Product Description

Panasonic's PV-GS180 MiniDV Camcorder delivers quality imaging for the novice and expert videographer alike. It's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but it's big on innovative new features. For example, its 10x optical and 700x digital zoom will provide you with sharp, detailed images that show incredible depth and presence. The Panasonic lens captures and finely renders nuances of light and shade. Electronic Image Stabilization(EIS) provides you with perfect pictures and video. The 2.3-megapixel CCD gives photographers the best that camcorder technology has to offer. Records to SD card Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port MiniDV output Unit Dimensions - approx. 3 (h) x 3 (w) x 5 (d) Unit Weight - 0.93 lbs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4832 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: PVGS180
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 10x optical zoom, 700x digital zoom
• Macro Zoom lets users shoot extreme close-ups at distances as near as 40cm
• 2.3 megapixel CCD delivers superior still picture capability
• Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) compensates for hand & camcorder movement
• Soft Skin Detail creates a realistic skin tone

Manufacturer Description
The Panasonic PV-GS180 3CCD Ultra-Compact Digital Palmcorder MultiCam Camcorder with 2.3 Megapixel Still Picture Recording features advanced optical technology that makes Leica Camera AG a legend in the camera world is fully reflected in the 12-element, multi-coated Leica Dicomar lens. With its crisp detail, subtle rendering, and smooth, natural imaging -- all Leica hallmarks -- this lens can take you to the limits of your visual imagination.

Superior color, detail and gradation: 3CCD camera system
Most professional broadcasting cameras use the 3CCD system. In a 1CCD system, all of the incoming light information is processed by the same CCD. The more advanced 3CCD system uses three distinct CCDs for processing, so there is absolutely no light loss. You can see the results in beautifully rendered images with vivid color, fine detail, and rich gradation.

Special high-performance imaging engine: Crystal engine
The Crystal Engine is a special image processing circuit for 3CCD camera systems. It processes the R, G and B signals from the three CCDs individually, so it gives both motion and still pictures exceptional quality.

Extremely beautiful still pictures: 2.3-Megapixel still picture recording
Both motion and still pictures are superb. Photos are so vivid and real, you can enjoy them as high-quality prints.

Pull distant subjects right up close: 10x optical zoom
Distant subjects can be enlarged so they appear to be right up close. This allows dynamic shots of both motion and still pictures.

Take beautiful stills without switching cameras: Simultaneous motion video and still picture recording (VGA)
You can snap off a still picture (VGA) while continuing to record motion pictures. You don't even have to change recording modes. The motion pictures are recorded onto tape, the still is recorded onto the SD Memory Card.

Stream DV data via USB
USB 2.0 compatibility lets you upload DV data to a PC at high-speed over a single USB cable. Video Class compatibility allows real-time transfer of DV motion picture data over the same USB cable. Video Class is a standard format that allows the real-time transfer of motion picture data over a USB cable.

MotionDV Studio 5.3 LE
MotionDV Studio 5.3 LE DV editing software is just the tool you need to make polished, smartly finished productions. It lets you load images into your PC for easy editing, add special effects, and dub in a soundtrack -- all from a single, easy-to-understand screen.

Web camera function
With the camera connected via USB cable to a PC, start up Windows Messenger and the camera instantly turns into a web camera. Ideal for teleconferencing over the Internet, or for surveillance camera use.

One-touch navigation & joystick control
The joystick makes the camera much easier to use, letting you control all basic operations with one hand. As you shoot, just watch the image in the monitor and follow the instruction guide. You can handle a number of operations quickly and easily, without even taking your eye off the subject.

1.7-second quick start
This Quick Start mode helps shoot videos on the spur of the moment. This mode lets you shoot those not-to-be-missed scenes just 1.7 seconds from the time the power is turned on.

0 Lux Color Night View with Light Panel for shooting in total darkness
Designed for shooting in total darkness, this function shoots four frames per second using the LCD monitor as a light source. Pictures are clear and sharp thanks to the hand-shake compensation provided by the O.I.S. Light from the LCD is gentle and easy on the eyes, so you can snap shots of sleeping children without waking them up.

Color Night View for shooting in dim light.
Color Night View gives you smoothly flowing pictures even in dark places, where it's normally difficult to capture good shots.

The MiniDV Format
MiniDV, the most common type of digital camcorder, records video using the standard DV-format. It's the preferred format for broadcast-quality video, and it is also highly regarded for its high audio and still image quality. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. Tapes come in lengths of 60 and 80 minutes at standard speed (SP), with use of lower speed mode (SP) increasing time to 90 and 120 minutes while reducing resolution.

