I am still confused are they the same or not?
Thanks

Steven, I don't know. Panasonic USA does not list the PV-DV953 info/specs. I also e-mailed Panasonic USA, but it takes about 20 e-mails before they get back to you. (I have 17 e-mails to go.)

Perhaps someone else can shed some light for the both us. Any takers?

Same question here, I was told the only dif was time of delivery and warranty...has anyone figured out differently since August '02??? I've been reading post after post and cant find a good list of differences....

Thanks!!!

I know the DV953 lacks the skin-tone feature that is on the MX5000 but I think the DV953 would be a better choice if you live in N.A. Besides, if you're going for the MX5000 you might as well have a look at the GS100. :)

Thanks, but why would the 953 be better than the MX5000 in N. America? They are both NTSC, correct?

David, they are both the same NTSC cam, but the skin tone and perhaps one other hookey feature are missing on the 953---that's is no biggie.

The 953 also does not work with the underwater housing available for the mx5000. Some kind of circuitry issue. Otherwise, for those not worried about the housing, the 953 seems to be getting positive responses among owners in other fora I've visited.

Great so if I were to get the MX5000 instead of the DV953 (which is what I'm concerned about since they say I am getting the "International version of the DV953) then it would actually have more features than the US model??? Sounds good to me!

Sounds good to me!

You're considering the purchase of a MX5000 over a DV953 or am I mis-reading your last post?

The 953 is better if you live in the US bec you can avail of warranty and it is an English version cam.

As Tom mentioned, if you can live with Jap menus and buttons, then you might as well consider the GS100 instead of the MX5K.

Thanks all for the help.

I want the PV-DV953 in English w/English menus and I'm not too concerned with the warranty since I can buy that aftermarket.

I was told I can get a new 953 but it was the "international" version (but with English menus, etc.) and that the only dif was the warranty and time to delivery. If that's the case, I'm in like Flynn.

I'm not sure why they (A&M photo world) call it the "international" version, but it is coming in from New York probably imported from Japan like the rest of them.

So it's really a matter of trusting the people I ordered it from. I thought the MX5000 was the "international" version of the 953, but apparently they are not the same camera. I will post again when the camera arrives to let you all know how I fared, maybe they are telling me the truth and the only dif is the warranty! Hopefully they're not selling refurbished equipment as new...

Just to clarify, I have read that the DV953 is an excellent camera with some debate over low light performance. The low light issue is not a major concern for me as I will mainly be shooting outdoors. I am not sure that I want to be "cutting edge" because I would prefer to have a decent camera and save some $$$ at the same time by purchasing last years big thing.

Thanks again for all of the help, I appreciate the responses!!!

David, I wish you would have spoken up earlier about A&M Photo World. They are the largest rip-off on the face of the planet (100% scam!). I'm fearful as to what you will receive (if anything).

Read about their wonderful track record here:

http://resellerratings.com/seller1988.html

There is no "international version of the DV953". There are two NTSC versions DV953 and MX5000 with the MX5000 having Japanese menus. The only other version is the MX500 which is in English but unfortunately is PAL and not compatable with the North America's NTSC.

In case you wanted to see the headquarters of A&M

http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/pictures/BrooklynStores/

Oh my. Dave, is it to late to reconsider the vendor from which you are going to purchase the cam?

Dave, Dave, 12gauge,
You didn't listen when I told you on Camcorderinfo that the price was too good to be true.

You didn't listen when I told you on Camcorderinfo that the price was too good to be true.Oops. Schlock advertising on camcorderinfo too? Don't give your money to the schnooks. Have a swig of schnapps, shake your head and then order right, from http://www.bhphotovideo.com

Thanks again for the advice. It is not too late to cancel the order and I've already confirmed with my bank that they will support me fully. Glad to hear this before it was too late!!!

For what it's worth, I spoke with Logan who promptly cancelled my order without any hassle. At least in this instance, their customer service was satisfactory (other than the long wait time on hold).

Now I am second guessing myself on whether I want the PV-DV953 or the PV-GS200. Should I wait? It's smaller, still has the manual focus ring, and is less expensive.

It supposedly has better low-light performance (even though it has smaller CCDs !?!) and I'm not too concerned about the still quality (if it isn't good enough for my taste I'll buy a digital still) only 16x9 video.

16x9 is a concern for me...the Panasonic guys say the 953 is fine with no loss in resolution, then I read differently on another post, the Canon guys say the Optura XI is better at 16 x 9.

