Specs, please. I can't wait.
 

I want a crystal engine and a 12X Leica lens and baked with black mamba finish on my MX400, thank you. Oh, and the CCDs have got to be big with lots and lots of video effective pixels. Did I miss anything?

It's Spring and I even saw a robin today. Here I have 2, Pana GS400 1/2 pics---one bigger than the other---so there's got to be specs out there somewhere. Where's the little birdie? Tweet tweet?


----------------------------------------------------------------
Gimme a black mamba and I won't complain; but I'll settle for some GS4 specs.

The possible good news is that I may have them tomorrow night, or at least some of them. If anyone comes across any links, with the beef, post them!!

This is just what I have so far:

• 4 mega pixel still picture recording (PAL)
• mega OIS
• pro cinema mode
• high picture quality wide mode
• multi manual ring
• air soft grip
• 12X optical zoom
• USB 2.0 (HS mode)
• built-in flash
• motion video/still picture (1 meg) simultaneous recording
• MPEG 4 internet mode

So, no beef yet.

does the gs100 have the crystal engine?

Yes, the GS100 has the crystal engine. Allan has written about it in some past posts.

i thought so, i just didn't want to try to dig thru a bunch of past posts, thanks Frank.

Go, Frank! (I think that air soft grip is going to be my favorite advertised attribute of this cam. Almost as good as magic strap on the 100k.) So, no "soft skin" function evident yet? No "smoothing" or "night view" mentioned yet? I'm just wondering if this will be stripped in any way (though I love the 12x zoom) vis-a-vis the 100k rather than improved on. I hope not.

Yes indeed, the "air soft grip" sounds comfy. I hate the hard strap on my DVL9500s---hopefully the GS400 will come with a stabilizer too. -))

Just to add, does the 12X optical zoom require a larger lens housing that the 10X GS? Oh, oh. That could mean a slim long body style.

Since the release of the GS100, the Crystal Engine has become a standard feature in Pany's 3CCD consumer cams, but they may call it differently outside Japan.

How do they call the engine of the GS200 and GS120 in the US or Europe (Clear Engine)?

What's multi-manual ring?

The lens housing does appear longer in the picture.

Thanks for the info concerning the "crystal engine." Regarding multi-manual ring, I can only make a guess. I assume this ring has more than one function.

Frank,

You sure "pro cinema mode" is included in GS400 ? That is a flag ship feature Pana usually hide from overseas model.

Pana's history record is not that good, you know.

That's what I got from Pana; it could mean better than GS100 pro cinema mode or worse. I don't have further information yet.I know. :-))

I had a Sony DSC-F717 digital still camera that had a multi-function ring. By flicking a switch it could act as either a zoom or focus ring. Maybe the GS400 will allow even more manual options to be controlled by the ring.

Hopefuly one can change also the shutter speed/aperture through that rign or other dial on the outer body (not behind the LCD door)
:))

Darn, still no specs. Pana really wants this to be kept a secret until they get their stock from Japan, I was told. The funny thing is that there's a number of online dealers taking pre-orders, but they don't have any specs or even a picture posted! Just the price. How silly. Do consumers really pre-order a cam without knowing what they're buying? Wait! Don't answer that. :-))

Hmmm. Now this is purely speculation. Could the GS400 be the consumer version of the AG-DVC30U? I should have another look at those DVC30 pics and compare them with the GS400 pic. Maybe I should just e-mail Pana and ask and see what happans.

I think that's wishful thinking Frank. My, albeit rank amateur speculation, is that it's really just mostly a gs100 with a higher zoom, higher still rez maybe...maybe better low-light. And the rest is about the same. just my two tarnished pennies tho.

No e-mail from Pana USA yet, as I expected.

The GS400 picture indicates a different looking cam than the GS100: longer, and the front-end looks different.

> The GS400 picture indicates a different looking cam than the GS100: longer, and the front-end looks different.

Our nightmare would be - increased still pixels, decreased low-light video.

