Panasonic PV-GS80 Mini DV Camcorder
- Camcorder Type: Digital
- Recording Media: Mini DV
- Optical Zoom: 32x
- Weight: 0.99 lb.
Available From
Why are these offers here?
Lowest Price!
- Overview
-
Reviews
- Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
A good camcorder
Pros
Optical image stabilization and large zoom. Price tag.
Cons
Annoying message when you start shooting. Takes a few seconds to boot up.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If, like me, you're waiting for hard-disk based camcorder to become more affordable, this is a great intermediate choice. Inexpensive and good quality.
I bought this camcorder to replace a Sharp (a really really bad camcorder), and I was attracted by its low price, and seemingly good performance, in particular by its large zoom and optical image stabilization. So far, I haven't been disappointed. The optical image stabilization works really well, and does not produce unnatural movements in the video, to the point that I leave it always on. The menu is intuitive, with just the right amount of controls. The video quality seems quite good, given the low price. I haven't shot much in low-light, but with such a small CCD I wouldn't expect this camcorder to be stellar in that area. The one thing that I find annoying is the semi-transparent "Recording" message that appears on the display when you start recording, for a couple seconds, obscuring whatever you're shooting. Apparently, you can't remove that, and that's too bad. It gets a bit annoying after a while (what's wrong with the usual, simple, red dot when recording is on?). The camcorder seems relatively sturdy, does not appear to be too cheaply made, but isn't terribly sophisticated in its design either.
Another minor annoyance is that you'll need to connect the camcorder to the power supply with a cable if you intend to download your video to your PC via the firewire connector. In most cases, this isn't a real problem because you'd need to do that anyway for any lengthy download.
Note that this model does not save still pictures to a memory card (it has none). That was actually a plus to me! The only thing is that I have hit the "photo" button my mistake a couple times, which records a still on the tape (really not a very useful feature anyway).
Finally, another minor annoyance: apparently, the webcam takes a few seconds to calibrate the color: often time, if I start shooting as soon as the power is on, the image starts very blueish, then after 1-2 seconds it adjusts to a more neutral color temperature. This isn't too bad, but it adds to the power-on -> start shooting delay (which is already a bit long for me, at about 3s).
All in all, I'm happy with this webcam.
Another minor annoyance is that you'll need to connect the camcorder to the power supply with a cable if you intend to download your video to your PC via the firewire connector. In most cases, this isn't a real problem because you'd need to do that anyway for any lengthy download.
Note that this model does not save still pictures to a memory card (it has none). That was actually a plus to me! The only thing is that I have hit the "photo" button my mistake a couple times, which records a still on the tape (really not a very useful feature anyway).
Finally, another minor annoyance: apparently, the webcam takes a few seconds to calibrate the color: often time, if I start shooting as soon as the power is on, the image starts very blueish, then after 1-2 seconds it adjusts to a more neutral color temperature. This isn't too bad, but it adds to the power-on -> start shooting delay (which is already a bit long for me, at about 3s).
All in all, I'm happy with this webcam.
