Panasonic PVGS50S MiniDV Ultra Compact Digital Palmcorder (Silver)

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [8.42mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 2.6 x 3.2 inches ; 15.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008RUER
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,694 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 6, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The stylish, ultracompact Panasonic PVGS50S offers advanced features, including digital still photo capability, image stabilization, and the ability to create MPEG-4 video clips. The PVGS50S offers a 680K CCD, 10x optical zoom, 700x digital zoom, and 2.5-inch color LCD.

Optics
The PVGS50S is equipped with a 680,000-pixel CCD and 10x optical zoom It also features a 700x digital zoom that allows you to zoom in on incredible close-ups.

Digital Stills and MPEG4 Video
The PhotoShot built-in digital still mode is capable of capturing crystal-clear still images at high resolution. It has a high speed shutter when taking photos and can even take progressive phots which can be saved onto the MiniDV tape or to the included 8 MB SD memory card. You can also record MPEG4 video, which uses a higher compression setting and is great for posting to a Web site or e-mailing to friends and family.

Still images and MPEG4 video are stored on the included 8 MB Secure Digital (SD) memory card, and can be transferred to your PC via USB connectivity (compatible with both USB 1.1 and 2.0).

More Features
The picture-in-picture feature allows you to insert a previously taken digital still image into the video that is being recorded, to enhance the aesthetics of the final cut of the video. The cinema mode enables you to record video in wide screen mode, giving you a 16:9 aspect ratio that's the same as a movie screen. When played back on a television the result is dramatic looking cinema-like movies at home.

Other features include:

• 2.5-inch tiltable LCD screen.
• External microphone jacks allow for professional sound recording.
• Remote control features include playback with special effects, zoom, and slow motion.

Inputs and Outputs
The PVGS50S 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.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 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.

Contents
This package includes the PVGS50S camcorder, 8 MB SD memory card, AC adapter, battery pack, shoulder strap, A/V cable, USB cable, wireless remote control, wired remote control, lens cap, and software.

Product Description

CL) MU) PANASONIC PV-GS50 MINI DV

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really slick, July 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Panasonic PVGS50S MiniDV Ultra Compact Digital Palmcorder (Silver) (Electronics)

This is a great camcorder and a great buy. It's tiny, full-featured, and well designed with the usual Panasonic attention to ergonomics and practicality. The battery life is extraordinary for a battery this size. On the downside, the digital photo mode has fairly low resolution, but remember that any camcorder you're using as a digital camera will NOT have a flash, and that's very limiting anyway. So don't buy this (or any camcorder) to be an all-in-1 device or you'll be disappointed. On the plus side, the ability to record MPEG-4 video to either the DV tape or the SD card is great, although it will be an *.asf file and not .mpg (and no, you can't easily convert), so your file sharing may be limited. You'll likely prefer to record in regular mode instead and then capture it on your PC (via firewire) and save it to mpg. Overall a very impressive camcorder and a good operating manual, although you won't even need it to do the basics. And that's rare these days! Well done, Panasonic.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera, February 16, 2004

By 

John Thomson (Kansas City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic PVGS50S MiniDV Ultra Compact Digital Palmcorder (Silver) (Electronics)

This Panasonic DV camcorder is a solid performer and a great value. I've been using it for several months, and it hasn't let me down at all. Battery life is good, picture quality is great, and audio quality is acceptable.

The basic features of this camera are intuitive and easy to use. You can have it out of the box and recording in no time (after you charge the battery). Video quality is high, and playback on the LCD screen is easy and watchable. It comes with nearly every imaginable cable, so you can hook it to whatever you want. However, I highly recommend a firewire (IEEE 1394) card for capturing video to a PC. I've used Pinnacle Studio software flawlessly with this camera, and produced very high quality results.

This camera is chock full of features. To be honest, I haven't used many of them, not yet having learned how. The instruction manual is 102 pages long, and you'll every last page if you're going to exploit all the features of this camera. However, it's not necessary to do so to get your money's worth. One note: still picture quality won't match that of a good regular digital camera, so I wouldn't recommend using it for that purpose, although it comes equipped with an SD card slot that enables the capture of stills.

This is a small, lightweight camera that will just barely fit in your hand. It'll go everywhere without being a burden. It's worked great for me, and I can highly recommend it. Enjoy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Small package and small performance, September 8, 2004

By 

Don - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic PVGS50S MiniDV Ultra Compact Digital Palmcorder (Silver) (Electronics)

This camera specs well and packs a lot of features. Using the features can be difficult and in some cases, too easy. On several occassions, I have hit the photo button while trying to find the zoom button. The IEEE 1394 (firewire) port failed. While mounted on my tripod, you cannot replace the battery. The battery release is on the bottom of the camera which is obstructed by the tripod. The sound quality is marginal. I am being generous with a three star rating. If you plan to use the camera frequently, invest time understanding your objectives and match the capabilities of the camera. This camera is small and awkward for me to use. I was happy to receive it as a gift but would not have purchased it for myself.