Product Reviews

Panasonic's NV-GS300 features sleek body styling and improved features over last year's models - just take the impressive higher-performance Optical Image Stabilisation, for example. The NV-GS300 sits just below the NV-GS500 in the range and, as with its siblings, AV inputs are conspicuous by their absence.

However, unlike the almost-identical NV-GS280, this model has DV-inputs. Aside from that, it's a well-built model that handles superbly. Its 2.7in colour LCD isn't the largest screen on the market, but it does a good job of displaying its widescreen images properly. The same can't be said of the small, non-tilting 0.33in colour viewfinder, which isn't as user friendly.

When shooting in handheld mode, the main power switch, function dial, integral mini-joystick control, record button and menu buttons are all nicely positioned. The small zoom toggle sits on top of the body, and this doubles as an audio-playback volume control. The Photo Shoot button, used for taking digital stills to be written to the optional SD memory card, is nearby.

The GS300's external connection points are cleverly concealed at two locations on the body. The first can be found under a flap at the front-right side of the camcorder, where there's an external microphone input socket as well as an AV socket to which a special breakout lead carrying composite video and audio signals is connected. The second is revealed when you open the LCD screen, where you'll find the four-pin FireWire (DV) socket, and a Mini-B USB 2 socket used to copy digital stills to and from an SD card that slots into the underside of the camera. Although DV input and output is a feature of this model, there's no AV input facility, implying that Panasonic assumes that users no longer seek to convert and re-record analogue video sources to DV tape or forward to the Mac via FireWire.

Manual controls are provided for white balance, focus and shutter, although making such changes while recording is a tedious affair with Panasonic's new mini-joystick controller. Not only is the joystick tiny (positioned as it is in the centre of the main function

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dial at the rear of the unit), but it's also quite difficult to use while keeping one eye on menu navigation prior to making the appropriate selection. In fact, so awkward is this facility to use that it's easy to see many users sticking with auto recording mode.

Whether shooting in auto or manual operating modes, the camcorder is fast and responsive to changing light conditions, such as where sunlight streams through the branches of trees or where a bleached white sky would otherwise dominate the foreground detail of a sequence of images. This model also features a backlight exposure mode, which is intended to override underexposed foreground when positioned in front of high-white objects such as bright light coming in through a window immediately behind.

In all cases, the camcorder retained depth, colour and resolution to a pleasing degree, thanks in large part to the three 1/6in CCDs that each produce an effective resolution of 630,000 pixels. Despite having the advantage of a Leica Dicomar 10:1 optical zoom lens (700x digital), the manner in which the camcorder creates its 16:9 widescreen images is open to question - especially when considering the fact that the GS300 offers 3.1 megapixel stills. It should be assumed that the extra pixels would be put to good use for widescreen images, but this appears not to be the case. The additional pixels appear to be reserved only for a very good optical image stabilisation feature instead.

The result is that the GS300 produces a cropped and squeezed image that has the appearance of being widescreen, even though the 16:9 image is slightly wider than its 4:3 counterpart. The result is that it slices quite a lot off the top and bottom of the standard image, too. This is somewhat disappointing. When compared with identical recordings made by Sony's DCR-HC96E, it's clear that the latter produces more faithful widescreen images.

In general, though, the GS300 produces excellent pictures in both video and stills modes, with vibrant well-defined colours and a more than acceptable contrast ratio in situations where images contain areas of light and dark. In lower-light indoor settings, however, this DV camera produces slight picture noise.

Sound quality is good, with clear separation when recording in optimum conditions. It boasts a Wind Cut feature, which is intended to minimise the impact of slight wind across the microphone's main pickup, but is doesn't manage to do so to any spectacular degree.

Despite the concerns over widescreen and the superfluous 700x digital zoom, the Panasonic NV-GS300 is an excellent choice for both the first-time camcorder buyer and upgrader, as it offers great value for money.