Panasonic VDR-M54 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Nick Hyacinthe
Published on Mar 16, 2005 12:00 PM



The VDR-M54 is a fashion accessory as much as it is a camcorder; the blue finish and intricate design are attractive. Panasonic has not drastically improved this camcorder as it shares approximately the same specs as last year’s model, the VDR-M50 (Review, Specs, $646.99). Panasonic has addressed minor nuisances by improving the start up time and designing a camcorder that no longer requires a plastic cartridge to cover the DVD-RAM media.

Video Performance
It is safe to suspect that as the VDR-M54 contains similar imaging specs to last year’s VDR-M50, it will have similar video performance results. Last year’s model had a 1/6 inch CCD with 340K effective pixels positioned behind a 38.7mm lens with 18x optical and 500x digital zoom. Under normal daylight setting of 3000 lux, last years model exhibited a crisp image with vibrant and rich colors. It was impossible to administer an intensive test at CES, but a full review will appear shortly with this model’s official result.

The Front
The VDR-M54 has slim and slender front. The 18x optical zoom lens, adorned in baby blue coating, protrudes out of the front of the VDR-M54, beneath which rests a stereo microphone. The USB, A/V in and out, and the Microphone input ports are sheltered underneath a silver port cover at the bottom of the camcorder.

The Right Side
The right side of the VDR-M54 hosts the DVD mechanism, which protrudes at the top of the camcorder. This and the blue Velcro hand strap allows for a more comfortable grip and easier handle. The mechanism is accessed with an open switch located at the upper left corner of the camcorder’s back.

The Back
The battery slot dominates the back of the VDR-M54. To the left of the battery slot is a silver record button protruding from the rotary mode dial. Above the battery slot is a viewfinder that extends slightly towards the user, but does not rotate or swivel. An indicator lamp can be seen at the top left corner of the camcorder, with an open switch for the DVD mechanism underneath it.

The Top
A cold accessory shoe resides in the middle of the lens barrel on top of the camcorder. A viewfinder extends towards the back; unfortunately it does not rotate. The silver zoom toggle and photo button are situated to the right of the viewfinder.

The Left Side
The Left side is adorned in blue and silver, and decorated by a circular cut matching the shape of the DVD mechanism. A cluster of functions can be found on the left side of the lens barrel: the navigational pad, menu button, select button, stop button, and disc navigation button. The 2.5 rotating LCD governs the left side of the camcorder. The LCD screen provides shelter to several manual control buttons: Auto, Exposure, Focus, Backlight, Volume, and Display. Focal and exposure adjustments are made with the + and – volume buttons. The LCD also hides the SD card slot and USB port.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control
Similar to last year exposure, Focus, Shutter speed and White balance can be automatically controlled by pressing the auto button found underneath the LCD. The VDR-M54 offers auto exposure settings: Sport, Spotlight, Portrait, and Low Light. Due to the hectic environment at CES, I did not have the time to fully assess the response and accuracy of the automatic control adjustments. Last year’s model, the VDR-M50, automatic adjustments was sluggish; focal adjustments were progressively slow as zoom increased. Automatic exposure adjustments seemed delayed, while automatic white balance adjustments were relatively quick and accurate.

Automatic control can be achieved by pressing the Auto button found underneath the LCD. Like last year, Panasonic has neglected the need for manual shutter speed control; instead auto exposure settings are available for specific environments: Portrait, Low light, Surf & Snow, Spotlight, and Sport. These settings are helpful, but manual control adjustments are more beneficial to the overall quality of the image. The user will encounter unpredictable environments where optimum control is needed.

