1.6 Megapixel Image - 1.3 Megapixel Video - 10x Optical Zoom - 700x Digital Zoom - MPN: PVGS150
Strengths: Video quality, Ease of use, Size and Price
Weakness: Manual could be better. Also zoom button a little out of place until you get used to it. This could just be because it is different from my previous camcorder.
This is the first digital camcorder I have purchased and I am very satisfied with it. The picture quality is excellent. The joystick control is also very handy. It actually has more features than I require or will probably ever use. I really like the size, not much bigger than my hand. I chose this model primarily because of all the positive rewiews I read and the price was within my range. It has exceeded my expectations. I was initially looking at the GS120 but with the $50 rebate, the price difference was not that much. The only problem I have had is the "remaining tape" indicator gave me a false reading once. I ejected the tape (to see if it was really at the end) and when I reloaded the same tape, the counter again appeared accurate. Not sure what happened, but it only happened that one time and I have recorded several hours over 4-5 tapes. Overall, if you are looking for a digital camcorder in the GS150's price range, you can't go wrong with this one!
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TopHi!
Thank you for your write-up. Very helpful. Would you mind telling me where you got that awesome deal from?
Thanks!
mugaldo
Strengths: compact, easy to use
Weakness: low light shooting
This is a great camera for the casual user. I bought it for typical family use, vacations, kids activities and am very pleased. The compact size makes it really easy to carry and use. One-handed operation with the image stabilization feature produces sharp, clear pictures. Auto-focus works great, as does auto-exposure in outdoor conditions. The built-in 3x zoom is acceptable, but one of the great features of this camera is that you can add filters and accessory lens. I tried a 2x zoom and well as a wide angle lens and the results were quite satisfying. Even the still photos were sharp and colorful and with the highest resolution you need only very inexpensive 64MB SD card to hold more than 60 snapshots. Low-light indoor shooting was not great, but I'm talking really low-light. Ordinary indoor shooting with house lights on should be fine. And you still have plenty of options if you want to experiment with some of the pre-set exposures. This is all-around a fantastic choice for family use. The only problem you're going to have is actually finding this camera at a good price. I called at least 10 different on-line merchants ( all cheaper but "backordered") before finally settling on newegg.com. Paid a little more, but worth it to avoid the hassle.
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TopStrengths: very good value for money
Weakness: not an "infrared" camcorder
I am a novice point and shoot person and wanted a cam which worked simply and well and did not cost the moon. Did a lot of research on Camcorder info.com and other sites and finally settled for this one as the canons have zoom problems(zoom gets struck)(Canon Elura 90- if I would have bought it i.e) and some folks are planning to take JVC for a court case (DFOU550 US) and finally bought this coz it has everything. Read about RED LINES on some sites as a problem and sure enough tested it in dark and the red lines appeared on the LCD but hardly noticeable. Don't buy this if you want to take pics/ shoot in the dark all the time.But ifyou like outdoors and light this is a neat little thing and works wonders. the supplied software was so easy to use that I was instantly editing and made a VCD of 20 min length on the first day itself.Ordered from 6 Ave.com free shipping.Sent me a brand new box in 05 days. Overall am pleased with the purchase and don't read the RED line issue and not buy it. Its so stupid that it is ignorable(RED LINES)- the guy who wrote it on pana3CCD forum made a big hullabullo out of nothing. I love my cam and it takes great pics& movies.GO FOR IT. In case you want to buy a particular model(any cam) search it in yahoo or anywhere else like I did" Problems with Canon Camcorders".or "Problems with PAnasonic camcorders" or whatever. That way you will surely weed out the ones which may cause problems later on. I found that mostly Panasonic users were the most satisfied ones. Firewire is not needed at all and USB downloads the video to the PC very quickly & neatly.
Hope this review is of some help to you.
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TopStrengths: 3CCD, 2+ Megapixel Digital camera, Zoom Mic & Price too!
