Panasonic NV DS30 - Your Reviews ? [Archive]

Ravenger

09-01-2003, 09:53

I've got the DS29B - exactly the same as the 30, except no DV-IN.

It's nice and light, and comfortable to hold.

Picture quality is excellent, DV capture onto my PC is flawless - no dropped frames.

I like the tape loading mechanism - hidden behind the screen, which is much better than the bottom loaders you see on other cameras.

The buttons on top of the camera aren't very sensitive, you have to hold them down to get them to work.

My only real gripe is with the audio. The built in stereo mike seems to pick up sound behind the camera better than in front. I'm thinking about buying an external directional mike.

The 0-Lux mode is quite good - only B&W though, and the built in light is a bit of a gimmic - it's not really powerful enough.

The battery supplied only lasts for about 45 mins. You need a bigger battery really. I bought mine from here:

http://www.sabahoceanic.com/vpanasonic.html

£45 a pair of 4 hour batteries delivered, much cheaper than buying from the UK.

Overall I'm very pleased with it, and it's great for making video CDs of family movies. I wish I'd bought the DS30 for the DV-IN though.

Stu Ward

09-01-2003, 09:57

I ended up buying one mate, and i think they are well worth the dough

£350 ish

but then you'll need

Tapes
Extra battery - the one supplied only lasts an hour
Firewire card - to put video and images onto you PC - if you wish

Really chuffed with mine

First use was to film the local "Charity Stars in You Eyes"
So as you can imagine, high volumes, lots of flashing lights and stuff

The camera dealt with all this very well, hardly ever losing focus beacuse of the frequent change in lighting direction.
Sound is excellent, however i did pick up a bit of adjacent crowd chatter ( could have been because of the setting i had the audio on )

Quality must have been good as i have had orders for more than 60 VHS copies (and there still coming in )

All in all an excellent purchase if you plan to use frequently

Stu

09-01-2003, 10:07

That's a good price. I got mine from http://www.letsgodigital.co.uk/ for a whole £1 more :mad:

:p

Well impressed, although I haven't done any proper editing with it as yet. Picture looked really good when I hooked it up to the telly/PC.

Vman

09-01-2003, 10:09

Thanks guys,

Think I'll buy the camcorder from PRC Direct.

I can pick up the spare tapes form wherever, and the batteries from the link (though they are out of stock at the moment).

a question I now have is with the software, how good is it ? I have read that ppl rave about pinnacle studio, as I haven't got a firewire card, Is the pinnacle deluxe (inc card/cable) a good buy ?

Stu Ward

09-01-2003, 10:28

I bought a firewire card from PCworld that came with Videowave software

Getting the data off the DVTape is easy. Editing is a whole different ball game. I'm nowhere near sorting that out yet

I also have Adobe Premiere 6.0 . Thats seems way to advanced for me as its semi pro.

I need to sit with it for a couple of days

Anyone know of Adobe Premiere for dummies book ?

Stu

Alan. b

09-01-2003, 10:39

Very impressed, there isn't really anything else extra I can add to the above really.

I am in the process of editing the footage shot on the camcorder, Its a slow process but I am getting there.

Mr Dubby

09-01-2003, 10:42

I had a Panny NVDB something or other and it died after 3 years! The tape loading mechanism locked and the repair was £120.00 and that was without £30 delivery ! It was never the same after repair and went back to the shop 5 times and in the end they wrote it off saying it needed a new main board with total £525.00 repair bill - no thank you!

I'm looking to get another and obviously shy away from Panny - those who've bought or who are buying, are there any reasonably priced (circa £500) cams with the Digi pic facility

Stu Ward

09-01-2003, 10:47

Originally posted by Alan. b
Very impressed, there isn't really anything else extra I can add to the above really.

I am in the process of editing the footage shot on the camcorder, Its a slow process but I am getting there.

What software are you using Alan ?

I really want to do this, and i have about 60Gig (4 hours) of footage on my HD. I want to edit it to make a respectable DVD. The VHS copies i'm making are straight off the tape

Alan. b

09-01-2003, 10:59

Originally posted by Stu Ward
What software are you using Alan ?

At the moment I am using the Windows Movie Maker which I am more than happy with, I have only got 40 minutes worth to play with, but 4 hours :shocker:

Stu Ward

09-01-2003, 11:01

Is that the one that comes with XP ?

Stu

Alan. b

09-01-2003, 11:09

Yes, although you can download it from download.com. Do a search for Windows Movie Maker :)

reptar

09-01-2003, 11:14

More helpful info here.

http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=139082&highlight=panasonic

:thumbs:

zaheerm

09-01-2003, 11:31

Originally posted by Stu Ward
I ended up buying one mate, and i think they are well worth the dough

£350 ish

...etc...

Quality must have been good as i have had orders for more than 60 VHS copies (and there still coming in )

All in all an excellent purchase if you plan to use frequently

Stu

SHould have taken a look at letsgodigital.co.uk, I think its slightly cheaper there.

