Panasonic VDR-M70 Camcorder Review

by Matt Culler

Published on Jun 5, 2004 10:00 AM
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At an MSRP of $899.99, the Panasonic VDR-M70 overcomes many of the shortcomings found in other DVD camcorders. It raises the bar on DVD camcorder quality by offering many options for recordable media and storage space for photo stills and video, however, DVD recording still in the VDR-M70 is mostly an ease of use feature.

Video Performance (6.5)
The VDR-M70 has a large 1/4-inch CCD with 400K effective pixels for video (and 960 for still) situated behind a 38mm lens with 10x optical zoom and 240x digital. Panasonic has increased the CCD size from the lower model the M50 to the M70 - the M50 has 1/6 inch, compared with the M70 at 1/4 inch. The VDR-M70 performs well under 3000 lux and other daylight-equivalent light settings. There is a tiny bit of washing between the yellows and greens and between the blues and purples, but other than that the image looks good. The camcorder has problems with automatic focus and exposure; the focus takes a while to adjust, and there is a significant delay before exposure adjustment at 0x.


The Front (5.0)
The front of the Panasonic VDR-M70 is almost identical to the front of its younger sibling, the Panasonic VDR-M50. The front of the camcorder is dominated by the lens which juts out substantially from the rest of the camera. Below the lens is the horizontally stretched stereo microphone, followed further down by a removable panel that conceals an audio/video jack and an external microphone jack. Along the left side of the front, just to the left of the end of the humongous lens barrel, runs a strip of hard, gray plastic (the rest of the front is silver) upon which the infrared receiver and the recording indicator are set. Below these features is the front end of the strap mechanism, which juts out from front of the camcorder about ¾ of a centimeter. Immediately below the strap mechanism is a small lens cap string attachment hole.

As far as aesthetics go, the front looks ominous and very austere, displaying mostly silver, without much text, and dominated by the gaping lens cylinder. Just looking at a lens this size on a camcorder this small gives one the feeling of power. The protruding strap mechanism on the front side's lower left, while not necessarily adding to the camcorder's austerity or streamlined image, does offer some wiggle room for a large hand, which isn't guaranteed with machines of comparable size.

The Right Side (6.5)
The right side of the Panasonic VDR-M70 is dominated by the DVD mechanism, which sits squarely in the middle of the side, and is accentuated with silver plastic (the rest of the side is gray). The mechanism opens automatically through use of a slider, located on the back of the camcorder, and is closed manually. The DVD mechanism also protrudes conveniently above the height of the camcorder, providing an excellent perch for a user's middle, ring, and perhaps pinky fingers. On the right side of the DVD mechanism is a hinged SD memory card port cover. To the left of the DVD mechanism is the mode dial, which offers choices of SD card mode, power-off mode, movie mode, and still-picture mode. Immediately to the right of the dial is a locking switch to prevent accidental switching of modes. The strap is thin, but broad, and runs along the bottom of the right side.

The Back (5.5)
The battery slot occupies the greatest part of the back of the Panasonic VDR-M70. Immediately to the right of the top right corner of the battery slot, within convenient reach of the thumb, is the record button. Above the battery, to the left and center, is the viewfinder. To the left of the viewfinder is the disc-eject slider, as well as the PC Access indicator light.

Large and almost square, the battery juts out substantially from the back of the camcorder when attached. The viewfinder, unfortunately, cannot be angled upwards, only drawn directly backward, and even when fully extended the viewfinder is only flush with the battery's end. The battery problem is further accentuated by the fact that, on the VDR-M70, there is no DC in port, which means that the camcorder cannot be used without the battery in place. (The battery recharges in an external cradle, like an electric shaver or a cell phone.)