What's in the Box:
Camcorder, lithium ion battery, remote control, AC adaptor, shoulder strap, AC cable, USB cable, DC cable, CD-ROM, lens cap.

Customer Reviews

Very compact, but easy to use
I bought the Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder to replace an earlier Panasonic model that I had had to send to their repair facility twice for various problems, and when the tape transport quit working, I decided to go for a new camera rather than send it in a third time. So I was a little concerned about the reliability of Panasonic camcorders. But I wanted to jump to 3CCD technology, and this was one of the lowest price camcorders offering that feature.

I have had this camera for three months, and it has worked flawlessly for me so far. It is more compact than my previous camera, and thus by necessity the controls are closer together. This took a bit of getting used-to, but the thumb-activated joystick control is very easy to use, and enables the user to change the camera's settings quickly. The zoom control is more sensitive than the one on my previous camera, and I still occasionally zoom in or out faster than I intended, but I just have to remember to be less ham-fingered.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and resolution of the still images captured using the photoshoot function. Before I owned this camera, I was constantly juggling between my still and video cameras when recording the activities of my grandchildren, but now I often just use the video camera for both still and video shots.

I don't notice a great deal of difference in video quality between my earlier 1 CCD camcorder and this 3 CCD one, because the colors and resolution were and are very good on both. My videos seem to exhibit less jerkiness with this one than the previous one, however, due to the EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) function (which can be turned off if you find it makes the images a bit blurry - I don't), and also to the fact that it is smaller and thus easier to hold steady.

All in all, an excellent product, which I hope will continue to work well.

Works with Macs.
When I was looking for a camcorder, this seemed like the best bet: it had almost all the features I wanted, although I was concerned about how it would deal with low-light situations. Still, I was discouraged to read all the descriptions of how the camera worked with Windows; would it work with my Mac? I emailed Panasonic to find out, and Panasonic told me I'd need to hook the camera up via firewire.
So my parents got me the camera for Christmas, and they let me open it early so I'd be familiar with it when Christmas arrived. As I glanced through the manual, I noticed with trepidation that there were more references to Windows.
My husband gave me iLife '06 for Christmas and set it up before I tried out the camera. I relaxed a bit as I used the camera; it was easy to figure out how to do stills (even while shooting video), switch between widescreen and fullscreen, record, play back, etc. The sound seemed to be doing well, too. So I had my sample video and still shots--would I be able to retrieve them easily in OS 10.4.8?
Importing the video was a piece of cake, I found. I plugged the camera in with the firewire we bought (it's not included, since Windows users only have to use USB), and iMovie offered to import the video as soon as I launched it. As I played the movies, iMovie even interpreted where breaks were to make separate clips. I exported the first three segments as a QuickTime file with medium sound quality, and my husband and his friends were still raving about how fantastic the quality was. I was pleased with how the camera dealt with light in an indoor situation--it produced significantly better video quality than my mom's digital camera (which, admittedly, is primarily intended for stills).
The USB cable is still necessary to transfer still photos to the computer. My first impression is that stills shot during video recording are not as high-quality as stills shot separately. A flash might help, too; the still shots give the impression of less light than the movies do. The images aren't shockingly better than the ones produced by our hand-me-down ~2.1 MP still camera, but I'm sure they are a bit better.
Figuring out the menus can be a bit confusing if you don't initially realize that the different settings on the camera (like motion vs. still) have different menu options. We had to look in the manual to figure out how to set the time. The most basic camera functions, though, are very intuitive.
With a bigger battery than the included battery (maybe twice the capacity?), I probably got at least an hour of total operating time; I used the LCD screen for most of that time. The viewfinder is electronic, so I can't think that it really sucks up a lot less energy than the flip-out screen, but I haven't experimented with their comparitive energy suckage.
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the camera; it's just what I was looking for. Now I just need the disk space to support it!

Panasonic PV GS180
It's a great, light little camera. Very handy for field work. I'm very pleased with it. it can take still photos. I find the USB 2.0 video transfer very useful: saves me the trouble of buying and installing a firewire card.
It does not get the full 5 stars because, unlike many, if not all, the previus models of the same line, it DOES NOT include the hand remote control. Too bad, because it woould have been a mayor bonus. A friend of mine has the GS65 model, which has less megapixels 'n such, BUT DOES include the remote. Heck, my manual talks about the remote and everything, kinda throws it in your face a bit. Oh well, It's still a very good camera for the price, I mean, 3 ccds, that's just too cool.