Panasonic PV-GS320

Hello all. After a few setbacks, I'm ready to buy a new video camera. I'm being extra-cautious and doing a lot of research before I do so though, because just a few days ago I bought a Sony HDD camera only to come and realize (after being informed) that HDD is absolute crap for video editing. I was lucky enough to get every penny back from Best Buy.
Now, I have been told I need to get MiniDV with firewire, and that's what I'm looking for now. I think I might have found a good one, but wanted to get opinions before I went out and blindly bought a camera (again...). I am looking to buy the Panasonic PV-GS320 ( http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?surfModel=PV-GS 320&catalogId=13401&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&modelNo=PV-GS320&itemId=105 042&catGroupId=25002&surfCategory=Digital+Camcorders&cacheProgram=11002&storeId= 15001&displayTab=S ) and was wondering if this was a good investment.
Answers to any of these questions would be greatly appreiciated:
Do you think it's a good beginner's camera that will still be good once I get better at filming?
Can miniDV tapes be used over and over again?
How hard is it to transfer video from the camera to the computer?
Do miniDV tapes suffer from those horizontal lines when there's sudden movement? (this was the huge problem for me with the Sony HDD, and the de-interlace feature in FCP didn't help much)
I appreciate ANY and ALL feedback!
(Don't know if this will help at all, but here is the MacWorld review as well: http://www.macworld.com/2007/05/reviews/pvgs320/index.php , I tend to not go by soley on what a review says, which is why I'm asking you!)
ALSO feel free to recommend any other cameras that you think might be better. I'm willing to go into the $700 range.

Do you think it's a good beginner's camera that will still be good once I get better at filming?
I have acouple of Panas and they work fine with FCE. Your model should allow you to grow a bit. Things I noticed in the specs that you may want to consider:
No firewire INPUT (out only), if you wish to record to tape from your Mac then your're stuck.
No headphone or external mic inputs, these features are vital for recording consistant quality audio. These features may not be a concern to you at this time. Features are dropped to keep the price looking good.
Can miniDV tapes be used over and over again?
Yes, but each re-record cyle degrades the tape. At the price of them these days new ones each session is the way to go. If you have to re-use I'd say no more than 3/4 times but that's my subjective view.
How hard is it to transfer video from the camera to the computer?
Easy with the right camera and cable. Get yourself a 4 to 6 pin firewire cable. These cables are also known as IEEE1394 or iLink. You may wish to get yourself an additional hard drive for storing footage, it adds up quickly.
ALSO feel free to recommend any other cameras that you think might be better. I'm willing to go into the $700 range.
There's always a price/features trade off with cameras. Your call at the end of the day. See if you can borrow one from someone that knows a bit and use it for a day, write down what you liked and didn't like, make sure your newie matches the list. At the very least test drive a few at the local store. Handling and the way menus work can mean a lot as does the features you actually will use.
Al

Similar Messages

Is iMovie 08 support Panasonic PV-GS320 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV ?

I want to buy a camcorder,Panasonic PV-GS320 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV. Because of its vdo quality. And I wonder if iMovie'08 supports this model or not? Is there any body know about this?

The USB cable will work for transferring still photos to the Mac, but not for movies. A USB-2 port on the Mac is preferred.
To transfer movies, you need to buy a Digital Camcorder to Firewire cable like the Belkin AV22001-06 (list price $35, street price $15). There are other brands; for example, Monster cable has one. One end of this cable goes into the DV connector on your camcorder; the other (firewire) end plugs into a firewire port on the Mac.
In camera mode setting (round wheel) should be playback; "Card playback mode" for still photos or "Tape playback mode" for movies.
Since you have remove the battery from the camera to get at the connectors, you have to supply power to the camcorder via the DC cable that came with it. One end of this cable goes to the camcorder connector marked 7.9V DC, the other end is plugged into the side of the battery charger, which must be connected to 110-120 VAC with the power cord.
When you set things up as above and turn the camcorder on, iPhoto starts on the Mac if the camcorder mode is "Card playback" or iMovie starts if the mode is "Tape playback." These programs can download still images and movie clips from the Camcorder.
Setting the mode switch to PC mode and connecting the camera via a USB cable mounts the SD card (still photos) as an external device on the Mac. If you do this, you'll see a file structure like that shown on page 62 of the manual. I haven't experimented with this, but it could probably be useful if you have some application other than iPhoto or iMovie that needs to see the SD card this way.

