Blending innovative technologies with new, simple-to-operate controls, Panasonic's entry-level PV-GS9 camcorder is an affordable entry into digital video with powerful features. Panasonic continues to innovate, adding more optical zoom capability while reducing the overall size. This MiniDV camcorder features a 20x optical zoom, ultra-fast 1.3-second start-up time, digital stills saved to tape, and webcam capability. For a step up in price, the Panasonic PV-GS12 offers digital electronic image stabilization and enables you to save digital stills to SD/MMC memory cards.
Optics
The PV-GS9 is equipped with a 1/6-inch, 680,000-pixel CCD and 20x optical zoom It also features a 800x digital zoom that allows you to zoom in on incredible close-ups.
Digital Stills
In addition to video camcorder operation, you can also use the PV-GS9 as a digital still camera. Using Panasonic's PhotoShot function, images are stored on tape.
More Features
The 2.5-inch LCD screen can be opened a full 120 degrees away from the camcorder's body, making it easier to view motion images as they're being captured.
The Quick Start feature enables the PV-GS9 to begin taping 1.3 seconds after turning the power on so those unexpected moments won't be missed.ÊAfter pressing the Quick Start button, the camcorder will bring up the previous settings that you were shooting with--even if they were manually entered.
The PV-GS9 has several built-in digital effects during record and playback, including:
- Digital Mirror: Creates a mirror like symmetrical image
- Strobe: Digitally "freezes" a series of images
- Mosaic: Turns the image into a mosaic pattern
- Stretch: The image expands horizontally
- Trail: Forms multiple impressions of all images in motion, which gradually fade-out as the motion comes to a halt, creating a "trail" effect
- Slim: The image expands vertically
The Soft Skin Detail function detects the different skin tones being recorded and softens the focus to create a realistic blend. Other features include:
- The image-enhancing MagicPix feature allows for rich videos under low-light conditions.Ê
- Web cam capability, which is ideal for video conferencing with friends or family, or use as a simple monitoring device when consumers are away from home.
- The unsnapping hand strap doubles as wrist loops, enabling you to carry the camcorder like a small bag or purse.
- Black and white viewfinder
Inputs and Outputs The PV-GS9 comes with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire; Panasonic refers to this connection as iLink) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. It also has a USB connection (you'll need an optional USB cable to hook up to your PC).
Dimensions and Weight
This camcorder measures 3.3 x 2.75 x 4.38 inches (H x W x D) and weighs 14.1 ounces.
MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, and it is highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 2 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
1 Firewire problems
I bought this camera, hooked up the firewire and loaded movies into MovieMaker on WindowsXP a couple of times. Then, I tried to use it and it did nothing. I tried other cables, other firewire devices, and determined the problem was in the camera, so I returned it. Amazon was great about the return and sent me a new one - and the same thing happened. The firewire worked a few times and then did nothing. I even tried it hooked up to another computer this time with no results.
I found a piece of paper tucked in the instructions saying that you must turn off your PC and camera, connect in a certain order and then turn them on or else the camera may be damaged. Are they serious? They expect me to shut down my PC and restart everytime I want to load video from this camera? I sure wouldn't recommend this camera.
2 Do Not Buy it!!
This Cam does not come with the software needed to transfer
to your PC. Panasonic is not responsive when support tickets
have been placed. I found some instructions on the internet
how to force the video to the computer, after 3 utilities and
hours passed, tons of editing I had a poor quality picture -
Not worth the time or hassle! Buyer Beware!
3 DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA!
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE PC CONNECTION CABLE AND DRIVER SOFTWARE AS TARGET IS ADVERTISING IN THE DESCRIPTION. WHEN YOU GET THE CAMERA YOU ARE STUCK WITHOUT A WAY TO CONNECT IT TO YOUR COMPUTER, AND YOU HAVE TO BUY YOUR OWN CARTRIDGE BEFORE YOU CAN USE THIS. IT NEEDS SOFTWARE THAT IS NOT INCLUDED. I HAVE TRIED FOR TWO DAYS TO CONTACT PANASONIC AND ORDER OR FIND THE SOFTWARE NEEDED, HELD FOR OVER AN HOUR TWICE AND SENT TWO EMAILS TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT STILL HAVE NOT BEEN ANSWERED. SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE I HAVE GONE THROUGH - FIND ANOTHER CAMERA.