Overall Manual Control
Panasonic has dispersed the placement of their manual control options within the VDR-M54. Most of the VDR-M54’s manual control options can be accessed by pressing the menu button on left side of the camcorder, and navigated with the directional pad. The VDR-M54’s menu system offers the user control over white balance, shutter speed, wind cut (for reducing noise during windy conditions), and Electronic Image Stabilization (reduces fuzziness that can occur at full zoom). No true manual control is offered over shutter speed, but the camcorder offers auto exposure setting with calibrated exposure, and shutter speed for specific environmental conditions: Sport, Spotlight, Surf & Snow, and Landscape. Panasonic placed the two most significant options, manual focus and manual exposure, outside of the menu system. These options can be accessed by pressing the soft buttons hidden underneath the LCD. Having the two most frequently used control features on the outside of the camcorder’s body is sensible, but placing them under the LCD creates more of a nuisance. All manual control options once engaged are executed with the volume buttons also sheltered by the LCD.

The VDR-M54 does not offer precise numeric measurements for any of its manual control options. Manual exposures are calibrated with a + and – meter that appears on the LCD, while focal measurements are indicated with pictograms (Portrait, and Mountain) that appear at the bottom of the screen. Not having numerical measurements hinders the user from making truthful manual control adjustments.

Zoom
The VDR-M54 offers 18x optical zoom with a 40x and 500x digital zoom option. Optical zoom can be initiated through the use of the small zoom toggle found at the back of the camcorder top, while initiating digital zoom requires the user to venture into the menu system. Be warned that digital zoom will produce distorted images; better results can be achieved by moving the camcorder closer. The 18x optical zoom lens will provide the user with optimum control. The zoom toggle sits directly underneath the index finger, and is easily controlled.

Focus
Like all other manual control options, manual focus can only be engaged and utilized by going underneath the LCD; manual focus is adjusted with the volume +/- buttons. Pictograms of a mountain and portrait, displayed at the bottom of the screen, designate the focal range. A focus ring or depressible jog dial would have been ideal. The current placement of these buttons forces the user to push against the body of the camcorder and disrupt the shot; a smooth transition between continuous recording and manual adjustments becomes difficult.

Exposure
In order for one to manually adjust exposure, he or she must press the exposure button found underneath the LCD; modifications are made with the volume buttons. The camcorder does not provide the user with true F-Stop measurements. Instead the camcorder provides the user with the +/- meter system. This deters from a specific, calculated adjustment.

Shutter Speed
Instead of providing the user with a viable manual shutter speed option, the VDR-M54 compensates with Auto Exposure settings: Portrait, Sports, Low Light, Surf & Snow, and Spotlight. These settings are accessible by pressing the menu button to the right of the LCD. Without true numerical measurements the user can not make precise adjustments to life’s varying and unpredictable conditions.

Gain
Unfortunately, the Panasonic VDR-M54 does not offer manual gain control.

Still Performance
The VDR-M54 can capture 640x 480 digital stills on the DVD-RAM disc or SD card. All available manual controls (focus, exposure, and white balance) are offered when capturing stills to either SD card or DVD-RAM disc. The Panasonic user can capture stills in SD mode with several different quality settings: Fine, Normal, and Economy. Only Fine mode is available when capturing to disc. This model can store 999 stills on each side of the DVD-Ram disc.

VCR Mode
Pressing the silver directional dial on the VDR-M54 will initiate Playback; this function is available in all three modes: SD, Movie, and Camera mode. The disc Navigation feature, found in the menu system, helps the user jump to any desired point on the DVD-RAM disc during playback; this option also allows for advance in camera edits (splicing, fading, and pasting). The USB port underneath the LCD can provide connection to a desktop.

This year’s Panasonic DVD camcorder can record onto a naked disc. The DVD-RAM disc no longer requires a special cartridge. With this improvement DVD-RAM Panasonic has made viewing slightly more accessible. DVD RAM’s advantage over the other formats is that operates similar to a hard disc, making viewing easier and faster. Sony’s DVD camcorders record to DVD-R/RW/+RW which can be played in any conventional DVD player, while DVD-RAM can only be played on a DVD player with special DVD-RAM technology.

The VDR-M54 can burn images from older media onto the DVD-RAM disc, allowing the user to update and edit old memories with new ones.

