To adjust the viewfinder the user must pull the viewfinder out from the camcorder body and turn the "Eyepiece Corrector Knob". This control is well sized and designed for ease of use, a functional device which is far superior to many of the diopter adjustment controls found on similarly priced camcorders. The actual eyepiece for the viewfinder is made of the same hard gray plastic as the right side of the camcorder.
This unforgiving material will make using this feature less comfortable than the rubber eye cup found on the GS Beneath the viewfinder users will find the Battery Pack for the camera, which when removed via a tab on the bottom of the camcorder body, will reveal a port for the DC-in located on the inner right edge of this slight recess.
To the right of this control users will find the mode dial with a central joystick which controls both settings and menu navigation for this camcorder. To the right of the mode dial is the Record button, a kidney bean shaped controller which is controlled via the thumb of the right hand.
This control is positioned on a raised section of the camcorder body and is itself slightly raised as well. Beneath the mode dial and the Rec. This button is small and sits flush with the surface of the camcorder. The left side of the camcorder is primarily consumed by the 2.
When in , the picture is pillar boxed. This seems odd considering the lack of any other control on this surface. Located above this controller is the recessed Reset button. A slight light gray tab is located along the bottom edge of the body and can be flipped downwards to reveal an SD memory card slot which loads from the bottom of the camcorder.
Near the back edge of the camcorder, the Photo Shot button allows users to capture still images to memory card. This feature doubles as a volume control when reviewing footage in playback mode. Though automatic controls on Panasonics are usually not the best, there is still an auto mode, which locks most controls on the camcorder from manual adjustment. The user can access this mode using the switch in the LCD cavity. In addition to a full auto mode, users can use the Scene Mode settings for limited image control.
The automatic controls of the PV-GS39 are mixed. The auto focus is good in most regards, but it fell apart in less than great lighting conditions, or when an image had too much detail. The auto exposure was great for major shifts, like from out the window to a dark corner of a room. But making subtler adjustments, like a subject shot in a room with mixed lighting sources, resulted in over- or under-lit scenes. Frequently, a wall or door with only a slightly reflective surface would blow out.
The white balance did not adjust well automatically, and we were thankful for a good manual adjustment feature. Overall Manual Control 7. Panasonic camcorders offer tons of manual control, and the PV-GS39 as the first model we've reviewed is no exception to this rule. The PV-GS39 offers manual control over focus, aperture, shutter speed, gain, and white balance, and even offers a pretty easy way to access them via the joystick located on the back of the camcorder.
Certain settings like Gain and Aperture could do with some control improvement; a sliding rather than incremental scale would allow users to hold down the control and scan an entire range rather than pressing a button fifteen times to inch towards the end of the Gain range. Other than this slight control setback, the number of settings, the subtle changes to images they provide, and the responsive demeanor of all features will allow for fast and successful control of these settings and should encourage the use of the offered manual controls.
The joystick is used to make most manual controls happen. It moves in five directions: up, down, left, right, and in. Pushing it in will bring up or hide the manual control menu, which is split into five sub-menus four if you are in automatic mode. This last feature is immensely helpful for new users, and provides explanations for each control.
There is also an administrative menu, accessed by pushing the Menu button. Last year, Panasonic MiniDV camcorders included tremendous optical zooms, blowing their competition out of the water. The PV-GS31 had 26x optical zoom. The PV-GS39 features the 30x optical zoom which further escalates the zoom ratings war, setting Panasonic ahead of the curve once more.
Users who have larger hands, such as myself, may find that the re-design of the camcorder body will make these controls a bit too close to the palm of the hand, and that it will require a bit re-adjustment to really be able to take control of the zoom. The camcorder did, however, provide fluctuating zoom speeds when trying to maintain a steady rate when moving from full telephoto to full wide angle.
The digital zoom options for the Panasonic PV-GS39 allow users to select between Off, 50x digital zoom, and x digital zoom maximums. Once this small toggle is slid downwards and the manual mode activated, users can engage the focal settings by pressing the joystick situated in the center of the mode dial. The handling on the focal control is concise, allowing for smooth transitions to occur and settling accurately on the proper focal length without breathing.
