The Panasonic VHS-C Palmcorder: Still a good value?
Written: Mar 24 '01 (Updated May 03 '01)
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Pros: Good quality video, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Low quality audio
The Bottom Line: This is a great point and shoot camcorder for people whose needs for a camcorder are very basic.
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| Ahab1973's Full Review: Panasonic Palmcorder PV-D209 VHS-C Analog Camcorde... |
With the advent of digital camcorders, the typical consumer may be wondering if an analog camcorder is still a worthwhile purchase. If you're talking about a lower end Panasonic VHS-C, I'd have to say absolutely.
These camcorders are directed to the point and shoot crowd. They have very few manual controls and thus are very easy to operate. You literally point and shoot. This is great if you're more interested in just capturing the moment and you don't want to bother with the various quality settings. However, if you're thinking about getting into more serious videography, you may want to consider a more serious camcorder.
These camcorders, while they don't have the advantages of digital technology, still offer a great value for the money. Especially if you don't use a camcorder very often. Why spend all that extra cash on something that's going to sit unused in a bag 90% of the time?
I've tried many brands of analog camcorders and have found the Panasonic Palmcorders to be some of the best. Mine is several years old and works great (except for the audio, which I screwed up myself by attempting to tweak it. Bad idea by the way.)
Most low cost camcorders don't yield a very high quality signal. They particularly have a hard time with harsh contrasts and low light. The color balance will vary with models made by different manufacturers. Most low end camcorders don't have manual white balance either. The Panasonic units don't have any white balance controls at all. Fortunately, the colors are pretty accurate. The Panasonic units also seem to handle harsh contrasts a little better than others.
The resolution seems pretty good for an analog camcorder. Although it deteriorates noticeably if you edit your footage to VHS.
You have plenty of options for batteries as well. Batteries for VHS-C camcorders are nearly universal and you can buy spare batteries almost anywhere. Wal-Mart even carries a few generic batteries that you can buy dirt cheap.
The chief advantage of VHS-C is that you can pop the tape into the special adapter provided with the camcorder and play it in your home VHS vcr without the need to either connect your camcorder to the tv or edit it to VHS.
This can be a nice feature but sometimes the picture quality suffers due to differences between your camcorder recording heads and your vcr playback heads. I've also gotten this adapter stuck in my vcr a couple of times. Fortunately, I have just enough technical prowess to remove it.
The only major gripe I have with the Panasonic units is that the audio quality is below average even for an analog unit. Voices often sound muffled.
A great way to get a good deal on one of these camcorders is to watch for open box deals at stores such as Best Buy. Especially if you already have a VHS-C charger and battery. (These are usually missing from the open box buys)I bought mine for less than $150. Even if you don't have the charger and battery, this can still be a good deal because you can buy both for around $70 or less. If you buy this way, just make sure you keep the reciept.
I have two digital camcorders but I still use this one quite a bit because I take it places where I wouldn't want to have to worry about anything happening to something really expensive.
The bottom line is that if you can find any of Panasonic's analog Palmcorders for less than $400, and you don't really need or want a digital camcorder, you couldn't go far wrong by picking one up. I would also recommend checking out JVC's line of VHS-C camcorders. JVC is well known for packing in the features for a relatively low price. Most JVC camcorders also have the added benefit of manual white balance and exposure controls.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 145
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Epinions.com ID:
Ahab1973
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Member: Brian
Location: USA
Reviews written: 131
Trusted by: 63 members
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