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Panasonic PV-GS320 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Jul 9, 2007 10:00 AM 
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Comparison
Panasonic PV-GS300 (Review, Specs, $469.99)
Last year’s PV-GS300 ($469 MSRP) was a mega letdown. It lost its focus ring, headphone jack, pivoting viewfinder, and analog-to-digital pass through from the previous year’s PV-GS250 (Review, Specs, $1299.99), and the maximum aperture was reduced from f/1.6 to f/1.8. However, the price was reduced considerably. This year, Panasonic cranked it up one more notch. They scrapped the flash and relocated most of the ports and terminals within the battery chamber. So how about that video performance? Expect strikingly similar quality in both the PV-GS300 and PV-GS320 (Specs, $0)—sharp, crisp colors in bright light with a decent low light performance, thanks to three 1/6” CCDs. If you feel so inclined, you can find the PV-GS300 online for about $100 less than the PV-GS320. You’ll also get a flash and logical port configuration, too. In our eyes, neither choice is worth buying if you can get your hands on better vintage Panasonic gear.
Panasonic PV-GS500 (Review, Specs, $1040)
We’re getting warmer…warmer… The PV-GS500 (around $799 street price) basks in the glory of PV-GS400 (Review, Specs, $1099) runoff, flaunting a manual focus ring, headphone jack, hot shoe, larger 4.0 megapixel stills, the pseudo-progressive Cinema Mode, and three larger 1/4.7” CCDs each with a gross pixel count of 1.07 megapixels. Now, don’t get your knickers in a twist over the extra $269—you can find the PV-GS500 online for much cheaper. The PV-GS320 is a haggard, beaten punk when pinned against the formidable PV-GS500. If you don’t plan on spending a hot grand on a standard definition MiniDV camcorder, the PV-GS500 is certainly a contender. Panasonic has not stopped selling the PV-GS500 at the time of publishing
Panasonic-PV-GS400
Let’s take a trip down Memory Lane – Panasonic style. Behold the PV-GS400 ($1099 MSRP), the camcorder that brought prosumer features to thousands of shooters worldwide. This omnipotent MiniDV overlord is packed to the brim with video splendor. The price tag is ominous. Good luck finding one that’s not on eBay or refurbished, also. But the reason for our comparison is not price-oriented. This is more of an account regarding the downfall of Panasonic’s MiniDV line over the course of the past couple years.
The PV-GS400 featured three 1/4.7” CCDs, multi-control ring, auto/manual control buttons, hot shoe, 3.5 inch LCD screen, mic and headphone jacks, and voice-over microphone. To top it all off, the PV-GS400 performed awesomely in the testing room under bright and low light, and offered an extensive set of manual controls. This was Panasonic’s top of the line MiniDV camcorder, and it sold like hotcakes.
Today, in 2007, the PV-GS320 is Panasonic’s crème of the crop in terms of standard definition MiniDV, which is a morbid reminder that the MiniDV format is slowly being ushered out in order to clear enough seats for AVCHD, HDD, DVD, and Flash. If you can still locate a PV-GS400, grab it while you can.
Sony DCR-HC96 (Review, Specs, $516)
Originally released in 2006, Sony felt that the DCR-HC96 was good enough that they didn’t bother to replace it or scrap it, and instead simply carried it over to this year. The DCR-HC96 ($629 MSRP) features a single 1/3” imager vs. the PV-GS320’s three 1/6” CCDs. In our testing rooms last year, the DCR-HC96 produced a sharp, colorful image that was similar to the Canon Optura 600 (Specs, $1099) and JVC GR-X5 (Review, Specs, $958). In low light, it trumped all within its price range with minimal noise and an intact grayscale. The PV-GS320 has some tough competition in the video performance department. Furthermore, the DCR-HC96 offers a hot shoe (though a Sony-proprietary Active Interface Shoe), and docking station with FireWire, USB, A/V out, and DC in. A flash is also part of the deal, along with a hand strap that won’t flop about, and an LCD panel with zoom, record start/stop, and wide select controls. It’s a rare thing when Sony makes a compelling challenger to Panasonic in the top MiniDV category, but times are changing. Give this one a serious look before settling for Panasonic.
Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters
Panasonic has taken out a machete and lopped off a great deal of functionality, technical advancement, and stellar handling traits from its previous PV-GS400 and PV-GS500 models. Point-and-shooters will have no problems operating the PV-GS320 camcorder, thanks to its cheerless simplicity.
Budget Consumers
The lack of a mic jack, headphone jack, flash, video light, LCD panel controls, hot shoe, and control ring hardly qualifies the PV-GS320 as a feature-rich bargain. This is Panasonic’s top of the line MiniDV model! What gives!? Check out Canon’s ZR models (Canon ZR830 (Review, Specs, $240) and Canon ZR850 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $265)) for a real bargain.
Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid
Alright, so the PV-GS320 takes stills at a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1512. Not bad for a camcorder. But then again, most Sonys within this price range offer much larger still resolutions. The PV-GS320 is devoid of a flash and a video light. To top it all off, the SD card slot is located on the bottom of the camcorder, requiring the shooter to remove the PV-GS320 from the tripod in order to swap card. Photographers and hybrid freaks need not apply.
Gadget Freaks
Hmm..it has three CCDs? Oh, but they’re each 1/6 inch. Um, it has a zoom microphone? No, that’s not doing it for you either. How about…nah…
Manual Control Freaks
Remember the days of the PV-GS400 with its control ring, image adjust buttons, and bountiful crop of manual controls? They are long gone, ladies and gentlemen. The PV-GS320 is a sellout. Those wise enough will quest for a PV-GS400. Those fortunate enough will find a refurbished one online for just under $1000.
Pros / Serious Hobbyists
There is nothing professional or serious about this camcorder except good quality video, but it takes a few more features to make it a pro back-up camcorder.
Conclusion
The fact that the PV-GS320 is Panasonic’s top-end MiniDV camcorder is the most fitting testament to how far tape has fallen in a few short years. (Note: Panasonic is still shipping last year's PV-GS500 in limited quantities.) The video quality remains, yet all that made the PV-GS400 great has fallen to cinders. We looked upon its mighty works, and now we despair.
In all seriousness, the Panasonic PV-GS320 has so many flaws and missed features that it's hard to work up a compelling reason to buy it. First of all, the camcorder does not offer a manual focus ring, as indicated by their website. We’ve informed Panasonic of the error, and we hope this review prevents many more people from getting duped. Secondly, the port placements on the PV-GS320 are simple nonsensical. Why hide the DC power, USB, and Firewire cables all behind the battery, essentially killing any possibility of using this for field production? The LCD cavity is completely empty except for the playback speaker, and we’re sure the engineers could have figured out how to relocate the ports there. Also, the SD card slot is on the bottom. This is certainly less of an inconvenience than the other ports, but it means that the card cannot be removed it on a tripod. We love the optical image stabilization, which proved to be amazingly effective in our testing, but was it enough? Not really.
These problems, compounded by the crippling loss of features compared to Panasonic MiniDVs of the past (focus ring, analog-to-digital pass through, hot shoe, headphone jack, mic jack, etc.) are the result of a business decision Panasonic made when the introduced the 2006 models. They cut features and they cut the price. We don’t know what the result in sales was, but fans were disappointed. The 2007 models continues that trend. On the whole, manufacturers are no longer investing or innovating in MiniDV. The PV-GS320 is fine for high quality point-and-shoot, but you’d be better off finding a better-equipped predecessor to get your money’s worth.