Panasonic PV-GS180

The PV-GS180, at $599, is the budget model of Panasonic's 3 CCD camcorders in 2006, mixing the GS150's solid imaging system with the GS65's lack of features. The PV-GS180 has no Leica lens, no flash, no A/V-in, no hot accessory shoe, no optical image stabilization, no wired remote, and no widescreen LCD. It does record the GS150's widescreen video with a widened field of view, albeit with no image stabilization in widescreen mode. But praise be to Panasonic; it does have a microphone input and headphone jack. Wonderful!

But the real question for buyers will be: "Are the features on the GS300, the next model up, worth the $100 difference in retail price as opposed to the PV-GS180?" In my opinion, this should be a no-brainer. Optical stabilization alone is worth the difference, not even mentioning the other pluses of the GS300. But for folks looking for the cheapest 3 CCD quality in a widescreen aspect ratio, the PV-GS180 could be the answer.