Panasonic PV-GS300 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Guy Bruner

Published on Jan 16, 2006 12:00 PM
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control
Automatic controls on the PV-GS300 (Review, Specs, $469.99) are similar to the GS180 (Review, Specs, $448.25) (Review, Specs, ). The camcorder maintains exposure by controlling shutter, focus, and iris. Point-and-shooters will have no problem using this camcorder. Automatic controls are decent on most Panasonics, but rarely do they achieve the speed or precision of a Sony camcorder. Manual control is where Panasonic truly shines in the consumer market.

Overall Manual Control
Like all Panasonics, the GS300 has excellent manual controls. Via navigation and selection with the joystick, users can control iris, shutter, zoom, white balance, focus, and flash brightness. This system is less cumbersome than a touch screen system, but still a little awkward. The joystick has not changed since last year’s models, which received mixed reviews from users.

Zoom
The GS300 has zoom specs identical to its younger sibling: a 10x optical zoom with a 700x digital zoom that can be capped at 25x. The zoom toggle is a sliding switch-type, identical to last year’s. Some users found this an acceptable alternative to a zoom ring; others did not like the way the switch could tilt the camcorder’s body back and forth, upsetting the picture. No Panasonic consumer camcorder this year will feature a zoom ring.

Focus
The camcorder’s electronic sensors control focus in auto mode; the users may adjust focus with the joystick when the GS300 is in manual mode. The loss of the focus ring from last year’s GS250 (Review, Specs, $1299.99) is a hard blow, however.

Exposure (Aperture)
The aperture on the PV-GS300 ranges from f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, 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, in both still and video mode. This is the same range as that on the PV-GS180 (Review, Specs, ).

Shutter Speed
In video mode, this camcorder has a good shutter speed range of 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, and 1/8000 of a second. Still mode offers speeds ranging from 1/30 to 1/2000 of a second, which is not as good; dedicated still cameras frequently have shutter speeds of 2 seconds or longer. This camcorder is not a suitable replacement for a good still camera.

White Balance
The PV-GS300 has the standard Panasonic white balance options available: auto, indoor, outdoor, fluorescent lighting, and manual. We would be surprised with anything less. The manual white balance is accurate, and the camcorder makes it obvious to even beginning users when the process is complete.

Gain
Gain, an artificial boost to the video signal, can be tweaked on the PV-GS300. The user can adjust gain in 1dB increments up to 18dB of gain. However, the display doesn’t show a visible change in gain until 3dB have been added or subtracted.





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