You won’t find histograms or extensive image information other than the date and time. You can print directly from the camcorder via DPOF settings, and the only other feature to speak of is a shutter effect, which is really just a digital camera snap sound effect. All in all, the VDR-D310 offers a meager assortment of still features.
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Photo Mode Basic Admin Menu |
Photo Mode Advanced Admin Menu |
The SD card slot, located on the left side under the LCD cavity
Still Performance (7.75)
We tested the still photo quality of the Panasonic VDR-D310 by shooting an industry-standard Gretag McBeth Color Checker chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software to determine color accuracy, noise, and saturation. All stills were shot in the maximum size of 2048 x 1512.
According to Imatest, the VDR-D310 produced a color error of 7.74, with an average noise level of 1.3775%, and a saturation of 99.2%. In order to get this best score, we had to manually lower the exposure by a small degree. Because the VDR-D310 does not have an exposure compensation tool, we adjusted the aperture directly. In auto mode, the camcorder had adjusted to the 3000 lux lighting with a f/2.4 aperture and a 1/60th shutter speed. We closed the aperture down two notches to f/2.8. The strange thing with aperture adjustment on Panasonics is that there is an undisclosed increment between each stop. In this instance, we closed the aperture to f/2.8, then pushed it closed one more increment. The picture got darker, but the display still said f/2.8.
This color error was within the range of similar camcorders, including its MiniDV counterpart, the Panasonic PV-GS320. While we wouldn’t consider these to be outstanding scores, it is some comfort to know that the accuracy scores were also within the range of the Canon TX1, a hybrid camera/HD camcorder that produces much higher resolution stills, has far more still features, and is marketed as a “great” still camera. Except for the occasional outlier, don’t expect to see terribly accurate photos coming from any camcorder.
Still Resolution (26.09)
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