You want a lot out of a video camera. You want beautiful moving pictures and beautiful stills. You want a camera that's easy to use and small enough to take anywhere. And you want... more
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A review by mitchyboy on Panasonic NV GS11 May 1st, 2006
Author's product rating:
Ease of use
Excellent
Recording quality
Good
Picture quality
Good
Sound quality
Good
Value for money
Excellent
Advantages:
Small, easy to use, good picture quality, value for money
Disadvantages:
Lucky if the battery lasts an hour .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I bought this camera over a year a go for £250 from Comet and it is still going strong. I also saw the same one in Argos at the time for £400 so knew it was a good buy from the start and being a beginner at the time knew it was a must have as I didn't want to spend loads on something I might not use too often even though I've used it at least once a week since I bought it. I only bought it with it's own 1 year guarantee but Comet do offer an extended warranty at a price I must add.
Recordings are stored on tapes which can be set to SP or LP. The only ones i've seen store 60mins on SP and 90mins on LP and they come in a 3 pack so you know you can record 3hrs worth of film before having to store your film. I think they are around £15 but don't quote me on that.
With an LCD screen it provides easy usage especially for self filming the LCD rotates and the display flips automatically so you can see exactly what you are filming. For the price I bought it for it has great picture quality. It has a light added for them slightly darker days and does have a colour night function but this is very jerky and you are best using other artificial lighting and filming in colour but it is fun to play with. The 24X optical zoom is more than enough, don't bother with the 800X digital zoom because of the picture quality it is pointless to use. I actually filmed my partner scratching her bum and I was on one side of niagara falls (canada) and she was on the other (USA) and at 24X optical zoom the picture was crystal clear. I must admit i had to sit the camera on a flat surface as my hand wasn't steady enough but steadiness is easily overcome even without using a tripod stand.
You can even take still pictures on it (it uses about 20-30seconds of tape) but with 3 tapes you can save taking 2 cameras with you when you go away for the day.
The sound is good but it does seem to pick up too much especially on windy days, all you seem to hear is mostly the wind but other sound does come through and there is a function on the camera on the menu where you can select wind cut which helps a little but could be better. Also you can plug in a microphone (sold sepearately) in the front to specify where you want sound to come from.
The camera also includes different cinema effects including multi picture, pic-in-pic, strobe, trail, mosaic, mirror, stretch, and slim. You can also select wide screen cinema mode as well as different colour recording including black and white. Everything is easy to find on the menu and it is worth just messing around with so you know what you are getting from it.
The remote controls are also easy to use and come in handy when you are trying to film the whole family and you don't want to be stuck behind the camera.
It's small and light do you can even take it anywhere without taking a great big bag or having to use scaffolding to hold it, my partner even thought it was a toy it is so compact.
The instructions tell you everything from a quick start to detail in using the camera to it's best capabilities, although I haven't read it all as I use it as and when but things are easy to find when you do need it (trust me not very often, the camera is almost self explanatory in it's use).
The only really bad thing I think is the battery. If you film for a constant hour you will just about film an hour. Throughout the day you will be lucky to get 30-45 mins tops. My only recommendation for the product is to buy a stronger battery and take 2 out with you so you can get the most of time usage out of it.
It's also very easy to convert on to your computer through a firewire port (you will need to buy a separate cable and make sure your computer has a firewire port available) and if you have windows movie maker, windows XP will pick up your camera through plug and play and it will start the process of getting your film onto the computer for you with easy to follow on screen instructions.
I actually recommend using windows movie maker just to get the film onto the computer, then buy yourself a good quality video editing program to work from it. Also my computer needs updating but I'm still getting good video and I would make sure you have a graphics card to run your video editing software. The camera also includes an A/V cable so you can view the film on a TV and record to a video/dvd recorder easily and a USB cable so you can use it as a webcam.
Like I said for the problems I've had (steadiness, battery power and sound) they are so easily overcome for a small price so it's a certain buy especially for the beginner like I was.
I had this camera for 4 years now, and I was happy with it. its only recently it started to behave stranegly. firstly the LCD did not function and I had to replace its cable (normal for 4 years of service).
I have now the problem of peeping asking me to press the reset button every time I switch it on, as well as the tapes door sometimes does not open or close.
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: ease of use - size Disadvantages: low light filming
i have had this camera for a few years now and it has been excellent for me.
i have done wedding videos to dvd, promotional dvds for businesses, christenings and holidays, and have had virtually no problems
the only downside i've had is filming in low light, eg. wedding night parties, but i have no frame of reference as to how well it compares to other cameras,
with the filter threads a wide range of lenses etc are available to enhance your videos, ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great Quality Disadvantages: Poor Battery Life
...I am reviewing my new video camera - A panasonicNVGS11B - An excellent camera for personal use, Made in Japan
I am using this camera to video a fictional crime scene - an assignment. And having never using a video camera before i was dreading even touching it incase i done something wrong.
The Packaging
before i purchased my camera I read through the packaging to find out all the features which were included, and i personally really liked how the packaging was layed out. It was not cluttered with text and pictures, everything was well layed out and structured. A Blue & White background with black and white text.
A picture of the camera was also there and a list of accessories.
Looking at the packaging, made me feel confident and wanting to puchase IT. Packaging that is cluttered with text, no one will want to read it...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: easy to use, excellent stability Disadvantages: wind block doesn't cut out all the wind noise, very sensitive mic
...It was a toss up between the Sony TRV22/TRV33 or something a lot cheaper that just does the job.
I settled for the Panasonic NVGS11b which offered all the basic features eg stability, windcut, photo to tape, colour night shot, dv out for computer editing and the best thing was the 24 x optical zoom..
At first glance the camcorder is small and easy to hold even for my wife who has small hands. It has a colour LCD screen which opens out and can rotate to the front, black and white view finder and the tape loading mechanism is at the top so if you use a tripod you don't need to undo the camcorder whilst changing tapes. The zoom is easily operated using your first or second finger and can be locked at 24 X optical, 60 X digital or 800 X digital.
In my opinion the zoom was useless after 170 because everything became pixelated but...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
You want a lot out of a video camera. You want beautiful moving pictures and beautiful stills. You want a camera that's easy to use and small enough to take anywhere. And you want to edit the images you record and use them for networking. With Panasonic's wide variety of video cameras, you're sure to find a model that meets your needs. Choose a model that takes remarkably vivid, high-quality still shots and moving pictures. Choose one that combines lots of style with lots of functions, or one with a super-high-power optical zoom. Find the video camera that's just right for you, and let Panasonic be your partner in a new video lifestyle. Panasonic NV-GS11 is a Super Compact Digital Video Camera that has a powerful 24 x optical Zoom.
17.04.2007
