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Panasonic NV DS29 DV Camcorder
Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share114 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
Super value
(4 out of 5) by Dennis E. Sisterson on May 19, 2002 (London, United Kingdom)...I took this out on a test this afternoon and was suitably impressed. The picture quality is all you would expect from a digital camcorder; absolutely pin-sharp, though the white balance didn't always keep up when moving from one type of light source to another eg artificial to natural light within the same shot; not somethimg you're likely to do a lot, though. The zoom microphone made a positive difference to the sound quality - also there was no wind noise evident, on a moderately breezy day. The image stabiliser, despite being digital and not optical, is also a real asset, with no loss of picture quality that I could see on my 14in TV.
It's worth noting that the 0-lux night view mode doesn't work in quite the same way as an infra-red night scope... it won't give a bright clear image at an distance since it mostly relies on the infra-red beam from the light on the front of the camera. Indoors or at short distances, though, this works beautifully. Having said that, I tried pointing it at the sky last night and I could see the brighter stars through it, which is pretty impressive.
One way in which it scores over more expensive models is the 43mm screw thread on the lens; this means you can add a wide-angle or telephoto lens -a wide-angle lens is surprisingly useful for shooting in spaces the size of a living room.
The 500 digital zoom is a bit of a joke - you can get good results up to 40x and viewable results up to about 70 or 80 but beyond that it just pixillates into nothing - I expect the same is true of a digital zoom on any camera.
Lastly the body isn't particularly solid - it has a slightly fragile, plasticky feel to it, so I wouldn't recommend taking it to the Skeleton Coast of the Bering Straits - if you're looking for something durable shell out a bit more; if you're after a versatile family camcorder for days out and stuff like that you'll have a hard time doing better than this for the price.
It's worth noting that the 0-lux night view mode doesn't work in quite the same way as an infra-red night scope... it won't give a bright clear image at an distance since it mostly relies on the infra-red beam from the light on the front of the camera. Indoors or at short distances, though, this works beautifully. Having said that, I tried pointing it at the sky last night and I could see the brighter stars through it, which is pretty impressive.
One way in which it scores over more expensive models is the 43mm screw thread on the lens; this means you can add a wide-angle or telephoto lens -a wide-angle lens is surprisingly useful for shooting in spaces the size of a living room.
The 500 digital zoom is a bit of a joke - you can get good results up to 40x and viewable results up to about 70 or 80 but beyond that it just pixillates into nothing - I expect the same is true of a digital zoom on any camera.
Lastly the body isn't particularly solid - it has a slightly fragile, plasticky feel to it, so I wouldn't recommend taking it to the Skeleton Coast of the Bering Straits - if you're looking for something durable shell out a bit more; if you're after a versatile family camcorder for days out and stuff like that you'll have a hard time doing better than this for the price.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
...it rocks!
(5 out of 5) by Mr T Wells on Sep 7, 2002I bought this dv-cam on the strength of the price and the first 2 reviews. entry level camcorder that is simple to use and hooks up to your pc through firewire so you can download your movies and burn them on dvd too which i wanted the most and... well, just buy it... it rocks!
50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
Panasonic NV DS29 DV
(5 out of 5) by MR ADAM BLACKWELL on Jul 4, 2002 (Ottery st Mary, Devon United Kingdom)First of all I just want to say how great the Amazon Delivery service is I ordered the camcorder on Monday night and it was with me by Wednesday Afternoon! As soon as I took the camcorder out of the box I knew it was going to be good...
I thought the metalic plastic made it look very classy, and talk about small the whole thing weighs the same as a normal 35mm camera! the performance is great too, the picture and sound quality is the same if not better than my fathers camcorder which cost over twice as much!
The Lcd screen is so sharp, And the built in speaker comes in handy too. There is even a built in light for night recording.
The 0 Lux also works quite well close up. I would have been quite happy paying £100 more for this camcorder!
I thought the metalic plastic made it look very classy, and talk about small the whole thing weighs the same as a normal 35mm camera! the performance is great too, the picture and sound quality is the same if not better than my fathers camcorder which cost over twice as much!
The Lcd screen is so sharp, And the built in speaker comes in handy too. There is even a built in light for night recording.
The 0 Lux also works quite well close up. I would have been quite happy paying £100 more for this camcorder!