We are in dire need of some frame grabs!

Some nice juicy 16:9 30p low light frameage!

A review of the GS100k (posted by xymerejx at DV forums)

http://ad.impress.co.jp/tie-up/panasonic-dvc0306/index2.htm

Its Japanese so some (myself included) will need to use AltaVista's Babel Fish translator page

http://world.altavista.com/

hmm.. i personally dont see the relevance of going HD until teh market starts to accept it....

the cost is just too high at this time and i dont see any potintial changes for another 5 or so years...

not say that it woouldnt be a welcome feature, far from it, but right now, i dont see how it can be accepted when the general public arent educated enough....

here in Oz, its still pretty much in rumour mode... i havent seen many pushes toward HD... i cant say much for the other countries and i know were backwards down here.. but in all, i cant see how HD will produce any significant steps forward... not for another 3 to 5 years at least....

my 2cents...

Id like to see some grabs too... im REALLY intrigued about this cam now...

one thing i forgot to mention...

i HATE the microphone placement!!!!
worse than the 500!!!ARGH!!!

whne are they gonna learn???

Hmm, I think the mic placement is better than having it below the lens where fingernails can make scratchy noises whilst it's cradled in your hand...
Just MHO....

For Rick: The GS100 menus are all in Japanese. The DV953 works for me as kind of a cheat sheet because I am such a neophyte that I have no idea what digicams are capable of. Reading the cheat sheet helps me with basic info and terminology. I then try to slog my way through the Japanese manual because I can read a bit. It's tough slogging, though, when those pictographs stare at you and you only vaguely (very vaguely in most cases) recall their meaning.

I am sorry I can't help with samples of the camcorder's product. I'm still strictly in point and shoot mode. I also use a Mac, so I have just been through a struggle getting the first MPEG4 clip downloaded. (No Mac drivers for the supplied USB cable, and Panasonic is using Windows Media Player as its translator of choice.) I did manage to send the clip as an e-mail and am waiting to see if it actually survives the journey. MPEG being what it is, though, and many of the digicam functions not being available anyway (or being of much worth) when in that mode, what you really need is someone who has a lot more knowledge than I to get you some good samples, or grabs, as you call them. I will start the struggle with the bit of tape that I recorded soon, but it's so amateur night that it wouldn't do the camera justice. There is another person posting on the camcorderinfo boards who has also purchased the GS100. Perhaps once he figures out the menus, he will produce some worthy samples.

Re HD: in the U.S., the regulatory agency which has authority over TV has essentially said that all stations must be HD broadcast ready by 2006. Since the U.S. is a pretty large market for a lot of Japanese consumer electronics, I am assuming that this is somewhat driving the Japanese decision to produce HD capable camcorders that can still use the current minidv tapes. People still do show their "home movies" on their televisions - more so with all the great software out there to help one produce something less pathetic than in the past - and I assume they will be looking, in the end, for camcorders that will produce movies that look good, or at least don't look worse than before, on their HDTVs.

Thanks Patricia .... I was very curiosus about the Japanese menus. From what I read the camera has a lot a manual features and "not" knowing what they are would most probably be a draw back in owning the Japanese version. If there was a menu to change the language that would be great, but that doesn't seem to exist on the GS100.

I will check into the other forum you mentioned, but have found this forum the be very informative.

I too use a Mac... they are the best and easiest for the digital world. I always say, there is nothing like a mac! There might not be as many available PC programs for them, but I can do everything I want to do and more on the Mac. It's a straight forward computer and very reliable.

Thanks for the reply. I'm on the table still as to keep my order in for the DV953 and order the GS100. The menu issue is the drawback with being able to use the manual functions as I mentioned. This is the only issue at hand right now. I truly believe Panasonic has fixed the low light issue and it's sort of a shame (while the 953's trickle inbecause of no stock) they can't make that same update to the newer models being produced now.