Poor Quality Import from Panasonic PV-GS320

I am importing video from a Panasonic PV-GS320 to Final Cut Express 4.0.1 and I always get poor quality video. The edges of all of the images become jagged when the images move no matter what "easy setup" settings I use. I have attached a still that shows it.
I appreciate any ideas.
Thanks,
Andrew

Well, as Alchroma pointed out earlier, you are editing interlaced source material (correctly) on an interlaced timeline (which is correct), with the correct field dominance.
The problem is that interlaced video simply does not display correctly on computer monitors. Final Cut will supress some of the artifacts that display when you choose any viewer or canvas scale other than 100%. When you set the scale to 100%, the display clearly shows the interlacing.
What is the final use of your video? If it is for DVD, you are doing it correctly, and a DVD made from the source and sequence settings you have should display properly on a TV monitor (not a computer monitor).
If you are viewing the clips via Quicktime, depending on which version of Quicktime you are using, open the Quicktime preferences and make sure "use high quality video settings when avaialable" is checked.
If you are posting your videos on the web, when you convert them to H.264 you can deinterlace the video so that it will look correct when your videos get viewed.
MtD

Support for Panasonic NV-GS320?

I have a Panasonic NV-GS320 that works well with iMovie, but before I buy FCE and a larger and faster computer I want to know if my camera (a Panasonic NV-GS320) is supported by FCE. I live in Europe and this is a PAL model.
Thanks in advance
/BengtB

Thank you!
I'm sorry I cannot mark your answer as solving my problem. I get an error asking me to contact the administrator. Thought I cannot find a way to do that.

Camcorder Panasonic NV GS320 and new I-mac without firewire

Hi, I searched the whole help history, but see that the questions are all from about 2008. I have a panasonic NV GS320 camcorder and just bought a new I-Mac to edit our movies. However, the USB cable only transfers the pictures from camcorder to MAC with I-movie 10, not the movies. I read on the forum that I need a Firewire, and I have that, but the new I-Mac does not have a firewire entry....Does anyone have a solution? Are there any adapters, new cables (USB3 or sth?)
Thanks!

Hi, a Firewire 400-800 adapter was difficult to come by but the friendly guys from the Mycome shop in my town got me a new firewire 800 and the nice and very patient guy from the apple reseller tested everything for me and...it worked. So did it at home. No problem with the Maverick OS or Imovie 10! Thanks a lot!!!

Video Format choices with Panasonic PV-GS320 camcorder

I have new Panasonic PV-GS320 -- I'm doing tests to feed into iMovie Video Editor application on my Macintosh G5. The "Video Format" importing choices into iMove are: DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i, HDV 720p, MPEG 4 and iSight.
I'm confused as to WHAT is my new camera's "image definition" -- Cnet's review says the camera is "Panasonic's top MiniDV camcorder, and the company's only tape-based STANDARD-DEFINITION 3CCD model"
The spec detail says: Video may be recorded in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios at a frame size of 720 x 480 pixels. -- Does this indicate 720p ?
"Standard Definition" as opposed to High Definition? Meaning "Standard" vs. 720p or 1080i?
It might appear that my import selection into iMovie editor would either be "DV" or "720p" -- but not sure?
Another factor is that I am playing back/exporting the recorded tape out of a SONY player/recorder GV-D1000 via firewire into my Mac G5. I hope the GV-D1000 is faithfully exporting the same highest quality the Panasonic PV-GS320 had recorded?
Thank you
Mike in San Francisco

As Thomas says, you need only bother with DV and DV Widescreen.
HDV 1080i is for most "hi-definition" camcorders.
HDV 720p is for some early JVC-brand hi-def camcorders (which recorded 'progressive' instead of the more usual 'interlaced' video).
MPEG-4 is for other devices which record (usually) onto memory chips instead of tape.
iSight is for capturing video from an Apple "iSight" camera (either an older clip-on camera, or a camera built into a laptop or iMac).
(..And as Karsten says, your Mac will probably figure it out for itself, by examining the first clip it receives from your camera..)

