Hollywood hopefuls would love it, but otherwise... (UPDATED)

Author's Rating:

Pros: 3 CCDs, Very Portable, Versatile Shooting Options., PRICE!

Cons: Not Small Enough, Poor Low Light Capability, LCD Screen.

The Bottom Line: 
If you're into making movies or don't mind trading light sensitivity for high quality video, then this is a near perfect combination of size, features and quality.

Author's Review
For months I researched my options for an affordable, portable video camera. I was looking for something that would shoot decent video, take digital stills and be small enough to carry around with me most of the time. This led me to consider models from Canon, like the Elura and Optura, as well as Sony's PC120. The Canon's had their problems with motor whir getting into the audio, and I've been told Sony is not the most compatible brand with Apple computers. Fortunately, I heard about this little gem shortly after the full sized version (PV-DV953) was released. Although the GS70 lacked some of the more professional features of its big brother, like optical image stabilization and higher resolution megapixel stills, it used the same 3 chip mechanism in a much smaller body.

THE 3 CCD SYSTEM

This system captures the red, blue and green light with separate CCDs preventing color bleed and enhancing the picture, much as component video cables do for your dvd player. Now the GS70 uses three 1/6" CCDs which are divided into about 400K pixels each. The larger DV953 uses the same 3 chips but divides them into about 800K pixels each. This results in 1.2megapixel stills for the GS70 and over 3megapixel stills for the DV953. You might think that the DV953 comes out on top here, but since the chips are the same size, the extra resolution is gained at the disproportionately higher cost of light sensitivity, since each pixel on the CCD is smaller on the DV953 than in the GS70. Still, the 1/6" chips are smaller than most other camcorders out there so both camcorders have relatively poor light sensitivity. It's up to you to consider whether the added clarity of a properly lit scene is worth the loss of capturing images when it's just not possible or practical to turn up the lights (like camping trips and indoor shots).

SIZE

Although the GS70 is relatively small compared to most of todays MiniDV camcorders (about 3x3x5 inches), it's still too big to stuff into your pocket. The other choices I had been considering were similarly sized, so I suppose that this is a moot point, but it would have been nice to be able to carry it around like many of todays digital cameras. Maybe in a few years technology will finally appease my outrageous expectations. On the plus side, it is very light (about 1 pound) and I have never been fatigued by using it, even after several hours.

PICTURE QUALITY

The first step in any camcorder's recording process is for the light to pass through the lens. In this case it passes through a legendary optical piece made by Leica. Leica is known for making high quality camera lenses that reduce abberations in shape and color. Second to Leica is Carl Zeiss, which is used in many Sony camcorders.* After the light passes through the lens, it is split into the 3 colors by a prism and sent to the proper chip. Now the image collected can either be sent to a MiniDV tape, which stores video digitally, or to a Secure Digital card, which stores digital stills and short mpeg clips. Video taken with this camcorder is excellent in daylight or similarly well lit situations. When it gets darker, the small size of the chips tend to overshadow the benefits of the 3 chip system. Panasonic has not incorporated a light into the GS70, but has chosen instead to go with a flash for digital stills. It would have been nice to have both. The digital stills are nice and clear, and the flash is very powerful (and has 3 levels of adjustment) which is necessary for night shots. The mpeg clips are not of very good quality due to a low resolution and are quite choppy as well.

Over the past 6 months since I've had this camera, I've filmed quite a few events, like weddings, parties and just hanging out. The picture quality has been very clear and smooth. Similarly, the sound quality has been excellent. For example, the wedding video included the limo ride over to the church (I was an usher) and the music came through really well, almost as though you were actually there. One small gripe is that the switch for recording on tape or media card is in an awkward position and I often wound up snapping pics on the tape instead of the card. This brings up another related gripe. You can't set it up to where pics go to the card and video on the tape automatically, you must keep switching back and forth.

LCD SCREEN AND VIEWFINDER

The viewfinder is bright but does not have the resolution to take advantage of the manual focus function. I have relied almost entirely on the LCD panel, which has an annoyingly small viewing angle, making it difficult to share freshly taken pictures or video with more than one person at a time. The LCD panel is fine, but the viewing angle is pretty small, I'd say about 90 degrees.

COMPATIBILITY

I have an Apple while my roomate has a PC. This gave me a great opportunity to test the compatibility between the two systems. Basically, the only difference is that Apples won't read the camera when trying to transfer from the memory card. This means that you'll have to buy a separate media reader to move stuff off of the SD card. A minor nuisance given the benefits of the Apple, but that's another review. ;-)

OVERALL

I think the low price (MSRP $999) and 3 CCD system of this camcorder make it stand out head and shoulders above its competition in well lit situations, but don't just jump on the 3 chip bandwagon because your film director friend can't stop raving about it. Yes, it is a wonderful technology that produces high quality images, but the deficiencies in light sensitivity may not be a price worth paying if it means missing out on those candle lit birthdays and impromptu moments where you don't have time to flip those light switches or even have access to lights (like when outdoors). Right now, chip size must remain small to make these cameras affordable and compact, so if you are willing to get something like this, remember that the fewer pixels the chips are divided into, the larger each pixel will be, and hence the better it will be in gathering light.

* As has been pointed out to me in the reader comments, neither the Zeiss nor Leica lenses are actually made by those companies, rather they are licensed by them and built by the camcorder company. I'm not aware as to whether this makes much difference in the quality of the lenses though.