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Panasonic PV-GS120

 

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Panasonic PV-GS120 - Update

March 20, 2005

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my review, “Panasonic PV-GS120 vs. Canon Elura 70”. Now that I’ve had a while to play with my GS120, I’m ready to update my review. I thought I’d review it by listing a number of its features, explaining them and giving my thoughts about them. The manual for the GS120 and the GS200 are the same so I also list the differences between the two. Finally, I list the usual, Pros and Cons of the GS120. Please note, my review is a little lengthy but I know that if you’re serious, you’ll read the whole thing. I also didn’t want to be like one of those reviewers who write only a couple of lines that just say “Great camera, go buy one”. I was informed that the GS120 will soon be replaced by the GS150 so if you want to pick up the GS120, you should do so before it’s too late.

Note: I’m not sure how the same features fair with other miniDV camcorders in the same class. Therefore, if I mention that a feature is not good, it doesn’t mean that another camcorder does any better with the same feature.

3CCD:
The GS120’s CCDs are 1/6” but it has 3 of them. This provides a much brighter, sharper picture than a 1 CCD camcorder even if the 1 CCD is bigger, ie. Elura 70’s 1 CCD is 1/4.5” and the GS120’s picture is more vibrant. The number one issue in buying a miniDV is video quality, and from what I have seen, the GS120 has the best video quality in the same price range. Colors are vibrant and sharp. Why buy a camcorder with 1 CCD when you could get one with 3 CCDs for the same price?

Low Light:
The GS120 has a MagicPix function which helps to provide light in low light places. Here’s how it works. In this mode, the LCD screen becomes white, emitting a white light. When flipped to face the other way, facing forward, it provides some light towards what you are filming. Nice concept but I don’t like it because of two reasons: A. the light is not that bright, B. the shutter speed slows down immensely and any movement of the camcorder would result in extremely choppy filming. The manual describes this by saying “the recorded picture is presented in a time-lapse like manner”. Also in this mode, the shutter speed cannot be adjusted and the electronic image stabilization automatically shuts off. But even with a tripod, any movement will not look good because of the extremely slow shutter speed. To me, the MagicPix function is useless but if you do need to film in low light, I would probably go with an external video DV Light that will fit on the Smart Accessory shoe. For still shots (Camera Mode), there is a low light mode for recording that brightens a dark scene. No, the GS120 does not perform well in low light but is there a camcorder in the same price range that does?

Battery:
The included battery only lasts the length of recording one tape. You’ll need to buy another battery to record longer. The manual says that the included battery lasts 2h30min but it didn’t last that long for me. Must be because I didn’t use it in “optimal conditions”. Here’s a list of Panasonic batteries that are compatible with the GS120:

Battery	Max Continuous Recording Time	Charging Time
VSB0470 (included)	2h25min	2h10min
CGA-DU14	3h	2h45min
CGA-DU21	4h30min	3h55min
CGA-DU07	1h30min	1h30min

AV-DV passthrough:
For some reason, correct me if I’m wrong, but the manual doesn’t mention anything about AV-DV passthrough. The GS120 has AV-DV passthrough that is great for those who don’t have a video capture card on their PCs. This would allow the transfer of Analog video to Digital video. With this capability, you could transfer videotapes from your VCR to your GS120 and then to your PC via a Firewire cable. In addition, for those who don’t have a TV tuner on their PC or a DVD recorder hooked up to their TV, the GS120 can capture a program from your TV that can then later be transferred to your PC. In both cases, after the video has been transferred to a PC, it could then be burned onto a DVD. Not sure why the manual doesn’t mention AV-DV passthrough. It mentions something about hooking up the GS120 to a VCR to record a recorded cassette from the VCR. The manual calls this “Recording the Contents of Other Equipment”. I tried capturing a TV program onto my GS120 and then transferring it to my PC and the picture was excellent.

Zoom:
10X Optical, 700X Digital. I find the 10X Optical is enough for me. I turn the digital zoom off because of pixelation after 10X zoom, using digital zoom.

