I am rating this a 2 only because you HAVE TO use the lousy software that comes with it.I would like to say that J. Henry said all that was going through my head. I don't have the patience for this...if I could just convince my hubby to try the comparable Sony we were looking at....it just didn't seem to be as user friendly....that might be something I can learn to deal with and overcome! Great Camera, lousy software and no way around it!

This camcorder is great, it is my first dive into the consumer video world and so far I am pretty impressed. The zoom is killer, the ease of use is great. I am a tech so I did not feel the need to install the built in software since I feel that the bundled software stinks, that goes for most consumer products. I filmed a couple of videos, plugged the camera into my pc, and voila! There they were, ready for me to watch and/or edit using any software I wished to use. This process took approximately 10 seconds. For those wondering my setup consists of Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1, but I imagine if I plugged it into xp or the other versions of vista, I would get similar results. The editing software I used is Adobe Premiere elements 4.0, although I am confident that if I plugged the videos into the built in video maker, I would not run into any problems as the format is pretty standard.

I only write this review because I feel some of these low ratings are unwarranted. The camera itself is great, and although the picture quality could use some improvement (then again I have not played with all the settings yet) I think this is a great camera for a lower budget, the only real improvement I could see by going to another camera is if a High Definition camera is purchased.

Hope this review helps.

We haven't had the H60 very long, but so far the camcorder is meeting our expectations. The VideoCam Suite 1.0 software is another story...a story of frustration and disappointment. The software has a number of serious flaws:
* License agreement allows for installation only "on a single camera at a single location." My wife and I use different PCs for photo-related processing, so that's a problem.
* The user interface and editing procedures are anything but intuitive. I spent several hours yesterday trying to figure out how to do simple edits. I work with software everyday of my life. VideoCam Suite is among the worst software I've encountered. Maybe things will improve with practice, but at this point, I'm not a happy camper.
* The camcorder manual basically says that you MUST use this software to process images recorded on this camcorder--no other software will work. So far that appears to be true. Did Panasonic come up with a proprietary file format?!? I'm still trying to find a work around for that flaw..

This is my first camcorder, so maybe I would have run into these problems with a different manufacturer, too. In summary, it's a very nice camcorder with typical Panasonic quality. But they really messed up by using what appears to be a proprietary file format and very lame, mandatory software.

I don't know who came up with the video processing software for this item but they should go back to school. The manual claims to not guarantee that it will work and they were right. I use Windows XP service pack 3 and it only works with Vista or service pack 2. You have to make sure any other program is closed and even then trying to transfer a video to DVD took me a couple of hours becauses I had to keep restarting the program. that said, I am still trying to figure out a way to make it work because the camera is so easy to use and the functions are great. So, a double edged review from me.

This HDD camera is outstanding and wonderful when you are recording moments in your life. I have had this camera for over a year and used it to film two conventions and other events. I think this camera films beautifully, it is the converting that can drive you crazy. The software that comes with this camera stinks and you will end up buying other software to convert the footage you recorded. I decided to buy AVSmedia, which converts my footage to anything version I ask it to (MPEG, MPEG4, AVI, etc.) Panasonic is not to be fully blamed, though they could have included better software. Otherwise, you will love this camera to death!