Panasonic NV-GS250 camcorder

Posted by T3 Online on Wed 31 Oct 2007

Time to put MiniDV out of its misery?

Poor old MiniDV. It's like a dog that's had its day, caught rabies and is just awaiting a swift bullet to the head from its owner. Tapeless models are bounding into the arena and strutting their stuff like new puppies who know just how cute they are - even though very few can stand on their own feet for long. So is there any life left in MiniDV still?

Well, this is a 3CCD model, which means the image is split into three colours (red, green and blue) and each is sent off to a dedicated sensor, so more information is captured on each frame. Supposedly this gives richer colours, better contrast and more detail.

The good news is that the technology works - colour is amazingly lush, really bursting out of the screen. Contrast is excellent, and detail in shadow areas is very good. This is a huge step forward for quality on tape.

Still image capture is also very impressive, almost competing with a dedicated snapper, and the built-in flash isn't half bad.

Alas, the extra space required for a prism to split the colours and three CCD sensors means that this is a bloater. You certainly couldn't stick this in a big pocket. However, if like us, you've got big hands, it's very comfortable to hold.

The control system is superb, with most functions accessible using your right hand while it's still gripping the 'corder, thanks to a joystick and some well-placed buttons.

This is a lovely camcorder, but costly in terms of both money and size. With JVC's tapeless 3CCD GZ-MC500 just around the corner, it's hard to recommend buying it.