Unfortunately, there is no numerical gauge or even a scale to indicate where in the focal range you are. The auto focus tended to struggle when switching quickly between subjects of varying depths and subjects positioned under varied lighting. The switch in lighting finally produced the more problematic AF "breathing," causing the camcorder to take upwards of five seconds to settle on a focal depth in low light.
To access this control, the user must have the camcorder switched into manual mode via the manual control switch located on the left side of the camcorder.
Once in manual mode the user must enter the joystick menu and select the Iris setting, which is located within the fifth menu on the small onscreen diagram. The Iris setting will then appear on the left side of the LCD screen and is controllable via the left and right arrows on the joystick. The settings for iris control are: Open F1. The settings listed are the numerical levels listed on the LCD. There is actually one step between each of the listed Gain levels, and varying steps for each F Number numerically represented.
The number of steps for the F Number settings will allow more sensitive aperture settings to be selected and will allow more accurate and nuanced shooting control. The manual shutter speeds are accessed through the same onscreen diagram which represents access to white balance, gain, and iris, amongst other settings. The manual shutter speeds are located in the fifth menu screen, found when the user deploys the joystick.
This manual control is set up such that the user must press the toggle for each step within the shutter speed range, so getting from one end of the menu to the other will take longer than it would on an operating system that provided fluid scrolling.
It's really great that Panasonic includes full manual shutter speed control, most manufacturers leave this out. White balance control for the Panasonic PV-GS39 is located within the same diagram page located through the activation of the joystick. Once selected, the user will be able to select between white balance presets and a full manual mode.
The preset options for white balance are Auto, Fluorescent, and Halogen. To activate this control users merely select the Manual White Balance option and press the joystick up until the white balance indicator on the LCD screen stops blinking. In most instances, this took less than second to adjust. The Gain control may be found within the Iris Adjustment menu. The Iris Settings permit control over both "F Number" and Gain, although they do so via different menu structures.
To begin gain control the user must merely enter the Iris section and press the joystick right and left to shift the gain levels for the camcorder.
There is one step between each numerical gain level listed on the left side of the LCD screen. There are very basic still image controls available on this camcorder. These images may be saved with two compression setting options High or Normal. Still images are captured via the Photo Shot button which is positioned well on top of the camcorder. There is no in-camera flash and an SD card is not included in the box, which is the case with some hybrid camcorders now on the market.
Users will find that there is an option to shoot in "RapidFire Consecutive Photoshot" mode, which is essentially a burst mode with a long-winded title. The burst mode on this camcorder allows users to shoot 10 images in fairly quick succession. Also, this camcorder can take stills in mode. Unfortunately, it employs a crop and zoom method that curtails the resolution down to x Scene modes are also accessible when shooting in still mode and users can choose whether to have an audio sample of a shutter effect emitted when images are captured.
The camcorder is limited to x stills, which significantly cut its chances of scoring well in this category. In fact, we were not able to obtain stills that did not clip when run through Imatest. We increased the exposure three times, finally reaching lux, and the image still clipped.
At lux, the same light reading as our video performance test, the GS39 produced a dull, grainy, and slightly out of focus still picture. It reproduced none of the "popping" colors found in the video. Vibrant green looks like pea soup. The reds, oranges, and violets are far too muted. Only the blue looks in terms of color performance, and even that has a lot of noise.
And unlike the video performance, this noise is not quite so fine grained. A poor performance all around. The PV-GS39 skimps on ports. The PV-GS39 is responsive; focus, exposure, and white balance react quickly when panning to new subjects. The stereo microphone doesn't pick up much separation between left and right channels, but its zoom function, which increases sensitivity as you zoom the lens, works very well.
Unfortunately, video quality has taken a slight downturn since Panasonic's previous generation. But even in very bright shooting conditions, the image included noticeable grain. Low-light performance is above average for a camera in this price class. Graininess increases and color begins to fade as lighting conditions darken, but the PV-GS39 maintains a good level of detail until things get really dim.
A built-in video light boasts two intensity levels and does a good job of illuminating fairly close objects. The camera slows the shutter speed when you activate the light, making for somewhat jerky footage. If you're in the market for an inexpensive camcorder with a really long zoom lens, Panasonic's PV-GS39 shouldn't disappoint. We just wish the company had maintained the same image quality we enjoyed in last year's model.
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