Panasonic NV-GS320 with OS x 10.8.5

I can not get iMovie (or any other software) to recognise my Panasonic NV-GS320 video camera using USB or Firewire.
I am certain that I was able to in the past (before upgrade to 10.8.5). My old mac running 10.4 can see it. Is it no longer supported?

Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them. In that case, there's no need to repeat the answers.
1. Have you restarted your router and your broadband device (if they're separate) since you first noticed the problem? If the answer is no, do that now and see whether there's any change.
2. Are any other web browsers installed, and are they the same?
3. What about other Internet applications, such as iTunes and the App Store?
4. Are there any other devices on the same network that can browse the Web, and are they affected?
5. If you can test Safari on another network, is it the same there?
6. If you connect to your router with Wi-Fi and you can also connect with Ethernet, do that and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?

Panasonic NV-GS320

I have recently purchased the above camcorder which uses mini-DV tapes. I would like to know how to take the footage from the tape into imovie HD. I have tried firewire conection and usb none seem to work. Panasonic manual useless. I think there must be a setting on the camcorder but can not find it.

Please read through this Apple Article and follow instructions there.
IMovie: Cannot See or Control Camera
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
Come back and let us know how you got on.
Sue

HELP! Canon HV20 vs Panasonic NV GS320?

I've been looking at both of these camcorders and I am uncertain as which is a better buy. I know that the Canon has additional features including CMOS as apposed to 3ccd in the Panasonic. The Panasonic shot still pics at 3.1 while the Canon shoots at 2.96. Also, the Canon is High Def while the Panasonic is not. One of the concerns I have with the Canon is the comment someone made at CNET was "About 20 minutes of my raw HD footage was 17.13 GB. Yes, you read that right, GIGABYTES. I've compressed most of my footage to distribute to family, but intend on saving the tapes since the file sizes are so big. So here I am...not sure which is a better buy....the Canon at around 800 or 450 for the Panasonic. HELP!

the HV20 is no doubt the better choice!
the HV20 can record SD and thus be as space consious as the Pana
the HV20 is the best HD quality you can get below 2000 USD
the HV20 has the same quality photos as with an EOS 350. YES i compared...
the HV20 footage imported in iMovie takes the same amount diskspace as pana; why? Imovie converts everything to Apple Intermediate Coded... You will loose the top HD quality; but you will have the tape if you plan to use better software/hardware in the future
more reasons?

Panasonic PV-GS320: worth the extra $?

Any thoughts on this camcorder? Does it have analog in to convert old 8mm to miniDV? Thanks!

Hello, JasonTD,
Have a look at this: http://www.macworld.com/2007/05/reviews/pvgs320/index.php

Print to Video on Panasonic PV-GS320?

How do I do this? Every time we try, we just get a blank screen. I've got the settings at:
Device Control Preset: Firewire NTSC
Video Playback: Apple Firewire DVCPRO NTSC (720x480)
Audio Playback: Firewire DV
Camera is set to LP.
Aspect Ratio on both is 16:9.
Thanks!

Push the menu button on the camera. Under advanced tab, turn REC STDBY to YES; preset on camera is NO. Sorry if you have already tried this and I missed that post.
Best of luck.

IS PANASONIC PV-GS320 COMPATIBLE?

Does anyone know if this camera is compatible with Final Cut pro???

As long as it has a Firewire port (aka: iLink, DV, IEEE-1394) it should wok fine with FCE.
-DH

MiniDV - Sony vs Panasonic?

