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Review: ...The Panasonic NV DS38 Mini DV features list lacks nothing and yet the camera is simple to operate, mentally and physically. Manual control is comprehensive, effective and again, easy to get to grips with. The lens has 15x optical zoom - you'll be pushed to find more at twice the price [forget digital zoom unless you're in the surveillance business]. DV in/out makes editing and mastering back to tape a breeze - it's Firewire, so download speeds are max. Stills to the SD card make it a great double-act. Obviously you don't get the top-end resolution that a dedicated still camera gives but then you've got that 15x zoom to get in close where even high-res stills cameras offer only 3x or so. My favourite lenses on 35mm film cameras are 28mm or shorter, so the standard lens on the camcorder is a bit long at an equiv angle of view of about 40mm. My camcorder lives with a x0.5 wide-angle adapter on it which solves the problem - but watch out for cut-off. The rim of a filter will be very nearly sharp. My camera has done a lot of travelling and, with reasonable care, is standing up well. It's very light, so hand-held shots at all but the long end of the zoom are easy to keep steady. I never use the lcd screen, only the viewfinder, for shooting but even so, it's easy - because using this camera is so much fun - to run down the standard battery before you know it. Get a second, at least double the capacity, and a car carger kit. My whole camcorder kit, along with phone, phrase-book, pda and misc bits, lives in a small, £8 shoulder bag. My 35mm gear is rusting away in the attic. |
Digital Cameras
