Panasonic PV-GS65 Camcorder Review

by Matt Culler
Published on Feb 8, 2005 11:00 AM

 
Intro Intro
Performance
Format
Tour Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Comparisons / Conclusion


Compression (8.0)
The PV-GS65 uses standard DV compression to MiniDV tape. MiniDV compression is certainly the standard of video quality against which all other compression formats are judged. We obviously love the look of MiniDV video, and frankly, this new section is more for those camcorders which use compression types such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 where a lot of information is lost. Of course, there are better formats out there, like DVCAM, DVCPRO, BetaCamSP, etc. and that is why we give all MiniDV camcorders a compression score of 8, instead of 10.

Media (8.0)
The Panasonic PV-GS65 records video to 6.35mm MiniDV tape in both SP and LP modes. The camcorder records 80 minutes in SP mode and 120 minutes in LP mode. Still JPEGs can be recorded to SD card, ranging from 32 MB to 1 GB, at a resolution of 1280 x 960. Stills can be taken to the SD card while video is being captured to tape at a resolution of 640 x 480.

Editing (8.0)
Video footage recorded to MiniDV tape can be edited very easily using a FireWire connection and any of many compatible editing software suites. The PV-GS65 ships with no such software, though free versions of Avid are available for download. Editing is done using the PV-GS65’s input/output located underneath the screen. MiniDV camcorders score fine in this section and it is really designed for camcorders which use compression methods such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 which do not have the editing capabilities of MiniDV camcorders.



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