Wow - so glad I checked this forum...almost bought a HDD camcorder this morning.
I want to record and edit using iMovie, so it seems like MiniDV is the format for me, right?
I've narrowed it to the SOny DCR-HC96 or the Panasonic PV-Gs80
Any thoughts on the two models?
Thanks all.

I agree with Gene - choose between the Sony HC96 (1 x 1/3" image sensor) and the Panasonic PV-GS320 with it's 3 x 1/6" sensors.
Both these cams will give a better Standard def image than the usual single 1/5" or 1/6" CCD offerings you usually get with cams at this price point.
Image sensor size is important - the bigger, the better the image and the better the low light performance.
Both these cams will be suitable - if you can stretch to the Panasonic PV-GS500, you get 3 x 1/4.7" CCD's and reasonable manual controls for better creative control, but the advice to check 'em all out by the feel is good.

Error Communicating with Camera- Upload from Panasonic to iMovie

I am trying to upload the footage from my video camera, a Panasonic PV-GS320. I connected the firewire, and I open iMovie, but all that happens is that there is blue screen and in the middle it says "Error Communicating with Camera".
I thought maybe the camera had to be off, so I turned it off and the screen changed to say "Camera disconected or off". When I turned the camera back on, it gave me the "Error Communicating with Camera" message.
My dad was able to upload footage onto his laptop the exact same way I'm uploading into my mac.
Maybe I'm doing something completely wrong. I just want it to upload smoothly. Can someone help?
Message was edited by: mangamak1

