2nd Update. An upturn in developments

Author's Rating:

Pros: Multi-function [PUSH] dial, zoom microphone, tiny powerful battery, lots of user-controlled settings.

Cons: Hair-trigger zoom control, poor user's manual, awkward lens cap, extra parts needed for downloading footage.

The Bottom Line: 
Already a discontinued model? Poor user's manual and website support. Zoom control is very difficult to use. Very complex to operate to its full potential.

Author's Review
Update #2: Although I've been frustrated by the manual, and the Panasonic website, they do deserve full credit for a prompt and clear reply to my request for assistance in downloading footage from the camera. Since I've been vocal in criticizing them, it is only fair to also publicly acknowledge their successes. Part of their message is as follows:

"The software and the USB cable supplied with the PVGS70 cannot be used to transfer video. If you want to transfer video to and from your PC, you need a 4-pin to 6-pin i. Link cable (also known as IEEE1394 or Firewire), video editing software and an i.Link card/board installed in your computer.
There are many vendors who include the three elements mentioned above into a comprehensive package, which is advantageous because all three components of the package are compatible with each other.

The following Software information lists various brands of software taken from professional reviews. We recommend that you further research software options, as what you choose should be based on what you are looking to do with your camera/computer.

IBM compatible PCs
Video software companies that offer many different levels of video software
www.adobe.com
http://www.roxio.com/en/products/index.jhtml
www.pinnaclesys.com/HomeMovieMaking.asp

MacIntosh
The best consumer video editing software is iMovie or iMovie2, which is preloaded in iMac DV computers that have been purchased within the past five years (approximately). These units are equipped with 2 Firewire ports (same
as i.Link) from the factory at the time of purchase. iMovie can import and process video footage as well as still images.

If the MacIntosh computer is older than three years or is not an iMac DV model, you will have to purchase the Firewire card and video editing software (iMovie can be purchased on-line for a reasonable price at www.apple.com) as
well as a Firewire cable.

Please make sure that you ask before buying the product what are the minimum system requirements for your PC, in order to be compatible with the product(how much memory you need, what kind of a monitor, etc.). Also, please verify that it is compatible with your operating system (Windows or
MacIntosh).

Dealers like Future Shop, Best Buy and other computer software stores stock this type of software. Packages start from about $130 and up.

Thank you for contacting us and allowing us an opportunity to assist you.

Sincerely,
Customer Care Centre
Panasonic Canada Inc."
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Update #1:
My original comments are still valid, so I'll leave them intact below.

Panasonic no longer shows the PVGS70 on its website, so I suspect that it lasted well under a year before being replaced with a better(?) model. I've always thought highly of Panasonic, but will no longer be so trusting.

- Support on the website is virtually non-existent. All I've been able to find is a user's manual, which seems to be identical to the inadequate version that came with the camera. If Epinions has a section for rating website support, I'd give Panasonic very low ratings. They do have an email support option, and I'll report back to this group if I get a (satisfactory) response.

- The manual does an extremely poor job of describing the process of transferring video footage to a PC. It is only slightly better for transferring still shots, or for using the unit as a webcam. I have yet to try out these features, as they are not something I need to use, yet.

- The USB driver provided by Panasonic has not been approved by Microsoft as compatible with XP or W2000. Panasonic says not to worry about it, that their testing has confirmed compatibility. I beg to differ. Any time you run across statements like that, it is time to worry. I'm no fan of Microsoft, but even I can't fault them when problems develop because software that hasn't been certified to meet their standards is used. I followed the driver and software installation instructions to the letter, and got exactly the responses from the program that were predicted by Panasonic. Panasonic's DV Studio3 program will recognize the camera, but nothing else, including Windows MovieMaker, will. Neither Windows Explorer or My Computer can see the camcorder. If anyone can tell me how to download video footage to my PC, I'd be forever grateful. Please post your advice as a comment here, as others are likely to run into the same problem

Conclusion: Not only should you try the camera before you buy it, as I originally noted, but follow through to the point of seeing the tape transferred to a PC that is using whatever operating system you have. Trust nobody. This stuff it much too complicated to accept a glib "of course it will work, an manufacturer the site of Panasonic would never sell stuff that doesn't work well." In this case at least, they did and it doesn't.


Original comments: With all due respect to the regular users of this site who prefer to have the product's specs reviewed in detail, my preference is to comment on the unique, unusual, or quirky characteristics that a buyer might not encounter when researching more traditional sources.

I've had this camcorder for three months and am a very long way from being proficient with it. The good news is that it has tremendous flexibility and opportunities to set up the machine exactly to the user's preferences. The down-side is that much control can not, or at least has not, been achieved with a few simple, or intuitive, controls.

