The "P" in Panasonic stands for "perfect."
Written: Nov 26 '01
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Pros: Great price, great LCD picture and screen, professional-looking video, dual camera mode, Firewire port
Cons: Media price, a little bit of trouble with Firewire
The Bottom Line: A bargain-hunter's dream; it's price, digital-editing capability, and features make the PV-DV900 a champion among digital camcorders.
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| frizzymaster's Full Review: Panasonic PV-DV900 Mini DV Camcorder |
First, let me give you a little background information. I am a full-time bargain hunter, and when I decided to invest in a camcorder, I was looking only for the best and cheapest, and I found it in this wonderful little camcorder.
I spent several months, actually, researching different types of camcorders, different brands, different retailers - you name it, I researched it. I agonized over finding the right camcorder, just because it was so much money and I want to use my camcorder for more than home-movies. When it came down to the finalist camcorders, I chose the Panasonic PV-DV900 for three reasons: price, digital-editing capability, and features.
Price is the most important factor for me and most average consumers. A lot of us don't have $1000 or more to throw around. This camcorder was a steal. I found my particular camera very easily through a refurbished dealer for only $400, which is extremely cheap for a digital camcorder that has siblings costing $900 and up. Let me put in a plug for refurbished products, by the way: they are the bargain-hunter's dream. 99% of refurbished products have no problems with them, just because they are refurbished, in other words, checked by company inspectors and repaired with company parts. Compare that record to the 77% no-problems-record of new products. Because they are refurbished, companies charge a lot less for them; many refurbished items cost 50% less than new items. Refurbished doesn't necessarily mean used, either, if that term scares you. Refurbished can mean the box was simply opened in the store. Some refurbished items are just store surplus that haven't been used at all! Any way you slice it, refurbished products trump new products. Even if you don't want to buy a refurbished camcorder, despite the obvious benefits, I found several websites that sold this camcorder for a little over $500, which is still cheap.
The second reason this product stands out as a winner is its digital-editing capability. This was another important deciding factor for me, because I use my camcorder for more than home movies. The PV-DV900 has a Firewire port in the front, which lets you hook your camcorder up to your computer and upload video straight onto your hard drive, providing that you have a Firewire card and a reasonably spacious hard drive (8 GB is enough for an amateur using video-compression software). Using low-priced software, like Pinnacle Systems' Studio 7, you can create professional-looking films easily. If you plan to use your camcorder mainly for home movies, you still should purchase this camcorder. Digital seems to be the way all media are moving: television, radio, and film. In the near-future, it will become increasingly harder to find analog electronics, so going digital now will only keep you ahead of the game. Digital video also offers the advantage of better pictures and sound, which this camcorder definitely has. That leads me into my third reason for buying the PV-DV900: features.
For a low-priced camcorder, this Panasonic product is chock-full of features. The LCD screen, for instance, pivots around 270 degrees. That means you can use the LCD screen as a monitor when you are filming yourself. No more guessing if you're in focus or in the center of the screen. There are several special effects on the camcorder, as well, including strobe, polarize, and negative. This camcorder works well in all lighting situations, even the filmmaker's dreaded indoor lighting will show up grand on the camcorder. The zoom is tremendous, going up to 360x, although the picture gets fuzzy at that point. Optical zoom, however, provides a sharp picture even at its maximum of 18x. The really neat thing about this camcorder, though, is its dual camera mode. It can become a digital camera at the press of a button. If you want a digital camera, but also want a digital camcorder, this camcorder is the answer. The film picture, as previously mentioned, is of high-quality. It's hard to tell, especially in outdoor shots, if the footage was taken with a television camera or a simple home camcorder. The PV-DV900 is the best.
The only real trouble I've had with this camcorder is the price of recording media and the Firewire. Recording media, or DV tapes, are relatively expensive, costing sometimes $10 for a 60-minute tape. It's a problem that plagues all digital camcorders, not just this one, and is something that the company itself can't help. My camcorder's Firewire port was acting up recently as I was transferring video, but I can't tell if that's my computer's problem or the camcorder, since my computer has been a little wonky as of late. Otherwise, this camcorder has a spotless record with me.
Just a few things to mention, the PV-DV900 is the same camcorder as the PV-DV100. Panasonic just re-released the camcorder for some reason. Don't let anybody charge you more just because it is a "900" instead of a "100." Also, the PV-DV900 has a smaller LCD screen, 2.5 inches, than the 3 inches of some of the higher models. Don't pay more for just a bigger screen. That little difference can cost you up to $100 more. Make sure you really want that extra half-inch or that the camcorder has more features than the PV-DV900.
In the end, this camcorder is a winner. It's perfect for the budding filmmaker or the birthday-party-taping father. Whether it's microwaves, DVD players, or TVs, Panasonic makes high-quality electronics, and this camcorder is no exception.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 409
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Epinions.com ID:
frizzymaster
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Reviews written: 6
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