Agreed; and this has been a reoccurring nightmare, year after year with all brands of consumer cams. Less still pixels, bigger CCDs and bigger lenses, please. :-))

The bigger looking lens glass makes me very curious. This move could be similar to that of MX350 (from MX2500). Similar body design but with bigger lens and CCD, and available only in PAL country.

Could be, regarding the pokerish shape. Some North American dealers are already taking orders for the GS400, so it's not a "PAL only" like the MX350.

I realize that the full specs haven't yet been released, but when they are you'll know if it's a good cam or not by seeing if Tommy decides to e-bay his GS100. Tommy is always a good fellow to follow. :-))

I wish Panny would release more specs already... It's kinda hard to decide whether or not to buy the 953 or wait for more info on the GS400. :)

Has anyone heard is they're gonna be showing off the GS400 at NAB or not? If they are, it might be worth me taking a few days off work to pop on down.

The GS400 will most likely be out before NAB, or at least its full specs will be. Is the AG-DVC30 out yet? Pana had said March 4th for the DVC30. Anyone seen one yet?

A swedish site http://www.scandinavianphoto.se/product/item.aspx?itemid=1558407
lists the GS400 with 1/4.7" CCD. That could be the real beef effectively lifting GS400 to prosumer category from other 1/6" CCD toys.

If Pana keeps the $1,500 tag, it could blow away any competitors including Sony 950. It's a sorry for GS100K owners also.

Time to save money ;-)

1/4.7" CCDs? Isn't that Sony's CCD size? 1/6" vs. 1/5" CCDs isn't going to make that big of a difference when you add in megapixel CCDs. Low light performance is barely noticeable between my "toy" GS100 versus my past 1/4.7" 3CCD PDX10. Sony has recently increased their CCD size (1/3.6") on cams like the TRV70 and HC85 which have 2 megapixel CCDs but low light performance is still dismal with all those millions of micro pixels.

Hi Frank,

From the Netherlands site:

http://www.koopdigitaal.nl/

specs as translated (babelfish) dutch to english as follows:

==== Translated Specs ======

Panasonic NV-GS400 12 1675,00
Extra product information

- continuator of MX 500
- 3 CCD prerecording system
- 4.0 mega pixel still picture prerecording
- LEICA Dicomar lens with MEGA optical Image Stablisator
- SD memory lock
- USB 2.0
- 12 x optical hem
- 9 cm. wide open LCD baffle
- DV in/ - Analogously in/
- Photograph flitser
- JPEG foto's (2304 x 1728)
- Simultaneous prerecording of foto's 1 megapixel on SD
- Li-ion accumulator
- lens 58 mm

More information: www.panasonic.nl

==== EO Translated Specs ======
I think we've seen most of the specs from the other sites. The only ones which are intriguing are:

- continuator of MX 500
- lens 58 mm

Can anything be inferred from knowing the lens is 58mm?

58mm? The filter threads? From looking at the MX5 and GS400 pic, the front lens element of the GS400 looks wider.Is the CCD size mentioned?

Frank, no CCD size mentioned.

That line about "more information: www. panasonic.nl" was part of the translated specs.

I just went to the site (http://www.koopdigitaal.nl/) then searched (upper right of page) for nv-gs400 and when the result shows, just click on the "i" icon after the price and this will bring up a page with the specs without a picture and in dutch.

Thanks. For some reason the GS400 specs are a big secret. Pana probably feels guilty that there was no GS100 for outside of Japan and that the GS400 may be not as good (as the GS100). That's what I suspect. I also suspect that the GS400 may just be the MX5000/PV-DV953 with an ever so slightly touch-up, to make it appear as Pana's great new consumer top of the line 3-chip for 2004. Pana sure thinks outsiders are sheep. Lead them, they'll follow; feed them, they'll eat. (Not this black sheep.) :-))

58mm. REALLY???

That's as big as the VX2100. That's even bigger than the filter thread of the DVC30.

Seems like the site does refer to the filter threads ( lens 58 mm).

In their description/specifications for the nv-gs200, they also showed the following:

- miniDV
.
.
.
- DV in / uit (IEEE1394),
- Microfoon aansluiting
- S-Video uitgang
- 37 mm lens
.
.
.

