Mini DV Panasonic PV-DV400 Camcorder for $439

[valkyrie]

I don't know if anyone's still interested in this deal, but with the rebates extended, this is still one HOT deal. I've decided to get the PV-DV601 myself (basically, the 800 model from last year, with better CCD, a 1/2" smaller LCD, and the inclusion of the remote control). NOTE: the $100 rebates are only good on LAST year's models - 480,000 pixel CCD's. This year's CCD's have 680,000 pixels.

Also to note:

Onvia carries the spare batteries (1.5 and 3 hour version) for this thing. With free shipping, they have deals that can't be beat anywhere else right now.

Onvia also has some nice firewire cards for cheap (I grabed the Pyro Basic, works well with Win2K for $44 shipped).

Enjoy!

 

[Stifko]

I will try pricematching it in the Sears in the Bronx. This sounds like a really hot deal.

 

[Free2Best]

I am thinking of buying one of these, but didn't see this message until today. Thanks guys for bringing this out again.
Wish me Good luck



<< I will try pricematching it in the Sears in the Bronx. This sounds like a really hot deal. >>

 

[SIGKILL]

Can you point us to the rebate? Panansonic's site still shows the old rebate that's expired.

BTW, valkyrie where did you order you DV601? Is Camera sound still the best online deal? I tried pricegrabber, and lowest was like $50 more than camera sound.

 

[SIGKILL]

Sears has 0% financing till 10/2001. Ends 4/14...

 

[awbvious]

I must say this really is a damn fine deal. I'm a visual arts student in the market for a dv cam for a while now. I read about the PV-DV400, PC Mag gave it editors choice about a year ago (back when it was like 1200, cheap). It's a tiny thing though, if i remember correctly, which is what most of you would probably want anyway (they said it was kinda akward to get to the buttons...).

I am seriously thinking about this deal, i mean, this is *definitely* the best you are going to get under a thousand. Someone mentioned the Elura2, and in general I've heard canon's got the goods. Both the optura pi and the elura2 are probably your best bang for the buck, over a thousand. Both good high quality 1-chips that will run you at least a thousand.

I've **heard** you can get three-chips (CCDs) used for 1500+, with firewire, if you look hard enough at professional video places. But I've yet to see it, though this, of course would be ideal (3-chips are that much better, but usually cost like 2000-2500 cheap). This is what I was planning on doing, because it would be a better long term investment for me as a would-be filmmaker. But this deal is soooo honey, I'm seriously thinking of getting on it (if it works).

(By the way, anyone else know if they could get good, used 3-chips from professional outlets for like $1500?)

EDIT: rebate location:

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/camcorder/rebate.asp

 

[Chulalongkorn]

this is a HOT deal! i'd jump on this if only...

somebody can tell me about the use of the firewire link?
- does it do digital video transfers thru the firewire?
- can the software control the palmcoder (thru firewire) to do edits so that i don't have to transfer them to my harddrive first?

i've used a high end jvc miniDV, but returned it b/c didn't have the features above.

TIA!

 

[karbon4]

hey you guys. i had almost forgetten about this post...

I've had the video camera for about a month now and upon hearing about the new model I'm having some issues. The new model offers a usb connection and pushes up the CCD to 680K. The current model is 470K. Does anyone know how big a difference in picture quality the new model will be in comparison to the older one?

The photo quality is okay if you take it in the middle of the day, even then it's grainy, but i don't believe you'll get good quality unless you go to megapixel cameras. I'm not quite positive what the previous question meant, but you are able to download video onto your computer via firewire. I'm not sure that you can edit it on the camcorder though.

I'm tempted to get the PV-DV401 b/c of the pixel count but I can't seem to find anything lower than $631 which would be $150 more, after shipping, than I paid for the dv400. Does anybody think this is worth it? Can anybody find me a good deal on the PV-DV401? Thanks.

/k`4/

 

[SIGKILL]

I think I would use the $150 and get a Firewall adapter and extra batteries. That's what I'm planning to do. My $0.02...

