Panasonic PV-GS400 Camcorder

[Ornery]

My birthday is fast approaching, and I've waited a LONG time to upgrade my camcorder. The Panasonic PV-GS400 looks like the current one to beat.


Panasonic PV-GS250 VS PV-GS400

• The PV-GS400 features better imaging specs than that of the PV-GS250 (three 1/(4.7) inch CCDs, each with 690K effective pixels for video and 1 MP for stills). It features better video quality in bright and low light than the PV-GS250, and runs about $150 more than the PV-GS250?s recommended price. On top of its superior video performance, the PV-GS400 also features a zoom/focus ring that also controls most of the camcorder?s manual controls--and there are a lot of them, as the PV-GS400 features all the manual control of the PV-GS250. On the downside, the PV-GS400, released last year, lacks the new navigational system of the PV-GS250. Then again, it has an amazing combo ring, and did I mention that the PV-GS400 has a 3? LCD screen? It's really an amazing camcorder, and if you have the money you should jump at the chance to pick one up.

 

[Ornery]

1. How about this Walmart camcorder?

 

[BooGiMaN]

how much is that going for and do you know what the difference between the gs300 vs gs400 vs gs500 is

 

[Ornery]

Looking at $1,200 or so, and the difference is low light level shooting ability, and the latest version will not do analog to digital throughput, which is a must for me.

 

[BooGiMaN]

you have done gone and got me thinking about replacing my camcorder and seeing as how i get a nice employee discount for the gs 500 this is very tempting

see what you done!

 

[Night201]

Panasonic makes great video cameras (some of them the best).

I have this camera and love it! This set me back almost $3,000 though!

 

[Ornery]

Well, keep thinking... I am. I'm hearing rumors about solid state and HDD based recorders. Maybe I'll just get a couple big HDDs for my birthday and sit tight on the camcorder purchase for now.

I was hoping cameras like that would be in the $1,500 range by now, Matt.

 

[Night201]

Unfortunately, the prosumer camera's are always around $3,000. I thought since they discontinued it that it might be floating around. I'll take a look on Ebay. It's a great camera and it does let you do analog to digital throughput. I've converted many of my older hi-8 taped to DVD that way (hi-8 camcorder -> MiniDV camcorder -> Firewire to computer.

 

[Night201]

Check it out: If you are looking to spend $1200 on a camera, spend $250 more and get the camera I have shipped to you! (assuming there is no huge bidding war).

LINK!!!

 

[PlatinumGold]

i have the gs250 myself. i only paid like $650 for the camera, paid like $900 after adding the extended battery, case, 10 tapes, extended warranty, shipping, uv filter lens etc.

 

[Ornery]

I can't bring myself to do Ebay on an item like that. That particular seller has only 1 feedback to boot!

 

[Night201]

A mic like this wouldn't hurt either...in time when you want to spend the money.

 

[PlatinumGold]

oh ya, forgot to add, i really do like it but it isn't NEARLY as good as the sony's in low light.

everything else it seems better than a comparably priced sony but low light, sony kicks its @ss.

 

[Night201]

Originally posted by: Ornery
I can't bring myself to do Ebay on an item like that. That particular seller has only 1 feedback to boot!

It would be risky, but it's a pretty good deal. That's almost a $1,000 less than what I bought it at. I also got the mic mentioned above, extended battery (6 hour battery), UV filters, Pelican case)...

Well, I'd say go with Panasonic or Canon for video camera. I've always been a big fan of Panasonic, but if that camera you were looking at does to A->D passthrough, then that sucks - you'd regret it. I'm not too much up to date with the consumer lines (especially the new ones), but I can do some research if you want.

 

[Night201]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
oh ya, forgot to add, i really do like it but it isn't NEARLY as good as the sony's in low light.

everything else it seems better than a comparably priced sony but low light, sony kicks its @ss.

Sony cameras have always excelled in low light conditions, but I never really shoot in a low light that is dark enough to cause problems with my camera, so that wasn't a problem for me. I was always able to adjust my exposure anyway since it's a fully adjustable camera.

 

[Apex]

Sony HDR-HC3

Footage taken from the HDR-HC1:

HDR-HC1 video

 

[Ornery]

1. Ow, my wallet can't look at any more!

 

[Night201]

Check this guy out: Link

He shot all of this with a Panasonic DVX100a. It's amazing what some people can do. Check out Water's Edge first (all the way at the bottom). He actually has tons more that I haven't seen, so there may be more that are nicer, but I can't imagine it. This guy does great work. Doesn't help living in a beautiful place where you can capture footage like this.

 

[Ornery]

They're artists, which I'm not, but I can still appreciate quality hardware.

Since DSLRs have dropped radically in price over the years, you'd think prosumer camcorders would as well... bummer. My upper limit is $1,500, and that's even pretty exorbitant in my book. If I were shooting weddings for money it would be a different story.