Hi
Testing Camera and Cable is important - very common origin to problems.
Especially the Cable (fortunately)
I had a serious accident some Years ago. FW-connector on the back of that Mac
and I plugging in the FW-connector 180 deg wrong. Shouldn't go but sorry
to say did and without a gigant of effort.
Result: Killing two miniDV Cameras, one video bridge and one hard disk.
Tricky:
• Cameras behaved normally in all aspects except import/export to iMovie
- blue screen reading Camera connected
That's why it is essential to know that it works OK on another Mac.
Here comes my list: Use it with care. No guarantie from my part - just sharing
my thoughts.
Capture/Import problems:
a) File-Vault is on - turn it off
b) don’t Daisy chain camcorder - external hard disk - Mac
(except for some Canon-Cameras)
c) Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
d) Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
e) Bad RAM-chips
f) drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
g) FW-wire cable OK?
h) Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is prerecorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
i) defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC !
j) remove bookmarks in iMovie project
k) Do You have desktop pictures or screen-savers active? Try turning them off.
l) Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good)
OS X.4.0-2 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
m) Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first)
QT v.7 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
n) Have you tried the crazy fix:
Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. (Sue/SDillini)
o) NEW (from Sue/SDillini):
Trash the Font Collections Folder.
These files are found:
/YourUserName/Library/FontCollections folder.
Drag the folder to the trash and launch iMovie. iMovie will create a new FontCollections folder containing the files it needs when it next opens.
p) or thrashing the com.apple.imovie.plist file (Rodney Brown2)
q) - Other programs interfering like Flip4Mac
r) - Third party or old plug-ins
May be You find some help in my list:
Mac:
• hardware
◊ Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
◊ I wonder how full your Mac's hard disc is. (David Babsky) A near full hard disk prevents Import/Capture.
10% free is recommended + space for Import/Capture + work space (about 4 to
5 times the amount needed for Capture) eg on a 200Gb hard disk You need 20Gb + (one hour tape)
13Gb + 50Gb = about 80 to 90Gb free space.
◊ Disconnect all other ext devices (FW and USB) exept Camera (and keyboard + mouse) and try again
◊ Rebuild Desktop (Tech-tool or fingersetting during start-up) (System up to 9)
◊ Reset PRAM (Tech-tool or keyboard finger settings alt-cmd-P-R ??)
◊ Reset PMU ( Restting the PMU...is the the alt-ctrl-shift and powerbutton shortcut? ) (Sue)
PMU: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86760
PMU/SMU are essentially the same in the PM G5.
◊ Reset SMU
SMU: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300341
◊ Bad RAM-chips
◊ disconnect Mac from powerline (not just switch off, really plug out) for a few minutes to reset FW ports
• software
◊ File-Vault is on - turn it off
◊ Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
◊ Do You have desktop pictures or screen or energy-savers active? Try turning them off.
◊ Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good) OS X.4.0-5 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
◊ Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first) QT v.7.0.0-4 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
◊ Have you tried the crazy fix: Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. Sue/SDillini
◊ Running iDVD at the same time as iMovie can cause problems: (Lennart Thelander)
◊ If You also have installed FinalCut Express/pro there are possibly problems with this
◊ Other programs that interferes like Flip4Mac
◊ Codecs added to QuickTime
◊ Old plug-ins to iMovie or third party alike
iMovie:
◊ remove bookmarks in iMovie project
◊ Trash: com.apple.iMovie.plist and com.apple.iMovie3.plist : files (Xinram)
Connection:
◊ don’t Daisy chain Camcorder <--> external hard disk <--> Mac
◊ FW-wire cable, is it OK?
◊ USB/USB2 is NO GO !
◊ Cheque FW connection at Camera end. OK? (Adam Smith1)
◊ Cheque FW connection at Mac end. OK?
Camera:
◊ The Camera is set to VTR ? (not as when You ”film” record with it)
◊ You may be need to go to the Camera menu and select digital out.
◊ defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC ! (if the A/D chip in the camera is harmed then it will say in iMovie that the camera is connected and You can forward resp. backward the tape but there will be no picture or sound just the blue screen).
◊ connect camera to power-line, not battery-only....(Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Canons don't allow daisychaining on firewire, make it "only device" on port (Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Cheque the menu on Your Camera so that it communicates with the FW digitally to Your Mac
◊ Date and Time is correct on Your Camera ?
Tape:
◊ Drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
◊ Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is pre-recorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
◊ If You recorded in LP-mode (90 min on a standard 60 min tape with 12-bit sound). Try to change in iMovie pref. to import but not as individual clips. If this doesn’t work You have to make a Camera to Camera copy with the receiving Camera set to SP-mode and 16-bit sound.
More:
◊ follow advises here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
◊ follow Grandmaster Dan's advice for Sony cameras here: http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/usage/5020.shtml
NEWS: Jerry Harris writes:
I know that in a lot of the new Sony HD cameras, iMovie requires that you turn i.Link Conv off. I would look for a similar setting for your camera. This setting has to do with shooting a movie in one format, and using the camera to import as a different format. For instance, if you shoot HD footage and have i.Link conv on - the camera will send DV to the computer etc...
So, case in point: look for a setting on your camera that has to do with the video format and see if that helps.
Yours Bengt W

Panasonic 3CCD Firewire help

Okay, so I am trying to import videos from my boss' Panasonic 3CCD via Firewire, but when I plug it into the computer, it won't even recognize there is a camera in IMovie or Final Cut Studio 2. I have next to no knowledge on Firewire. I tried finding forms on it...but I didn't get much luck. I don't even know what the difference between Firewire 400 and 800 is. All I know is that the cord fits perfectly into the DV of the camera and my Firewire port of my computer. Is there some sort of special Firewire firmware I need to get....or some way I need to create a Firewire network???
I do have the camera plugged into the wall btw. I know sometimes going of of battery power can screw things up.

I have a Panasonic PV-GS320 3ccd that I have imported video from into iMovie. To the best of my recollection, it didn't require any software that did not already exist on my 2010 iMac running 10.6.5
Initially, iMovie did not see the camera, but after discovering that it was set to 'PC', I changed the camera from PC to Playback(Mode dial of the Panasonic) and it was recognized and I was able to control the transport and import footage....
Check that and if you have no luck, I will try to get more specifics about my setup.....
JP

Panasonic PV-GS320

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