The Left Side (9.0)
A superimposed circular ring, mirroring the DVD mechanism on the right side, takes up the left side of the camcorder. The 2.5-inch, 120K-pixel LCD screen is set within this ring, with some command buttons running along the right edge of the left side. These buttons include the disc navigation button, a select button, the menu button, a stop button (used in playback and within the menus), and a four-way directional pad that also functions as a playback controller. From the widest point at its end, the enormous lens barrel of this camcorder tapers inward, following the curve of the superimposed circular ring, terminating in the viewfinder. Using the finger grips on its bottom, the LCD can be opened to reveal buttons for full auto mode, manual focus and exposure adjustment, backlight, volume control (which also handles focal and exposure adjustments), and change of display. The USB port is also located beneath the LCD, which probably isn't a problem, but it does mean that the LCD must be open for the camcorder to communicate with a computer. The left side is almost entirely silver with concentrically inscribed grooves radiating outward from the center of the superimposed ring. The only gray area is the viewfinder. On the VDR-M70, Panasonic's wizards have beautifully reconciled and unified the usually clashing entities of the lens barrel and the LCD.

The Top (7.0)
The top of the VDR-M70 contains the upper panels of the lens and viewfinder and the upper edge of the DVD mechanism. The top is sparse, adding to the austere sleekness of this camcorder. Silver and gray tones collide in this desolate landscape; the lens barrel is silver, with the remaining area gray save for the zoom toggle, which offers a subtle burst of silver.

An intelligent - or ''hot'' - accessory shoe is located towards the middle of the lens barrel, directly in front of the viewfinder. This is an improvement over the VDR-M50, which has a ''cold'' shoe. The zoom toggle is located directly to the right of the viewfinder for index finger access.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (6.0)
The VDR-M70 has many of the same automatic features as other Panasonic camcorders. Automatic settings exist for exposure, focus, white balance, and shutter speed. The camcorder features a full-auto mode, accessible by pressing the ''auto'' button beneath the LCD. Automatic adjustments to focus are relatively slow and, as expected, perform worse as zoom is increased, while automatic exposure adjustments are quick but significantly delayed. The automatic white balance of the M70 is relatively quick, taking approximately fifteen seconds to make adjustments in color temperature.

AE settings of Spotlight, Portrait, Sports, Surf & Snow, and Low Light are available to users for more specific environments. These settings are accurate and are a good benchmark for exposure settings in extremely varying conditions, and while there are no true manual shutter speed (or AE) controls, these presets provide some limits and windows of performance for the camcorder.

Overall Manual Control (4.5)
The manual control options of the VDR-M70 eschew traditional alphanumeric descriptions of exposure, shutter speed, and focal length settings in favor of horizontal +/- meters, pictures of people or mountains or hands, and semi-manual options like ''Surf & Snow'' or ''Sports.'' Shutter speed, white balance, digital zoom, wind cut (to reduce audio noise), EIS (electronic image stabilization, to reduce fuzziness when zooming) and other options can be found by pressing the menu button to the right of the LCD, and navigating the menu using the directional pad.

The VDR-M70 places the manual focus and exposure buttons and the full auto mode button beneath the LCD; this does not allow for easy adjustment. Also, the manual focus and exposure are adjusted by the volume buttons, which are inactive in movie mode. However, the options menu button is located outside the LCD, which is certainly a plus.

A wealth of manual control, usually a hallmark of Panasonics, isn't present here. The M70 has roughly as many options as Sony DVD camcorders do, and the quality of the options is only slightly better.

Zoom (8.0)
The Panasonic VDR-M70 offers a 10x optical zoom, and digital zoom options at both 40x and 240x. The decrease of optical zoom from the M50 to the M70 can be attributed to an increase in lens quality between the two. Panasonic sacrificed zoom for video quality (a smart move). The zoom toggle is very small, but protrudes enough to provide easy control over fast, slow, and variant speed zooms, especially for a camcorder of this size. The optical zoom works well, with smooth focal adjustments. Consistent with earlier Panasonic models and other camcorders in general, the digital zoom is of poor quality when compared with the response and image quality of the optical zoom.

Focus (4.5)
The manual focus of the VDR-M70 is controlled by an on/off button beneath the LCD and by the directional pad. Upon pressing the focus button, ''MF'' appears on the LCD to indicate that the camcorder is now in manual-focus mode. The focus can then be adjusted via the volume buttons. Unlike similar camcorders, the VDR-M70 doesn't offer a gauge of where the focus currently is in the spectrum. This isn't a big deal, as using buttons to control focus rather than a focus ring is already as rigid as can be. Indeed, many cameras of this size lack focus rings; however, it doesn't seem out of the question on this one, especially considering the large, protruding, easily-accessible lens barrel.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.5)
The VDR-M70's exposure can be adjusted manually by pressing the exposure button hidden under the LCD. This takes the camcorder out of automatic mode and displays on the LCD a +/- meter that can be adjusted through the volume buttons. Unfortunately, manual exposure adjustments cannot be made without opening the LCD. Also, the lack of numerical F-stop settings makes adjustment somewhat less than precise.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
The VDR-MD70 offers no manual shutter speed control.

