Camcorder Question - Panasonic PV-GS70 (1 Viewer)

[Rodney S]

I've been looking at purchasing a new camcorder and I am curious about the Panasonic PV-GS70. I think it is the first camcorder below $1000 with 3 CCD's. Does anyone know how well it stacks up against other camcorders in the same price range? Also, what is the build quality of Panasonic camcorders, are they any good?

Thanks for any opinions on the matter.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Again, don't know this particular model, but we've got a Panasonic camcorder and it's excellent. Generally speaking, Panasonic are excellent for anything connected with video recording. I've got a Panasonic VHS recorder and DVD recorder and both are superb at their jobs.

 

[Adam Bluhm]

The biggest thing that swayed me from the GS70 (I recently purchased a Sony TRV-22) was the digital image stabilization. Optical is better and this particular model does not have the feature.

I played with it briefly at Circuit City and a helpful fella was telling me that he thought the pic quality was awesome. It's a small cam and fits the hand very well.

One thing I didn't like was the fact that it's impossible to use the menu button without reaching your left hand across your face. Someone else said this on a message forum and I thought they were either exaggerating or handling the camera wrong... but they were exactly right.

I'd give it a look at Circuit City. It looks like a pretty nice model.

 

[Tony Whalen]

Rodney.. I don't know specifics about that model... sorry.

However, I used to use pro-level Panasonic gear, and it was always top notch. A 3-chip camera for under 1000? I'd go for it. Panny has never disappointed me with thier cameras...

 

[Ryan Wright]

I just considered replacing my TRV33 with the GS70 yesterday. Did a lot of searching on it, but decided to keep the TRV33. Few reasons, note that these were according to dozens of different threads and comments on various forums:

1. Overall quality between the two appears to be a wash. You'd expect better quality from the 3CCD camera, but apparently, it's not much different.

2. Low-light capabilities also are nearly identical.

3. I like the touch-screen on my TRV33.

4. Both cameras have "Copy Inhibit" DRM protection. Actually, it looks like most do nowadays. I was going to replace the TRV33 for mainly that reason, but since the GS70 has it, too, what's the point?

5. The GS70 doesn't have a real 16:9 anamorphic mode. TRV33 does. GS70 simply crops the top and bottom of the 4:3 picture in 16:9 mode. The TRV33 actually gives you a wider view in 16:9 vs. 4:3, and stretches the image to use all of the scanlines. End result: Beautiful, 16:9 anamorphic video.

6. TRV33 is a good deal smaller, and I wanted a small cam.

Overall, though, everyone really seemed to enjoy their GS70. If you aren't picky about getting a real 16:9 mode and don't mind the slightly larger size, go for the GS70. It's got a built in flash for your stills (whereas I have to buy one for my TRV33) and also loads the tape out the side rather than underneath, so you can change tapes while on a tripod.