Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I bought the Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder to replace an earlier Panasonic model that I had had to send to their repair facility twice for various problems, and when the tape transport quit working, I decided to go for a new camera rather than send it in a third time. So I was a little concerned about the reliability of Panasonic camcorders. But I wanted to jump to 3CCD technology, and this was one of the lowest price camcorders offering that feature.

I have had this camera for three months, and it has worked flawlessly for me so far. It is more compact than my previous camera, and thus by necessity the controls are closer together. This took a bit of getting used-to, but the thumb-activated joystick control is very easy to use, and enables the user to change the camera's settings quickly. The zoom control is more sensitive than the one on my previous camera, and I still occasionally zoom in or out faster than I intended, but I just have to remember to be less ham-fingered.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and resolution of the still images captured using the photoshoot function. Before I owned this camera, I was constantly juggling between my still and video cameras when recording the activities of my grandchildren, but now I often just use the video camera for both still and video shots.

I don't notice a great deal of difference in video quality between my earlier 1 CCD camcorder and this 3 CCD one, because the colors and resolution were and are very good on both. My videos seem to exhibit less jerkiness with this one than the previous one, however, due to the EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) function (which can be turned off if you find it makes the images a bit blurry I don't), and also to the fact that it is smaller and thus easier to hold steady.

All in all, an excellent product, which I hope will continue to work well.

When I was looking for a camcorder, this seemed like the best bet: it had almost all the features I wanted, although I was concerned about how it would deal with low-light situations. Still, I was discouraged to read all the descriptions of how the camera worked with Windows; would it work with my Mac? I emailed Panasonic to find out, and Panasonic told me I'd need to hook the camera up via firewire.

So my parents got me the camera for Christmas, and they let me open it early so I'd be familiar with it when Christmas arrived. As I glanced through the manual, I noticed with trepidation that there were more references to Windows.

My husband gave me iLife '06 for Christmas and set it up before I tried out the camera. I relaxed a bit as I used the camera; it was easy to figure out how to do stills (even while shooting video), switch between widescreen and fullscreen, record, play back, etc. The sound seemed to be doing well, too. So I had my sample video and still shots--would I be able to retrieve them easily in OS 10.4.8?

Importing the video was a piece of cake, I found. I plugged the camera in with the firewire we bought (it's not included, since Windows users only have to use USB), and iMovie offered to import the video as soon as I launched it. As I played the movies, iMovie even interpreted where breaks were to make separate clips. I exported the first three segments as a QuickTime file with medium sound quality, and my husband and his friends were still raving about how fantastic the quality was. I was pleased with how the camera dealt with light in an indoor situation--it produced significantly better video quality than my mom's digital camera (which, admittedly, is primarily intended for stills).

The USB cable is still necessary to transfer still photos to the computer. My first impression is that stills shot during video recording are not as high-quality as stills shot separately. A flash might help, too; the still shots give the impression of less light than the movies do. The images aren't shockingly better than the ones produced by our hand-me-down ~2.1 MP still camera, but I'm sure they are a bit better.

Figuring out the menus can be a bit confusing if you don't initially realize that the different settings on the camera (like motion vs. still) have different menu options. We had to look in the manual to figure out how to set the time. The most basic camera functions, though, are very intuitive.

With a bigger battery than the included battery (maybe twice the capacity?), I probably got at least an hour of total operating time; I used the LCD screen for most of that time. The viewfinder is electronic, so I can't think that it really sucks up a lot less energy than the flip-out screen, but I haven't experimented with their comparitive energy suckage.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the camera; it's just what I was looking for. Now I just need the disk space to support it!

Buy Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Now

It's a great, light little camera. Very handy for field work. I'm very pleased with it. it can take still photos. I find the USB 2.0 video transfer very useful: saves me the trouble of buying and installing a firewire card.

It does not get the full 5 stars because, unlike many, if not all, the previus models of the same line, it DOES NOT include the hand remote control. Too bad, because it woould have been a mayor bonus. A friend of mine has the GS65 model, which has less megapixels 'n such, BUT DOES include the remote. Heck, my manual talks about the remote and everything, kinda throws it in your face a bit. Oh well, It's still a very good camera for the price, I mean, 3 ccds, that's just too cool.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Here

Great camera . . . one of the few lower priced cams to keep the mic jack and the headphone jack, but beware . .. . this camera does NOT come with a lens cap, and NO remote control. other sources state that this camera does NOT have a Leica lens. This camera does NOT have A/V input. No flash, no hot accessory shoe (though it has one which has no power). No widescreen LCD. It does record in widescreen but no image stabilization in widescreen.

Want Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Discount?

I bought the GS180 prior to my trip to China. I also bought a 4 hour after-market battery; I've since bought another one. That's what you'll need if you are touring all day and using the LCD screen all of the time. With the battery, the viewfinder becomes just about useless since it doesn't tilt up.

Another review says that the camera doesn't come with a lens cap; mine did. I've had a remote for my Sony Digial 8 but have only used it a few times. This camera does haves some options that are only available through the remote, though, such as audio dubing and variable speed search. It is an aftermarket accessory,

Picture quality is very good. Stills taken in sunlight are also very good; however, they are subpar for low light situations.

Contrels are fairly self-explantory. Outdoor stills are very acceptalbe; you can produce them while shooting video which is nice when you see something that you kow will make a good still. With a large SD card, you can shoot 1000's of these. I had an opportunity to shoot a lion dance and just fied way, clicking constanlty, getting great sitills while capturing video.

I only havea couple of functions that I need to learn from the manual; the cmaaera is fairly straagiht foward. The joystick works great for moving around on the tapes that you have recorded (I avoid doing that on one I am working with so I don't mess up the time code). It really beats the membrane control panel on my old Digital 8 which is beginning to fail.

The size of the camer makes it easy to carry and put ito your carryn computer bag for the plane.

I shot 15 hours of tape in three weeks. The only times I was diappointed was when the battery died before the end of a long tour day with no break to return to the hotel for recharging. With an extra batery bought in Beijing, I am prepared for further excusions.

this is a great camera that is easy to use and produces good quality pictures.