White Balance (6.5)
The VDR-M70 is equipped to configure white balance automatically as well as manually. In automatic, the VDR-M70 analyzes the temperature of the dominant light source and adjusts accordingly. The color shift from indoor to outdoor is barely noticeable.

White balance can be set manually so users might more accurately define what in the scene is truly white. The white-balance menu is accessed by pressing the menu button to the right of the LCD, and navigated using the directional pad. This menu offers automatic settings for outdoor and indoor lighting, in which the camcorder assumes dominant color temperatures of average outdoor and indoor lighting respectively, and options for Auto (the default automatic setting) and Set (manual set). To manually set the white balance, select ''set.'' The screen will clear except for a blinking white balance icon, with options to either set the white balance for a particular room or exit the menu. If the white balance is set manually, it will remain adjusted to a particular environment, even when moved to another.

Gain (0.0)
The Panasonic VDR-M70 has no manual Gain controls.

Still Performance (6.5)
The Panasonic VDR-M70 captures JPEG stills at 1280x960 or 640x480 on DVD-RAM disc or SD card. To record stills to the card, the mode dial must be set on the SD mode. To record stills to the DVD-RAM disc, the mode dial must be set to the camera icon. Quality settings of Fine, Normal, and Economy are available on the VDR-M70 only when recording to the SD card; when recording to disc, stills are taken at the Fine setting. These options can be accessed by pressing the menu button while in SD card mode. White Balance, manual exposure, focus, and all shutter speed (AE) presets are available when recording stills to card or disc.

Depending on the size of the memory card and the picture, the M70 can record from 8 to 1,760 stills to card. Using the DVD-RAM, the M70 records 999 stills per side. Thus, in optimal conditions, one could theoretically take 2,759 still photos without adjusting a thing. Stills are recorded by pressing the record button in either the card or camera modes. It should definitely be noted the practically unlimited still capability of the DVD discs. While typical camcorders use flash media (and the VDR-MD70 includes a flash media slot) which limit you to a few high resolution pictures, the DVD media allows you thousands of pictures at a very low price, a great advantage with this camcorder if stills are a priority for you.

VCR Mode (9.0)
The VDR-M70 offers previews of all digital photo stills and playback of video. The playback is accessible while in SD card mode, movie mode, or camera mode by pressing in on the directional pad. This presents a playback screen featuring what is being viewed, whether it is a movie or photo, whether it is on disc or card, running time, number of disc, etc. Pressing the menu button here displays a menu of options to go either to the end, beginning (top), or a specific point (specify) in the list of media. There is also a disc navigation option, available to playback as well as edit movie and still media. Disc navigation mode shows a thumbnail menu version of either the disc or card, depending on the mode selected by the mode dial. The disc navigation menu (accessed by pressing 'menu') displays further playback options for scenes and stills, options to delete, edit (combine, divide, fade, skip) movies or groups of movies, change the thumbnail image of media, organize media by date, time, etc., choose images for printing, etc. Many of these features do not apply to recording onto the DVD-R disc, but do apply to the DVD-RAM disc (both of which are compatible with the M70).

The VDR-M70 can be connected to a computer through its USB port (located inconveniently beneath the LCD), allowing playback of footage and stills with the included MovieAlbum software. MovieAlbum is pretty basic software, and one gets the feeling that Panasonic, like its DVD camcorder competitor Sony, cut a few corners on the software to allow for an auspicious release date.

The Panasonic VDR-M70 can also export video and stills to the computer from a DVD-RAM disc. Then, using the included MyDVD software, the user can create DVD-Rs that will play on conventional DVD players containing videos and stills that can be edited and tweaked prior to recording from the DVD-RAM.