Best... Rick

A couple of hi-res pics of the GS100

http://www.dvuser.co.kr/zboard/data/panasonic/cut_1.jpg

http://www.dvuser.co.kr/zboard/data/panasonic/cut_2.jpg

The thing that made me happiest about those photos is that they show the camera set in "point and shoot" mode (second button back of the lens, green lettering). There's hope yet.

I've just post an order for this cam at priceJapan...
It is my first order posted there and I'm a bit anxious(although I heard only good things about them...).

What to say, I can't wait to get it... man...
I'll post some updates as soon as I have some, eventually some m2v files, because I haven't seen many on the net.

Has anyone got some english docs about this babe? Some menu cheatsheet of some sort? If so, would you like to send it to me as well?

ciao
marius

I'll see if anything is available yet, in regards with English doc.

If you want a battery that will run for longer than 55 minutes if you use the LCD monitor while shooting, go to the Japanese web site for Panasonic, click on the picture of the 100K. It will take you to a larger picture, with a menu on the left hand side. the second tab from the bottom will take you to accessories. I purchased the waist pack from http://www.pricejapan.com (VW VBD7). It's a little more expensive, but is supposed to work for up to 9 hours and, because you wear it on your waist, does not add much weight to the camcorder. There's also a possibility (mentioned to me by someone else who had been trying to get information on the 100K) that the GS-70 battery is the same as the one supplied with the 100K (55 min, etc.), so if that's available where you are, you could try waiting to check that out. Pricejapan will take longer to supply any battery you try to purchase from them because, as they told me, it's a small item they don't stock. Nonetheless, they managed to ship it within a week of my placing the order, and I expect to receive it by the end of this week. Enjoy.

When I go to pricejapan, click on "English," then click the link for the GS100, NOTHING is in English.

Frank, I'm a little confused by what you've said. When I go to www.pricejapan.com, the site somes up in English. The GS100K appears in the very first row of items. If you click on the pricing for US/Canada, it gives you the latest info on pricing, how they arrive at the price, etc., all in English. Do you, by any chance, have your PC set to recognize Japanese? I have a Mac and had Japanese enabled at one point. Problem was, when I bought a little Fuji pocket digicam and tried to download the software, all the instructions were in Japanese. Yikes. I had to turn off the Japanese language capablity of the Mac - which still, by the way, allows me to access Japanese language sites, but does not now assume that my preferred language for accessing web sites and software is Japanese. Hope this helps. If, on the other hand, you were talking about the Panasonic Japan site, yes, it's all in Japanese. Pretty easy to see what the accessories are, though. As to their quality, well, I don't worry that much about the specs because people will either decide they want one and know how to get something available locally that will suit them or will just get whatever Panasonic has to offer. Prices on these items will be whatever pricejapan tells you they can get it for cheapest (they tell you on the site how they find that price, too). Only the batteries are a real issue, because finding ones that are compatible is always harder. Also, as far as I can tell from the GS70 manual, even if its battery is compatible with the 100K, the waist pack battery is not something one can order for the US model. Nor for the DV953, for that matter.

Saw the black beauty on the shelf last night....my precious (LOL). Sold out.

Batteries for the following cams are exactly the same but power consumption differ:

GS100
GS70
GS50
VDR-M30K (DVD cam)

The waist pack battery (VW-VBD7) will last between 3 hours 55 minutes up to 7 hours 45 minutes during ACTUAL shooting (intermittent shooting, LCD on, OIS on, zoom in/out, etc.). For continuous steady shooting without using the LCD, it can last as long as 9 hours 10 minutes (but whose gonna use their cam that way).

Cheers

Out of curiosity, what's the black model selling for? More expensive than the silver?

In regular stores, exactly the same price.

In discount shops listed in kakaku - still non-existent (but when they finally get the black one, the price should be the same - the big question is WHEN).

For those who haven't bought, I have the quick reference guide in English.

You should put together a package with the black model, waist pack battery, largest size Panasonic SD card and English cheat sheet. You would probably get some orders from those who want something of quality they can use more than just sporadically. I was really impessed by the quality of the mpeg4 even I managed to eke out (and so was everyone who received it by e-mail)- even though someone in another forum noted that Windows Media Player is the broken Microsoft version of mpeg4.