Low Light Performance
The VDR-M54 could not be tested for low light performance at CES, but assumptions can be made about its potential results based on comparison to last year’s model, the VDR-M50. The parent model was equipped with a 1/6 inch CCD with 340K effective video pixels positioned behind a 37mm lens with 18x optical zoom. Last year model produced admirable images. Under normal daylight settings (3000 lux) the camcorder displayed even, clean image with well saturated colors. Understandably the image became darker at 60 lux with an increase in grain, but the colors were still well saturated, and balanced. At 15 lux, the image produced more grain, and dulled greens in the color spectrum. A brownish tone tainted the grayscale under this low light setting. Right now only speculations can be made about the VDR-M54 low light performance results, but stay tuned for a full and extensive review.

LCD/Viewfinder
This model is outfitted with a 2.5 inch LCD that swivels 270 degrees. When viewed at an angle the screen solarizes. This is a common problem with most consumer camcorder. A 1/3 inch color viewfinder rests at the back at the camcorder. The view finder slightly extends, but does not swivel or rotate towards the user; the lack of mobility is problematic, because it barely clears the battery. The user has to press their cheek against the battery, which can be quite uncomfortable during extended use.

Audio
The VDR-M54 has 12-bit and 16- bit audio recording capability. Beneath the lens at the front of the camcorder rests a stereo microphone, followed by a blue port cover containing the mic-in and A/V output ports. An accessory shoe rests at the top of camcorder.

Handling
The VDR-M54 fits comfortably into one’s palm, allowing the user to handle the camcorder with ease. For optimum control Panasonic has placed most of the external function buttons within short reach of the user fingers; the zoom toggle, photo and record button are directly under the user’s thumb and index finger. Varying zoom speeds can easily be controlled and implemented.

Panasonic has reduced the start up time for its DVD camcorder from an estimated 20 seconds to nine seconds. Nine seconds is an improvement but can still feel like an eternity.

Panasonic has made attempts to improve their DVD cam’s ease of use, but last year’s handling problems still persist. The soft manual control button located underneath the LCD proved problematic for the VDR-M54 user. Making manual control adjustments is tricky because the user is pushing into the body of the camcorder which can cause disrupt a smooth tracking shot or a steady shot. Manual controls cannot be operated if the LCD is closed. The viewfinder can’t swivel or rotate up toward the user, this makes capturing low angle shots difficult without the use of the LCD. The user would have to crouch or squat down in uncomfortable positions in order to execute a low angle shot.

Ports
The microphone input jack and A/V in and out jack are concealed beneath a protective panel in the front of the VDR-M54. The USB and SD card ports can be found underneath the LCD. An intelligent accessory shoe rests on top of the camcorder. Sadly, the VDR-M54 does not provide a DC in port; the battery is recharged with an external charger, and the camcorder is inoperable when the battery is charging.

Other Features
Disc Navigation/I>
The VDR-M54 offers a disc navigation feature that allows the user to steer to any particular point on a DVD-RAM disc.

Wind Cut
The Wind Cut feature is offered in this camcorder’s menu system; it reduces the audio noise from the microphone when recording in windy conditions.

16:9
The VDR-M54 provides a digitally manipulated 16:9 widescreen option.

Conclusion
The VDR-M54 is a chic and elegant DVD camcorder with managable hassles. Unfortunately, the same hassles from last year’s model, the VDR-M50, plague this camcorder. The placement of key manual control buttons underneath the LCD is still troublesome to the user. These manual control options can only be operated with an open LCD; it is hard to make a smooth transition when executing manual focus and exposure adjustments.

Panasonic has made small attempts at improving the camcorder general ease of use; the most significant improvement being the VDR-M54’s naked disc compatibility. No special cartridge or DVD player is needed to record on the DVD-RAM disc. Another welcomed improvement is the shortened startup time. Panasonic has leaped from a sluggish start up to a tolerable nine seconds. These improvements are wonderful, but little change has occurred in the overall design and specs of the VDR-M50.

Last year’s model had admirable video performance, and respectable low light performance for a DVD camcorder. It can be speculated that this model will capture images with similar results. The VDR-M54’s potential low light excellence is its redeeming quality. If the VDR-M54 can maintain its good low light performance and best the newly redefined Sony DVD camcorders, it might make up for its relative lack of innovations.