I just bought a Panasonic PV-DV53... Having problems! at DVinfo.net

Albert Naranjo · November 19th, 2003, 07:26 PM

3 days ago I bought the Panasonic PV-DV53 Mini DV camcorder from Walmart for $348. I like the camera and all of the features, but tonight, I wanted to see what I had recorded so far (about 4 minutes into a Mini DV tape), and when I played it back, the picture has tons of graphical glitches, sound drops and big pixels showing up randomly. It is a Panasonic 60 minute tape. I was recording in LP mode. I watched what I recorded yesterday with no problems at all. Could it be the cassette or the camera? Should I take the camera back to Walmart? Get the same one or a different model? Also... I noticed that Mini DV tapes are the most expensive compared to all of the formats. How does Digtal 8 compare in picture quality and price?

UPDATE:

I was messing with my camera agin just now, and the "Warning" label started flashing in the viewfinder/LCD and it flashed in big letters "HEADS NEED CLEANING." WTF?!?!? The camera is only like 3 days old.

Frank Granovski · November 19th, 2003, 08:25 PM

Well, clean the heads and see what happans. The same thing happened to me years ago with my brand new JVC GR-DVL9500. I freaked! I concluded it was because I used the cheap "low-brow" JVC tapes. I don't know what JVC tapes are like today, but back then they were bad.

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

Yow Cheong Hoe · November 19th, 2003, 10:10 PM

LP mode does exhibit more drop-outs than SP.

Head may need cleaning immediately out of the box.

Personally, I find Panasonic tapes rather 'abbrasive', I use Sony tapes.

Dave Largent · November 19th, 2003, 10:36 PM

Walmart has a 90-day return policy. My DV53 works okay. Hasn't had much use though. Never tried the LP mode. If you return it, try another one of the same model. This cam has it's good points compared to the others for ordinary family usage, one big "good
point" being it's low light abilities for shooting indoors under
natural light. In this regard, it beats most everything else under $900. The auto focus is quite good too: quick, accurate, disinclined to hunt. Just fitted my DV53 with the Canon 1.7X telephoto today.
Didn't look real close, but the telephoto seems sharp. Only get
slight vignetting at the widest with the Canon on there.
The method of manual focusing--using the scroll wheel--is different from what I'm used to. But I just looked at a Sony; TRV19, I believe. They're both in the same price range. The Sony's method of focusing is using the flipout LCD screen as a touch pad.
Now, how can you be looking through the viewfinder and making screen pad adjustments at the same time? And I believe the Sony has no full manual exposure control. The Panny does.
And all the Canon one-chippers are bad in low light. Very grainy.

Albert Naranjo · November 20th, 2003, 12:36 AM

Thanks for the advice guys. Tonight I took it back to Walmart and got a new one. It is still in the box. I will try it out tomarrow. Question... Should I use that same cassette that I was using in the cam. that I returned, or should I buy a new one? It was a Panasonic tape. Hell, when I bought the Panasonic tape, my thinking was, "a Panasonic tape for a Panasonic camera." If I get the same problems, I'll try cleaning it with a head cleaner. I wanna get everything up and running smoothly. My wife is due to have our new baby on December 15 (scheduled c-section), but she has been having contractions off and on, so, the baby may decide to come sooner. :-)

Yow Cheong Hoe · November 20th, 2003, 01:08 AM

Have fun shooting the birth.

I made a video for my daughter, born June 2002, and I will do another for my son, due in March 2004.

Dave Largent · November 20th, 2003, 01:29 AM

Get a different tape and be done with it. Maybe you got a bad tape and that's what messed it up. Buy a tape from a different
store. Maybe the place you bought the last tape at got a bad batch.

Frank Granovski · November 20th, 2003, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Should I use that same cassette that I was using in the cam. that I returned, or should I buy a new one? It was a Panasonic tape.