Weakness: Camera has flash light but instead should have had a light that could be used in low-light/night. 10x zoom.
I fell for the 3 CCD sensor that this camcoder uses which usually is used in professional video cameras that are priced above $1000. There is a 2.3 megapixel digital camera in-built, that can be used to take snaps at the same time while video taping. Eventhough more megapixel cameras are available these days, 2+ can be used for 4x6 prints & file sharing and obviously handy.
" Panasonic has other models with more megapixel for more money :) "
There is a zoom mic, which can be turned on/off that will go along with the zoom to record distant voice.
It has flash light but instead should have had a light like most of the other camcoders in the market do, that could be used in low-light/night. (There's an option for external light but you should have alternative power for that). Also, it has only 10x zoom. I would have liked it more with ~20x zoom. (If you are interested on more zoom, you can use a 2x/3x telephoto lens which is optional)
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TopStrengths: Video Image quality is excellent. Easy to use for a point-and-shoot camcorder. Top-loading tape mechanism.
Weakness: Low light performance is average. Manual controls are a little clumsy.
After doing quite a bit of research on the camcorders in the sub-$800 price range, this was the best out there in my opinion. It has received many good reviews regarding the video picture quality and the new joystick control. The manual control is somewhat clumsy, you use the left and right of the joystick to increase/decrease the setting. Overall, I have been extremely pleased with this camcorder and have not found any regrets.
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TopI think the toggle is great. It's easy to use, and simple software. I worry more about accidentally hitting the record button and putting it on pause.
Strengths: Vivid outdoor colors. Nothing can't beat 3CCD! Compact size. Nice joystick menu navigation.
Weakness: A fatal flaw of low light performance. 3 faint red lines appear under low light when recording and paying back. It seems a GS150 design problem as most users report this issue.
I got my cam for a good price and was very happy until I found the report about 3 red lines problem in low-light recording at pana3ccduser dot com ("red alert" issue). I tested mine immediately and unfortunately noticed the red lines. It's less noticeable when playing back on TV though. Some people return theirs immediately but I'm still debating. I loved the great outdoor picture quality but the red lines in low light shooting really upset me. Hopefully Panasonic will come up a solution to the issue.
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TopStrengths: Really, really good picture quality, quick focus, logical operation, quickly accessible menus
Weakness: low-light shooting, photoshooting decent but crap compared to the real digital cameras, instruction manual not written well.
In daylight, this camcorder owns all others. But in dark places, it's not good. There are 3 faint red lines too. I wonder why, oh well. I wouldn't even capture footage in the dark, since I'd just waste tape. But this camcorder focuses quick compared to others. Even though it's pretty stable, you'll notice shaking at high zooms. Last, the instruction manual is not written well. Directions are broad, but this camcorder should be pretty logical to use. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, but I'll give it a 4 because it isn't 5 quality.
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TopStrengths: Good image quality. Nice size. Comfortable grip.
Weakness: Joystick is great, but menu button is placed out reach of your thumb making accessing the menu options a 2-handed job.
My first DV camera, but so far very satisfied. I'm still working on getting a firewire port to use with the pc... the picture is good and the true widescreen is very nice. The menu button is just out of reach of your thumb, unfortunately, otherwise the controls are pretty good. A focus ring would be great, but for under $600 I've got no complaints.
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TopStrengths: Picture quality in good lighting. Size - perfect fit for the hand. Decent battery
Weakness: Picture quality in low lighting
Like everyone says, the quality in low lighting isn't so great, but not much worse than others I've seen. You won't be making a Paris Hilton video with this one (does not have infrared). It does have something called magicpix for night shooting, but the picture gets sooooo blurry, you can only record objects that aren't moving. This camera can't be beat in the daylight or inside with good lighting (at least not in this price range). Just buy a light for it and it's perfect.