I imagine the (minor) inconveniences that the waist pack's dangling cord and weight (380 grams!) can bring. Also even in the beach, you'd need to wear a belt (LOL).

Cheat sheets for menus are ready. I'm just hoping for the chance to see the complete Japanese manual in order to include the additional operation/error messages in the LCD.

All accessories should be optional IMO.

Allan - I wrote you a few days ago via e-mail and didn't get a reply. I have shared some e-mail with Tommy Haupfear who said you have a semi translated manual for the GS100.

As I wrote you and have posted on these forums, I would love to purchase one of these puppies, but I am concerend about the menus and how difficult it would be to access manual controls especially for low light situations.

Patricia ... is your GS100 pretty straight forward - like just point and shoot? or are you finding you need to access your menus more often for different results? I know your a mac user .... so am I they are the best computer and easiest for this. But what I'm bascially asking is how complicated is it without the english menus for the camera operations? Are there icons? It it easy to get into DV to AV mode for transfers? Are the MPEG, Stills, AV to DV menus difficult to access? I'm only asking about ease of use for you. Not the video quailty.

Allan if you wouldn't mind assisting me with a little first hand knowledge of the on screen menus and what we should expect. Maybe the menus are Japenglish I don't know, but a little assistance of the GS100 operations with the Japanese menus would greatly help most of us make a decision the purchase or move on to something else.

I know for me, with what I have been reading and seeing - I truly believe this camera is just what I've been looking for. However, I (as most people do) do not wish to spend good money on something that I will not be able to figure out hunting for the proper controls with the many Japanese menus.

Thank you both very much - I appreciate your replies.

Best regards,

Rick.

Rick,

It's hard to answer your question because I am not at a total loss re the Japanese language. There are really no icons. You could probably figure out how to turn the camera on and record (that old red button is there). You could easily figure out which is the zoom lever and which button to press for shooting a photo. On the side under the LCD panel, you could use the GS70 manual to explain the buttons, which are almost all the same except for two, and those two are added outside of the area described in the GS70 manual. The menus are another story. You could probably figure out what some of them meant because there are numbers involved. But that would be about it, I think. To use the camcorder under all kinds of conditions and make changes in midstream, you would have to essentially memorize from the cheat sheet the button and jog dial pushes to be completely confident about what you were doing, since the menu that would appear on the screen would be in Japanese. I don't think the GS70 English menus or DV953 English menus are exactly like those of the GS100. I haven't gone through both minutely, however. Hooking up to a Mac is also not as straightforward as one might suppose. I could help with that; the main thing is to understand that Panasonic has supplied software and drivers for Windows, not for the Mac. So you have to find work arounds. Once you do, it's back to plug and play, really. Perhaps you should download both the 953 and GS70 manuals and look at them so you get an idea of how much difference there can be. This is kind of a devil in the details situation [e.g., the menus alone will not tell you when a function is disabled because of the mode (tape, card, photo) you are in]. By the way, I don't say this to discourage you, because I think this is a remarkable camcorder. But it's an effort for me even with some knowledge of the language, especially since I have never used a camcorder of any kind before. On the other hand, if you have friends who have some expertise, that could change your perspective, too.

Sorry Rick I didn't receive your email but Tommy's emails are OK. Please re-send. I normally reply within a day.

In my experience handling various Japanese electronic stuffs, in the end, it's really a matter of memorizing the basic functions or the most commonly used settings. Once you press the Menu button, the LCD will be filled with lots of Japanese characters - that you should expect.

Of course, having cheat sheets and quick reference guide would help mitigate the difficulty and would certainly allow even the total beginner (both in the language and the cam) to perform basic shooting and playback functions. And as I previously posted, I provide personal assistance (as much as I can) both in the language part and the technical part, hence I make it a point to keep a copy of the Japanese manual for ready reference.

