Rating - Worst piece of hardware i ever got
software provided in CD doesnt work with vista, not sure why its being sold when it is not supported on new version of windows. i can't download gb's of s/w from internet...i hate to return an item, feel like throwing it but will return as my hard earned money is spent on this..
Rating - My first 3CCD...
I purchased this nifty little camcorder primarily for making
low-budget movies. I read the reviews and compared prices on
numerous models and decided the GS320 was the most affordable
and suitable model (GS500 was unavailable at the time). The
box arrived in the mail and I began some film testing and was
quickly impressed with the video quality, especially outdoors,
creating some clear, vivid images. It's true, the low lighting
isn't the greatest and the colors typically fade with the lack of
proper lighting. If you plan on filming a lot at night or
creating some dark creepy scenarios then this model probably
isn't what you want (The GS250 however has some great low
lighting capabilities, although, it too was unavailable at the
time).
The GS320 is very lightweight taking much stress off of the
arm and wrist, and the handstrap is also adjustable to fit practically
any size hand. You can purchase high-quality mini-tapes which
bring about an even more impressive looking picture (I've found
these to cost about $10-$12 per tape).The zoom is nice, although
you do lose some picture quality as already mentioned in several
reviews. This camcorder also has some neat special features, one
of which cuts down on that typically uncontrollable background noise
by concentrating its built-in mic on the speaker. The built-in OIS
works well in keeping the image steady for those distant, closely
zoomed in shots. Since I use Adobe Premeire Elements 3.0 for movie
editing, I only dabbled briefly with the 320's effects, most of which aren't very useful to my purpose. APE 3.0 is a great editing tool to
use with the 320; it's fast and simple and allows for much creative
freedom. I bought the APE 3.0/Photoshop Elements 4.0 bundle which
ran about $100 and is indispensable to a striving movie-maker.
For the price and quality, the GS320 seems to be unparalleled.
An unregrettable choice so far.
Rating - Camera is Ok.
- Initially I ordered SDR-H200 (which is also 3CCD), but it was getting heated up so I returned it and ordered GS320..
- GS320 was no match for SDR-H200 in terms of quality of picture.
- Other drawback was to transfer the recorded media onto Laptop. No faster way other than playing it back again.
- So I returned GS320 and ordered Panasonic SDR-H200 again. I took my chance but luckly the heating problem is not there. Probably it was with the previous piece.
Rating - NOTE: Not an upgrade over the GS300!
Correcting another review:
This is NOT an upgrade over the PV-GS300!
The two camcorders are exactly the same except that the 320 has NO microphone input. That is the ONLY difference.
Also, a CCD is the digital equivalent of film. It is a computer chip that changes light into digital information. It has NOTHING at all to do with the zoom. If you are zooming to 25-30x, the lens has reached its zoom limit. What is happening is the camera's computer is cropping and enlarging the picture to LOOK like it is zooming in. This dramatically decreases the quality of the picture. The PV-GS300 can zoom in 10x its widest setting without resorting to this "Digital Zoom".
Now, I'm not completely sure of the technical stuff in this paragraph, but here's what I think it is: A CCD can only use one color. So, an 1 CCD camcorder actually shoots in black and white. This image is then converted into color, hence the poor color quality on these camcorders. On 3CCD camcorders, each CCD deals in either red, green, or blue. This way the color quality is FAR higher than with only 1 CCD. All professional camcorders have 3 CCD's.
Now, about this camcorder. I have owned the PV-GS300 for around 6-8 months. I can't really remember which. The color is the best you can get with a sub-$1500 camcorder. The quality and detail is also superb. I don't know why you would choose a Sony HC96 (with ONE CCD!) over this baby. The menus are easy to navigate, the screen is bright and clear, the camcorder is easy to hold and operate... I could go on and on and on. My only two gripes are: the hand strap is fairly narrow, so it begins to hurt a little after a long time wearing it tight, and the editing software that come with it is pitifully useless. I use Adobe Premiere and Avid Liquid when I want to make things look good.
The only better standard definition camcorders are (for some reason, they're all Panasonics...):
PV-GS400 (discontinued, but in its time was sweet)
DVX-100b (~$3,000)
I don't have the words to describe the amazingness of the DVX-100b.
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