 

[funks]

This is a great camera, I sold mine to one of the peeps here in anandtech for 650$ but it came with extra accessories like UV filter, 3 BLANK tapes, and the LIGHT... Didn't know these things were that cheap considering I bought it for 899$ at BEST BUY about two months ago but got the 100$ rebate.


They have a newer model now, the PV-DV401 which is kinda the same beast, it has the same specs except it has USB, 20X zoom, and support for SD (secure digital - proprietary mmc's), and a bit better ccd - 675K pixels I think. It also costs several hundred dollars more..

This thing has great video quality - although it won't replace your camera for stills.. I found the video picture quality to be better than my bro-in laws TRV-320E (D8).

BTW be carefull with these online camera stores, they will call you on the phone and basically try to sell you their OVERPRICED accessories.. If you dont' buy an accessory, it suddenly becomes out of stock with a 3 week waiting period. It happened to me when I tried buying online and pissed me off, hence I went to BB..

Funks

 

[valkyrie]

I think the higher count CCD is worth it myself (on the newer models). Sure, you don't get a rebate, but the equivalent 2001 models are a tad cheaper than the 2000's (I think). There's only two problems I've heard with the Panasonics. 1) The picture isn't as nice as some other manufacturer's (which is because they had a lower CCD count last year). That issue should go away as the pixel count on the 2001's is 680,000 (the standard for 1 CCD cameras nowadays). 2) the lens cap sucks. I can live with that, probably buy an OEM 43mm lenscap or something.

By the way, there are several changes between the 2000's and 2001's you should be aware of:
1) Check the specs - the 400 and the 401's are NOT the same camera. For example, the 601 that I'm buying has everything and more than the 800 did last year (except for the 3.5&quot; screen, the 601 only has a 3&quot; screen).
2) The 2001's use a smaller lens (43mm instead of 49mm). This will be good to know when you buy the filter to protect the lens.
3) Sears does NOT carry the 2001's (yet). They only have the 400 model (at least the website and the B&amp;M's near me).

Finally, check www.mysimon.com for the lowest prices (better than pricegrabber, and they actually list the pv-dv601). I can get the 601 for less than $730 shipped. To me, that's a steal. I've been watching it for about 2.5 weeks now, and it seems to drop about $5 to $10 a week. Both adigitalplus and adbuy.com both have some great prices on the cameras, but are all those NY/NJ camera stores. Buyer beware.

For mini-DV tapes, go to www.protape.com. They have 10-packs of the 60 minute Panasonic DV tapes for $49.99!

Hope this helps you all. Enjoy. (tip jar to the left). j/k

- Valkyrie.

 

[karbon4]

Okay. So I got some information from a friend of mine and he said that a 200K pixel jump will make a sizeable difference in picture quality. The image quality is more imporatant to me than the $150 and is still a great deal. The new camera having a USB input for the digital still is nice too, the serial was unbearably slow. So i'm going to attempt to return the camera to Sears today and see if I can get a refund and then get the new model from BuyDig.com or Beach Camera (found from pricewatch). I've yet to turn in the rebate so in all reality, it'll be a $50 price difference. I think this is well worth the 680K which will be a large jump in picture quality of both film and still.

/k`4/

 

[karbon4]

What's the deal with NY/NJ stores? I've never purchased or heard anything about them. Somebody wanna give me a heads up?

 

[valkyrie]

They're just super-cheap because they try to get money other ways:

Overprices accessories (tiffen filters for $30 or more that cost $10 at my local camera shops or even amazon.com). They're very pushy about accessories at times.
Overpriced shipping ($30 for UPS ground on a 2lb package).

Go to www.resellerratings.com for more info on the stores you want to use. I'm going to call dbuys.com, I think cause they have a 6.5 after 25 reviews. That's better than 90% of the stores listed. Plus they have my camera choice for $699 ($1099 retail).