The GS100 under full auto mode is just as point and shoot as any cheaper and basic consumer cam in the market. Just turn on the power switch, insert the tape and you're ready to go. But I don't think you would want to buy the GS100 mainly for their auto features, but rather the option for the user to play with tons of manual controls to his/her liking under different shooting conditions. That�fs the "fun" part of it. Actually, you can perform most manual operations/adjustments even without using the menus. By simply sliding the switch to Manual Mode, pressing the Jogwheel and turning the Jogwheel, you can manually adjust the shutter speed, iris-opening or gain (note that you can adjust the gain only when the iris is fully open - owners please feel free to correct). The indications for shutter speed, iris opening and gain are just plain universal numbers that any nationality will recognize . Moreover, white balance adjustment, Wide/Procimema/Slow Shutter/Telemacro mode activation are done by simply pressing their corresponding buttons. So you see, anybody can somehow manage with the manual controls even without performing menu operations.

In any case, there is more "fun" hidden, and some features available only under the menus, thus, owners should take the time to learn how to use them. That's the main purpose of the cheat sheets.

Sorry I have to go out now. Thanks.

When I click on the GS100K pic, I get Japanese, the other links beside or behind the pick come up in English. However, the links just stick out slightly from the pic, some don't show up at all. I use a PC/Netscape.

I have no expertise, but could it be a browser issue? Is it possible to use msie with your isp? I'm on msie for mac (no longer to be supported by ms in the future, by the way) because of my isp and haven't had any problems accessing the site. I think ms has most of the market in Japan, too.

I don't know, but next time I'm on a high speed connection somewhere, I'll browse around. I'm using MS DOS 6.22/MS WIN 3.11 with a 33.6 modem at home. I e-mailed Pana to see if they have some English info available. Who knows, there might even be an English PAL version PDF manual soon.

Thank you, Frank. You may, of course, end up being responsible for shifting the balance of payments of several countries (even more?) in Japan's favor if you come up with one. Tell Panasonic with the interest you've generated, they should send you a camera to review (you know, like some of the folks who run other sites get).

Naaa. If I can get some info I'll just throw it up on my site for download, for those interested few North Americans who want a Japanese Domestic GS100 now (or at least some more beef...in English). Allan has done a pretty good job so far. Well, gotta go, my cat's waiting for her supper. :)

any word on a pal unit yet???

would LURVE to play with one..

bit dissapointed with the battery change thou... :( i got loads of batteries and i wouldnt get half as much for what i paid for them..

either way, if the lowlight is as as good as the reports, and teh cinegamma is half as good as the DVX, i'll prolly grab one..

hmm.. drool.... the black one, looks so damn sexy!

Hi again Patricia:

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you say with regards the language. You said you had some knowledge of Japanese but no previous camcorder experience. Obivously your getting by with limited experience. Is your little knowledge of Japanese (if I understood you correctly) a help? I'm sure with a cheat sheet that Allan proposes things would be easier especially if one remebers the menu numbers. Having things disabled in menus is something you mentioned and that might concern me. When your shooting something, we only have once chance to get it the first time. I'm not shooting a movie with several takes, but I'm sure some experimenting will have to take place. Again my main concerns are getting the stuff to work. I understand there is no problem with the Mac under OSX v.2. The camera responds to everything from my readings.

Hi again Allan:

I re-sent you my last e-mail. your last post to me here answered a lot of my questions. Thank you. As you probably read above, I well aware (if I order this camera) a lot of the menus will have to be from memory and by the numbers. I think half of the battle on the road is memorizing. I think if I wanted to transfer stills, MPEG or dub to a VHS I would have to access the manual/cheat sheet. And as you said the shutter speed and other camera features and iris openings are universal numbers - so how difficult is that? If those things are not too difficult then your right it pretty straight forward... But getting to the other "fun" hidden stuff and features under the menus makes it a challenge and therefore you bascially answered what I have been curious about with the language and cheat sheets.

