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Panasonic PV-GS320 MiniDV Camcorder
 
Sensor: 1/6 in
Optical Zoom: 10 x
HD: No
 
#29
in Camcorders

Panasonic PV-GS320 Camcorder
Review

By Michael Perlman
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
Published on August 26, 2007

The MiniDV format, once dominant in camcorders, is being quickly ushered into extinction. The Panasonic PV-GS320, which passes for its top-end MiniDV model, is testament to how quickly MiniDVs have fallen. The PV-GS320 offers great video quality and advanced manual controls, but lacks the advanced features that made its predecessors not just great camcorders, but the camcorders to own. The question to ask now is: are MiniDV camcorders even worth purchasing?

The PV-GS320 is a champion performer in adequate lighting, offering a beautiful color performance. This is due in part to the camcorder’s three 1/6-inch CCDs, each with 800,000 pixels. Three-chips mean incoming light is broken up by a prism, and each chip deals exclusively with one of the primary colors: red, green, or blue. This results in more accurate color rendering, but the small size of each chip can have dire consequences for low light performance. As predicted, the PV-GS320 has a hard time retaining color and detail once the lights dim.

Panasonics are renowned for their stellar manual controls, and the PV-GS320 is no exception. You get focus, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and gain control. The one control missing, and sorely needed for beginners, is a simple exposure compensation tool, such as a little plus/minus interface to allow shooters to adjust picture brightness. In order to brighten the picture, you have to open up the aperture and use gain—there’s no one-touch solution.

The PV-GS320, and most Panasonics in general, are less beginner-friendly than Sonys or Canons. They perform well enough in Auto mode, but not quite at Sony’s level. Panasonic’s menus are straightforward and well organized, but much of the interface relies on icons that can be difficult to interpret. The rear-mounted joystick is convenient, quick, and allows for one-handed operation. While the more advanced camera controls may not be to everyone’s taste, the PV-GS320 does offer some simpler features, such as a series of Scene modes for one-touch corrections when shooting Sports, Spotlight, Surf, and Snow environments.

The PV-GS320 records video to MiniDV tapes in SP (Standard Play) and LP (Long Play) quality modes. MiniDV tapes offer 60 minutes of recording time in SP mode and 90 minutes in LP mode. MiniDV tapes are the best media choice for guaranteeing compatibility with editing software and is the best format for archival. The downside, of course, is that like VCR tapes, MiniDV tapes are linear. Moving through footage on a tape means fast-forwarding and rewinding, not simply jumping to the next clip. To edit, footage must be captured to the computer in real-time rather than simply dragged over as a file. It’s primarily for this reason that MiniDV is a dying format.

The PV-GS320 is currently Panasonic’s most stripped-down top-of-the-line MiniDV. As the MiniDV format gets pushed to the back burner, however, diminishing expectations allow the PV-GS320 to sparkle as one of the best choices in its pack. The PV-GS320 provides great video performance in bright light and an advanced set of manual controls. For a look at its former glory, take a gander at the PV-GS400, a legendary dinosaur of the MiniDV past.

For a more in-depth review, visit the Panasonic PV-GS320 Review at our partner CamcorderInfo.com
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