DVD-RAM discs usually cannot be played on conventional players, unless the player has DVD-RAM technology, in which case it can be popped out of its plastic casing the directly inserted (the player should have a little sticker letting you know this). This is why Panasonic requires the transfer from DVD-RAM to DVD-R on the computer. You may ask why the M70 doesn't just start with the DVD-R, and the answer is that the M70 can record to DVD-R initially. However, DVD-Rs can only be recorded once, cannot record stills, and cannot be edited like the DVD-RAM can. (In order to play a DVD-R by itself in a conventional DVD player, it must be finalized on the camcorder.) The M70 does not offer recording on the DVD-RW format, presumably because the user can rewrite on a DVD-RAM. The downside of not offering the DVD-RW format is that DVD-RW are playable in most conventional DVD players, while DVD-RAMs aren't. The positive aspect of using a DVD-RAM instead of a DVD-RW, is that the DVD-RAM works just like a hard disc; the user is able to reorganize, delete, and edit video and stills easily. With a DVD-RW, it is a question of rewriting specific sections of the disc, and reorganization is less seamless.

Low-Light Performance (5.2)
However, the VDR-M70 performed pretty well for a DVD camcorder, which usually sacrifices performance for record ability features. Particularly at 3000 lux, as expected, the VDR-M70 performs well, with crisp delineated colors and no grain. Additionally at 60 lux, colors are still very crisp although, obviously much darker. There is a significant increase in grain at 60 lux, which understandable for consumer camera. At 15 lux, the VDR-M70 shows substantially dulled colors with even more grain. Particularly dull areas occur between the greens and blues and yellows and reds. The grain at 15 lux pretty much guarantees a bad image. There is a general wash of brownish-gray tones that appears like a veil put over the lens. However, compared to other DVD cameras, the M70's performance is above par; colors remain crisp at 60 lux, and at 15 lux, while there is a general dullness, the resolution bars are in focus and not color distorted as they are on the Sony DCR-DVD201 for instance.

LCD/ Viewfinder (6.5)
The VDR-M70 includes a 2.5 in. color LCD screen (?120K pixels). The screen rotates 270 degrees, but solarizes the image when viewed from an angle. The display can be a bit crowded; however, this is adjustable.

The M70 is equipped with a 1/3-inch viewfinder (?110K pixels). The viewfinder lacks a cushioned eyepiece and cannot be angled at all; it can only be pulled straight back, and even at full extension is merely flush with the battery.

Audio (6.0)
The VDR-M70 supports 12-bit and 16-bit audio recording. Its stereo microphone resides just beneath the lens, which may encumber sound coming from above the lens. (This is a minor concern.) A positive aspect of having the mic high on the front of the camera is that the user can steady the camera with the left hand gripping the bottom of the front without covering the receptor. Below the stereo microphone are a mic-in jack and an audio input/output jack. While there is no headphone jack, there is a hot accessory shoe atop the lens barrel for accessories such as an external microphone.

Handling (7.0)
The VDR-M70 handles pretty well. The strap allows for big hands to spread out and hold the camera more steadily, and the relatively high microphone allows for the left hand to securely hold the camera with a gripping finger or two up front. The top of the DVD mechanism provides a convenient perch for the ring and the middle finger, with a well-placed zoom toggle for the index. The record button and zoom dial are conveniently placed as well, and the makers of the M70 seem not to have sacrificed any aesthetic requirements for convenience. The camcorder is very good-looking, save for the humongous battery jutting out from the back.

The button setup could be better, as important high-use buttons like exposure and focus are placed under the LCD screen. However, placing the menu button outside the LCD was a good move on Panasonic's part. The zoom toggle is small, but performs well for its size.

Ports (5.5)
There is no DC in port for this camcorder, which means that the battery must recharge using an external cradle. On the one hand, charging the battery doesn't involve plugging the camcorder into anything, which can be a convenience. On the other, the user cannot use the camcorder while the battery is charging. (Unless, of course, a spare is available to switch hit.)

The USB port is located beneath the LCD. A mic input jack and an audio/video input/output can be found on the front of the camcorder under a protective panel. An intelligent accessory shoe is located on top of the machine. The SD card is inserted in a slot under a hinged panel located on the DVD mechanism.