I can only assume (and in TV we try never to assume anything) that this really shouldn't be that difficult - with the unversal numbers you can figure out where you are shutter and iris wise - the other stuff I believe should come naturally once you begin playing with the camera and cheat sheets and get familar with it.

So unless I misunderstood something here, I'm most probably going to cancel my DV953 order after hearing your replies on the above, then I'll ask Allan for his assistance. :-)

Looking forward to the next posts on this subject. Thanks to one and all.

Best regards,

Rick.

Rick I got your email. Thanks.

Even with the cheat sheets and the quick reference guide in English, I think that you are going to face some nuisance with the Japanese characters. I'm not discouraging you to buy but simply trying to put your mind in proper perspective. If you think you can live with the inconvenience, then you'll be fine with the GS100. Otherwise, I would suggest that you get the 953 (you can ignore the GS70 IMO) What using a Japanese cam would force you to do is to be more mindful of each operation, as opposed to the carefree manner by which we use English version gears. Good thing about most cams is that you simply have to slide back the switch to full auto in case you feel having messed up the settings. In case you're totally lost, the GS100 allows you to reset all menus to factory settings (through menu operations), hence you can start all over again.

BTW, to further qualify my previous post regarding low-light, although I'm positive that the GS100 is an improvement over the MX5K on this aspect, note that I do not claim that the GS100 PER SE is great in low light. FYI I also did the "low-light box" test on the JVC DV5000 and as expected, the JVC produced brighter image...but then again brighter does not mean better.

Regards

THANK YOU Allan. I VERY MUCH appreciate your post and the e-mail you sent me. I very much realize your not trying to discourage me, however there is the fact that my daughter would like to use the camera as well for her school projects. Therefore it might be best to stay with the DV953 with english menus. I did read that the GS70 was slightly better in low light sitations, but like you said it's all subjective and while I could easily adjust the PV953 - having the language problem with the GS100 could be more frustrating than it's worth.

Maybe the whole solution is to just get the GS70 the price is outstanding here in the states (745.00) to begin with, then wait a year or so to see if the GS100 does come out in Europe with English menus. Then like always - there will be something better coming to the market... (laughing) because as I always say .... "you can't keep up with it."

Thanks very very much. I appreciate your honesty and help with helping me make a decision.

We'll write again soon I'm sure.

Best

Rick.

Hi there...

Does anyone know if a manual for GS100 is available online?
Even if it is in japanaese, just to have it online, because I have no idea how I could type in that chars...

Also, I am looking for some sort of online dictionary, other than altavista... Is there one?

Thanks guys... (the cam didn't arrive yet, but that's normal, I'm expecting it to arrive late next week)

Rick, camcorderinfo has just posted a review of the 953. While they don't represent gospel, it's a starting point and will give you a clue of what to check for if you're going to comparison shop. Also, I apologize in advance if I'm telling you something you already know, but the other fora here at dvinfo are superb. There are a lot of participants who are clearly pros or top-flight amateurs, and reading through their posts (as I have been doing) will give you a lot of insight into some of the really important basics - like which tapes to use, which lenses, how to compensate for backlighting, etc. - as well as help you answer other questions the pros themselves discuss. All of that will give you far more than just the 100K or the 953 or any newest device ever could.

Some visitors here may not have seen as many pictures, specs and reviews of the MX7000/NV-GS100K/Digicam 100 as they'd like.

Here's a comprehensive run-down of the pages at the Pana Japan site.

Most of these pages have enough of the information on them in text form instead of graphics-text, that it's worthwhile to view them through the Babelfish translator at babelfish.altavista.com.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/index.html The Digicam 100 front page.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/gashitsu.html Overview of optical and optoelectronic elements.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_leica.html Leica lens.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_ois.html Optical image stabilizer.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_3ccd.html 3 CCDs.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_crystal.html Various signal processing techniques to improve images.
http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_crystal_noise.html
http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_crystal_axis.html
http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ga_crystal_degital.html