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TopStrengths: color is fantastic, manual controls are readily accessible with the joystick, pictures are easy to snap and look fairly good
Weakness: zoom toggle is under the middle finger, zoom is difficult to maneuver slowly
This is my first camcorder and I don't think I could have done better. Camcorder is simple to use with the automatic mode. Manual controls such as white balance, gain etc are simple to learn and a definite bonus. White balance has options for indoor lighting and outdoor settings and I found these to be better options than the auto white balance. Although there is a manual focus option, it is not easy to use and not real practical when filming. The auto focus seems to do a good job anyway. The zoom toggle takes getting use to since it is under the middle finger while the pointer finger rests on the still photo button. Overall, I am quite pleased with this camcorder.
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TopI haven't found the zoom to be difficult. I can use my middle finger fine, or use either one with no problems. It's a matter of hand position. As far as the zoom smoothness, I think it's o.k. You just have to learn to move your finger smoothly and slowly. I used to be a professional photographer and did stills and video weddings. With practice, camera movements become second nature to you. I usually compensate with my left hand anyway if I feel the need to. It stabilized your shot better, and allows you to move your thumb easier for the toggle. As a former pro, I always used both hands and put my elbows against my chest. Hope this helps!
Strengths: 3ccd, ease of use, value
Weakness: manual controls, no supplied SD card,
After much reasearch I chose the Panasonic PV-GS150 MiniDV. The 3ccd provides great video even in low level lighting. Was very easy to pick up and start using. With a retail price of $699 was able to find a seller using pricegrabber for $520 and receveid in 4 days. Still trying to play with the manual controls. I wish they would supply a small SD card for pictures as my other digital camera uses compact flash.
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TopStrengths: 3 CCD and easy to handle
Weakness: The manual supplied, no SD card supplied
Great choice of camcoreder at the price I got it for. Sadly no SD card supplied with the camera but that definitely overshadows the quality and ease of use of the camcorder.
Very delighted with my purchase.
Order was received in less than a week from "Beach Camera"
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TopStrengths: 3CCD, 2.3 Megapixel Digital camera, Easy to use
Weakness: The menu button is out of reach of the thumb
This is my first DV, I am very satisfied so far. But I have trouble getting how to transfer the video to PC at the beigin. The information given in the manual is not very clear. Anyway, for about $600 DV, it's a very good choice.
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TopI've had my camcorder for about a month now. Having used a Sony TRV-68 Hi8mm for several years, I have something to compare it to. I also have a 5.1MP digital Sony camera, and used to be a photographer. Hopefully, that gives me a diverse perspective on cameras. I won't bore you with tech specs. I wanted to upgrade to digital and figured the color and images would be a lot better than Hi8mm. So...after much reading and comparing, I chose this model. All in all, the features are great. I find the small size and weight to fit nicely in the palm of my hand, and for carrying around, say at the zoo, it would be great. I hike and paddle, and it is a great camera to do that. Nothing heavy or clumsy to hold on a river...just palm it, shoot, and drop it in a dry bag. Same thing in a forest. Palm it, shoot, and slide it in a side pocket of a pack or fanny pack. The remotes are cool also. I haven't found the joystick to at all difficult or confusing. I really like it, and don't feel that it is awkward to reach. The zoom has been noted to be in the wrong place for your fingers, but again...no problem. The colors are great, although I think the focus could be a little crisper. My only gripe is the night and low light ability. I took my Hi8mm and the 150 out at night to film snow. The Sony gave me good quality exposure, while the 150 was fuzzy, grainy and sort of reddish orange. In fact, it loses quite a bit before the Sony does. I don't know why, but I'm sure somebody will tell me! I really like my infrared on the Sony. For camping, etc. it's cool. Only conflict is do I want great day shots and lose the low light shots, or great low light shots with lesser color saturation? Derned... I wish when I was doing video weddings, I'd had something with these colors! I give it 9 of 10; the one point being for next to nothing quality in low light. Don't even bother with the low light features.
