Camcorder Reviews

I agree with a lot of the things already said in the reviews, but just wanted to add that this is a great compact one to have as back-up to your more heavy duty digital or 35mm camera. I have always been a huge fan of Leica and the lens on the panasonic lumix models just can't be beat. Other manufacturers like Canon or Nikon may make smaller, cooler looking digital cameras, but the picture quality cannot be matched. I had a Panasonic Lumix DC40 (discontinued now) for a couple of years before buying this one, and knew the lens contributed a lot to the quality of my photos. When I began shopping for a more compact model, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get one with Leica lens. Plus the image stablization system is unique to this line. For most people, 3 to 4 MB is plenty for picture quality but having 5 MB didn't hurt, of course. I compared this to Casio Exilim Z-50, which is also a good compact camera for average shoppers - took pictures of the same object and compared color, texture, depth, etc. - and you can tell clearly that Panasonic takes a more true-to-life, three dimensional colors. People often describe this as a negative factor, saying that Panasonic's color is less than vivid, but I would say this is because we are too familiar with electronically adjusted color schemes. In other words, Panasonic colors are what they are in nature. You can see more texture and depth to them because they are not overly saturated.

I've used several (4 to be exact) Digital Cameras and This is the one that I actually like. I like it so much that I actually bought another one for my wife. The picture is good and screen is big and the battery is not bad. I'd recommend this product to anyone that's looking for a good DC!

this camera is wonderful! i took back several digital point and shoots, simply because they were too slow. but this camera is very quick--you get the pic you planned on taking! the images are very crisp, thanks to this nice leica lens. the battery life is lower than i expected, but i have never been stuck without a camera because of it. the style and feel of this camera is awesome, and the viewscreen is excellent--i highly rec. this camera for a reliable point and shoot!

I bought this camera for its great price, good reviews, and overall reputation as a great camcorder for the novice shooter. I returned the camera after three weeks, however, due to abysmal low light performance among other things.

The catalyst for purchasing this camera was the impending birth of our first child. I took the camera to the hospital and filmed some of the labor/delivery and follow up. Unfortunately, when we returned home to view our footage, much of it was grainy and plagued with shadows and silhouettes.

The camera does include a light and a MagicPix option, but unless you're using a tripod, you're bound to end up with a strobe-light effect (Perfect for recreating "Thriller music videos," but not much help otherwise.)

I also found the image quality with the GS31 to be fairly lackluster and pixilated. Granted, you get what you pay for, but I was really taken aback that my 1992 camcorder shot much better footage.

That being said, the camera did a lot better in good/outdoor lighting (albeit still somewhat pixilated), and the zoom is incredible. The camera is very light and smaller than I anticipated.

In the end, I returned the camera in favor of a more significant investment (...)

I will say that Amazon did a great job with customer service throughout. Also, if you do buy this camera, make sure to buy the DV cable (firewire for Macs) through Amazon or some other online retailer. (...)

We returned this video camera due to video picture quality. The camera requires a lot of light to have a decent video, even after changing settings, the video had a "grainy" look. We just needed something basic to replace our 10 year old video camera and thought this would work, but the picture was worse than our previous camera. Purchased the PV-GS65, next model up with 3CCD's and love this model. As a matter a fact we still had the GS-31, used the same tape, shot the same footage, and reviewing the two different shots, the GS-65 did 100% better.

The camera has a great feel in your hand, although the menu button can be difficult to press.

I liked it and it is working fine.

Cons
no USB cable and night times is not the right time to shoot video or photo both.

the battery performs properly and it is nice to have a spare. The price was reasonable. I recommend it highly to all other SVAV100 owners.

this tv came in good condition and very quickly as promised. i have since ordered a 2nd one the color is good and works with my satalite cable.

Clean crisp picture. Not a lot of features but I didn't buy it for bells and whistles.
Using it as a security monitor. So it's on 24/7. No problems at all.

I'm impressed by this tv. Picture and sound quality is good and it is pleasing to look at. The only downside is that it didn't come with an arial. It's a good tv to have in your dorm room, kitchen or bedroom.