Panasonic NV-GS70B review

Traditional wisdom has it that if you're a professional videomaker you're better off with a camcorder using three CCDs. Single-CCD models are the reserve of the domestic user and enthusiast. But three CCDs have always come at a considerable premium, costing well over £1,000, where decent DV camcorders now cost little more than £500. Panasonic has decided to change all that. Priced the same as other companies' premium single-chip camcorders, the NV-GS70B is a courageous release, undercutting Panasonic's own NV-MX500B flagship by over £300.

But it's not just inexpensive: the NV-GS70B is also amazingly small, almost vying with super-minis like Canon's MV5i for diminutiveness. Despite the tiny size, there's little compromise on features. Like Panasonic's more expensive three-chip models, the NV-GS70B sports a high-quality Leica Dicomar lens with a manual focus ring. Particularly impressive is the full complement of ports, although many functions are combined. Behind one plastic cover are FireWire and S-Video ports, both of which are bidirectional. Another cover hides USB for pulling off still images, a combined headphone socket and an AV mini-jack for stereo audio and composite video - again bidirectional - and a wired remote jack that doubles as a powered mic connection.

So what's the real benefit of the trio of CCDs? In a nutshell, colour clarity. The primary colour channels are separated out and handled by an individual chip each, which makes for less crosstalk. That's the theory, and most three chippers do in fact offer superior colour fidelity - Sony's VX2000 is hard to beat, for example. Recently, high-end single-chip models have put up stiff opposition - for example Sony's TRV60 (see issue 106, p83) - but only against the most budget-oriented three-CCD units.

When it comes to image quality, the NV-GS70B definitely fits into the latter category. It's capable of shooting video a cut above most similarly priced single-chip models, but it does have its flaws. Lightly coloured areas lose definition when brightly lit and can take on a shimmering aura in bright sunlight. Overall, though, colour reproduction in daylight is generally accurate and otherwise more faithful than even excellent single chippers like the TRV60. Apart from the bright light flaw, it was also impossible to differentiate from the latter in terms of detail - another area where camcorders like the TRV60 hold their own. The NV-GS70B's autofocus was responsive and image stabilisation adequate, but not as good as Sony's electronic stabiliser or the superb optical system used in Canon's top models like the XM2. Indoors, the Panasonic was even more commendable. Little blooming around reds was evident and the overall colour fidelity was good. The camera also seemed capable of maintaining detail and colour in relatively low light.

As a digital stills camera, the NV-GS70B sports a resolution of 1,536 x 1,152. SD Memory is used for storage, with an 8MB card supplied. While image quality is acceptable, unlike the TRV60 it can't compete with dedicated stills cameras. Not only is the resolution lower, it clearly involves interpolation, as each individual CCD only offers 540,000 pixels. This is more than enough for shooting video, but is only worthy of occasional use for digital photography, so you'd still want a standalone digital camera for any photography requiring high quality.

The camcorder's settings can be altered with a relatively user-friendly combination of menu button and dial, where rotation cycles you through menus and a press chooses a selection. In manual mode, this can also be used to set white balance mode, shutter and iris. There are five AE settings, including the usual sports and portrait modes. You can also choose progressive video mode, cinema mode and a digital zoom up to 500x, which is little more than a gimmick. The 10x optical zoom is more realistic, but limited when Canon's mid-range single-chip models offer twice that. There are 13 digital effects and two can be applied at once, although only negative, sepia, black and white, and solarise may be combined with one of the other nine.