4 wow this little camera's great!
this is great. dumb people who give it one star just because it doesn't included the internet accessories , anyway you can take pictures with this camera , you can either record in tape , or then pass it to a DVD , you can use it as a web cam too, and it's so small it can fit everywhere!buy it it's so cool!!oh and if you want to record on dvd and want to buy those dvd camcorders don't , they have little time about 25mins to record and you can't use the dvd discs twice + they're really expensive
buy this one and you get three in one!
5 An excellent miniDV deck.
I have a couple high-end 3-CCD Panasonic camcorders. I was afraid of racking up hours and hours fast forwarding, rewinding, and playing back tape on these expensive models. At this incredibly low price, this is a great deal for pro's looking for an inexpensive DV "deck" to offload DV footage into their computer. (Considering that stand-alone DV VTRs cost more than $700!) I use it to feed my 3-CCD DV footage shot with my other cameras into Final Cut Pro over Firewire and it works like a dream! It's also great if you want to feed footage into a Firewire ready DVD recorder.
6 In response to the hardware/software not being included...
Hi! Just wanted to let others know out there that after reading the reviews left on Amazon I was a bit leary about getting the accesories for this camcorder given to me as a gift. However, I called the phone number in the manual and immediately had the cable and software shipped to me. I had no problems getting through on the phone or recieving the accesories. Just an F.Y.I. for others who might read the previous reviews regarding accesories and make their decision from them, they weren't that expensive (under $20 for both) and worth it if you are trying to get good use out of a nice camcorder for a minimal price.
7 don't buy it
this product does not include the usb cable and its driver for connecting to a computer. cannot understand why those important accessories are not included. panasonic is either an idiot or does not care about its customers' needs at all. you will need to order it separately from the custom service. and their service sucks!
8 Panasonic PV-GS9
I just bought it, and taste it in all modes, webcam, analog (TV) and downloading video in my PC using windows video maker. It works as publicity says. i dont recomend for pictures. i prefer my Digital camera.
I pass too much troubles finding the software (I have a friend in a camera store and burn a disk to me) couse in internet doesnt exist do not expend time trying to find it. Video quality is perfect and zoom is ok max 100x. it doesnt have problems in low light. If you are planing to use for family, or other non profesional events... its really perfect, im planing to throw all my VHS recordings and start to store my familiy memories in CDs....oh i cant wait for it....
about cables, i think i dont need firewire, cause it works good with USB,
About Software you only need the CD for drivers becouse the programas are useless, i really do not understand why Panasonic do not include drivers with the camera (marketing?) their marketing manager must be fired, they are loosing a lot of points with that.
I really recomend this camera and its variants (pvgs12, 15) it exceeds my expectings.
9 Good cam.
I bought this camcorder, like everybody else, because i need small, digital, and low-cost. this camera does all that, and the outdoors video quality is excellent.
It's not fair to compare this model with 3CCD or other much more costly models, but i will say that the EIS is not very good, and particularly poor when used in low light-lots of image smear. Of course, i think EIS stinks, period...
Overall, buy it. Best at price point.
10 molto bene!
For a while, my friends and I have been searching for a digital camcorder to make movies with. We had one already but it was...bad...to say the least. We needed something new.
I got this camcorder and absolutely love it. The picture quality and sound quality is amazing. I can now record at a crisp, clear 720*480 resolution.
Another pro: the zoom is amazing. Don't believe it when it says 800x zoom because that's just false, but if you turn the digital zoom down to 50x, the quality still remains almost the same as optical zoom.
Within minutes after I opened it, I had transfered a video onto my computer using windows movie maker, and saved it as an avi. All you need is a firewire cable (which I bought at the time I bought the camera).
I can't think of any cons for this camera because it has exceeded my expectations in every way.
You can also transfer videos from your computer back on to the camera using the firewire cable, and then record them onto VHS tapes.
11 Not as good as it should be
Pros: Really good zoom (sorta)
Cons: When you zoom in, it looses pixels; No extra features; can't connect to PC or MAC without buying the driver from panasonic
Overall - wish i hadn't bought it! Over priced!
12 Just okay!
I have just finished recording my first videotape with the Panasonic PV-GS9 and would like to make the following comments.
First, the camcorder is easy to use and is a basically a point and shoot camcorder.
For the more discriminating users I would like to point out some of the shortcomings of the camera.
