sounds like an advanced form of frame mode....

cinelike gamma... hmmm... methinks time to save for this one as a second cam to the DVX....

Check out rumors at camcorderinfo.com. It appears that the major digicam makers in Japan have signed on to accepting JVC's HD standard. If so, what's been dissed up to now as a rumor about an MX7000 that is HD capable may be true. I checked out the site where the rumor popped up and agreed that it sounded as though it was a mix-up re the GS-100, especially since the photos on the site are of the 100. However, since Panasonic is said to have signed on to the HD standard, I am beginning to think the rumor may be more than that. Why buy in unless you are ready to move, especially with the JVC already on the market. In which case, the GS-100 will be old hat in a few months, if not sooner. (Not sorry I bought it, though. I think it does great indoors in simple point and shoot mode; I believe it will capture spontaneity at indoor events in exactly the way I want.)

I wonder if the High Definition banner on the link below had anything to do with the Chukmeister's zany idea of a HD cam? I pulled it directly from Panasonic's website.

High Definition Technology?

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/DIGICAM/gs100k/gashitsu.html

"High Definition Technology"

LOL. One point Japanese to avoid misunderstanding Japanese sites.

HD as the rest of the world understand is called "Hi-Vision" in Japan.

So what we have here are

Hi-Vision Terebi (TV)
Hi-Vision Projection Terebi
Hi-Vision Ekisho (LCD) Terebi
Hi-Vision Plasma Terebi
Hi-Vision Movie (Camera)
Hi-Vision Recorder

BTW, when the Japanese say Hi-Vision Terebi, they don't mean HD-Ready TV.. They call that Progressive Terebi instead.

Regards

Thanks for the info, Allan; I had no idea!

The Japanese have a characteristic way of playing with the English language in many aspects of life for better understanding of the common people. It’s quite interesting, sometimes hilarious, but actually very practical.

The term “definition” for instance, who the *ell would easily understand such word (in the technical sense) in a non-English speaking society?

Cheers

Alan, have you looked at the JV site? The terms high definition and high vision seem to be used interchangeably there. The specifications of the GR-HD1 are pretty clearly set out. I think this is the standard all of the major makers are supposed to have agreed to subscribe to, at least according to the press release referred to on the camcorderinfo.com site. I don't know if the specs are, indeed, HD specs, but if they are...I thought the Panasonic site was pretty cautious: they essentially said about the GS-100 that they were offering a product using high definition technology, but not claiming that it was, in fact, high definition. And, in fact, their specs for the camcorder's picture output don't match that of the GR-HD1. That said, may I add that I just did some filming at a 4th of July party. Other than the usual amateur faults, like letting the camcorder sway too much at points (viewer sea-sickness inducer, right?) and forgetting to pause the recording then letting the lens face the floor (great floors, by the way), I do think this camera is way beyond what I expected. "Night view" mode changes the way the world records in low light conditions. I was amazed. The camcorder definitely could use a better mike if one is serious about getting sound. But I haven't heard of any camcorder of which that isn't true. If this is Panasonic's jumping off point, the next "flagship" model should be a doozie. Hope everyone had a good 4th.

Aha! The rumor site has just retracted re the 1/4" CCDs he was claiming to be on the so-called MX7000 he is touting, though not on the HD issue. I think he is, indeed, speaking of the GS100 and, as Tom pointed out, read the little HD Technology banner as meaning the camera is HD capable. In the meantime, though, the price on pricejapan.com keeps dropping. Down to $1219 last time I looked.

P.S. I apologize for misspelling Allan's name in the last post.

Hi Patricia:

I read that you received the GS100 from Japan. I understand that your using a cheat sheet for the buttons and menus from a DV953. Is that a large factor in the cameras operation. Is there any english at all? I have no knowledge of Japanese but like the smaller form factor and the fact the they improved the low light issue. Did you discover any english language menu on the camera to change it's language? Does it even exist?

I'm very curious because like you I'm very concerened about the low light performance of the previous camera DV-953. I have not be able to find out any other information on the lesser GS-70 with regards to low light but feel it is similar because the reports are just as bad so there has to be some room for improvement.

Thanks .... Rick.

So does this camera handle highlight and shadow detail better then the MX5000 since it has Cine Gamma? Has anyone seen the difference?

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/panas...306/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