Panasonic PV-GS180 Camcorder Review

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (0.0)
The PV-GS180 serves up three aspect ratio flavors: plain vanilla 4:3, 16:9, and cinema mode. The camcorder does not support true 16:9, but anamorphically squeezes a 16:9 aspect ratio image onto the 4:3 native chip. This results in a significant drop in video sharpness in 16:9 mode. The third aspect ratio setting, cinema mode, applies a letterbox to a 4:3 image that results in a video frame with a 16:9 aspect ratio at the cost of image information from the top and bottom of the frame. Cinema mode is useful if you want to record a 16:9 video frame that will playback without distortion or cropping on a standard 4:3 TV.

Scan Rates/24p (0.0)
The PV-GS180 records video only at 29.97 fps and does not offer a 24P mode.

Other Features (7.5)
Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) – The PV-GS180 features an EIS system, which effectively reduces camera shake at a cost to image quality. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) is a superior image stabilizing method which does not impact image quality, and is available on the PV-GS180.

Backlight Compensation - Backlight Compensation or BLC causes the camcorder to automatically overexpose the image, and is intend for use in very brightly lit environments like beaches or ski slopes when subjects may be underexposed.

Tele Macro - Telemacro zooms the camcorder to its maximum optical zoom at 10x and enables focus on objects as close as 40cm (16 inches). Tele Macro is a shortcut that automatically gives the method is minimum focal length, making it easier to throw backgrounds into soft focus.

Wind Cut - Wind Cut is a high-pass audio filter that helps to reduce the buffeting sounds of wind on the on-board microphone. It is a feature that reduces the overall quality of recorded audio and should only be used when necessary. In very windy situations, an external mic fitted with a good quality windscreen is a much more effective means of reducing wind noise..

Zoom Mic - The zoom mic feature boosts audio levels in tandem with the video zoom in order to capture distant sounds.

Quick Start - Quick Start is activated by pressing the Quick Start button at the rear of the camcorder. In Quick Start mode, the LCD screen can be closed, and a small indicator lamp near the Quick Start button is illuminated. When the LCD screen is opened or the camcorder is turned on, the PV-GS180 enters standby mode in 1.7 seconds, several seconds faster than in normal mode.