Panasonic Palmcorder PV-DV952 Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: lightweight, compact, incredible sound
Cons: a bit pricey, need to update my PC to run the software provided.

I bought the 952 right before I left for a trip to Portugal. I have an old camcorder but i needed to get the feel for this one. The pictures were great and I found that the digital picture format came in very handy everywhere I went. The sound pickup...

Pros: optical stabilizer, 3 CCDs
Cons: recording in low light conditions

I will not go through all the features. Of course you can read them on the manufacturer's web site.
I would just like to say that this is supposed to be a high end camera. It has 3 CCD, optical stabilizer, manual focus, etc.

Anyhow I was embarrassed filming in 'low light conditions'. For example, when my son graduated I saw a lot of other parents using much less expensive cameras (I remember Sony cameras) that were able to film in the (let's say) low light (there was a ballroom and all the chandeliers were lit). On the other hand, all that I got was a pixel-ed image. I am not an expert, but what I could mention is that I was using the presetting for low light, selected from the menus.

I good light conditions the images are good.



My conclusion: they should work on low light settings.

And as a self-critique: if you are not an expert do not buy so expensive cameras.

I paid 1500 US in summer 2002.