Other Features (6.0)
Electronic Image Stabilizaiton Electronic Image Stabilizer (EIS) can be accessed by pressing the menu button. This function helps to reduce fuzziness when the camcorder has zoomed in on something. WindCut, also accessed through the menu, reduces unwanted audio noise in windy environments.

Disc Navigation Feature The Disc Navigation feature on the M70 should be mentioned here as, made available because of its DVD-RAM recording ability, it provides options to edit, splice and divide, and fade video footage directly on the camera. (If this were a DVD-R, editing on the computer would be necessary).

16:9 widescreen mode The VDR-M70 supports a digitally manipulated 16:9 ''cinema'' mode. For real 16:9 aspect ratio, you'll have to get a bigger lens.

Analog-to-Digital Pass Through The Panasonic VDR-M70 is equipped for analog-to-digital pass through. A proprietary AV cable is supplied for S-Video and AV output.

Comparisons
There are several camcorders in a price range comparable to the Panasonic VDR-M70: the Panasonic PV-GS200 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1299), the Hitachi DZ-MV380, the Panasonic VDR-M50PP, and the Sony DCR-DVD201.

For $100 less, Panasonic's entry level DVD camcorder, the VDR-M50, has a 1/6-inch CCD with 340k effective pixels. The M50 has an 18x optical zoom and 500x digital zoom, which is much greater zoom power than the VDR-M70 at 10x optical and 240x digital. Resolution on the M50 is also lower at 640x480, and it has a 'cold' shoe instead of a 'hot' shoe. The additional $100 gets the buyer of the M70 a bigger CCD, which improves performance and provides greater resolution on stills, but loses some zoom power due to a higher-quality lens. Also, the M50 doesn't offer the S-Video connection the M70 does. All in all, for a hundred bucks more, the M70 exhibits a better (bigger) CCD with more effective pixels (400K to 340K), meaning better video performance, as well as some other improvements on various options.

For $100 more, Panasonic's PV-GS200 is available, with 3 CCDs at 1/6 inch with 800K pixels each, 10x optical zoom, nice still photo resolution of 1760x1320, and lots of manual control, including gain. The GS200 records to Mini DV tape, which is harder to transfer to DVD, and cannot hold as many stills as the M70. (Then again, what Mini DV camcorder can?). The video performance and low-light performance of the GS200, however, surpasses the M70. For the money, the GS200 is a tremendous camcorder, because of its three CCDs and the performance they allow, as well as the amount of manual control offered. If convenience is your thing, and you'd like to save a hundred bucks, the M70 might look better.

Hitachi's latest DVD camcorder, the DZ-MV380, lists at $769.95 and includes many of the same features as the VDR-M70. (The list price on the M70 is $899.99, but is commonly available for $799.99). The MV380 includes a similar 1/4-inch CCD, 10x optical zoom, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and card compatibility, and comparable on-camcorder editing options. It does feature a slightly bigger viewfinder (.44 inch to the M70's .33 inch), and more effective pixels for video (570K to the M70's 400K). There are other factors not addressed here, such as software quality, handling, ease of control, and manual control options that could affect a clear decision; however, it seems Hitachi is offering a cheaper camcorder with more options and similar specs.

Compared with Sony's DVD camcorder, the DCR-DVD201, the VDR-M70 has a bigger CCD (Sony has 1/5-inch CCD, to the M70's 1/4-inch) and comparable zoom. The VDR-M70 has 400K effective pixels for video, while the Sony has 690K. Given that while the DVD201 has a smaller CCD with more effective pixels, and the VDR-M70 has less effective pixels with a bigger CCD, the images should be comparable. But they're not. Although the DVD201's review is pending, we have compared the charts at 3000, 60, 15 lux. Furthermore, while the buyer of a DVD camcorder should be astounded by the sheer quantity of still available on any machine recording to DVD, she/he will be thrilled that the M70 offers even more still photo storage space than the DVD201, which is hard to beat. This is made possible through Panasonic's addition of the SD card; it is hard to imagine why Sony didn't include this option.

