After looking at everything, I picked this one!
Written: Jun 03 '02
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Pros: Large 1/3.8" Megapixel CCD, Optical Image Stabilization, Pop Up Flash
Cons: Included battery life
The Bottom Line: The PV-DV852 gives you a beautiful, optically stabilized Leica Dicomar lens to focus light on a 1/3.8" 1.02 Megapixel CCD for both stunning video and crisp digital stills.
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| messybug's Full Review: Panasonic PV-DV852 Mini DV Camcorder |
I spent a really long time (4 months) looking for the perfect digital camcorder. I wanted something that took great video, acceptable pictures, and had as many technical gadgets as I could afford. The Panasonic was competing against entries from Sony (like the DCR-TRV50) and Canon (like the Optura 100 MC). The Sony's are very competitive technically and I eliminated them simply because I did not want to use their Memory Stick. The SD Memory of the Panasonic is used by many other digital still cameras, PDA's like the Palm, and MP3 players, and I wanted that kind of flexibility. The Canon 100 MC was eliminated because it wasn't very comfortable to hold (a vertical camera as opposed to a horizontal tube like the Panasonic) and I had read some relatively bad reviews about camera noise and reliability. The camera I really wanted was the Panasonic MX-3000 which has more great reviews on the internet than any digital camcorder ever (possible exaggeration) but is not sold in the U.S.
So, now that I picked Panasonic, which one to buy? I emailed Panasonic's tech support claiming there wasn't enough technical information on their website about all of their new cameras. They replied (the next day I might add) with chart of all of their new 2002 cameras with specs. The bottom PV-DV52 was just out. The next 3 (PV-DV102, 202, and 402) all take "Mega Still Pictures" which means they take a 680K CCD and interpolate the image to give it a million dots. Computer software can do that and I wanted at least a megapixel CCD so no thanks. The top of the line PV-VM202 is very cool but too pricey, as is the 3 CCD PV-DV952. That left the 602, 702, and 852.
I picked the 852 because I felt I was getting way more for my money than the 602 or 702 and the 852 had some of the same components (lens and CCD) as their top of the line PV-VM202 model. The 852 has a color viewfinder, the 6 and 7 have black and white. The 8 has a beautiful Leica Dicomar lens, 6 and 7 don't. The 8 has optical image stabilization, 6 and 7 don't. The 8 has S-video in AND out, the 6 and 7 just have out. The 8 lets me record MPEG-4 movies to the card, the 6 and 7 don't. The only thing holding me back from purchasing the PV-DV852 was the lack of reviews on the internet, and I attributed that to the "newness" of the camera. So, without ever even using one in person, I bought one based on pure research and number crunching.
My first reaction when I received it in the mail was, "Wow, it's smaller than I thought!" I knew the spec said it was 6-5/8" long but the pictures made it look much bigger. I was worried it was going to be too big, but it fits in my hand nicely. I was also worried the screen was going to be too small, but the 2.5" screen is more than adequate (you can see the cut out where they put the bigger screen for the European model. Why not give it to the U.S., too?). The controls are nicely arranged. I really like the miniature joystick used to control the VCR mode. When you hold the camera in your right hand and cup the base with your left, your left thumb is setup on the joystick to control the movement of the tape (play, FF, pause, etc.) The menu controls are next to the joystick and their wheel and button design allows you to manipulate the controls without looking at them. It takes beautiful video and the built in flash for the camera mode makes a world of difference. I know having the flash built in is a luxury, but a flash is essential to good digital still pictures and I didn't want a big flash attachment on everywhere I went. The spec says the video has 525 lines of resolution and the stills are 1280x960. I have seen stills from other digital video cameras (mainly Sony) and these are definitely the nicest. However, let's not kid each other. An inexpensive multi-megapixel digital still camera will take way better pictures, but these will definitely do if you are not planning on printing them out greater than 4x6 prints. From what I've read, the battery that comes with the camera doesn't last very long. So far, I haven't tested the camera for more than 30 minutes, but the book says that it can continuously record with the LCD monitor on for 1 hr 15 min.
When I connected the camera to a computer running Windows XP via the USB, the connection and interaction was flawless. The computer basically read the SD card like a hard drive and I copied the files (pictures or video) I wanted to the hard drive. Note to Panasonic guy reading this review: why didn't you make the voice recording mode MP3 compatible. Then I could upload songs and get another use out of this great machine. Don't expect too much out of the MPEG-4 video mode. The image is small and highly compressed (a 1 minutes video clip was 727K), and can easily skip or freeze momentarily during playback. I have yet to hook up the dv (firewire) port and will update this review if anything doesn't go as it should.
To wrap things up, I think this is an absolutely beautiful, well engineered digital video camcorder and highly recommend it to all. I have had not one single problem and have been completely satisfied.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1149
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Epinions.com ID:
messybug
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