As I've mentioned in reviews of other electronic toys, if you need, or will use, the bells and whistles, by all means buy products like this. Conversely, if you intend to just use it in the same automatic mode each time and buy something much simpler and less expensive. There is too much opportunity for settings to get screwed up if you aren't up to speed on exactly how to run this camera.

Reserving the right to update this report six months from now, I'll offer the following observations:

1) Try the camera before you buy it. I trusted the salesmen in a couple of camera stores who have always steered me to great products in the past, and didn't realize until I got it home that the tiny controls don't fit my large hands very well.

2) The zoom control takes some getting used to. If you have a very light touch it will zoom slowly. At maximum zoom speed, the impact on the image is startling. Even at the minimum zoom range setting, which the user can specify as 10x optical, 25x digital or 700x digital, the zoom speed is startling. Pay close attention to this item when you considering your purchase choice.

3) The lens cap is silly. Every time I put the camera in the camera bag, the lens cap gets knocked off. There must be a better way to build a lens cap.

4) Spend some time with the user's manual before you buy the camera. If it makes sense to you, great. For my money, there should be a clearly labelled diagram at the front that shows the location and name of each control. The manual should not only explain what each control does, but should describe how various combinations of settings work, and the advantages and disadvantages of those combinations. It is fortunate that the manual is produced on good quality paper, as there is a lot of flipping back and forth required to find multiple references to each control, and the paper is going to wear out eventually. This is a major drawback to this product. I am very unhappy with the manual, to the point that it is my #1 complaint. If there are enough units sold, someone should produce an after-market manual secure in the knowledge that 90% of the camera owners would want to buy one.

5) For the sake of being able to maximize the battery life, the user should not have to open (turn on), the LCD monitor to use all the recording functions. This is not the case with this camera.

6) I'm a neophyte at using an LCD monitor while recording, and find it very difficult to hold the camera still that far from my body. On a tripod it would be ok, but otherwise the good old miniscule viewfinder works better. That's a generic complaint though, and not a criticism of this camera in particular.

7) The standard issue battery seems to be great. It is not fast to charge, but lasts very well.

8) The multi-function [PUSH] dial is a really neat device. If it will stand up well to extended use you can't beat the functionality.

9) The zoom microphone seems to be of very good quality. I'd be interested to read the comments of those who've put it to a more formal test.

10) The salesman referred to the GS70 as a large camera but for anyone replacing a 10 year old unit, this is tiny. I'm leery of the really small cameras as they appear to be that much harder to hold still, and the controls are even tinier. Unless you have a very specific need for a very small camera I would not consider the size of this machine to be a negative factor.

11) Playback on the LCD monitor is good, from my inexperienced perspective. The sound quality from the tiny speaker is better than no sound at all, but that's all I can say for it. Playback through a VCR or TV is simple.

12) I bought the camera for picture quality and was not concerned about sensitivity in low light conditions. So far, there have been no concerns in either regard.

13) The salesmen strongly emphasized the importance of being able to change tapes without having to take the camera off the tripod. I somewhat agree with this, as a tripod does greatly improve the quality of the final product. Conversely, how often does one get to use a tripod when filming kids, pets, and the various things one sees while on vacation?

14) Image stabilization seems absolutely awful while recording, but I'm satisfied with the results when playing back the tape. Maybe there is something in the circuitry that gives a jerky result on the monitor while recording, I don't know. In any case, it is ultimately not a problem.

15) The previously mentioned zoom, even at 10x, is more than a user can handle without a good tripod. It's a great toy. To use 25x, or 700x is like having an atomic-powered BMW. Great to brag about, but really not practical for most applications.

16) First impressions were that the camera is solidly built, and of good quality. I still believe that.

17) An 8 Mb SD Memory Card is supplied. Anyone wanting to use this functionality will have to upgrade the card immediately. So far, I have my hands full trying to learn all the (combinations of) functions relating to using the tape-related functions. It is ok for taking a few still shots, but makes no claims to compete with a decent digital still camera.

18) As an initial impression, and lest anyone write me off as a Luddite incapable of learning to operate a simple camera, do the math and determine how many combinations of settings can be made. It is quite awesome. I'm very happy to have the camera and have spent many hours playing with its various features. Some of the things you can do with it have a high gee-whiz factor, and I'm not about to spoil the surprise by describing them. So long as you are prepared to also put a lot of time into it, you have a potential to get some great results that won't be rivaled by many competing products. Stay tuned. I'll try to post an update within six months and will describe in more detail some of the camera functions that are unusually, or unexpectedly, useful. The jury is out on such topics as [TITLE], [MAGICPIX], [FADE], and [SOFT SKIN]. What looks important, useful, or awkward to use, may not be?