It looks like the only two knocks on the DV953 are low light and a contovercial 16x9 mode. Strange for a 2003 Camcorder of the year winner.

David, don't forget that the DV953 has optical image stabilization which will not be found on the GS200. For an idea of how poor the image stabilzatin is on the GS70 you might want to read the dvspot.com review.

http://www.dvspot.com/features

No one knows yet if the GS200 will be better in low light than the DV953 but they have the exact same 1/6" 3CCD arrangement and the megapixel count is 2.3MP (GS200) vs. 3.0MP (DV953) so low light is not going to be drastically different.

The 16:9 mode of the DV953 looks great on my 16:9 TVs and its a lot better than the GS70 and will likely be better than the GS120 and GS200.

That and the GS120 and GS200 will likely not have the advanced feature set of the DV953.

I don't think you'll see many DV953 users scrambling to upgrade but these lessers cams will be ok if you're in a pinch for funds.

I expect the GS200 to be an improvement over the GS70 in terms of image quality bec of a better engine. It's going to have the same Crystal engine as that of GS100.

The GS200 wont have the same enhanced 16:9 mode as the 953 but its low-light should be cleaner. I understand the GS200 will use less dense CCDs than that of 953.

David, if youre interested on the GS200, then find a chance to hold a GS70 and test the stabilizer yourself. I dont see any major problem with the image stabilizer and handling of the GS70 (excellent balance actually), unless you have HUGE hands. I just retested that particular function last weekend. No disrespect to dvspot.com. But between the 953 and GS70, the 953 is a whole lot more cam.

Allan, its interesting that you didn't see a problem with the GS70 image stabilzation. I tested locally (Circuit City) and I just figured their demo unit was busted until I saw the dvspot review that echoed my thoughts.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by OIS. :)

I have tried the GS70 in the shops, the digital stabiliser is rather jerky compared to the optical stabiliser on my MX350 and an MX500 from the shop.

That's why David has to try and hold a GS70 by himself due to this contradicting impressions on the GS70 stabilizer. Even published Jap reviews of the GS70 did not mention any complains on this particular function. In fact, there was one published shoot-out (with matching CD-Rom containing sample files) of something like more than 10 cams last year wherein the Jap reviewer gave higher marks on the image stabilizer of the GS70 compared to most other cams including the MX5K. I found that rather surprising though. BTW, the same review gave the highest overall marks on the MX5K.

I find DIS works very well in good lighting, but terrible in low lighting. Perhaps this is why some find the GS70's terrible while others don't.

Thanks for all of the help guys! I'm pretty sure I want OIS, I did play with the GS70 a little but haven't tested the DIS yet.

I must have missed the part about the GS200 not having OIS, is this from a trusted source? And I suppose the English version of the NV-GS100 is a long ways out? My wife is due on 3/31 and I'm hoping to get some 8-9 month pregnancy shots too.

Stupid JVC GR-DVM70 broke...what a piece of garbage, hardly used it in 4-5 years and when I finally need it ... well I won't get started.

<<<-- Originally posted by David Andre : Thanks for all of the help guys! I'm pretty sure I want OIS, I did play with the GS70 a little but haven't tested the DIS yet.

I must have missed the part about the GS200 not having OIS, is this from a trusted source? And I suppose the English version of the NV-GS100 is a long ways out? My wife is due on 3/31 and I'm hoping to get some 8-9 month pregnancy shots too.

Stupid JVC GR-DVM70 broke...what a piece of garbage, hardly used it in 4-5 years and when I finally need it ... well I won't get started. -->>>

My wife is also due about that time, but probably earlier. My first daughter was 10 days early. That means that you have 6 weeks to get a cam and get used to it. I suggest that you stop waiting and start buying.

4 to 5 years is a good time to break down, today's plastics are designed to disintegrate in about 5 years to ensure that consumers buy replacement units! hahahaha! Plastics of 30 years ago are much better, my daughter is eating out of the same plastic cereal bowl that was used to feed me 30 years ago!

The main difference of DIS/EIS and OIs is the 'feel' of the scene. On OIS, when you run out of the 'range' of the stabiliser, you get your real vibrations, which is 'natural'. On DIS/EIS, it gets super jerky as it tries to be smart and corrects itself by re-centering the image. For slow pans, OIS or DIS/EIS should be off, but even then, OIS will behave better than DIS/EIS. I have scenes jumping to re-center on pans on DIS/EIS but not on OIS cams.