Strengths: 3 CDD. Easy to use
Weakness: manual book
This is the first camcoder. I am very pleased to have it. The quality is real good compare to 1 CCD camcoder. The battery lasts for 2 hr. But I still did not get how to transfer the video to PC. The manual does not give good information about it.
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TopStrengths: 3CCD, compact, easy to use n well priced
Weakness: low light shooting, manual needs to be upgraded
This is my second cam and am pleased with the results compared to my previous sony. i bought it after my son's birth so that i can capture the magical moments of his growing years.
The compact size makes it really easy to carry and use. One-handed operation with the image stabilization feature produces sharp, clear pictures. Auto-focus works great, as does auto-exposure in outdoor conditions.
But the camera needs a lot to be desired.
Overall al great buy, i got it at a good price from dbuys without any hassle or even the most dreaded "order confirmation call".
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TopStrengths: 3 ccd, Ease of Use, Value
Weakness: Manual Controls, No included Sd Card
After lots of reasearch using many sources, I chose to purchase the Panasonic PV-GS150. The playback color is very good even in low level lighting. Was very easy to learn the basics to start shooting video. I located the seller using Pricegrabber.com, and got my camera for $579 and recevied in 3 days(retails for $699).
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TopStrengths: 3CCD, Value, Ease of use
Weakness: Manual Controls, No SD Card Included,
I after much reasearch I chose the Panasonic PV-GS150. The 3ccd produces good color playback even in low level lighting. It was very easy to pick up and start using right away. Wish it came with a small SD card as all of my other digital cameras use compact flash cards.
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TopStrengths: Image quality (3CCD)
Weakness: No EIS for Wide Mode; No AV input
Before I bought this camcorder, I did quite some research among some popular models, especially between Panosonic and Sony. Sony usually is catching peoples' eyeballs for its dimension and easy-to-use feature. But after a side to side comparison between Sony DCR-HC32 and Panasonic PV-GS150 at Circuity City (it's done by having two camcorders connected to the same HD LCD TV and each occupy half the screen), I decided to go for GS150. The image quality definitely is superior than HC32. The color is very vivid to its real color. That's the most important factor to me to buy the new DV to replace my old Sony Hi8.
The only things I'm not so satisfied with are two things: it doesn't have EIS when turning to Wide Mode. As a tradeoff, when shooting 16:9 videos, you better eithor zoom as few as possible, or have a tripod ready. Another thing is that it doesn't have an AV input. As a result, I have to go for other ways to convert my existing Hi8 tapes into digital.
Overall, it's a great camcorder, especially with a great price around $500 at DBuys.
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TopStrengths: Good lens, easy to operate, weight, lcd display, general features
Weakness: Not very good for night scenes. The shutter speed is slow and all videos are shown with drag.
This camera has a very good price/quality ratio.
The lens is very good and also the general image quality.
The menus are very straightforward and I would very surprised that this camera wouldn't be a best seller in it's category.
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TopStrengths: This camera takes beautiful movies, the colors are extraordinary. It fits in the palm of your hand and all controls are easy to use. I liked the large LCD viewer and 10X zoom focuses quickly.Great buy
Weakness: Only problem was keeping the camera steady at more than 10X zoom despite the stabilization feature.
This camera is a great buy. Purchased it at Digital Foto with a $50 rebate from Panasonic for $549. It is selling at Frye's discount for $699! Had the camera in 5 days with no hassle, no tax, no shipping. They were the best.
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TopStrengths: Great picture and sound quality
Weakness: Autofocus is flaky
We used this camera for 18 months, then the autofocus quit working. This appears to be a common problem with this camera: Google "GS150 focus broken" and you will see what I mean.
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TopStrengths: Beautiful colour rendition.Sharp details.
Weakness: Low light performance.