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/kinou.html Overview of image modes.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ki_wide.html Wide-angle capability, i.e. 16:9.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ki_chinema.html Cinema-mode gamma curve setting.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ki_night.html Night mode, with low-light sensitivity and LCD panel as illuminator.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ki_shutter.html Shutter speed controls, for stop action or blurred motion.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/ki_telemacro.html Macro mode.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/benri.html Ergonomics and user interface.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/techno.html Extensive list of additional advanced capabilities.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/network.html Interface capabilities, and other Pana products they hope you'll buy, i.e. plasma TV, etc.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/3d.html Rotateable view of the Digicam 100 silver version.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/spec.html Specifications. Too bad the camera-controls graphics labels aren't translatable by Babelfish.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/accessory.html Accessories: batteries, lenses and adapters, cases and covers, synced-zoom stereo microphone, illuminators, etc.

Two review-advertisements:
http://ad.impress.co.jp/tie-up/panasonic-dvc0306/index.htm
http://ad.impress.co.jp/tie-up/panasonic-dvc0306/index2.htm

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/ The master page for all Pana Digicams, including 30, 50, 70, 100 and a little pocket-model (320x240x15fps only) called D-Snap in Japan, or SD in USA.

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/movie/index.html A listing of the Digicams with some basic comparative info.

Wow! Thanks for all those links - and welcome to the forum!

Here's a list of 953/MX5 reviews:

http://www.dvfreak.com/mx5_go.htm

More resources:

http://www.supervideo.com/MXmouse.htm Offers a "MX7000" manual-on-CD for $10. Also a couple of good pictures, and some other info. Yes, the page does show an MX5000 manual, but supposedly what's currently available is the MX7000 version.

http://www.supervideo.com/MX5000manuala.htm Explanation of the controls functionality of the MX5000. Might be somewhat relevant to the Digicam 100, for those trying to decipher what the Japanese-labeled buttons do.

Some questions for the experts and/or Digicam 100 owners:

1. In Night mode, is the Digicam 100 sensitive to infrared light, like some of the Sony consumer cams? Can you use Night mode without the uber-bright-LCD-screen illuminator? Is it always at 8 fps, or is that a selectable parameter?

2. Has anyone experimented with the high-speed mode, i.e. 16 frames at 640x480 at .07 second intervals? Is the color rendition good in that mode, and does it have any special lighting requirements to avoid strobing?

3. Is there a setup choice for 30p vs. normal interlaced? If so, how do the images look in 30p?

4. Is there anything in the Japanese menu for setup of the camera to use the supposedly upcoming Extended Definition DV tape that will have significantly more bandwidth?

John. Regarding the MX7000: there is no such cam. That's misinformation meant to snag in souls who've heard about Panasonic's MX line of cams.

Yep, I'm aware that "MX7000" is apparently a pseudonym for NV-GS100K, which (just to confuse things a bit more) is marketed in Japan as Digicam 100. I mentioned only the MX7000 designator on the manual-CD-offer because I haven't seen what they're selling, and I can't claim to fully understand the reasons for their product-name usage.

Neither an expert nor an owner�cbut may I reply?

No, the GS100 does not have infrared night mode (that's why the resulting image is colored). The spec sheets indicate that frame rate is set at 8fps under Color Night Mode. Even if you switch to manual mode and press the jogwheel, the manual settings (shutter speed, iris, gain) are not displayed, thus cannot be adjusted. However when I tried CNM under bright lights, I noticed that video motion appear normal. Hence I'm wondering if the cam automatically adjusts the frame rate (minimum 8fps) under CNM according to the brightness of the subject, or, if the cam actually shuts-off CNM when brightness reaches a certain level. The same case is true for 0 Lux CNM. Note that the LCD continuously indicate that either CNM or 0 CNMS is activated even in varying lux levels, but would only exhibit jittery motion under dark shooting conditions (as in putting your palm very close to the lens).

Under 0 Lux CNM, frame rate goes down to 2fps and the cam prompts you to turn the LCD towards the subject in order to illuminate it (you don't have to if you don't want - but why wouldn't you if it's pitch dark).

