Not the Best Buy...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Good price, screen, battery life, charging time

Cons: transferring on firewire, bad recording quality in dim light

The Bottom Line: 
Buy this camera only for its good price and if you are planning on using it just to look back and have a few laughs.

Author's Review
I bought this camcorder last year around February and it worked well until September of 2005.I brought my PV GS9 on every family vacation and outing and it worked exceptionally well. It charged in an hour and the battery, for me, lasted an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes, which isn't so bad considering the battery size. My only complaint was the poor recording quality in dim lighting conditions. However, in September I had tried to use the camera with my apple computer I had gotten as a gift to edit movies. I read the direction book extensively and made sure I followed every step to properly use the camera. I was a little bit frustrated when it said I had to turn on and off everything in a certain order or the camera might be damaged. Even so, I followed the instructions and left the camera playing while copying the video on the computer. Unfortunately, I had accidentally pressed the switch on my circuit breaker with my foot underneath my desk, shutting the computer down. I remembered the warning and checked to see if it was in working order and to my horror I looked at the screen playing back a choppy picture with lines, almost like a blind affect, running through the center of the it. Even though I know it was my fault, it seems a little disturbing that it would break so easily. I only give this camera a third star because it worked SO well for how cheap it was while it lasted. The only people who I would recommend this to is anyone not planning on editing movies and who will record in good lighting conditions, but anyone wanting to edit and then copy their lives moments on DVD, beware!!!