do not use the software that came with the av100, instead, at the end of the shoot, just plug the digital wallet into your pc via the usb cable, where it appears as just another hard drive... copy the .mod files onto your local hard drive, and rename them as .mpgs... there is nothing to convert, and you can burn the .mpgs directly to dvd.

the av100 is a bit difficult to handle because of the small size, and no tripod mount hole, but surprisingly, it has options for manual controls, and it even has digital image stabilization... along with the mpeg2 recording, you cant get all those features in any other camera on the market today.

improvements id like to see would include a bigger ccd pickup, this isnt a camera you get for shooting stills or for shooting video in low light... its built to serve as a video camera, get a cheap digital still camera if still shots is what you want... the current crop of these types of cameras proves that trying to combine both video and still functions into one camera will result in too many compromises of either one or both functions.

First, the good stuff:

It really is small enough to fit in a pocket, which means that you will carry it everywhere, which in turn means that youll get video of things you otherwise wouldnt catch.

The SD storage media is obviously very compact, and if you have the adapter, you can stick it right into your computer for transfer and editing.

The cameras optics and design are excellent, and amazing in a package this size.

The downsides (none of which take away from a five star rating in my view):

The file format is a little funky for computer editing: you will need to install codecs, rename files, and use less-than-top-of-the-line programs to edit your video. Adobe Premiere Pro cant handle MPeg2 video, for example, so youll have to convert your video or use a different program.

No tripod adapter. Okay, the cameras small, but why didnt panasonic put one of those little screw-in holes in the bottom so you could put it on a tripod if necessary?

For owners (and prospective buyers), Ive set up a user group bulletin board at http://www.jackbrown.us/camera Its got good tips and tricks for this camera.

The goal with compact devices is to make recording on the road possible. So if you can avoid 2 devices, one for STILLS and one for videos, this goal is possible. However, while most cameras today consider anything less than 2 megapixels (2 million pixels) for STILLS bare minimum, the D-SNAP can only do .3 megapixel (330 thousand pixels). You cant even print a high quality wallet size.

The quality of the video is there with the D-SNAP. But the STILLs are completely unacceptable and you will be paying thousands of dollars to get 30 - 60 minutes of video.

The Sanyo Fisher is equally as compact, very solid construction, provides 3 megapixels for STILLS, and provides the resolution (30 frames per second) and size (640*480) required for TV. It also comes with a 512kb card, BUT it achieves 20 minutes of DVD-like quality or 45 minutes of VHS-like quality (which is very good), out of the box. It uses more recent compression technology to write at multi-mb speeds on a normal SD card. You even get 30 frames per second to meet your 360*240 PC requirements, which provides more than an hour of video. The interface is much better thought out on the Sanyo (everything is there at your finger tips, whereas the Pansonic makes you want to rip off the LCD at times because the controls are at the side). The focus is 6x zoom optical on the Sanyo, instead of 10x like the Panasonic, which is still excellent. And the ISO levels and features are exceptional. Bottom line, you can live with any downside of the SANYO. You cant live with the downsides of the Panasonic.

The camera is physically beautiful. It hides within the palm of your hand and is so unobtrusive, your subjects tend to act much more naturally. The LCD screen is adequate, and image stabilization works very well. The controls are so ergonomic that you can be very precise with your clip timing and zooming -- this goes a long way toward producing watchable videos.

The main concerns I had were about battery life and storage capacity. For my use, the performance of the AV100 and included 512 Mb SD card are more than adequate. I can take about 10 minutes of video (enough for showing the highlights of any one-day event) and still have enough power to play back the entire collection of clips.

For those worried about converting .mod files, all one has to do is rename the file to .mpg from windows explorer. No problems at all. As for Adobe Premier not supporting mpeg 2, this is an Adobe problem, as MPEG2 is a standard high-quality video format. Consumers should lobby Adobe for a plug-in. For most people, ULEAD Studio 7 should be a sufficient video editor. As for the volume issue that someone else had brought up, I havent experienced any problems. Audio is perfectly clear. Brilliant, actually.

Although I havent personally tried out the Sanyo Fisher which someone above had compared, feature-for-feature, to the AV100, I have read a review that the lower-light conditions quality of the AV100 is much better than that of the Sanyo Fisher. It also stated that the color fidelity was rather poor on the Sanyo Fisher, making objects look yellowish-brownish in tint.

Back to the Panasonic: this camera has so many qualities to recommend it, but if I had to choose one over the rest, it would have to be its solid state. With no moving parts, there is little to break. Its tiny. There are no tapes to buy. And you can upload footage by simple drag and drop. Because of this, its so easy to produce edited and enhanced video. No more scene after scene of unedited, untitled video with no transitions.

I also highly recommend downloading ulead studio. Youd be surprised at how quickly you can create actual beginning-middle-end movies with it.