1) I have found that the automatic focus is quite slow sometimes and sometimes would not work at all. I was photographing some hummingbirds up close and the camera would not focus on the feeder maybe because the color was white.
2) Dark subjects came out overexposed rather than rendering the intense colors one would like to have gotten.
3) Panasonic does not provide the software or cable to download to one's computer and it has been a real bitch trying to get the folks to respond to e-mail. I currently have three e-mails out to the service folks trying to find out how I might get the software. I received an answer to one e-mail directing me to a site where I could download the software but when I got there the link was a dead link. I have written three times about this and no one has answered my e-mails. Additionally, the e-mail with the dead link stated that the cable for downloading the movies to the computer "...is currently on back order with the factory for 4-6 weeks."
I cannot imagine what one might do if something goes wrong with the camcorder.
Despite the negatives I love the fact that I can get close up shots of birds from a safe distance without disturbing the birds and the camera will focus almost right at the edge of the lens. One could do close ups of ants if he wanted to. One really needs a tripod for the extended zooming range. You cannot hold this camera still at the 50X digital zoom.
13 A very good camcorder
The only -ve things I found are:
-no flash light (I knew that before buying).
-magic-pix helps to take picture in dark only if the subject is very still.
-for USB connection the software in not downloadable for free. You have to buy software from Panasonic for $11 besides USB cable which is another $8.
In spite of theses shortcomings I still like this camcorder and would highly recommend it.
14 Love the camera, but a little annoyed about the USB driver
I recently bought this camera, and absolutely love it, but I am a little annoyed that it doesn't come with a usb cable or the software to use it. We still can't download our movies to our computer, because I can't even find the right driver on the panasonic website. The camera itself is great, though! If you just want to use a firewire, then I highly recommend it.
15 Perfect for my needs, in every way
I've been looking for a camcorder for several months, and have been comparing prices and features both on the web and in the stores. Based on my needs I was looking for the biggest bang for my buck. I saw this Panasonic PV-GS9 Palmcorder for $349 that included an extra free, longer life battery. I couldn't go wrong.
My needs were simple. I wanted something palm-size, and this fits the bill. It doesn't take still digital photos, but I already have 2 digital cameras. It will, however, allow you to snap single photos on the tape, which you can transfer to PC, as opposed to a Secure Digital card that the more expensive models have. It has a USB connection, a firewire connection, and an analog audio/video connection. The cable is provided for the latter, but not the first two. You can use the USB connection to allow the camcorder to be used as a web cam, but you will need software for that. I hooked up the analog connection to a USB Pinnacle Studio USB box I have, and it worked great. My Pinnacle Studio v.8 transferred the clips on the tape. You can save to CD or to your PC. I then tried a firewire cable connected to my laptop. Instantly, Windows Movie Maker opened up and automatically rewound the tape, then it transferred the movie, and allowed me to edit it, and save it as a WMV file. I use WinXP, which requires nothing else to work. You will need to download some drivers if you have Windows 98.
I have not tried the connection to the TV yet, but will soon. It works great in low light situations. It has a stereo zoom microphone. I could not hear any motor noise in my playback on the PC. Sound was crisp and clear, and the full screen video was crystal clear and very sharp. Depending on how hard you touch the zoom button, you can make the picture zoom in as slow or as fast as you want.
It comes with no editing software or cables, except for the AV cable. But then I didn't need anything extra, as I already had all the hardware and software I needed. It does not come with any digital tapes, so you will have to buy those. It comes with a Li-Ion battery and charger, and a cable to allow you to use the camcorder while plugged into the charger. In fact it is suggested you do that while hooked up to the PC to prevent battery drainage. Battery charging is very quick. The manual has 82 pages, is for this model and three other models, and is packed with information; and for my age, I need reading glasses to see all the small print and illustrations. It has Image Stabilization, but no remote control. The 2.5 inch digital viewfinder is very clear and easy to see, even with these "aged" eyes. The camcorder has an easy to use menu button, which is accessible when the digital viewfinder is opened.
For my needs, it is perfect. I love it, am very happy with it, and expect to get a lot of use out of it. Even with the tiny print in the manual, I still give it all 5's.
16 Simple, effective, excellent price
I was looking for a simple, low cost digital camcorder. This fits the bill. There are a bunch of interesting effects built in, none of which I'll ever use because I plan to edit video in iMovie on my Macintosh and output to DVD using iDVD. For $350, it did the job straight out of the box.