If the filter thread of the cam shown on the picture is 58mm, that has got to be one HUGE cam and LCD monitor. 680 grams??? less than $1,500??? 1/4.7"CCD??? These figures don't seem to match.

That is most probably 43mm like most Pannies.

Hi Allan,

Yes, it's hard to speculate on the exact specs based on information from disparate and sometimes conflicting sources. Even on the DVC30, Pana USA brochure says the filter diameter is 72mm while another document from another source says it is 43mm. Good thing the lack of quality assurance is only evident in the product documentation and not in the products themselves. Well at least, i'm hoping that such is the case. :)

Hi Frank,

From Pana Belgium, 2 pdf files below: No mention of CCD size but does say 3 x 1 Megapixels:

http://www.panasonic.be/servlet/PB/s...o_video_NL.pdf
http://www.panasonic.be/servlet/PB/s...o_video_FR.pdf

I believe the first one's dutch, the second french. Can't translate though as I don't have adobe.

Thanks! Maybe I can use these 2 PDF links to pressure Pana to give it up. :-))

let's just sum it up....


PV-GS400

• 3CCD x 1Megapixel, 1/4.7"
• MEGA O.I.S.
• Pro Cinema Mode
• High Picture-Quality Wide Mode
• Multi Manual Ring
• Air Soft Grip
• 12xOptical Zoom
• Leica Dicomar Lens
• USB 2 (HS Mode)
• Built-in Flash
• Motion Video/Still Picture (1 MEGA) Simultaneous Rec
• Crystal Engine
• Telemacro Mode
• Colour Night View
• SD/MMC Card Compatible
• Soft Skin Mode
• 4 MEGA still
• True recording 25 images/sec video MPEG4 (PAL version)
• 3.5" LCD Monitor
• Lens 58 mm
• webcam Function
• 4ECM stereo microphone
• Wind noise decrease function
• Quick start
• DV/Analogue In- and OUtput
• MX500/DV953 succesor

Frank, you can use this PDF too :)
http://support.panasonic.co.uk/catal...isual-2004.pdf

...but I gave up, I did send a few complains to Pana, then to registered dealers, who replyed that they carry only things Pana-Canada has. so... I guess we will have to get them south of the border. =/
is there any info on the Cinema mode? is it 24p or something else?

Do you think this will be HD cam? after all it's processing 1Megapixel frames, so... 1mega= 720p ..?

you know that the most expensive part of the HD cam are the lense, to have affordable HD cam we need to have small CCDs to have the optics small and inexpensive, and this will keep the cam small too... so I think Pana has been going in that direction for some time now. The fact that they did not accept the HD 720i on miniDV mpeg2 as standard, may mean they have some other compression in mind. I just keep my fingers crossed that this will be the cam that does it =) (at least for 720p).

Oh..., it's got a crystal engine as the GS100. That's good news.Actually, that's a down right lie. The GS100 was the successor.

I have problems with PDF files. I ussually view them/print them out from an Internet cafe.

My fingers are crossed for larger CCDs, manual low shutter speeds, and see-through---I mean, that IR night mode. :-))

don't get your hopes up.. :)
you probably realize that the single photo sensors will be probably the same, and the CCD is larger because they have slapped more sensors on the CCD....
so.. I don't think there will be a change in the lux coming from the new CCD
actually.. there may be improvement from the larger lens and the crystal engine :)

oh.. about the x-ray... IR shooting, It would be nice not to have to remove manually the ICF filter ;)

You're right. I won't get my hopes up---as long as this GS400 will be a better cam than the GS100. This is all that counts. Though I'm wondering what the Japanese will get this summer? A GS500? :-))

...Though I'm wondering what the Japanese will get this summer?

Probably the limited edition BLACK or WHITE version with Magic Strap, Smooth Color Night Mode, Hot Shoe and Crystal Engine SE :-))

Or probably something smaller and lighter than the GS100.

Whatever body color, size, or weight it may be, it's still going to be SD.