|
| 
 enlarge
| Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
List Price: $499.99
Buy Used: $419.99
You Save: $80.00 (16%)
New (2) from $489.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 30
Minimum Focal Length: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 12 x 14 x 10
MPN: PV-GS320P-S
Model: GS320
UPC: 037988980277
EAN: 0037988980277
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Fantastic February 19, 2007
18 out of 24 found this review helpful
Great product, I can always say that DV recording much better quality than recording to hard drives. Battery life is short but I got the bigger battery so, I can record up to four tapes with CGA DU21.
Works GREAT with a Mac! September 1, 2007
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
This camera works fantastic with our iMac & Macbook. It is a breeze to get video from the camera into iMovie. I accomplished it on my first attempt & no documentation was required.
You make the connection via Firewire, turn the camcorder to "play" mode and iMovie will detect the connection. You just click the "import" button and watch your video be copied over. The video quality is fantastic. My wife was really impressed.
We made the mistake of originally buying a JVC Everio (hard drive based camcorder). While it was possible to get the video onto our Mac, it was by no means easy. After going through about 300 different procedures, you would finally be done. But then it was complicated to manage the files. It was a giant waste of money & time.
This camera worked easily right out of the box. I am highly impressed. And of course, because we own Mac's, we didn't have to waste time by installing stupid software onto our computers (the unit does come with a CD-ROM for PC's).
We paid $365 for this unit. All in all - fantastic camcorder!
Perfect Camcorder for us July 17, 2007
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I've had a Canon Z45 for over 5 years and it has provided me with reliable performance and decent quality for home and vacation video. When we purchased our 42" widescreen TV and began taping in 16:9 aspect ratio, we found during playback that the image quality was definitely hurting. I thought I should replace my Canon with a HD Camcorder, however, my research failed to convince me that the time is right - high cost, various recording media, difficulties editing and unknown capability to transfer to a standard DVD. I currently like the ease of making DVDs to share with family and friends with our HDD recorder.
Researched standard definition camcorders and I was sold on the PV-GS320. 3 CCD sensor, 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, size/weight and great price. I am amazed at the quality of the video and sound - it is absolutely phenomenal - to quote others `crisp image, true-to-life colors'. To my eyes it's close enough to HD for my videos. My wife was skeptical of the need for a new camcorder but when she saw the first video, she was astonished at the difference. My wife and daughters enjoy the playback with the remote for slow motion and freeze frame. It is a great tool for critiquing my daughters' swim strokes.
Great price, received in 3 days. Easy to set up and use. My 10 & 12 year old daughters have no problem taping, playing back or using the joystick. Others have criticized the lack of a microphone input and the quality of the digital camera. I believe the internal microphone is excellent and I have a good digital camera for taking still shots. Battery life is short - ordered a CGA DU-21.
NOTE: Not an upgrade over the GS300! October 5, 2007
15 out of 20 found this review helpful
Correcting another review:
This is NOT an upgrade over the PV-GS300!
The two camcorders are exactly the same except that the 320 has NO microphone input. That is the ONLY difference.
Also, a CCD is the digital equivalent of film. It is a computer chip that changes light into digital information. It has NOTHING at all to do with the zoom. If you are zooming to 25-30x, the lens has reached its zoom limit. What is happening is the camera's computer is cropping and enlarging the picture to LOOK like it is zooming in. This dramatically decreases the quality of the picture. The PV-GS300 can zoom in 10x its widest setting without resorting to this "Digital Zoom".
Now, I'm not completely sure of the technical stuff in this paragraph, but here's what I think it is: A CCD can only use one color. So, an 1 CCD camcorder actually shoots in black and white. This image is then converted into color, hence the poor color quality on these camcorders. On 3CCD camcorders, each CCD deals in either red, green, or blue. This way the color quality is FAR higher than with only 1 CCD. All professional camcorders have 3 CCD's.
Now, about this camcorder. I have owned the PV-GS300 for around 6-8 months. I can't really remember which. The color is the best you can get with a sub-$1500 camcorder. The quality and detail is also superb. I don't know why you would choose a Sony HC96 (with ONE CCD!) over this baby. The menus are easy to navigate, the screen is bright and clear, the camcorder is easy to hold and operate... I could go on and on and on. My only two gripes are: the hand strap is fairly narrow, so it begins to hurt a little after a long time wearing it tight, and the editing software that come with it is pitifully useless. I use Adobe Premiere and Avid Liquid when I want to make things look good.
The only better standard definition camcorders are (for some reason, they're all Panasonics...):
PV-GS400 (discontinued, but in its time was sweet)
DVX-100b (~$3,000)
I don't have the words to describe the amazingness of the DVX-100b.
Nice camera albeit missing a few things February 17, 2008
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I just picked up this camera locally to use as a backup/crash cam for a AG-DVX200 prosumer camcorder. It works fine and by all means is a good camera for the money but there a few features that are annoying enough that some folks might want to avoid it (none of these points are a deal breaker for my purposes).
1) There is no audio input so you're stuck with the microphone that is in the camera.
2) The USB, DV and power ports are located behind the battery. This wouldn't be so bad except for the next point.
3) The charger will not power the camera and charge the battery at the same time. This is a good way to force us to purchase a second battery. We need a second battery anyway..
4) The hand strap position makes NO sense. It is far too low slung making the camera fit loose in your hand. Once you loosen your grip on the camera, it flops around in your hand uncontrollably. Not a problem if once you grip it again. Bah!
5) The hot shoe is actually a cold shoe so there is no way to trigger an external flash when using the still camera mode.
While those points are enough to sway away most users, this camera is about low cost high quality video, not the normal features consumers have come to expect. The camera is solid and produces a fine picture. The controls are usable with one hand so you can make adjustments on the fly fairly easily. Pressing the camera button during video recording or playback will cause a still image to be recorded to the SD memory card - kinda neat. Finally, it works with Linux so dvgrab just pulls down video on demand.
I'd give this camera a 7 overall and a 9 on picture quality. For the price, it's probably the best picture wise. You have to decide if the negatives are a show stopper or not.
I think for someone who is interested in a low cost high quality SD (standard definition) camcorder with picture quality being the number one requirement, this little camcorder is the ticket.
|
|
|
2005-2007 Zone1electronics All rights reserved.
| |
