Allan, is it possible that the so-called improved noise reduction would give you a less grainy picture in "color night view" mode, even though the lux level has not gone down? Or is "improved" used generically and not in relation to the gs100 specifically? (Hah! Even about camcorders we get into "parsing" sentences!)

Pany Japan normally does direct comparison with the immediately preceding model (Power Upped Crystal Engine against previous Crystal Engine; GS100 widescreen against GS400 widescreen, etc.) so I think GS100 is the specific reference.

Nothing new is written about the Smooth Color Night Mode so I guess it should be the same as before. No gain, no grain :-)). But who knows. The fact that Smooth Color Night Mode is one of the DSP's contained in the Crystal Engine, it could have been tweaked as well.

Supervideo is now claiming the retail price of the gs400 will be $1199 and that there will be 1000+ US dealer locations. If true, sounds like Panasonic is convinced this cam is going to blow away the competition and will sell in enough quantity to give returns on a lower price. At $1199, Allan, you may have to buy before Christmas (or if the price is higher in Japan, get someone to buy you one in the US)! And we all know what Tommy will be doing.

The question is whether or not N.A. gets the black GS400. :) I wonder if I would purchase a Japanese cam solely for the color... Well history tells me that I bought a Japanese MX1000 opposed to the N.A. DV852 only because of a difference in side LCD (2.5" vs. 3.5"). That and Japanese menus are a great deterent for relatives and friends borrowing your cam.

"Can I borrow your camcorder?"

- "Sure, but its all in Japanese"

"Why would you buy a camcorder from Japan?"

- "I don't know what I was thinking.. (heh heh)"



I wonder what a Black Mamba goes for used?

<<<-- Originally posted by Patricia Kim : Supervideo is now claiming the retail price of the gs400 will be $1199-->>>

This would be awesome. I will be updating my obsolete ZR20, and I was originally thinking in the DVC30 or PDX10 range. But if all the stuff said about the GS400 is true, I will be happy: wide screen, cinema gamma, frame mode. Features from the higher end cameras are slowly filtering into the consumer end. I can only imagine the cool consumer cameras we'll have in five years.

Plus, as opposed to the DVC30 or GL2, lenses for the GS400 seem to be a lot cheaper and more available. I'm trying to think ahead, and see what I can reasonably afford to add to the system in the near future. That's why cameras like the DVX100 are out, because I could probably scrape up the money for such a higher end cam, but I could never get more batteries, lights, better mics, etc. I would hate buying something where I couldn't afford the accessories.

So far, if I'm reading the rumors correctly, the two biggest minuses to the GS400 (for my needs at least) are possible low-light issues (I shoot mostly suspense/horror/experimental stuff) and the lack of XLR. Plus, it's not as sexy-looking to me as the DVC30.

My fear is that there won't be a U.S. release for the GS400. Keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, in the next month or so...

Oh, I think they're going to release something this summer. The question is will it be crippled or not.

BTW, the DV953, GS400 and DVC30 have the same filter thread size - 43mm. So, lenses and filters can be shared.

Panasonic has a new ad page up (http://ad.impress.co.jp/tie-up/panasonic-dvc0406/index.htm) with two links (red dots on the right under the first picture on the page) - one to the original Panasonic page cited here earlier and the other to what is supposed to be a review on June 28 of the cam. Just FYI.

Canada Dealers ?
 

If this cam comes to North America, will there be any Canadian dealers ?

the sad truth for Canadians.
 

There should be, but very few Canadian dealers carried the PV-DV953 (MX5). In Vancouver, I was only aware of 1 dealer stocking/selling this cam. Another place would only get one in if the customer made a special order. Another thing, the PV-DV953 sold for about $1000 Canadian more than what it was selling for in the USA, like at B&H. If the GS400 will follow a similar path here in Canada, you will see Canadians once again getting their's from places like B&H. Furthermore, the USA will most likely have these silver GS400s before us.

If the PV version does come stripped, you might as well get Allan to get you a Japanese version, and use the GS PAL manual as a guide.

Buying From B&H ?
 

When buying a cam such as this from say B&H across the border, what is the deal with warranty and such ? Will they honor warranties in Canada or does it have to go back to B&H ? How do these companies in the US treat say a international customer ?

The gs400 is listed (no photo, and with a note that full specs were not available at time of printing) in B&H's Summer 2004 catalog. It's not on their web site yet. You can always ask before purchase about how the warranty would work for your particular situation - just don't ask one of the sleazy dealers, as you won't be able to count on the veracity of any assurances they might give you.

Patricia kim wrote
 

"The gs400 is listed (no photo, and with a note that full specs were not available at time of printing) in B&H's Summer 2004 catalog. It's not on their web site yet. You can always ask before purchase about how the warranty would work for your particular situation - just don't ask one of the sleazy dealers, as you won't be able to count on the veracity of any assurances they might give you."

Best news all day!

Thanks,
Michael

Unlike Canon, you will most likely have to send it to the US for warranty work. However, You can always e-mail Panasonic Canada and askl them. Some Panasonics do come with an international warranty, though. If you do buy from the US, all you pay is shipping, GST and PST. A brokerage fee only comes into the picture when you use the lowest level of shipping.

Panasonic has the GS400 up on the US website for $1499.95. Panasonic Store. However, some of the specs are incorrect.

Wonder if Pana Japan realizes how lame Pana US? I think I even remember someone wanting to get a petition going to try to get Matsushita to upgrade the Pana US web site. Anyway, now Pana US is where the Pana Euro sites were several months ago. That's progress!