Panasonic PV-GS59 Camcorder Review

Audio (4.5)
The PV-GS59 (Review, Specs, $297) includes an on-board, front-mounted stereo microphone, positioned under the lens, and does not provide a means of monitoring audio – there is no headphone jack. Panasonic has reserved higher-level audio functionality such as external mic and headphone jacks for its more expensive 3-chip camcorders, starting with the PV-GS180 (Review, Specs, $448.25) (Review, Specs, ).

Audio control options are found in the Basic and Advanced submenus of the Administrative Menus. The Wind Cut Option is located in the Basic Menu, and it is a Low Cut digital filter that ameliorates the buffeting noise of wind hitting the camcorder’s microphone screen. Wind Cut reduces overall sound quality so it should only be used when needed. Two audio options are located in the Advanced submenu. Audio can be recorded at 12 or 16 bit sampling rate, and in order to make use of the camcorder’s audio dub feature, 12 bit mode must be selected. (Audio dubbing is a feature that can only be used with the optional remote control). The other audio option available in the Advanced submenu is called Zoom Microphone, and has the effect of linking recorded audio volume to the zoom. When the camcorder is zoomed out, and recording a wide image, audio levels are lowered, and when zoomed in, audio levels are raised. The effects of Zoom Mic might be useful in some situations, but there is a risk of unnaturally modulated sound levels if its being used on a shoot with a significant amount of zooming in and out. Panasonic warns that this feature “may not work effectively if the surrounding noise is too loud,” no doubt due to the risk of over-modulating sound.

VCR Mode (6.5)
VCR or Playback Mode is used to play back footage on the LCD screen or an external monitor, and to transfer footage to a PC-based editing system. Playback Mode is engaged via the mode dial, and is controlled via the joystick. Standard VCR controls for Play, Stop, Pause, FF and Rewind are mapped in the lower left Manual Menu region of the LCD, and the joystick is well-suited for playback control. The audio playback volume of the onboard speaker can be adjusted using the zoom toggle to either raise or lower sound levels.

To play back still images, the Mode Dial must be turned to Memory Card Playback Mode. Options for still playback are controlled with the joystick, which allows slide show playback, image deletion, single image display, and stepped viewing of successive images. The joystick options are mapped in the LCD’s lower left as in all of the camcorder’s modes. The multipurpose zoom toggle has a function in Memory Card Playback Mode as well. Pressing it once to the left, prompts the camcorder to display six still images as thumbnails on the screen. In thumbnail display mode, the joystick is used to move through the pages, and pressing in on the joystick displays a selected image.

Ports (4.75)
The Panasonic PV-GS59 has several port areas, allowing users to connect the camcorder to a variety playback or capture systems. An AV out port is located at the front of the camcorder’s lower left side. The AV port is covered by a durable plastic port cover that is released by pulling a small tab on the camcorder’s underside. A second port cover on the bottom of the camcorder’s right side, and it’s also released from below by a small tab. This port protects the DV (FireWire) and Full Speed USB ports. This port cover’s placement is somewhat awkward because it’s underneath the hand strap, and the open port cover and strap must be held aside in order to access the ports it conceals. Like the AV port, this one cannot be opened if the camcorder is affixed to a tripod. The SD card slot is mounted along the camcorder’s bottom edge, and opened from the LCD cavity making its location doubly inconvenient. The DC power jack is located inside the battery slot, another awkward port placement. This means that the camcorder cannot use plug-in power without shutting down and removing the battery. We generally prefer that all ports be located conveniently enough that they don’t require shutting the camcorder down or removal from a tripod for access, and in these respects, the PV-GS59 falls short of our expectations.