Panasonic Replaces 3 CCD Line: PV-GS180, PV-GS300, PV-GS500

Guy Bruner contributed to this article.

Las Vegas, CES, January 4, 2006 - At their press event today Panasonic announced updates to their 3 CCD line of consumer camcorders, including the replacement of their incredibly popular PV-GS400 with a new PV-GS500. The new PV-GS180 features a 10x optical zoom and a 2.5-in. LCD. The PV-GS300 and PV-GS500 use Panasonic's new widescreen 2.7-in. LCD.

The top of the line is the PV-GS500, priced at $999. The PV-GS500 retains many of the features that made its predecessor PV-GS400 popular, but drops some of its prosumer features to bring the price below $1000.

"Well the GS500, based on the success and demand of the GS400, we wanted to take that imaging system and the quality of the 400 and bring it down to a level where more consumers could afford it," said Rudy Vitti, Marketing Manager for Panasonic Camcorders US.

Many enthusiasts who were waiting for a new and improved PV-GS400 will be disappointed because Panasonic has removed many of the advanced features on the camcorder. Rudy Vitti, Panasonic's national marketing manager, was sanguine about the strategy, saying it made little sense for Panasonic to bring out a new MiniDV standard definition camcorder at the $1500 price point.

"We have to look at the market today and whats going to be around at the price point where the GS400 was. Unfortunately, when you introduce a product at a more aggressive price point you have to sacrifice some things. For some consumers, they feel that it is negative but for customers that couldn’t afford those features before but can now enjoy this imaging system it is a positive. It kind of balances out," said Vitti.

Vitti went on to further explain that the $1,500 price point which the PV-GS400 camcorder was announced at is now prime territory for HD camcorders, and Panasonic choose to not attempt to put a MiniDV model up against HD ones.

The PV-GS500 features a Leica Dicomar lens with optical image stabilization, the same 1/4.7” CCDs as the GS400, 4 megapixel stills, 12X optical and 700x digital zoom, 43mm filter thread, and focus and zoom on the multi-manual ring. The camcorder includes a pro-cinema mode, a 2.7” widescreen LCD, and the joystick menu controls introduced with the 2005 3 CCD camcorders.

The PV-GS500 comes with a wireless and wired remote, but the wired remote drops the narrative microphone that was on last year's models. Its external ports for DV, USB, and external microphone/wired remote were retained; the analog audio/video ports were reduced to a single port that uses a multi-function cable for S-video, composite video, and audio inputs. Also included with the PV-GS500 is an updated version of MotionDV Studio which is now compatible with widescreen mode and offers the ability to render to MPEG-4 and to send DV-AVI files back to the camcorder. A new editing application called Quick Movie Magic (Sweet Movie Life outside the US) also comes with the PV-GS500. The package allows beginners to add backgrounds and captions by following on-screen guidance.

An interesting new feature on all the Panasonic 3 CCD camcorders with optical image stabilization is AGS. AGS implements a function that prevents leaving the camcorder in record when it was not intended to be. It detects an abnormal shooting position or extended record without movement and switches the camcorder to standby. AGS is off by default but may be enabled via a menu selection.

PV-GS300 and PV-GS180
"We think the GS300 is going to be a home run.  It incorporates 3 CCDs, OIS, and Leica at a price point of $699.  In the past you couldn’t find OIS in a cam under 1,500 dollars.  Last year the GS250 was at $999 and now this new one is at $699," stated Vitti.

The PV-GS300 does feature a Leica lens along with a 2.7-in. LCD screen. The PV-GS300 has a pop-up flash and records stills to SD cards like the rest of the Panasonic line.

The PV-GS180, which is under the PV-GS300, features a 2.5-in. 4:3 LCD screen and the same 10x optical zoom lens. Both camcorders feature USB 2 high speed ports, microphone in jacks, as well as analog video and audio out jacks. The GS180 has a headphone jack while the GS300 does not. Panasonic has removed the analog to digital pass-through on all the models.

The PV-GS180 will be available in March for $599. The PV-GS300 and PV-GS500 will be available in April for $699 and $999, respectively.