Camcorder Review:
Panasonic PV-GS70 Mini DV

The Panasonic PV-GS70 is the smallest and least expensive 3-CCD camera on the market. It would be a mistake to simply throw this camera into the 3-CCD category and analyze it from that perspective. Instead, the question we asked was: for $1,000, is this camera any good, regardless of the technology inside?

We found that the camera produced pleasantly saturated colors with properly lit scenes. We did a direct comparison with two new single-CCD cameras and were able to tease out a small but noticeable advantage (when carefully examining frame grabs); especially in how the GS70 represented reds in automatic mode. The difference was not dramatic, but we feel that this definitely shows that this camera can stand up to, and often beat, the latest quality consumer cameras in this price range. Our resolution tests revealed modest numbers, but this didn't seem to affect the subjective quality of the image, which was quite sharp, but didn't display too much contrast. The field of view is very wide and, as you'd expect, shows some distortion around the edges.

To simplify a bit, small camcorders suffer from poor low-light performance, simply because they collect less light than cameras (or telescopes) with larger lenses (and larger mirrors). The GS70 has a very small lens and 1/6-inch CCDs, which are also relatively small.

Objectively, we can say that the generous 1/3-inch CCDs and big lens on the largish Sony DCR-VX2100 ($3,000) give it outstanding low-light capabilities. Likewise, objectively, we can say that the small CCDs and small lens on the small GS70 ($1,000) don't give it great low-light capabilities. For example, under the standard fluorescents in our office with the camera in auto mode, there was not enough light to use the electronic image stabilization in some situations. (We certainly appreciate that the camera warns us of this condition, however.) The camera also felt that it needed the flash for stills (and indicated so on the LCD) in many normal conditions around the office.

That being said, the manual controls on the GS70 do give you excellent control over how you manipulate the available light. In addition to a full-manual iris, the camera also has an electronic gain control. Once the iris is fully open, you can increase the sensitivity of the CCD from 0dB to +18dB, (in +1dB increments, although the numeric display only shows +3dB changes), which is quite a lot. Even in a very dark room, at +18dB, you are going to get a very bright image from this camera. You may find the image to be too grainy, but the point is that you have the control and you can decide what is too grainy for yourself.

As mentioned earlier, the auto features on the camera produced a nice image by default. The electronic image stabilization did not negatively impact the image, but it also was not the best that we've seen at stopping shakes. The manual exposure controls are great and manual white balance worked just fine. Manual focus was possible, but the focus ring was not great.

The GS70 has both mike and phone jacks, so getting quality audio is possible with this camera, but ultimately up to the user. Panasonic includes a gimmicky little microphone/remote zoom contraption that connects to the camera via a 3-foot cable. You can use it to record voice notes to the SD card (but not while shooting video) or voiceover narrations (when you use 12-bit/32kHz audio). It also has a Record button and a zoom rocker switch that could allow you to keep your hands off the camera when it is mounted on the tripod. And you can leave the camera on the tripod: the GS70 has a top-loading tape mechanism. The zoom wasn't any smoother than using the wireless remote control or the on-camera rocker. We like gimmicks and features, but we would not buy this camera or any other based on such extras.

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