Electronic Image Stabilizer:
Not that great, gets more and more shaky, even with Electronic Image Stabilizer on, the closer you zoom. Better to film on a tripod, for this reason, it’s great that the GS120 is top-loading so you can load the tape without removing the camcorder from the tripod.

LCD Screen:
Can be flipped upwards, all the way around, to face the front or downwards to face downwards. With the LCD screen open normally, you can push the end towards the front for a little more flexibility. You could flip the lcd so you could film yourself and the image on the screen flips upside down. The LCD does get a little solarized if you move it so you’ll need to either adjust the LCD or move your head to see it perfectly.

Cinema mode:
Not 16:9 mode, just crops off the top and bottom. You don’t get a wider view. You’ll need an anamorphic lens for true 16:9.

Zoom Microphone:
When zooming in using the lens, with Zoom Microphone enabled, the microphone zooms in at the same time. I liked this feature because it would work well outside with other noises around. An external microphone can also be added using the accessory shoe mount but the zoom feature will not work with it.

Webcam:
Webcam can only be used with Win Xp/MSN messenger so I’m not sure if this mode would work on Macs. In this mode, you’ll be able to stream video over your network or over the Internet. In web camera mode, you can’t record onto tape or card. Haven’t tried this feature yet so can’t comment on it.

Pictbridge:
Allows printing of pictures by directly connecting to the printer. I don’t have a need for this and don’t think I’ll ever use this feature.

Digital Effects:
There are a number of digital effects in the GS120 that you can use while filming such as Multi-mode, Picture in Picture, Wipe Mode, Strobe Mode etc. but personally, I just shoot the raw footage and then do all the effects on my PC. For those who do digital effects while they are filming, you must open the LCD screen to access the digital effects.

Camera Mode:
The GS120 enables you to take still pictures just like a digital camera but only at 1.2 Mega-Pixels. The least expensive digital cameras on the market can take better still pictures than that.

Click to see actual still image shot in Fine Mode (best quality).

You can also do digital effects in camera mode while taking still pics like Negative Mode, Sepia, etc. but I would rather do all that on my PC after taking stills on my Digital camera. The GS120 doesn’t have a red-eye reduction feature but the GS200 does. Again, this can be taken care of on a PC. Still pics are saved onto an SD card (included is only 8MB) that can then be transferred onto tape or to your PC, using the included USB cable. You could also transfer still pics if you have an SD card reader on your PC. I wouldn’t take stills on any camcorder if I intended to print them out. Useful for emailing or posting on the web.

Manual Adjustments:
The GS120 doesn’t have a focus ring like the GS200 but you could still adjust the focus manually using the rewind and fastforward buttons. Other manual adjustments can be made on White Balance, shutter speed and Iris.

Ergonomics:
Nice size, fits comfortably in my hand when I sleep at night (joking). Important buttons seem to be within reach.

PV-GS200 features (GS120 doesn’t have these features):
o Mpeg-4 – moving pictures recorded on SD card
o Red-eye reduction
o Focus ring – you could still manually adjust the focus with the rew, ff buttons.
o Magic wire Remote Control with Narration Mic
o a photoflash
o Higher Mega-Pixel for still shots: 2.3 compared to 1.2 for the GS120

Seems like the GS200 is better for taking still pictures but still doesn’t compare to a Digital camera. GS200 has the same video quality as the GS120, 3 CCDs, 1/6”.

GS120 Pros:
o 3 CCD’s is the best part of the GS120, isn’t video quality the most important aspect of a miniDV camcorder? Excellent picture.
o Great sound
o AV-DV passthrough is great for capturing video from other sources
o 10X zoom is sufficient for most users. Maybe bird watchers would need a more powerful zoom.
o Zoom microphone isolates sound of source.
o Good ergonomics.

GS120 Cons:
o Low light performance
o Battery life of included battery
o Electronic Image Stabilizer should stabilize better

Thanks for reading this far. I guess you are serious! Good luck with whatever camcorder you choose!

