Panasonic HX-A100 HD Wearable Action Camera Digital Camcorder (Black)

I did a lot of research, and chose this after side by side comparison video found on Youtube. The choice came down to the Sony and Pani since their Video capture quality was much more superior to the others. It makes sense considering Sony and Pani have tons of chips laying around from their hug video recording offerings for consumers and professionals. The headstrap is perfect for "day-in-the-life" blog style video. It is very secure. The cord is a bit short, but the other end of the spectrum would be to have a cord that is too long and clumsy so I prefer the length as is. It's not meant to dive into an ocean with, and that was not my priority when chosing this format camera. I am very happy with the build quality, video quality, sound quality, and FOV/POV. Dont regret buying this to add to my collection of photo/video gear at all.

This is a low quality video recorder that is overpriced by about $100. The low light resolution and HD quality is poor but if you look at the size of lens you cannot expect better. On the positive side it is easy to operate and extract video and pictures. It is waterproof as I did try it snorkeling. I have used the camera bicycling, kayaking and snorkeling. In every case I operated the camera by pushing its buttons with NO remote or visual depiction. The use of a smartphone or tablet to operate it is ridiculous. Did you ever look at their displays in bright sunlight? Impossible to see anything. The streaming operation of live video is something that I cannot imagine a use for; so I did not try it. I did try the setup for streaming and found it to be difficult so I gave up.The head mount that comes with it is acceptable but not great, you have to use it as there is no other way to mount this camera. That is a serious problem in any other application. The cable to the controller is only about 2 feet long which also makes it difficult to use in other mounting applications. I did not use any of the included software as it is not necessary or useful, don't clutter up your machine.The most irritating finding in opening the box is that they DO NOT include a memory card. It is disgraceful that Panasonic sells this at an inflated price and does not include a card. You cannot do anything with this camera without the card. I happen to have a spare microSD card so I could test it. I should send it back but I will keep it as a toy. I have posted some of the video on YouTube.Just found out that Amazon ripped me off and has now reduced the price $100. I have sent the unit back as there is no way Amazon can refund the difference.

Update:-------I finally made it to work with ustream, therefore I can share my new impression of this camera.It is a good quality product, very stylish. When it finally works, it works well.A hardware's downfall would be its short battery life while streaming and that the battery is neither removable nor you can connect the camera to a power source while streaming.But I keep my first opinion about the software part (Lumix Club & the mobile application): both are buggy and poorly designed. It is a shame to have a software looking like a development version with such a good hardware.Initial comment:----------------First impression after few insuccessful hours of setting-up.I bought this cam especially for live broadcasting on USTREAM, and for this part Panasonic takes its customers for idiots: I have never seen a software so poorly design, if designed at all.You need to use a smartphone app to configure it all. Don't hope to use this app without a manual, there is no logic involved here. And even with the manual, steps are unclear at best. The worst part is the Lumix Club registration, it is a big joke. Few examples: when you get registered you dont know your ID yet you need it to login, and to get it you need to find a computer to follow a lost ID procedure; they don't know how to use links on their website; their FAQ sends you to your manual which sends you back to the FAQ...During the configuration you have to enter SSID and password in at least 2 places for no reason. And finally live streaming is not working.

The Camera is great. Really. In my opinion it is also safer to have a camera by the side than to mount on your forehead in case of impact.The view the camera captures looks good to me and I think the functionality is great (wifi connectivity, over the web viewing etc).One thing that I find difficult is to learn to use the camera. I only learn how to use the functions after a few uses to be able to take the nice POV videos and the automated timed shots.In terms of battery life, it lasts only about half a day (or about 160-70 shots for a per minute per shot).But once you learn how to use it, it is really a cool gadget to have!

Even the cheap Panasonic TA1 outperform this A100 in terms of FHD Quality in MP4 at 1080p30.Please note what the tech specs says: 1.3MP effective recording pixels. (FHD 1080p should be 2MP+)UPSCALED 1080p FHD VIDEOS with LITTLE DETAILS.That's why my FZ150 (8MP effective), FZ200 (8MP ef.), V700 (3MP ef.) captures 1080p movies faithfully, not this A100.And if you have a GOPRO HERO3 BLack, you know what I mean.The tech specs is honest. PLease read it before you buy.

Took the camera on a recent trip to Europe. It was great! It captured everything I was viewing without having to put a camera to my eye. I used the iPhone app to view what I was shooting. You do nee to set some things on the camera and app way before you pal an to use it. It is not an "out-of-box" usable camera, but once it is set up, it works great!