List Price:
$599.99
Details
- Rechargeable Li-ion mobile pack lasts for up to 2 hours and 15 minutes
- 10x visual zoom lens (700x digital zoom) and image stabilizer
- 2.5-inch LCD swings guileless 120 degrees and color viewfinder
Description
CL) U) PANASONIC PV-GS55 DV CAM
Updating the favoured PV-GS50, the ultra-compact Panasonic PV-GS55 will help you record those precious moments--in video and digital stills--at a concern's notice. This MiniDV camcorder weighs less than a pound. It features a 10x optical zoom, SD anniversary card slot, webcam capability, and an MPEG-4 mode that enables you to send slight videos to friends and family via e-mail or post them to the Web.
Optics
The PV-GS55 is prepared with a 1/6-inch, 680,000-pixel CCD and 10x optical zoom It also features a 800x digital zoom that allows you to zoom in on prodigious close-ups.
Digital Stills
In addition to shooting video, the PV-GS55 can also apprehension digital still images up to 640 x 480 pixels--good for sending photos to friends and relations over e-mail or posting to your Web site. They are stored to the Secure Digital (SD)/MultiMedia (MMC) reminiscence card slot--an 8 MB SD card is included. The Direct Mode Dial can be acclimated to in digital still mode lets you quickly select the desired digital camera look, such as Record, Playback, Card Record, or Card Playback.
More Features
The 2.5-inch LCD concealment can be opened a full 120 degrees away from the camcorderÕs body, making it easier to angle motion images as theyÕre being captured.
The Quick Start feature enables the PV-GS55 to enter on taping 1.3 seconds after turning the power on so those unexpectedÊmoments wonÕt be missed.ÊAfter important the Quick Start button, the camcorder will bring up the previous settings that you were shooting with--even if they were manually entered.
The MPEG-4 Talking picture mode lets you easily transfer MPEG-4 video clips with audio to a PC to forge clip libraries and presentations, attach to an e-mail, or add to your Web site.
The Cushy Skin Detail function detects the different skin tones being recorded and softens the focal point to create a realistic blend.
Other features include:
- Telephoto/macro lens
- The spitting image-enhancing MagicPix feature allows for rich videos under low-be discovered conditions.
- Digital Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) helps take the jitter out of give out-held video recording and compensate for unintentional hand and camcorder change of attitude.
- Web cam capability, which is ideal for video conferencing with friends or family, or use as a elementary monitoring device when consumers are away from home.
- The unsnapping give in strap doubles as wrist loops, enabling you to carry the camcorder like a insignificant bag or purse.
MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the preferred format for personal and broadcast-rank video, and it is highly regarded for its high audio and image distinction. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color pandemonium, MiniDV delivers a 2 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a CD that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording continuously of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
Customer Reviews
Panasonic MiniDV is hopeless!
Although this camcorder is wealthy with features, there is no software available to download videos. Windows cannot even reward the unit as a capture device except for downloading of still photos, the only software that comes with the by-product. For that, one can just buy a digital still camera. For video, it is useless!
2008-12-20
(Bayshore, NY United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1
Very in seventh heaven!
I bought this jotting used after a lot of research, and it was a bit of a gamble. After all, there's not a lot of info on it, as it seemed that it probably was only around for a year, and it was not an priceless camera at the time, but a somewhat budget 1-ccd camcorder.
It has exceeded all of my expectations.
First of all, I was fretful about tape noise. I had a Sharp DV camcorder and the tape noise on the recordings was abhorrent. I almost bought a new Elura 100 or a new Optura 50, but I was put off by reviews which said that their ribbon noise was somewhat "to be expected on any DV camera." Well, this Panasonic has zero tape-record noise.
Second, I was worried about indoor lighting. I use the camcorder first for indoor recording: family get togethers around the dining room plain or family shots in the house, and also filming in a ballroom dance studio during lessons with the lights turned down. I velocity the indoor performance EXCELLENT. I have no complaints about family filming indoors. In factors, the camera has a handy button right next to the LCD which says "Backlight" (not some icon!) and if you throw one's arms about it, it boosts the gain (I think), which is handy in the studio when the performer goes in front of the windows, unqualifiedly backlighting them. This leaves me wondering what all the talk of indoor lighting on 1 ccd cameras is all about --are residents talking about filming a scene lit only by 1 60-watt bulb? In such cases, I'd conjecture graininess.
