Customer Reviews

Panasonic PVDV51 MiniDV Digital Camcorder

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are a lot of pluses and a few minuses for the DV51. The biggest plus is you're getting all the video quality of a much more expensive camera like the DV601. The 680,000 pixel CCD is a big part of that. Most low-end digital cams (including those from Sony) don't have anywhere near this kind of resolution. If you currently have a VHS or 8mm camcorder, you're in for a big step up in image quality.

The DV51 is reasonably easy to record with. If you want to do much more than defeat the EIS, enable manual focus, or enable the backlight compensation however, you'll have to go into the menus. The "jog dial" makes menu selection reasonably easy but for some reason, you sometimes turn the dial to choose which selection you want and sometimes you're forced to press it multiple times depending on the menu. The same jog dial is also the manual focus adjustment and it's a bit awkward for that purpose.

The EIS works well. It takes it a second or so to kill any undesired camera shake after you stop panning or zooming but that's typical of most digital EIS systems. You can also use it after the fact on playback which is a bonus as EIS usually shortens battery life (and can cause side effects you might not want in your final video). If you want to export your videos via the digital 1394 link to your computer, however, you best use it when recording.

The battery life with the included battery is less than an hour with the LCD monitor in use and close to 1.5 hours if you use the viewfinder instead. Most will likely want to get a spare (and possibly larger) battery but this is typical of most camcorders.

The zoom is quiet (you can barely hear it on the recorded video) and has multiple speeds but it takes a light touch to keep it at the slow speed. The digital zoom works well up to about 30x or 40x but beyond that, you lose a lot of quality (just like with any other digital zoom).

There are "program" settings for sport, portrait, low light and bright (i.e. snow) scenes. There's also a "gain up" setting that, when used, allows the DV51 to shoot decent video in relatively low light. Like most camcorders, however, the video noise is much more noticable under such conditions.

My biggest complaint is this camera lacks a microphone input. If you've done much camcorder work, you probably know that capturing quality audio is often difficult. The lack of a microphone jack makes it impossible to use anything but the built in stereo microphone. While this isn't a big deal for taping your baby crawling around the house, it would be a big deal if you want to pull off a professional sounding interview or record your son's band performance.

The built in microphone of any camera can't help but pick up some camera noises, any noise made by whoever's doing the recording and the noise of the camera being handled. Plus, if your subject is more than 5 feet away, you'll get a lot of echo indoors. The microphone in the DV51 is decent as far as built-in mics go, but your videos will still scream "amateur" from the poor audio.

The camera is a little light on accessories as might be expected for this price. You don't get an 1394 digital cable. You also don't get a blank miniDV tape.

I didn't buy the DV51 to use as a digital still camera. It's not well suited to this as you have to record the images to tape and transfering them to your PC is an involved process. If you want this feature, spend a little more money and at least get the PV-DV101 which has a serial connection or the PV-DV201 which steps up to faster USB. That way you can directly download the images to your PC.

In summary, Panasonic chose to throw out features instead of video quality for their least expensive DV camera. For my needs, it's mostly a good compromise. I just wish they could have spent the extra dollar or so and included a microphone jack.

Relatively speaking, DV cameras are likely to continue to rapidly improve. I would expect that two years from now a $500 camera will have a megapixel rating, 32mb or more of still picture memory plus added bells and whistles. In the meantime, the DV51 is a good choice if you're on a tight budget or just want something to get you buy until DV cams are more mature.

This camera stands out because the video quality is great, while unneeded features are left off. I don't need a color viewfinder--or a color LCD for that matter, even though this camera comes with one. I want to be able to aim it, that's all. I have a nice Olympus digital camera I bought on Amazon last year that takes PERFECT pictures and I don't need an inferior "still mode" which is commonly included with lots of these digital VIDEO cameras. Mercifully, Panasonic made the effort to make a camera for the real, practical world which does not force me to pay for a high-end digital camera and media capability that I do not need at all. The 2.5 inch color LCD is even too much in my opinion! I LOVE that this camera takes such good video and has an excellent zoom capability the most. That's all I really need!

