Digital still and video cameras have matured in the last two years. For so long, consumers have been confused and misled by optical and digital zoom, what each offers and which is better. Digital zoom, for example, is seldom useful, most often interpolating the median colour between two separated pixels. Optical specs are the best ratings to look at for big zooming without image distortion and degradation.

Panasonic has gone above and beyond, releasing its NV-GS35 with its massive 30x optical zoom, dwarfing the usual 20 or so times zooms found on other cameras. To take full advantage of the 30x, you'll want to be tripod mounted or bracing on a solid surface.

The ability to take still shots and store them on the SD card while recording film is a real bonus. Removable still image quality is average, but will do the trick in a pinch. The camera is comfortable to hold, and while the body isn't the smallest on the market, it makes good use of the available real estate. The zoom and still image capture button are exactly where your fingers will rest, while the thumbstick control makes menu navigation a breeze.

Looking closer at the feature set, this camera also has a LED light for low light shooting, doing a good job of lighting a dark scene, but doing so at the cost of digital noise creeping in and a hit to the frame rate.

The GS35 ships with two remote controls, a wired basic one with zoom in and out slider, still image capture and shared record/pause button. The wireless remote gives much more control over playback, menu navigation and time/date stamping. Unfortunately the range is somewhat short, so you won't want to stray too much further than self-portrait or remote capture tripod shooting.

Overall, this is an exceptionally well featured camera with a bargain asking price. The NV-GS35 may fall short in low light and still shooting, but for those who do a lot of distance shooting by day, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better at this cost.