The DVD201's manual controls are bit better than the M70's as far as focus and exposure go. Additionally, the VDR-M70 can use DVD-RAM and DVD-R, while the DCR-DVD201 uses DVD-R and DVD-RW and doesn't include a memory card, while the VDR-M70 does. What this means is that if you'd like to save money and just buy one DVD-RW and DVD-RAM to keep rerecording on, the DVD-RAM, compatible with the M70, works just like a hard disk, in that you can delete, reorganize, and edit easily on the camcorder. With the DVD-RW, it is a question of rewriting sections of the disc with less seamless reorganization. The positive aspect of the DVD-RW is that it's playable in conventional DVD players, while DVD-RAM is only playable in some of them. Also, the DVD201 lists at $995, while the M70 lists at $899.

Who it's For
Point-and-Shooters (6.0)
A decent camcorder for the point-and-shoot crowd, the M70 offers a full auto mode for convenience. It can also appeal to those gimmick hunters who seek a more practical DVD camcorder (i.e. one that can record DVD-RAM and includes a SD card).

Budget Consumers(3.0)
At a list price of $899.99 (but available online for $799.99), the VDR-M70 is not for budget consumers. For the same price, very high quality and versatile Mini DV cameras are available with comparable, if not better, image quality. For the DVD camcorder buyer, however, the M70 is a more practical purchase than a machine with only DVD-R recording capabilities.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid(5.5)
The VDR-M70 is a decent hybrid due to the sheer amount of still photos available. Stills are recordable to DVD-RAM and SD card, yielding a huge number of stills available. Also, with the ability to initialize (erase data and start over) DVD-RAM and cards, the M70 has tremendous practicality.

Gadget Freaks(7.0)
Definitely a gadget freak machine, the VDR-M70 offers the option to record to DVD-R, which is playable on conventional players after finalization on the camcorder. More importantly, the M70 offers DVD-RAM recording capabilities and a memory card feature.

Manual Control Freaks(3.0)
Manual control freaks don't have much to retreat into their dark lairs of consumer-reporting and reclusive potato-chip-eating about on this one. Like many consumer camcorders, the manual controls of theVDR-M70 exist in a state altered for convenience. The most of the important manual controls (exposure, focus) are hidden under the LCD, while manual shutter speed is unavailable. Needless to say, the typical M70 user is meant to take full advantage of the full auto mode.

Pros/ Serious Hobbyists(2.5)
The VDR-M70 may be a good practical buy for the serious hobbyist who isn't obsessed with the best video performance money can buy. This camcorder is designed for people who like the convenient and high-tech atmosphere provided by DVD camcorders, but tire of their impracticality. Even more than other DVD camcorders, this machine appeals to those who may want to take tons of still photos with the option for video, or those who don't want to spend tons on blank DVD-Rs that don't hold much actual video time. With the DVD-RAM format, video time per disc is only limited by the disc's physical wear-and-tear, making this a perfect camcorder for a filmmaker who wants to preview some techniques before devoting expensive film to risky takes. Additionally, pros shouldn't plan on using their high-end software for editing, as the format is not supported.

Conclusion
The Panasonic VDR-M70 is a camcorder designed to transcend the limitations of similar DVD camcorders. It tries to improve its low light showing by enlarging the size of its CCD from last year. But the enhancements come mainly from increasing the amount of options available, especially through offering DVD-RAM compatibility as well as a memory card. DVD-RAM compatibility is a step above Sony's line, which offers DVD-R, DVD-RW recording capability without a card.

The VDR-M70 handles well. It's small, which is nice. The buttons could be more convenient, and a movable viewfinder would be better. More manual control would be appreciated, considering the M70 is supposed to perform where other DVD camcorders don't. Heartwarmingly, the gimmicky market of the DVD camcorder in general is addressed by Panasonic as the M70 provides the wealth of compatibility necessary to overcome the latent recognition many buyers experience of a sacrifice in video quality under the guise of gimmicky convenience.

VDR-M70 buyers are buying a camcorder that does a good job of providing a DVD camcorder with different (some may say, more versatile) options than Sony's line. However, Hitachi seems to offer a similar machine with a few more improvements for less money. Also, for much improved video performance minus the DVD technology, the Panasonic PV-GS200 offers more manual features with only a slightly higher price. In general, DVD camcorders serve to make playing back your videos easy, at the expense of other features. If ease of playback is key, then go with a DVD camcorder but if you value video quality or manual control, stay with the MiniDV offerings.