Panasonic PV-L354 VHS-C Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
By: Panasonic Average Rating: 2.5 Total Reviews: 8
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 On: 2007-12-19
I bought a Panasonic Camcorder a few years back. I continually got a Dew Detected message. Got that fixed and shortly there after the sound was intermitant as noted in so many other reviews here and elsewhere - though I did not know it at the time. So I gave Panasonic another chance. I bought this model and it worked fine again for about a year or so...Then, Halloween comes around and the sound is not there, then there, then so low you can barely hear it then static then back. Needless to say as with others the moment was lost, FOREVER!
On: 2006-12-27
What a mess!! Last summer, I tried to tape some very special events and there was no sound. The very frustrating part was that it was a spuratic problem. One day it would work and the next day I got no sound. YOu never had any idea if it would work, which meant that some super special moments were lost forever. There was always a picture, but half the time there was no sound. I finally got so frustrated that I quit taping anything. Repair would be $175, so it is not worth fixing. I was glad to see that other people were having the exact problem, so I know it is not just me. My camera is going in the trash can. Dont buy this camera. YOu cant recapture those lost treasures.
On: 2006-10-28
This camcorder has ruined everything!!!!! The sound had worked on and off for a while- very unpredictable. We taped my sons birthday party in January and it taped the sound. We used it the next month to tape my newborn twins in the hospital and there was NO SOUND!!!! I was crushed. I tried another tape and magically the sound worked when I was just fooling around and not taping anything important, so I used it to tape their first tub baths- NO SOUND!!! It has missed them laughing, babbling, etc. We have no money to buy another camera. We paid $25 to get it looked at and the idiot man thought wed pay in excess of $175 plus parts to get it ("possibly") fixed. Are you kidding me??? We can never get those "firsts" back and I am soooo very upset. Customer Service was no help (besides the fact I could never understand the representatives) and I will not buy another Panasonic product. They couldnt even give me an approved Panasonic dealer anywhere close to where we live. We traveled 45 minutes to get it looked at. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA!!!! There are several of us that bought these and have had the same problems. Weve all bought them at different times too showing that Panasonic has some repeating problem!!!
On: 2006-06-14
I, too, thought this was an excellent camcorder for several months until I did a playback of one of those events that cant be repeated and....NO SOUND!! The video looks great, but...NO SOUND!! It had worked fine on several occasions and even now, I can shoot a quick video and check to make sure there is sound on the playback before I shoot the important moment I want to capture. Then I shoot the main event and, again, NO SOUND!! Sometimes it works fine, sometimes it doesnt...very unpredictable. I thought it was operator error on my part until I saw Mark Nolls review.
Panasonics customer service was no help at all. Its time for a new (non-Panasonic) camera.
So...you might get one that works fine, but with this camcorder, you are taking a chance that, at some point, you will miss something great.
 On: 2006-03-21
We bought this camcorder because we were going on Vacation to Disneyland and our other camcorder would not work. This camcorder is so much better than our other one was. When ever you moved the old camcorder to get various shots, it had to refocus, which took a few minutes. This one does not need to refocus. This camcorder is a little bit heavier than our old one, but it is easier to use. And the better quality makes up for the weight difference. This is a very good product and I will recomend it to a lot of people.
 On: 2006-01-15
I am from the old school. So I not only loved the VHS recording format, but if I wanted to dip into modern day technology the photo feature on this particular model will allow me to. Compared to other camcorders under $250 the picture isnt as great but good enough! Remember you get the best of both worlds with this one!! Its easy to use and its cheap!!!!!!!!!
On: 2005-08-24
I BOUGHT A NEW PV-L354D CAMCORDER IN MARCH OF 2005. IVE USED IT SPARINGLY. THE SOUND WENT OUT OR I HEAR STATIC & THATS ALL. MY WIFE WENT THRU THE ROOF WHEN WE VIDEOTAPED MY DAUGHTERS RECITAL & BIRTHDAY & ALL WE HEARD ON THE PLAYBACK WAS STATIC.IM FURIOUS. PANASONIC REFUSES TO HELP ME. SO HERE I AM STUCK WITH A PIECE OF S--T CAMCORDER THAT HAS NO SOUND. I WILL NOT BUY ANY PANASONIC PRODUCT AGAIN BECAUSE OF THEIR USELESS PRODUCT HELP DEPARTMENT. THANK U THANK U VERY MUCH. TORA TORA TORA
by: jemjr On: 2005-04-29
I wanted a camcorder that was reasonably priced, not too large and with the ability to use a VCR tape that could go directly into my VCR. This camcorder more than met these requirements. The VCR-C tape goes into an adapter and can be immediately viewed on a VCR. You can dub a tape directly to the normal size VCR tape directly from the camera. There are great digital effects possible - fading in and out of the picture in a number of different colors and shapes. It has both optical and digital zoom for a total of 70x. There is an image stabilizer for use when riding in a car or walking. Plus more features. Great LCD view screen.
With the newer digital and DVD recorders, this one may seem a bit out of date, but it is much more reasonably priced and is VERY EASY to use. The manual can be a bit unclear, but if you read it carefully, a few times, everything becomes clear.
Excellent product.
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