Default setting is normal interlaced but you can choose between interlaced and frame mode within the menu. You can also activate frame mode very easily by pressing the Procinema button (but it will be in 16:9 with cinelike gamma). How does frame mode look?.. I'll leave that to 953 owners to answer.

The GS100K is not Hi-vision (HD). There is no setting in the menu for anything related to Hi-vision (HD).

One question, JVC is now marketing a DV tape especially made for its HD1/HD10 cams. The cost is 3x that of ordinary DV tape. I wonder if that is the same as the upcoming Extended Definition DV tape.

The only special DV tape I've been able to track down from JVC is a supposed "Professional Grade" product that's described as being of top quality and is implied to offer additional ruggedness and reliability. Here's the announcement press release from this year's NAB show:

http://pro.jvc.com/prof/Attributes/press_res.jsp?model_id=MDL101223&feature_id=08

It definitely does not seem as if it provides wider bandwidth than standard DV tape.

The reason for offering/using an Extended Definition tape, with wider bandwidth, presumably would be to permit a camcorder to operate in a mode wherein it would capture and record higher-resolution, higher-data-rate signals than can be recorded onto ordinary DV tape without lossy compression. As far as I know, the JVC consumer and semi-pro HD cams have no need for wider bandwidth than standard DV, because they have no capability to record wideband signals in uncompressed form.

On the other hand, an evolution of a camera like Digicam 100 or AG-DVX100 could be designed to capture and record signals in uncompressed form that are too wideband for conventional DV tape, but would be practical on an Extended Definition tape. It's conceivable that the present Digicam 100 chassis has such a capability, not revealed in its menus unless the camera detects the presence of a suitable wideband tape-type, and ready to be enabled for a later prosumer version. That's speculation, of course.

I just purchased my GS100K from PriceJapan. Ordered it on Tuesday and recieved it on Friday. Very fast.

Took some test shots, plugged it into my Mac and captured anamorphic footage into FCP. Initial look at Cinema Pro video on FCP looks very good! The gamma seems to be compressed so that the whites are at the 70% in the Waveform monitor. Footage looks a lot more defined than my old camcorder.

The menus are all Japanese - which I can't read! However the GS70 manual is very helpful. I don't expected to use the SD card funtions to take photographs, set it up as a webcam or to take MPEG 4 movies so I did not bother to figure out the menus for those functions.

I managed to figure out how to set date and time, turn off the annoying sounds, turn off the recording indicator, switch the camcorder into progressive mode (you see a square boxed 'P' on the LCD) and get it into Cinema Pro mode, and the low light functions. Enough for me!

What I can't figure out is what *all* the buttons on the inside of the LCD do? Can one adjust the shutter speed in manual mode? Can I use the built-in flash for movies or is it just for photos?

What I don't like: All the manual functions (White Balance, Exposure, Focus) are on the outside on the camcorder lens which is prone to being accidentally touched. Especially the manual focus ring. There is no lock for it. The low light, MagicPix and 0 Lux, functions are useless as any movement in the footage becomes blurry (however, the normal mode seems to capture the inside of my house at night pretty well).

I have more discovery and experimenting to do. If anyone is doing an English translation cheat sheet - I'll be happy to participate! Glad I bought the camera!

P.S. It always amazes me how prevalent English is. Even in a pure Japanese product there is English, and all numerals are Roman.

P.P.S Oh! And thanks to Patricia for her comments on this board. It made the difference.

Hi Eng...

From where did you get your GS70 manual? Is it in electronic format?

I am also looking for a manual(even in Japanese) for the GS100 but I need it in electronic format, so I will be able to use some online dictionary. Any idea where I could find one?

The cam is on the way to me, so in 2 days I'll play with the babe(I hope...).

Hello Eng:

Nice to hear about your GS100 - You give this a little hope when you say you have been able to get through certain menus and that some english is prevalent. I'm also happy to hear that it works so well with you Mac and Final Cut Pro. I have Final Cut v.3 and I'm beginning to get into it but will have get more experience once I decide on a camera.

