Panasonic PV-GS80
Panasonic PV-GS80 Features:
* Optical image stabilization
* 32x optical zoom
* 2.7″ wide LCD
* one-touch navigation and joystick control
* high-speed shutter (1/60-1/8000)
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Panasonic PV-GS80 Press Release Details
Panasonic today announced three new value-priced digital camcorders using MiniDV tape and SD Memory Card1 storage media and boasting such advanced features as Panasonic’s Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) system, newly developed lenses2 for extended-width 16:9 shooting, 3.1 megapixel still-picture recording3, shutter speeds up to 1/8000th of a second, one-touch navigation and joystick control, and 2.7-inch wide LCD.
At the top of the line, the $499.95 (MSP) PV-GS320 combines a Leica Dicomar ED lens and a virtually light-loss-free 3CCD imaging system to produce superior detail rendition, greater color accuracy, and enhanced depth.
“The big story here is extending the benefits of Panasonic’s advanced Optical Image Stabilization technology to customers shopping for camcorders in the entry level market segment,” said Rudy Vitti, Panasonic’s national marketing manager for camcorders. “O.I.S. eliminates the deterioration and unnatural artifacts common with electronic stabilization systems by canceling hand-shake effects before the image reaches the CCD. With it, we have managed to increase the zoom range of several of our models to 32x while obtaining smoother, more stable images than ever before.”
Vitti also noted that the O.I.S. system is fully functional in still-image as well as video mode. “Our O.I.S. secures and stabilizes a 960×480-pixel rectangle for true wide-screen shooting. “This ensures that movies taken with any of camcorders will be sharper and steadier than those of others, particularly when viewed on a big-screen HDTV.”
Other key features of all three new models include 2.7-inch wide LCD viewfinders for easy 16:9 image composition, improved one-touch menu navigation and joystick controls for intuitive one-hand operation, and high-speed (1/8000 max.) shutters.
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Panasonic PV-GS80 Reviews
CNET has a review of the Panasonic PV-GS80 and writes, “For a budget camcorder, the GS80 produces rather nice video. Colors looked neutral and accurate, and footage was relatively clean and free of grain. Of course, if you plan on watching your movies on a large, high-def television, they’ll probably look awful; most budget camcorders’ standard definition video tends to look blown out and jagged when upscaled on modern HD screens. Finally, the GS80 failed at recording low-light video. Even enabling Night Mode or Panasonic’s Best Pix mode yields no significant difference when shooting in the in 50-watt-lamp darkness. Unless you’re positive you’ll always have plenty of light, consider spending about $40 more for another model, such as the slightly higher end GS85.” LInk.
