Panasonic PV-GS39 MiniDV Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5/5      Total Reviews: 4

Rating: 3
nice cam, but difficulties with pc

I really like this camera as far as it being small, lightweight, easy to hold with my small hands, the overall design of it, etc. But when I tried to hook it up to my pc, I ran into many problems. a) the camera doesn't come with necessary software or cables for using it with the pc. I had to purchase the cables seperately. b) I downloaded the driver from the panasonic website, which the manual instructed me to do, and the installer gave me an error and would not install it (I have winXP). I tried emailing them to get help, and after I went through all the time to fill everything out on their webpage form, the message would not send. Nice little camera - but too many frustrations. I'm probably going to return it.

Rating: 1
Died after eight weeks

What a piece of junk. The display - both in-camera and on-TV - includes thick blue horizontal lines that obviously ruin the video feed. This occurred 50 days after the item was shipped, so we can't return it to Amazon and now have to lose time trying to see what the manufacturer will do. Disappointing experience all the way around.

Rating: 5
Good starter camcorder with poweful zoom

I was looking for a relative inexpensive camera gift for a graduating senior. While looking in a local store this Panasonic PV-GS39 camcorder caught my attention. It's got a clean, attractive styling, compact size, and the video quality looked good on a nearby TV to which it was hooked up. I've had positive experiences with Panasonic camcorders in the past -- in fact my current workhorse camcorder is the beloved VDR-D300 3CCD DVD model (see my review on Amazon). The GS39 also seems to be user-friendly, and the salesman confirmed to me that it's got better video quality than some of the more expensive models out there. The 30x optical zoom with image stabilization technology would be a boon to the gift recipient who's about to embark on a yearlong world "study" tour. (Of course, we all know what young people do on such tours.) Finally, the price was definitely perfect as a graduation gift, so I bought it.

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