Panasonic PV-GS300 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Contrast is great, saturation, color accuracy, due to the 3 CCD's.

Now what I don't like: resolution spec for stills is misleading. It's not true pixel resolution, as the pixels are interpolated across the 2.3 megapixel spec.

Still, this is the only camcorder in the miniDV family I've seen that offered the ability to shoot virtually uncompressed via Firewire connected to a computer.

The low light is not very good, though. Very small CCD's =GRAIN. The size of each of the three CCD sensors is only 1/6". But at least there are three of them. One of the most popular camcorders in the PV-GS series for Panasonic in 2006. This is the camera that put me on the map.

Paid well under $600 after shipping and haven't discovered all of its features but it is a lot of camera for the money. Some of the controls are typically Japanese - meaning they are sometimes obscure and the controls themselves are made for rather small fingers/hands. Overall, the camera is light, takes marvelous video (given adequate light). Most 3CCD cameras seem to require a bit more light to look good than the std. single CCD cameras. Wish it could shoot video in 1080i but oh well...

Just the camera is 3.1 Mpixel and I have a Nokia N70 mobilephone with the same quality picture, but the 1Mpixel camecorder are very nice. Dont buy these camecorder for the camera, and the battery durantion are very good.

I bought this for my trip to India. It i so simple to use and the joystick feature for the umns is a breeze to get a hang of. I did not like the idea of having to touch the screen to do everything with the Sony's. I wanted the Canon Elura 100 but the idea of a noisy camera turned me off.

Like the other guy said, buy the tapes online because they are pricey in the store.

Bought this camcorder for christmas to film my little baby boy. I send dvds to my relatives who live far away and they love the picture quality. All of my friends who own camcorders agree the picure is very sharp. The camcorder is easy to use and comes with everything you need to get going except minidv tapes. Buy these with your online purchase because they are too expensive in stores. The only complaint I have would be the low light recording quality. It is only average(all camcorders are bad in low light). The camera does have a low light feature, but it produces tracers and ghosting with fast moving objects. The camera does have full manual control that will help with the image, but you need to learn camera jargon and take time to adjust before the shot. You can buy a mountable light to put on the camera, but they are not cheap. If you want a camera with good low light features, buy a sony. I'm am very pleased with this camera and would recomend it to a friend who does not shoot at night.