We are professional photographers and travel writers who bought the DVR-510 to experiment with branching out from still photography to video. This was our first attempt with any video at all, and we are absolutely delighted with the experience.
br /
br /It's a snap to use. Just open the flip screen on the side and rotate it into good viewing position. Push the on/off button and you're ready to go. You can zoom in or out on the subject, start videotaping and pause whenever you like.
br /
br /We took "Old Faithful" erupting and had a chance to set up the shot --- with the camera placed flat on a viewing bench (to avoid "camera shake") and centered on the geyser. It filmed the whole eruption without stopping and even captured the sounds. Very nice.
br /
br /Coming back, we got caught in a "buffalo jam" --- a buffalo herd was wandering all over the roadway, so all traffic stopped and everyone stayed put and quiet. Buffalo are very big, unpredictable, and often dangerous. Asking them to pose was not an option. With the video camera hand-held out the car window and pointed (as best we could) at the buffalo, we had no real expectation of success. Surprise --- the video turned out just fine (a little jumpy in places, but fine). A little editing cut out the jumpy parts, and we are very pleased with the results.
br /
br /If you're looking for a handy, friendly, small video camera to have fun with, this one's for you!
br /