If you've been reading the forum here, you have probably read that I have been on the fence about the GS100 because of the Japanese menus. I would want the camera for some of the other functions and wonder how difficult you think to access those features for web cam and mpeg movies.

When you have a chance to experiment a little more please let us have your thoughts on the ease of use and your interelation with the Japanese menus and how what we may expect if we go the same route.

Thanks... Rick.

Marius, for manuals, try the Panasonic web sites. GS-70 manual is available on the US web site in the support/downloads section. Can't say for sure re Japanese manual, though, since I haven't looked for it.

I downloaded the GS70 manual from the Panasonic USA website.

I actually found the GS100K on-screen menus to be almost identical to the GS70 (with minor deviations to the MX5000). Going down the sub-menus you will find almost identical menu options.

The key thing is to recognize the words "Auto", "Yes" and "No" in Japanese which is easy to do because the first GS100K sub-menu (which is almost identical to the GS70) has those three Japanese characters and it is easy.

Other things are easy: Web is spelled "WEB" , MPEG-4 is spelled "MPEG-4". The AE modes and White Balance modes are all icons - challenging both English and Japanese people. Shutter speed is "1/60" etc. "WB" is white balance, "MNL" is manual, and "MF" is, of course. manual focus.

Like I said, the Japanese have so much English mixed in, it is a different culture.

I have not fiddled around enough to create a definitive cheat sheet but I am sure it can be done easily and with only a little help from a Japanese reader.

More later.

Hi everyone,

Wonder if somebody noticed that the camera data was taken way from GS100. In the MX5000 menu there is option you can activate or disable collection of the shooting paramenters (Shutter speed, gain value, white balance setting, iris value).

In comparison table in Japanese Pana catalog it's written also that the skin ditter mode is gone too. From previous post I learned it might be same as the skin detail button.

Now does that mean that the camera data is recorded by default (without having to chose yes or no)? People who own GS100 can you recal this data while playing back (using the remote for example).

If not, does that mean we don't have saved this data on the tape? If so it's terrible for a model so high in the consumer line (but not really pro-sumer).

Another thing is the input/output issue. Now we don't have the dedicated mic input as on MX5000. Well it's plug in power but shared with the wire remote. When is most likly to use mic? When having the cam on a tripod and using the remote.
MX had its headphone out shared with the remote so you could not eventualy monitor the sound while using this remote. As there is no lanc conector on both cams I think this is really frustraiting.

I don't want anybody to understand me wrong because in fact I'm going to buy GS100 very soon. Just want to hear from other people their opinion.

Other weak point is the low resolution viewfinder. If all above issues were solved I would pay extra 200 $ for that cam. Still it would be cheaper than TRV950 or other closer to the prosumer level cams.

Obviously Pana decided to chase the mass market and cut off essential functions to save few pennies.

Bogdan, my guess is that eventually Pana will offer a prosumer version of the camera with a higher-res viewfinder, possibly some sound connectivity changes, and whatever other minor setup changes and accessory-package inclusions the prosumer will be willing to pay for. Sony did so with the PD150/VX2000, and JVC with the JY-HD10/GR-HD1. I would think that a similar move would be obvious to Pana as well, because there are probably many people like yourself who would be willing to pay $200 more to get a few features improved.

Bogdan,

Camera data is automatically recorded by default. However, the user has the option to display or not the data during playback. That option is in the playback menu.

I guess Pany want us to buy the new hot shoe compatible mic.

I guess Pany think that most users of the GS100 would be using the LCD most of the time rather than the VF.

Regards

C'MON GUYS. I hear lots of banter, but how does the 30fps look? In 16 x 9? Is this the same chipset as in the dvx100? They must have "neutered" it somehow...worse in low light?

Can you only use the panasonic additional microphone or does the hot shoe accept an azden, sennheiser, etc etc?

Some one post some grabs! ;-)

close to pushing the "buy" button...

Michael