FireStore (FS-4) solution for Panasonic GS-400
 

Hello everyone,

Firstly I must say that this forum is da bomb! :-) I've been a long-time browser of these forums and first time poster.

Anyway, I'm heading out tomorrow to purchase a brand spankin' new Panasonic GS400 camcorder and I've read alot of information about how the tape loading mechanism is all kinda iffy with these models and as a result it causes all sorts of weird sounds to be recorded onto the dv-tape... so the simple solution is to get one of these Direct-to-Disk solutions to alleviate the need for the tape mechanism to even be used.

The question is which one? Taking the smallish hand-size of the camcorder into consideration, I was thinking of going for a FireStore (FS4) solution, but reading the 'Compatible Camcorders' section at the bottom: http://www.focusinfo.com/products/firestore/fs-4.html
has gotten me worried that the GS-400 is not listed there so if I buy the unit and its incompatible then I've just wasted a bucket-load of money.

The one thing though, the final bullet point in the abovementioned URL states this: "Any DV25 Capable Deck or Camcorder with FireWire I/O". Now I know that the GS-400 has a FireWire I/O, so does this mean I'm covered? e.g Can I really go ahead and order the FS4 with the satisfaction and guarantee that it will work fine with the GS400 camcorder?

If anyone has any ideas or personal experience, please let me know as I will be taking the GS400 for a overseas holiday with me and the last thing I want is for the audio to be all garbled up because of the tape-mechanism interferring with the internal microphone of the camcorder.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Zorran,

There is no reason FS-4 will not work with this camcorder, but we have not tested this particular Panasonic model yet. The list on the web is basically the target camcorders we plan to test prior to FCS. As long as it has FireWire, you should be good to go. You also may need a tape in the camcorder in order to trigger rec and pause from the camcorder.

Hope that helps,

Matt McEwen