Panasonic PV-GS180 Camcorder Review

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (5.25)
No matter how many great manual controls are on a camcorder (and Panasonic does tend to have some good controls), solid automatic controls are hard to beat sometimes. Most users will find the PV-GS180 (Review, Specs, $448.25) (Review, Specs, )’s auto controls satisfactory. Of course, starting off with great video quality is helpful. After that, you want a camcorder that can adjust quickly and accurately changing shooting conditions. The PV-GS300 (Review, Specs, $469.99) offers automatic exposure, shutter speed, focus and gain.

A small switch located in the LCD cavity toggles the camcorder between manual and automatic modes. In auto mode, the camcorder shuts off access to most of the manual controls and part of the main menu. It’s not quite as drastic as the auto modes on Sonys, which preclude even the simplest tampering in an effort to “idiot-proof” it. Panasonic has taken the chance that you are not an idiot, so please do not undermine their trust.

The Panasonic PV-GS180's LCD cavity, which houses the Auto/Manual/Focus switch

The auto controls are accurate, thankfully. Rather than a immediate shift, the camcorder tends to ease into changes over a few seconds. The focus and exposure are the fastest, though the dark-to-light transitions are faster than the light-to-dark transitions. White balance is a little slower, but once it finds the right balance, it’s among the most accurate we’ve seen.

The manual control section below will explore the menu layout in more detail. For now, we’ll just say that the menu is split into two parts, the main menu and the manual control. The manual control contains some of those features we consider “automatic controls” that is, features that can be turned on and off with a touch to improve image quality. They include: TeleMacro (extends the zoom to 10x and adjusts the aperture for best close-up shooting), backlight compensation (boosts exposure overall to compensate for subjects with too much backlighting), Soft Skin Detail (recognizes certain skin tones and softens the focus), MagicPix (slows the shutter speed down below 1/60) and 0 Lux MagicPix (allows you to flip the LCD around and use it as a light source).

One last set of automatic controls, the Scene modes, cannot be accessed unless the camcorder is in manual mode. The Scene modes are tailored for tricky lighting situations where a beginner’s prowess might be surpassed. They include: Sports, Portrait, Low Light, Spotlight, and Surf & Snow.

Overall Manual Control (7.5)
First, let’s explore the menu. There are two completely independent menus, the main menu and the manual controls menu (this is a common split in camcorders). The main menu contains all the administrative controls – like record speed, clock and language set – and some image quality controls – like Wide and Cinema modes, still picture quality, and the Scene modes. This menu is accessed via the Menu button, located on the rear, and navigated through with the joystick. The layout is very clear and understandable.

The second menu can be a little more tricky. Pushing in on the joystick brings up a small wheel in the lower right corner of the LCD. The tip of the joystick will glow blue once the menu is active. The menu is divided into three parts - 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 – most with icons representing each feature. The icons are not self-explanatory, so you may want to keep the manual handy. Page three (3/3) of the menu has the real manual controls: white balance, shutter speed, aperture, and gain. The fifth major control, focus, is activated by pushing down all the way on the auto/manual switch.

Overall, the manual control suite is excellent. Panasonic does this better, in the consumer realm, than any other manufacturer by a long shot. The next best, JVC and Canon, both fail to offer gain, which is so convenient to use in low light shooting that you’ll never be able to do without it again. The PV-GS180 does not differ from the rest of the Panasonic line it its manual control suite, except for the maximum aperture. The PV-GS180 has a maximum F-stop of F/1.8. The top of the line model, the PV-GS500 (Review, Specs, $1040), has a larger F/1.6.

Zoom (7.0)
The zoom controls on the Panasonic MiniDV camcorders are functional, but they’re not great. Rather than a raised toggle that feels like its bending back and forth, it uses a sliding switch that moves along a track. It moves well, so we can’t complain too much, just not as well as a raised toggle. You can get about three zoom speeds depending on how much pressure you apply.

Zoom Power/Ratio (10.0)
The PV-GS180 has a relatively modest 10x optical zoom and a 700x digital zoom. There are numerous camcorders in a similar price range that sport optical zooms significantly stronger than this camcorder, ranging up to over 30x . If zoom power is a primary factor in your purchasing decision, there are better options out there. On the other hand, the PV-GS180 offers excellent video quality and manual controls that trump most other camcorders on the market. The digital zoom can be disabled, or capped at 25x.

Focus (5.0)
Manual focus is engaged by pushing down on the automatic/manual toggle switch located inside the LCD cavity. A small “MF” icon appears in the upper right corner of the screen. In the lower right there are a plus and minus sign. You move the joystick left and right to adjust focus. When you’re satisfied, push in on the joystick and it locks the focus. Like nearly every consumer camcorder, there is no scale to indicate where in the focus range you are. And while we like this LCD screen, it’s really not large enough to make careful focus adjustments. Small focus errors in the small screen get much bigger on a TV screen. Our advice is to let the auto focus earns its keep; skip manual control unless you absolutely have to.

Exposure (Aperture) (5.5)
The PV-GS280 offers full aperture control, independent of shutter speed. The aperture control is located on page three of the manual control window, with a range of: F/1.8 (Open), F/2.0, F/2.8, F3.4, F/4.0, F/4.8, F/5.6, F/6.8, F/8.0, F/9.6, F/11, F/14, and F/16. There is a 1/2 step increment between each increment, noticeable by looking at the brightness of the picture, but not indicated in the onscreen text. Once the aperture has been fully opened, manual gain can be engaged.

Shutter Speed (7.0)
The PV-GS180 offers manual shutter speed, independent of exposure, with a range of 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, and 1/8000. This wide array of choices should satisfy even the pickiest manual control enthusiast. Changes are made in the manual control menu via the joystick. No other manufacturer offers quite as good a range, or as simple an operation to change it.

White Balance (7.0)
The white balance options are also located in the manual control menu. There are only four settings here: auto, indoor, outdoor, and manual. Most manufacturers offer you a few more indoor or outdoor settings, but Panasonic has foregone them. Why? Probably because their automatic white balance is very good. But sometimes , you just need that manual touch. In those instances, the manual white balance is very easy to make. Just toggle to the icon and push up on the joystick. The screen goes black for a moment, and when it comes back, the colors should be perfect. The black screen in itself is satisfying. Too often in lower-end camcorders, it is difficult to tell if you’ve made the adjustment or not. There is no guesswork here.

Gain (7.0)
Like all Panasonics this year, the PV-GS180 does offer manual gain. It can be accessed only when the aperture has been fully opened (F/1.8) ranging between 0dB, 3dB, 6dB, 9dB, 12dB, and 18dB. There is a 1/2 step increment between each step. Gain is a great way to get a little extra color information when the auto control fails. We must say, though, that the PV-GS180 does seem to start in on the auto gain at pretty high light levels – around 100 to 150 lux – so there might not be much gain left to play with in low light levels.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
There are no other manual controls on the PV-GS180.