 

[valkyrie]

I thought I'd update you all. I just ordered from Dbuys.com (Dave) and I did pretty well. $699 + 39.90 for 2-day shipping. They did try to get me accessories, but after I told him about the prices I got elsewhere, he was cool. They did try and push the service contract, but not too bad. Once I told him I wasn't interested, they let it go. All in all, if this arrives on time, I'd say I got one hell of a deal. Now, I just need to run over to the camera store and grab a UV protector filter for this bad boy.



- V

 

[Free2Best]

Hey, Does the batteries ( from batterybank.com) work with the charger coming with the Camcorder? Does the Charger work with both 110v and 220v? I need to travel around, so better have a universal charger.

 

[valkyrie]

For those interested, I'm pretty impressed with Dbuys.com already. I called today expecting to hear &quot;we're sorry, the unit isn't in stock and won't be shipping....&quot; and so forth. Not only has my unit shipped, it went out YESTERDAY (the day I ordered it) and I've already got tracking info. Wow, all-in-all, I'm VERY impressed. nearly 40% off the retail price, quick shipping, a toll free number that actually gets answered, and the lowest prices on the net. You can't ask for much more than that. I'll let you know how they packed the unit once it arrives.

Later

- V

 

[karbon4]

So I returned the PV-DV400 and opted for the 401 due to the CCD quality. I plan to by it from Dbuys.com as soon as the money gets redeposited into my account. I'm glad it went well for you, hopefully mine will too.

/k`4/

 

[valkyrie]

karbon, you may want to consider the 601 model. It's only about $70 more, but you get analog-in which allows you to take analog media (other video tapes, etc) and digitize them to miniDV tapes. You also get the remote control that doesn't come with the 401. Otherwise, the models are the same.

At least something to consider. Cripes! The 601 dropped another $5 today at dbuys! Oh well, I had to jump in some time.

 

[sygyzy]

karbn4 - I was here with you when you brought up this deal. I am curious how you got Sears to accept a open boxed, used, over 1 month old camcorder for return?

 

[valkyrie]

Especially if he turned in the rebate!

 

[Bagger]

valkyrie, he clearly stated in an earlier post that he hadn't turned in the rebate yet.

 

[valkyrie]

Gee, guess I better read a little closer. Thanks for the tip.

 

[1greatguy]

Can't recommend this camcorder after reading reviews!

Take a look

The last review there really scared the crap outta me!

<< Suddenly, the tapes we recorded wouldn't play properly anymore: there was no sound and the tapes looked like a progression of stills, rather than continuous video. We called customer service, and they walked us through all of the menus to make sure we didn't have any settings wrong. We didn't have anything wrong, so they said they would have to take a look at it. If we would ship the camcorder to Illinois ($40 shipping), they would look at it for $249 and then tell us how much it would cost to fix. >>



$300!!! And he's not the only person to mention that problem, other reviews have had similar problems, like this one at Amazon



<< I took two hours of video with this camcorder, including about 20 pictures, with 5 pictures from recorded video. I put my camcorder away in a video bag protected from falls and heat etc. for a few weeks and the next time I took it out, I found that the voice does not work and that the picture looks like it is strobing. After calling the 1-800 number for support, I was told that my camcorder was out of warrantee and that it would cost me approximately... to fix. >>



I have an old JVC VHS-C camcorder and I'll keep that until i can find a suitable replacement, but if i were to purchase one I think i'd go with the similar Sony's, I'd kick my own ass if I spent $439 for this camcorder and when i had problems Panasonic tells me it's gonna cost $300 to fix!!

 

[Immortal1]

Jumped on this deal last month when it first posted. Been looking at this one and a JVC but the rebate and being able to PM at Sears really swayed me. Didn't have any problems price matching at Sears.
I have used this camera quite a bit and don't have any complaints-really quite good picture quality on both the stills and the film.
Will need to get a firewire to upload to the computer.
Also found the best deal on a 3 hour battery at $35.10 plus shipping. Fast service and no problem with the battery so far. Batteries4Everything