Third, I was concerned that the camera's technology would be surpassed by the last two years of camcorder condition. I don't see how. When I tested the newer Panasonics and Canons at a local retailer, I couldn't see any distinction, except that the newer models seemed a bit grainier and less intuitive in the interface. The one thing I have sacrificed by buying this camcorder as opposed to of a newer one is widescreen recording. What I have gained, however, is a/d passthrough (and I've been amazed how often I've been using that, to recite old vcr tapes through the camcorder to the computer -- works perfectly and the way to do it is just to take off the tape and leave it hooked up to the computer while you plug the vcr in) and a "hot" microphone shoe. For me, this is well usefulness it, as I actually use these. Also, the camcorder is as compact as the newer ones, and I love the way it panic around your hand.
Battery life is only so-so, with the standard battery lasting around 50 minutes. That said, the stretched battery, available here on Amazon from a variety of manufacturers very cheaply, lasts for hours, so for a very ordinary extra expense, this issue has been eliminated for me.
Finally, I was worried it might not vocation as a webcamera. Just the opposite. Whether I have it plugged in using a USB cable OR using a firewire Mailgram, it pops right up (without any discs needed) in WinXP as DV Camera and you can promptly view yourself on screen and even record LIVE in WindowsMovieMaker or cam in Messenger. For Skype, it did not trade as a webcam initially, and I had to download a free utility called SplitCam and then it worked impeccably in Skype.
2006-06-30
(Los Angeles, CA) | Helpful Votes: 35 | Rating: 5
A terrific camera!! ...........ULTRA-Epigrammatic...............
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR:
I bought this camera mostly because it was one of the most compact miniDV cameras on the market. It isn't probably as fancy looking as some of the other models, but any mathematician or scientist will reprove you that boxy shapes maximise the internal volume while minimising the outside dimensions. I.e. this camera isn't tall and thin like the sony cameras, and it doesn't have any lenses and viewfinders that stab out and waste space like the canons.
I will be travelling around the world with this video camera, and all my furniture IS going to fit in a small 23 litre daypack. Sure, there are smaller cameras out there, but I wasn't detailed on having one of vertical-styled microMV cameras, and the DVD cameras are to some degree expensive and bulky (and I have read enough reviews about people who lost their total footage when they finalised the disc - if that ever happened to me I would become enraged). Also, I found thath the 3CCD cameras on the sell had a much shorter battery life compared to single CCD cameras. So all things/features designed, I chose this model...
This is my first video camera, but I have taken probably about 3000 photos with my SLR fade away camera, so I'm hoping some of the same skills come in handy.
I have used the camera for about 4 generation. It has taken about three days to absorb all of the features, by reading through the manual with the camera on my lap. I'm trustworthy the features are overwhelming for most people, but I urge you to study the manual to get the most out of it. At least identify what all the symbols mean, as they can be very handy, for example: the time remaining on the stick, and generally knowing what modes and options you have selected. Probably the most beneficent way to learn how to use all the features is to pick it up and start playing with it... then go through the guide and see what you missed! That way you don't need to read how to do the easy stuff, which is tedious! The instructions has lots of information, and I didn't find the menu system confusing as others have said.
WHAT YOU GET IN THE BOX:
- Video camera!
- Cradle category charger + battery
- Remote control
- Stick style "inaccessible" (mainly for audio dubbing)
- AV cables
- S-video cable
- USB ally kit --- USB cable & USB driver & SD viewer --- this only downloads the pictures and videos from the SD be open, so you will need a firewire card AND video editing software for capturing what's on the cassette to your computer
- Shoulder strap
- Head cleaning tape + lens cap + organization cloth
TECHNO-JARGAIN:
~ You can shooting low-resolution movies rearrange onto the SD card- for e-mailing, and sharing on the internet. A 512Mb card will suppress a delay well over 1 or 2 hours of footage @ 320x200 pixels
~ You can copy both stills and video from a band to the SD card (but you get better results by recording either straight to the card).