Canon Elura 70 vs. Panasonic PV-GS120

February 26, 2005

Just a bit of background info. I consider myself a video enthusiast more into the "computer" side of video such as converting different video formats for CD, VCD, SVCD, DVD and the Web. I would also transfer them from Analog to Digital and vice versa using different techniques to come up with a format that would be at least as good or with minimum loss of quality from the original. I have been doing this for a few years now. I wanted to upgrade my old Sony camcorder so I started my research. Being the frugal guy I am, I did an immense amount of research in video magazines and on the Net, including Camcorderinfo.com. Great site BTW. I also knew that the new line of miniDV camcorders would be out soon so I wanted to get a good deal on a miniDV before they were replaced with newer models. I then wanted to have the opinions of the people who sold miniDV cameras so I visited every local store that carried miniDV camcorders. My minimum requirement criteria was as follows:

• Under $1000 CDN
• 16:9 widescreen
• S-Video
• External mic input
• Top-loading cassette
• High Optical zoom
• High-quality video

After my research, it came down to 2 camcorders, the Canon Elura 70 or the Panasonic PV-GS120. CamcorderInfo.com rated the GS120 as the best camcorder under $800 USD for 2004. They were both under $1000 CDN. The GS120 was a little bit more, but could I justify the extra few bucks? I thought the only way to know for sure was to try them both side by side.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I wanted to mention that not only the camera itself was important, the accessories were also high on my list. Remember to look at what accessories the camcorder comes with because even the necessities can really add up. Don’t forget to factor in the cost for the camcorder bag, the extra battery, wide-angle lens, firewire cable, S-Video cable, battery recharger adapter, miniDV tapes, lens cleaner, tripod, etc. These accessories alone could cost hundreds. You may also have a need for an external microphone, extra lighting, software packages, etc. One big thing the GS120 came with that the Elura didn't was the battery adapter recharger. I wanted to be able to charge an additional battery at the same time as using the camcorder. With the Elura, you'd have to plug the whole camera in to charge the battery. Buying a Canon charger separately costs a little more than a few bucks. 1 point for the GS120. The Elura comes with a WA-34 Wide Attachment but, coming from the reviews, it doesn't work well.

Firstly, I would like to mention a few things Camcorderinfo.com's review didn't mention. As some of the reviewers mentioned, the 16:9 is not TRUE 16:9 on the GS120. Panasonic calls it "CINEMA" mode. First I tested the GS120. I focused in on a wall of the store, identified 2 reference objects on either side of the ends of the LCD monitor, went to the menu and turned the CINEMA mode on and off and noticed that it only cuts off a portion of the top and bottom to achieve a look of 16:9. I couldn't see wider coverage as I switched to Cinema mode. Doing the same test with the Elura, however, achieved better results. When switching the 16:9 mode on and off, I noticed that my reference points would move in closer towards each other and away from each other, which meant I had a wider range of view. 1 point for the Elura.

Both cameras had S-Video, external mic inputs, and were top-loading.

The Elura 70 has an optical zoom of 18X and the GS120 has a zoom of 10X. After testing both zooms, I find that 10X zoom is sufficient for my needs. 18X is nice if you want to zoom in on someone’s pupil. I also noticed that in most of the top end camcorders $2000+, the zooms were all around 10X-14X.

Probably the most important feature for me was the quality of the picture. Testing them both looking at their respective LCD screens wasn't enough. I had them both hooked up to an LCD screen one by one. First the Elura. Nice picture but only 1 CCD. Then we hooked up the GS120 and I noticed a considerable difference in picture quality! 3 CCD's definitely produces a more vivid picture! I didn't think it would be much difference but it's definitely noticeable. If you just had the Elura, you would see that it's a great picture but if you compared it side by side with the GS120, you will see what you’re missing. This difference alone, to me, was worth the extra few bucks. I’ll give 2 points to the GS120 for this one.

I just picked up my GS120 today along with a wide-angle lens to achieve 50% more vision. When I save enough money, I'll get an anamorphic lens to convert full 4:3 native format into 16:9 widescreen format. Other accessories I also bought are a camcorder bag, firewire cable and miniDV tapes. I'm going to update my review after I've played with it for a few weeks. Please check back soon to see my experiences.