- The Good: Three-CCD design; 16:9 wide screen mode; incorporates 2.3 megapixel still camera with flash and hot shoe; both Firewire and newer USB 2.0 connectivity; embedded protective lens iris eliminates need for separate lens cap; function wheel and mini joystick simplify operation; electronic image stabilization.
- The Bad: LCD viewfinder panel must be opened to access SD card slot; handgrip surface plastic is slippery; zoom control placement not ideal.
- The Verdict: Panasonic's mid-level three-CCD camcorder offers a good balance between advanced features and point 'n shoot simplicity.
- style="list-style: none">
REVIEW:
Three CCD imaging is usually associated with pro camera gear, but a few manufacturers, including Panasonic, have brought this technology to the masses. The PV GS150 is the company's mid-level three CCD design, and I've seen it advertised in stores for less than $1,000 (Cdn.).
Colour saturation and purity are the strong suits of three-CCD designs, and the video from GS150 is very pleasing. I tested the camera both indoors and outdoors. Even in a fairly dim living room lit only by daylight through the windows, the camera recorded very usable images with good colour saturation. Outdoors in bright high-contrast scenes, details either burn away or go into deep shadow as you might expect, but for anything other than extreme lighting, the camcorder does a great job of recording the scene. I have some old footage taken with a semi-pro Canon GL1, and okay, the Panasonic's output isn't as good, but the Canon (when new) cost nearly four times as much.
The camera includes a stereo microphone, and its sensitivity is tied to the zoom focal length, allowing you to better match what the lens and microphone are picking up. The GS150 also includes a microphone jack, and a special external microphone-remote control combo that lets you control the camera while recording narration. The lens is a 10x optical Leica zoom, and the camera incorporates a digital image stabilization system that reduces camera shake at high zoom settings.
With the TV world moving to widescreen, eventually the current square-ish 4:3 picture size will seem as quaint as Super-8 film home movies, but with its eye to the future, the GS150 will capture video in 16:9 widescreen mode.
This Panasonic model is thicker than Sony or Canon DV camcorders, although this doesn't adversely affect its ergonomics. And if you have any experience with camcorders, you won't need much of an orientation to be up and running with this unit. The outer case is very clean with surprisingly few buttons, but the few that are there are clearly marked. The mode dial is straightforward, and protruding from the middle of the dial is a mini-joystick to control tape transport functions. The joystick puts the most common tape functions into a single control that's a model of functional simplicity.
One aspect of the controls I did not like was the position of the zoom control, which naturally falls under your middle finger when you grip the camera. Most people have better dexterity with their index finger, and on this camera that dexterity is all the more important because the variable zoom control (the further you push to the left or right, the faster the zooming) isn't particularly sensitive at the beginning. This makes it difficult to sustain a very slow zoom in or zoom out. Furthermore, the slick plastic on the handgrip conspires against you shifting your grip slightly to manipulate the zoom with your index finger.
Firewire isn't a common feature on PCs (although standard on Macs) but until recently, was the only way to transfer video from a camcorder. Newer camcorders, the GS150 included, incorporate the more common USB 2.0 connector, making it that much easier for PC users to download video.
Digital video camcorders now use three distinct recording systems. Cameras that use miniDV tape, which evolved from larger tape formats like VHS and 8-mm, are still the most common - and least expensive. For the past three years, cameras that record directly to a DVD disc have been making a steady drive for market space, and now camcorders that record directly to an onboard hard disc drive are carving out their own niche. Does this spell the end to MiniDV? Not immediately, and the GS150 has two features that keep it "modern" - 16:9 widescreen recording and USB 2.0 connectivity.