Panasonic PVDV52 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Color LCD

Title : Panasonic PVDV52 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Color LCD
Author : Panasonic
Release Date : 20020313
Binding : Electronics
Regular Price : $499.99
Amazon.com Price : $ ( %)
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Buyer Reviews :
This camera is great both for what it is and what it is not. On this model, Panasonic did a nice job of putting it's money and focus into quality video components, not bells & whistles. Many other cameras try to lure you with extraneous features like advanced onboard editing capability, digital still/memory stick photography, remote controls etc.. There's nothing wrong with those features and they are always an added bonus, however they are probably not the primary concern you should have when buying a good, value-priced, digital camcorder.
This camera is priced well below it's major competitors (except JVC) and affords you the savings to purchase other products that will produce better solutions than those extraneous features can offer.

For example:
* If you want digital video editing, buy a good PC/Mac kit like Pinnacle Studio 7(includes 1394 card and user friendly software) and get real movie making capability like background music, sounds, transitions, titles and more.
* If you want a digital still camera, take the money you save here and go buy a real 2-3-mega-pixel camera, don't settle for the .5 -.7 mega pixel you might get with a... camcorder that will only produce a small (3x5) quality digital still.
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Note: Generally speaking a digital camera produces quality stills in correlation with it's mega-pixel rating.
1 mega-pixel = 3x5
2 mega-pixel = 5x7
3 mega-pixel = 8x10
and so on...

*If you still want digital still capability on your camcorder look at the CCD rating and compare it to this correlation chart, to see the quality/size you can expect. This camera is considered a (.7MP) which will only produce quality digital stills from 1x3 up to 3x5.
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For most folks, It is probably more important that a camcorder takes great video - in all conditions and is easy to use.
At these very basic functions the PVDV52 is quite strong.

PROS:
- Might not sound impressive but 680,000 pixel (.7 MP) resolution makes for great video (significantly higher resolution than many similarly price camcorders).
- Solid features: 12/16 bit sound, (EIS)image stabilization, 1394 firewire transfer, external headphone jack & good microphone pickup.
- Good in lowlight recording(one of the best feature sets you will find in a low-end camcorder) - They include: Auto digital lowlight enhancement, dark subject backlight & a external lamp for limited nightime recording (good up to 10 feet).
- Top feed tape: allows you to keep the camera on the tripod, while changing the tape (I challenge you to do that with current bottom feed cameras).
- Separate battery charger: allows you to charge the battery independent of the camera.
- Great quality and value: Panasonic holds 7 of the top 10 spots in Consumer Reports Digital Camcorder ratings for quality, value & reliability.

CONS:
- 10x Optical Zoom is a bit wimpy, though it is on par with most cameras in it's price range. It does however pale in comparison to Sony's 20-25x optical zoom.
- A few extra jacks would have been useful. It does not include: an external microphone jack or auxillary video/audo in or an S-video out (all useful otions).
- You cannot using lowlight recording feature AND image stabilization feature at the same time (a bummer for handheld lowlight recording - if this is important to you, it could be a significant deficiency).

# This a Great Camera for: Folks who want to pay for strong video capability and not all the extras - who want to record at length on a tripod without taking the camera off the tripod to change tapes - Who want significant lowlight recording capability - Who want a very small and light affordable video solution.

# Not such a Great Camera for: Folks who want hot shoe capability (for add on accessories like better microphones and lights)- Don't care about taking the camera off the tripod to change tapes - Want a digital still/memory

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