I purchased eight of these cameras last July 02 and they have been a huge disappointment. I have many of the precursors to this model, the pvdv-101. There are two issues with the Pvdv-51. Out of eight cameras, three of them had case breaks in the exact same spot, just where the hand strap connects to the rear section of the camera. I am a teacher and use these in a high school setting. With the first camera break, I blamed student negligence. However with the third that happened (in my hand!) it's clear to me that there is an engineering fault. I suspect the grade of plastic used isn't strong enough but that's only speculation.

The second major problem has to do with the video heads. From the first week of use, these cameras have been plagued with head clogs. I use only Sony Premium tapes (do not mix brands). Again, I have other Panasonic cameras that I use and they do not have these problems. The dry erase tapes will work for most clogs though sometimes the tape has to be run through many many times to clear the problem. Some clogs have not been fixable and are waiting to go out to have their heads "professionally" cleaned.

...

Finally, Panasonic's customer relations has been poor with this issue. I have had no success on the phone or in print resolving my problem and will be switching to another similarly priced camera when replacing these models. I've been testing a Canon ZR-60 and am pleased with it's performance. This camera also has an external mic input which the Pan does not.

Over the years, I've invested more than 100 grand in equipment in Panasonic and this is my first major disappointment.

To tranfer video to a PC you need a Firewire port on the PC(I use the one on my sound card) and a firewire cable. I got the cable at Circuit City when I bought the camera. If you have Windows XP, Movie Maker will open by default when you connect the camera. If you want to purchase DV editing software, Pinnacle's Studio DV comes with a firewire card.

The PV-DV51 has pretty good picture quality, but the built in mic is pretty (bad), no mic jack either. Menu button is almost impossible to access during use if you have normal-sized fingers. Good cheap digital cam but I'm returning mine to get a Canon

I bought Panasonic PVDV51D camcorder about 5 months ago and it is already giving several problems. The picture gets split into several small rectangular squares and it is very difficult to watch it. I called the panasonic service center and they said it would cost me 149$ (plus 12$ shipping and handling)flat rate service charge no matter what the problem is! ( about half the price of a new camcorder). I would strongly recommend not buying it or buying extended warranty since the warranty that comes with the new product is deceptive i.e. though it covers parts for a year, they would charge you too much in the form of LABOR charges.

As a beginner of camcording, I reviewed all the many cameras on the market and decided to purchase this one for its ease of use, size for traveling, and clarity of recording. I have never owned a camcorder and after one day of testing, I feel very comfortable at recording and playback. Actually, I take it everywhere and having a wonderful time using it. The only drawback is - you cannot download to a PC. However, I have ordered a cable and software from Pinnacle to solve this problem. I highly recommend this product, if you are a first time user and you want great pictures with minimal experience.

If Celia reads this review, I would like to know what specific cable you bought from Pinnacle to use to transfer still pics to the computer. I can't seem to find any info on that. Amazon has cables but I don't know which one I need. It would be helpful if on the despcription of the product, there was a despcription of the accessories and what you need, not just a list.

the video is very good on this one and I find it very easy to handle. I'm just frustrated about not being able to get the still pics on the computer.

Another big note. We have had this less than 2 years now and we had the same case break by the handle that the guy had mentioned above. Not happy with this camera at this point. Going to move up to a DVD camcorder and not panasonic(if they even make them!)

I am using this camcorder for last 2 and half year (well, I don't use it much). And for some time facing the problem of picture geting split into several small rectangular squares, which is very difficult to watch. And recently this camcorder broke where the plastic hooks with the hand strap (you can see a very cheap plastic being used).

I like it mainly due to its built-in digital camera which I have 2 in 1 without carrying camcorder and digital camera at the same but you can not switch from taking video to taking picture at the same time. With this PhotoShot built-in digital still camera you can record up to 1000 images on one 80-minute tape in LP mode. It is worth.