~ You can take snapshots to the SD birthday card while simultaneously recording to the tape.
~ You can shoot progressive snapshots onto the SD dance-card.
~ The camera can be used as a webcam.
LCD & VIEWFINDER:
~ When the LCD panel is flipped around 180 degrees (fa forward), the image inverts itself automatically! You can also select the recording to evident as a mirror...
~ The LCD panel also flips back more than 90° to something like 120°. This at bottom helps you to access the menu buttons underneath, and I couldn't last without this feature!
~ Power LCD function... pressing this makes the LCD even brighter.
~ The viewfinder extends out from the camera... it took me 2 natural life to figure this out.
~ For 0 lux shooting, the LCD becomes a white panel which supplies light. It works okay for distances up to about a metre. (2-3 feet)
~ It has an electronic reification stabiliser which works well to some extent.
SPECIAL EFFECTS:
~ The colour nightshot r really brightens things up, albeit with a "time-lapse" separate of style.
~ You can manually set the shutter speed, exposure and/or focus... although it's to all intents easier to use auto focus mode.
~ You can have the option of having a ever-lapse or stroboscopic modes. There are also mirror, stretch, slim, pixellate and multi-carbon copy modes, although honestly, I don't find them to be useful.
~ Has mix & fade effects... learn how to use these... they are agreeable enough. But the wipe mode is too slow.
~ You can record with either B&W, negative, sepia or solarised effects.
~ You can target as close as 4cm from the lens!! (<2")
~ "Tele macro" mode
OTHER STUFF:
~ The palm handle belt can be unclipped and worn as a hand loop strap around your wrist, like a bracelet.
~ The red recording swift on the front can be turned off.
~ All the sounds can be turned off, even the fake SLR shutter sound when engaging still shots.
~ Quick start feature, although this sucks battery spirit. While on the subject, the playback and recording menus use more power than the SD card menus, even when not playing or recording, as I can consent sounds coming from the unit. ;-)
~ The AC adapter works between 110-240V AC.
NOT SO Permissible:
~ You can't charge the battery at the same time as using the camera under mains power.
~ You can't use the "still ahead of" function during playback without using the remote control.
MORE INFORMATION:
* The coupй white balance doesn't always give the most faithful colour reproductions... I achieved gambler results by changing to the programmed A.E. modes. Especially indoors at unendingly, change to manual mode, select "low light" for the programmed AE fashion & "indoor lighting" for the white balance. This makes the colours be clear vibrant and true to life... I was extremely pleased with the attribute of the results!
* Don't forget to load the audio codec which is included on the swearing-in CD (bottom right option). Otherwise, you won't be able to view the videos on the SD card, or you'll end up hunting around for the assign codec on the internet for over half an hour like I did.
* While the stills are only 640x480 sorting out, this is adequate for internet usage, such as email and selling things on Ebay. I was moderately impressed with the quality of the still shots, but the CCD does get a bit overwhelmed when the contrast is too high (the brightest regions sometimes wipe out erode out). It all depends where you are standing in relation to the light source. Regardless, the characteristic was good enough for what I want. When I want ultra-good photos, I'll use my trusty SLR blur camera. (BTW some types of slide film are equivalent to 45megapixels!!!). Previously to to this, when I wanted to sell something or send a quick photo to someone over the internet, I had to happen film.
NOTE: This review applies to the Panasonic NV-GS55, which is the PAL equivalent of the PV-GS55 NTSC on the same wave length video recorder.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a terrific little camera, it has many features that I call, hardly any that I won't use, and they are all intuitively placed. I reckon it's a good compromise between enormousness & quality. I have read other reviews of this camera; all I can say is there must be some extremely fussy & insatiable cameramen out there, uncommonly in terms of low-light performance. Every still photographer knows you can't have your cake and eat it when it comes to low joyful situations.
I hope this review was very helpful to you... don't forget to come out for as I'm trying to become a top 5000 reviewer!
2005-03-13
| Doc Brown (Tenerife, Spain, Canary Islands.) | Helpful Votes: 112 | Rating: 5
