Panasonic PV-GS320 MiniDV Camcorder

Great Camcorder w/ Fantastic Image Quality - Recommended The "Panasonic GS320" has proven to be a really solid camcorder for use in our small business (used for making instructional videos). We were looking for a second camera that could come close to the image quality of our primary high-end Canon GL2 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom. The GS320 exceeded our expectations in our studio, with the following observations: Pros - Outstanding image quality from the 3-CCD sensors Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) works very well Accurate auto White Balancing Conveniently placed controls Great battery life Cons - "Cold" Accessory Shoe No built in light No external microphone input jack We have also started using this camera for our family events and have been very pleased with the results in "uncontrolled" environments outside our studio as well. Highly recommended!

[...] There are Vista versions of the packages software there. Also the included USB cable is all you need (so its actually better than using XP). I have tested this and the MotionDV software does allow you to send video to the Vista machine and save it. I have only had the PV-GS320 for a few days but I happy with the purchase. It is one of the last of the affordable high quality camcorders available and bridges the gap between HD and normal MiniDV. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is the low-light quality. This is probably normal for most camcorders though and it does have a horseshoe mount to add a light which is a must. You will probably want a second battery too.

Choose this camera if you want quite good picture quality but don't care about extra features. (I've owned this camera for six months and use it fairly regularly.) The Leica lens and the 3 CCD's are normally in much more expensive cameras (often called "prosumer") The picture quality really does look great -- the video picture is sharp and the colors wonderful (not so much on the still pictures, though). I am totally happy with the quality and, for me, that's the main thing. It DOES have a few "extras" that I use: 1) The still camera. While not a good quality as my dedicated digital camera, it is adequate. It solves the problem of having to carry two cameras. You can also take "web quality" frame grabs from footage as you review the tape. This is pretty useful if you are posting trip photos to a blog. The photos conveniently go onto a card which can easily be removed and put in a card reader. 2) A/V out You can hook this up to your TV and it works nice... Read more

I bought this camera for two purposes: 1) to replace an older VHS camera and 2) to use for converting my VHS tapes to DVD's. I give it 4-1/2 stars for #1 and 0 stars for #2. (In my research before buying the camera, I managed to miss the fact that the GS320 does not have AV input, so can't be used to convert analog to digital. Rats!) However, for everything else I wanted, I was very satisfied. Other reviewers have pretty well expounded on the pros and cons. I'll just say that the quality of pictures (both video and still) that we get with this camera is really great. When I first got the camera, I handed it our son who is studying Film Production and works with professional camcorders. After fiddling with the controls and looking over its features, he expressed great delight with my purchase. (Yesss!) It took me a while to figure out the menus and I haven't enough experience to handle the manual control options well, but overall, I would highly recommend this camera.

Great camcorder, watch for the color settings, It would help to point it at something neutral, like a hand befoe using it in extreme sunlight. Excellent product for the price!