I would just ues the same tape. If you are still have this same problem, clean the heads and see if that works. If not, take the cam back, or try Fuji miniDV. (First clean your head again.) If that doesn't work, then get a refund and buy yourself a better cam.

You're probably using the cheap Pana tape. It is "wet," I think. You do have a head cleaning tape, right? Never leave home without it if you're using cheap tape.

November 19th, 2003, 07:26 PM	#1
Albert Naranjo Tourist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 2	I just bought a Panasonic PV-DV53... Having problems! 3 days ago I bought the Panasonic PV-DV53 Mini DV camcorder from Walmart for $348. I like the camera and all of the features, but tonight, I wanted to see what I had recorded so far (about 4 minutes into a Mini DV tape), and when I played it back, the picture has tons of graphical glitches, sound drops and big pixels showing up randomly. It is a Panasonic 60 minute tape. I was recording in LP mode. I watched what I recorded yesterday with no problems at all. Could it be the cassette or the camera? Should I take the camera back to Walmart? Get the same one or a different model? Also... I noticed that Mini DV tapes are the most expensive compared to all of the formats. How does Digtal 8 compare in picture quality and price? UPDATE: I was messing with my camera agin just now, and the "Warning" label started flashing in the viewfinder/LCD and it flashed in big letters "HEADS NEED CLEANING." WTF?!?!? The camera is only like 3 days old.

November 19th, 2003, 10:10 PM	#3
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	LP mode does exhibit more drop-outs than SP. Head may need cleaning immediately out of the box. Personally, I find Panasonic tapes rather 'abbrasive', I use Sony tapes. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

November 20th, 2003, 01:08 AM	#6
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Have fun shooting the birth. I made a video for my daughter, born June 2002, and I will do another for my son, due in March 2004. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

November 19th, 2003, 08:25 PM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Well, clean the heads and see what happans. The same thing happened to me years ago with my brand new JVC GR-DVL9500. I freaked! I concluded it was because I used the cheap "low-brow" JVC tapes. I don't know what JVC tapes are like today, but back then they were bad. http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

November 19th, 2003, 10:36 PM	#4
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Walmart has a 90-day return policy. My DV53 works okay. Hasn't had much use though. Never tried the LP mode. If you return it, try another one of the same model. This cam has it's good points compared to the others for ordinary family usage, one big "good point" being it's low light abilities for shooting indoors under natural light. In this regard, it beats most everything else under $900. The auto focus is quite good too: quick, accurate, disinclined to hunt. Just fitted my DV53 with the Canon 1.7X telephoto today. Didn't look real close, but the telephoto seems sharp. Only get slight vignetting at the widest with the Canon on there. The method of manual focusing--using the scroll wheel--is different from what I'm used to. But I just looked at a Sony; TRV19, I believe. They're both in the same price range. The Sony's method of focusing is using the flipout LCD screen as a touch pad. Now, how can you be looking through the viewfinder and making screen pad adjustments at the same time? And I believe the Sony has no full manual exposure control. The Panny does. And all the Canon one-chippers are bad in low light. Very grainy.

November 20th, 2003, 12:36 AM	#5
Albert Naranjo Tourist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 2	Thanks for the advice guys. Tonight I took it back to Walmart and got a new one. It is still in the box. I will try it out tomarrow. Question... Should I use that same cassette that I was using in the cam. that I returned, or should I buy a new one? It was a Panasonic tape. Hell, when I bought the Panasonic tape, my thinking was, "a Panasonic tape for a Panasonic camera." If I get the same problems, I'll try cleaning it with a head cleaner. I wanna get everything up and running smoothly. My wife is due to have our new baby on December 15 (scheduled c-section), but she has been having contractions off and on, so, the baby may decide to come sooner. :-)

November 20th, 2003, 01:29 AM	#7
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Get a different tape and be done with it. Maybe you got a bad tape and that's what messed it up. Buy a tape from a different store. Maybe the place you bought the last tape at got a bad batch.