Panasonic PV-GS180 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Guy Bruner
Published on Jan 24, 2006 3:00 PM

Intro Performance
Format
Tour
Auto / Manual Controls Still Features
Handling and Use Audio / Playback / Connectivity
Other Features Comparisons / Conclusion



The Front
The PV-GS180 exhibits a typical Panasonic face from the front. Clearly in view is the 10X lens with 37mm filter threads. The lens has a focal length of 2.45 to 24.5mm which gives a 35mm equivalent of 44.7 to 447mm in normal video and 41.1 to 411mm in 4:3 stills. Iris can be adjusted from f/1.8 to f/16. Below the lens and to the right bottom of the camcorder body is the standard Panasonic zoom microphone. There is no photoflash on this model.

The Right Side
The right side is clear of features until one reaches the back of the camcorder. At the rear of the right side, just before the ports, is the speaker. The A/V-out / headphones jack port, the microphone jack, and the USB 2.0 high speed port are all located under a gray, rubber cover. All the Panasonic 3 CCD camcorders sport high speed USB this year. The A/V jack features left and right audio and composite video outputs. The PV-GS180 does not support analog inputs. The A/V jack doubles as a headphones jack. Thus, the user can listen to audio being recorded from the internal or an external microphone.

The Back
In the upper left of the PV-GS180’s back is the electronic viewfinder (EVF). The eyepiece for the EVF pulls out from its recess below the accessory shoe but does not tilt up, like it does on GS500. To the right of the EVF eyepiece is the on-off slider. Below the power slider is the 1.7-second quick start button. Below that is the menu button. The menus are viewable on the LCD and EVF. Below and to the right of the menu button is the mode dial. Users can select the standard operating modes of record (video), playback (video), record (stills), playback (stills) and PC for transfer of stills from the SD card to a computer over USB. In the center of the mode dial is the joystick control for selecting options from the menus. To the left and slightly below the menu dial is the record/pause pushbutton for starting and stopping recording to tape. Last, but not least, to the left of the record/pause button, and below the EVF eyepiece, is the battery. Batteries were not available for us to inspect at CES, but they are compatible with the CGA-DU series of batteries from 2005. So, finding a second or backup battery should not be difficult.

The Left Side
The 2.5-inch non-widescreen LCD is the biggest component on the left side of this compact camcorder. When the LCD is opened, it rotates outward 90 degrees and can be further rotated around its horizontal axis about 180 degrees. The rotated-forward position is also used in MagicPix (Panasonic's low light mode) to help illuminate a dimly lighted scene out to about three feet. Inside the LCD recess in the body of the PV-GS180 is the Auto / Manual / Focus switch, the reset pushbutton, the power LCD (for backlighting on the LCD), and a DV (FireWire, iLink) port. On the bottom of the body, underneath a rubber flap, is the recess for the SD card slot. The PV-GS180 supports SD cards up to 2 GB in size.

The Top
The top of the PV-GS180 is very clean. On the right front is the cassette loading dock release lever. A push forward on the release allows the user to open the loading dock to the right and activate the tape elevator. The cassette mechanism rises and opens for inserting and extracting a MiniDV tape. Further back in the center of the PV-GS180 is the cold accessory shoe. Immediately behind the accessory shoe is the electronic viewfinder (EVF) eyepiece. To the right of the accessory shoe is the zoom slider which doubles as a volume control in tape playback mode. To the rear of the zoom slider is the Photoshot button.



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