I have been into digital camcorders for a long time and was very excited at the prospect of a 3 C.C.D consumer camcorder.In good lighting conditions this camcorder is the dogs nuts!!!.But in low light it is very dissapointing and even Panasonic dont know why. This is a shame because if you only use in daylight (or good light conditions) you will be blown away by the difference in quality from normal mini dv. Just a note mini dv and h/disc camcorders had similar issues re picture quality and they have not been resolved as yet.If you seek great picture resolution in good lighting then this is for you.If you shoot in low light or poor light stick with your basic mini dv camcorder.
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TopStrengths: 3CCD, nice shape
Weakness: cannot use EIS in 16x9 mode, low light shooting is not so good, zoom is slow, hard to use manual focus, little "control knob" is too small
I'm not really happy with this camera, compared to my old Canon ZR40, there are many things that it cannot do as well as the Canon: zoom is only 10X, in 16x9 mode, image stabilization is disconnected, low light shooting is nowhere near as good as my ZR40, manual focus is hard to set because there are no"clicks" to feel so I don't really know how far to move the knob, other than by looking at the picture, battery is a lot harder to fit in its slot, viewfinder does not tilt it only pulls out (though I never use it, anyway), still photos are average. About the only thing that is better is 3CCD image quality, other than that, this camera is not that great.
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TopStrengths: Image quality, manual controls
Weakness: none for the price
Image quality on this camera is excellent. Great manual controls and handling. Leica lens, image stabilization, and battery performance are very good. At this price you will not find anything better.
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Panasonic PV-GS150 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 3.11 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #30 MiniDV camcorder of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a product's...
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The Panasonic PV-GS150 is a stunner of a value. The middle of the line 3 CCD camcorder this year, it may not have all the features of its superstar sibling, the PV-GS250, but it is an excellent camcorder in its own right. It features most of the same manual controls as the PV-GS250, which is saying something for a camcorder you can buy for under $550.
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Panasonic’s PV-GS150 is the manufacturer’s middle-line 3 CCD camcorder this year. It comes between the PV-GS65 and the PV-GS250 and fits between the two in terms of imager specs as well as features. While the PV-GS150 lacks some of the features of the PV-GS250, it makes up for it in value to make a great, affordable camcorder.
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PV-GS150 MiniDV Digital Camcorder
Strengths: 3CCD, 2+ Megapixel Digital Camera, Zoom Mic, Joystick.
Weakness: Camcorder Manual
This is my first digital camcorder, so I can't compare to other DV's; I've had two Hi8's starting in 1990.
I am impressed by the small size of the camcorder, picture quality, the fact that you can transfer video to the computer without loss of quality. It can transfer video to a computer by a DV or USB connection in DVD resolution -720x480 pixels in NTSC format- ideal to edit and transfer to a DVD disc to be watched in any of the DVD players (USB requires driver installation, provided on CD). If you have not done it, remember to have mic zoom feature turned on in the menu. I love it that now both picture and sound can be focused on the person being recorded (this could be accomplished only by using remote mics before).
As a bonus you have a digital camera built in. It won't replace a true digital camera, quality is not there. But it is good enough for on-screen picture viewing, web publishing or emailing to friends and family. I found a 128MB SD card for $16 +S&H, it is good for 100 pictures at highest resolution and compression quality. You can send pictures directly to printer via USB, don't print anything bigger than 3x5 or you'll most likely be dissapointed. The camera has build-in flash, it is poorly positioned (to the side) so it gives a shadow to the side of an object, which farther lowers perception of the quality of the picture.
This camcorder has one odd accessory, a remote wired mike with camcorder controls. I was excited about it until I found out that it is wired, and the wire is quite short (less that 4ft!). I am not sure if I will find it usefull for any tasks with the camcorder.
The manual is one of the most poorly written one for an electronic device. Fortunately for me I have some experience in camcorder operation and video transfer, but fresh video enthusiast would have a hard time with this one.
All in all, considering the price, the camcorder is worth 5 stars in my book.
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