Digital Trends

Panasonic PV-GS300

January 3rd, 2007 | by David Elrich

Conclusion

At a $549 street price this is a very good—not great—Mini DV camcorder. If you’re thinking standard definition and tape, this is a fine choice. Still, it is tape-based and you’ll have to deal with that including rewinding cassettes and the possibility of recording over important memories. If you follow some basic precautions to avoid that calamity, the value is there since you have to spend a lot more to get this level of video quality in HDD (think the Sony DCR-SR100 for $999). But I’ve had a nice sampling of high-def camcorders and it’s hard not to remember those images on my TV.

I’ve been prepped as to the new camcorders coming at the Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 7, 2007 and have been sworn to secrecy on pain of losing my 401K. Without risking my pension, I can tell you there will be far fewer Mini DV camcorders introduced in 2007 as HDD, HDV and AVCHD models come to the fore. It is the passing of an era—and good deals on “old-fashioned” Mini DV camcorders should be readily available.

Pros:

• 3 CCD imaging system
• Optical image stabilization
• 10x Leica lens
• Relatively affordable

Cons:

• Uses Mini DV tape
• Menu system could be better
• Sub-par widescreen video mode