Panasonic PV-DV901 MiniDV Digital Camcorder / Still Megapixel Camera With 3" LCD And USB Reader

Why would one buy the Panasonic PV-DV901? For the amount of money it costs, you can buy a couple of cheap digital camcorders. In other words, you would not buy this model if you were on the tight budget and wanted “inexpensive digital”.

What you would buy it is for its performance and features. Which includes a 3” LCD, one-megapixel CCD, color viewfinder, analog inputs and PhotoShot still camera mode with resolution of up to 1200x900 and memory card with a USB reader/writer.

Zoom

The camcorder has 10x optical and 100x digital zoom with several zoom speeds. Although 100x might not look too impressive compared with Sony’s Digital8 camcorders that get up to 700x digital zoom, it is quite enough for several reasons:

1. You are very unlikely to use even half of the range of digital zoom, because you just don’t need to.

2. At high digital magnification levels (and more so at 700x), the image becomes so very grainy and “pixelated”.

3. The image stabilizer is ineffective at high zoom levels.

Since the DV901 has a megapixel CCD (a significant improvement over cheaper models from both Panasonic and Sony), the optical zoom does not decrease the picture quality.

Focus

The camcorder allows you to adjust the focus manually, using the focus ring when you need to. Otherwise, the focus as well as exposure are automatic.

MiniDV

As the majority of digital camcorders, this model employs MiniDV format. The 60-minute MiniDV tape holds 60 minutes in SP mode or 90 minutes in LP mode at a cost of $6-10.

The recording is digital (both picture and sound), uses MPEG-2 encoding (also used in DVD and DBS) and provides up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution. MiniDV tapes are smaller than either VHS-C/S-VHS-C or 8mm/Hi8/Digital8.

Picture And Sound

The picture quality and the quality of sound are excellent in both SP and LP modes. However, to be able to perform audio dubbing, the recording should be in SP mode. Even though MiniDV standard provides up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution, majority of camcorders cannot provide such resolution from their optics, CCD or electronics. The DV901 employs its megapixel CCD to get better resolution and picture quality than the cheap models.

The camcorder employs a 12-bit/16-bit PCM stereo with two sets of stereo audio tracks (4 channels total), which allows you to add a second track of music, when using a 12-bit mode. The PCM (pulse code modulation) is used in CD, DVD and other digital formats short of Super Audio CD, which employs delta-sigma encoding.

Digital Electronic Image Stabilization

The DV901 has digital electronic image stabilization to remove excessive shaking and movement while shooting. The stabilizer is quite effective even at high magnification levels.

LCD

The DV901 has a 3” LCD and a color viewfinder. The use of viewfinder instead of LCD conserves the battery power.

Digital Effects

You can apply several digital effects: the "digital mirror" creates a mirror like symmetrical image, while "strobe" digitally freezes a series of images. "Mosaic" turns the image into a mosaic pattern, and "slim" expands the image vertically.

You can also stretch the image horizontally and form multiple impressions of images in motion and gradually fade them out for a "trail" effect. In addition, it also gives you the option of playing your recording in B&W or sepia in addition to playing them in color.

Analog Inputs

This model also has analog inputs, and you can convert your old analog footage into a digital format for archiving purposes or advanced editing using them.

PhotoShot™ Mode

Since this model uses a one-megapixel CCD, you can take still pictures with up to 1200x900 resolution. The pictures can then be stored on MultiMediaCard (or SD Media Card) or MiniDV tape. You can use a supplied RS-232C serial cable and software to connect the camcorder to your PC to transfer your still images to the PC for printing, editing or sending by email.

The camcorder comes with a 16Mb SD memory card and a USB SD reader/writer. The use of the USB connection makes the task of transferring your pictures to the computer easier and faster.

PhotoShot™ with Memory Card

The MultiMediaCard (MMC) or an SD Card can be used as a "digital film." You can take pictures until the card is full and then either remove it and replace it with a fresh card or erase any or all of the images from the card and reuse these "empty areas". It is an analog of Sony’s MemoryStick.

You also get a coupon for the free 8Mb Memory Card if you buy this camcorder before 9/15/01.

PhotoShot™ with MiniDV Tape

In addition, you can store your pictures on tape. The tape can contain still pictures, audio and video. But the access speed will be much slower than when using MMC or SD card.

i.Link, IEEE 1394, FireWire

You can also use FireWire (i.Link, IEEE 1394) to transfer your video to the computer for editing or to another digital camcorder or VCR for editing and making copies. The cable is not included, so you will have to buy it separately.

The better solution may be a software package, like Pinnacle Systems’ Studio DV, which comes with a FireWire PCI card for your computer, cable and software. You can find my review of it at http://dkozin.epinions.com/content_30718791300

Remote Control

Unlike the cheaper Panasonic models, the camcorder comes with an infrared remote control. The remote gives you index search capability and other advanced functions.

Bottom Line

The Panasonic PV-DV901 is not for those who are seeking “something digital but inexpensive”, but for those who want high-resolution digital camcorder with large LCD, high-resolution still capability and the convenience of USB and memory card.