But still, you got a bargain as I paid 350 quid for the DS29B only 6 months ago. The camcorder is great and the picture quality is excellent :) No complaints here:

Buy your camcorder case from Argos, 14.99 :)
and camcorder tapes from www.pricebusters.org.uk.

09-01-2003, 11:52

Originally posted by zaheerm
SHould have taken a look at letsgodigital.co.uk, I think its slightly cheaper there.

But still, you got a bargain as I paid 350 quid for the DS29B only 6 months ago. The camcorder is great and the picture quality is excellent :) No complaints here:

Buy your camcorder case from Argos, 14.99 :)
and camcorder tapes from www.pricebusters.org.uk.

letsgodigital is loads more expensive :p

stoneranger

09-01-2003, 13:57

what about the NV-DS29 from insight.com/uk ? £281 inc vat

is the DS30 worth the extra £70 ?

09-01-2003, 14:04

The DS30 has got the digital in. All important if you want to transfer your edited footage back to DVtape. Cheap(ish) storage as well.

Ravenger

09-01-2003, 15:21

Originally posted by Stu Ward
II also have Adobe Premiere 6.0 . Thats seems way to advanced for me as its semi pro.

I need to sit with it for a couple of days

Anyone know of Adobe Premiere for dummies book ?

Stu

Premiere is very easy to use. I've edited a couple of short ( < 10mins) sequences for video CD, and I've managed to get captioning, transistions, audio fades, etc. all going in only couple of sessions. I've not used it before, either.

I bought a Lucent firewire card from Dabs for approx £13. It even came with the firwire lead. (I think PC world would sell the lead alone for that!). I also registered Scenalyser, as its simply the best DV capture program there is. Takes all the hassle out of editing, as it can split the capture up into individual scenes.

ColinP

09-01-2003, 15:25

Probably more suited to the hardware forum... Moving

Paul

09-01-2003, 15:37

Originally posted by Dave Metcalf
The DS30 has got the digital in. All important if you want to transfer your edited footage back to DVtape. Cheap(ish) storage as well.

...or you can have it "enabled".... Just do a google search..

The feature exists within the camera, but was disabled for (i think) the uk/european market.

09-01-2003, 15:43

Paul Scott

09-01-2003, 17:40

i've had the ds29 on order from insight for the last 10 days. they keep bumping up the estimated delivery date every day so when you think its in tomorrow think again.

Me being an impatient person went and ordered the ds30 from letsgodigital today and was told I should receive it tomorrow.:clap:

09-01-2003, 17:44

I got mine the day after I ordered and that was in the middle of the christmas rush. Quality service.

Vman

09-01-2003, 19:56

Originally posted by Dave Metcalf
I got mine the day after I ordered and that was in the middle of the christmas rush. Quality service.

Dave, Where did you buy it from ? At the moment, I have 3 choices, letsgodigital, prcdirect and rgbdirect. I will be giving them all a call tomorrow to check stock levels, but having searched thru the forums, ppl seem to have bad experiences with rgb and prc, so I am edging towards letsgodigital (though i've yet to do a search on them)

09-01-2003, 20:18

letsgodigital.

zaheerm

09-01-2003, 21:11

Originally posted by Vman
....ppl seem to have bad experiences with rgb and prc, so I am edging towards letsgodigital (though i've yet to do a search on them)

Lets go DIgital comes well recommended from me too . I got next day delivery. No hassle whatsoever :) Top service. :thumbs:

Paul Scott

09-01-2003, 22:08

Originally posted by Vman
Dave, Where did you buy it from ? At the moment, I have 3 choices, letsgodigital, prcdirect and rgbdirect. I will be giving them all a call tomorrow to check stock levels, but having searched thru the forums, ppl seem to have bad experiences with rgb and prc, so I am edging towards letsgodigital (though i've yet to do a search on them)

i'll let you know how good they are tomorrow as i ordered one earlier this afternoon.

Vman

10-01-2003, 09:28

Gone for it with Letsgodigital - very helpful chap on the phone. Should be with me on Monday.

Got some tapes from 7dayshop, pity the batteries are out of stock at the moment though.

Will get the firewire card from Scan on Monday.

reptar

10-01-2003, 16:08

Originally posted by Paul
...or you can have it "enabled".... Just do a google search..

The feature exists within the camera, but was disabled for (i think) the uk/european market.

As far as I am aware the newer DV cameras without DV in cannot be enabled by updating the firmware or using widgets.
The EU started slapping wrists and threatening some very heavy fines, and the manufacturers all toed the line.
The tax is different on cameras within the EU depending on wether they have DV in or out enabled.
The EU said that if a new camera could be DV in enabled it would be taxed as if it was a DV in camera.

:)

Paul Scott

10-01-2003, 16:09

:clap: camera delivered today. Should be working must resist the temptation to start filming everything in sight.

zaheerm

10-01-2003, 22:27

Originally posted by Paul
...or you can have it "enabled".... Just do a google search..

IIRC to have it enabled costs around 50 quid , which is (or was) the price difference between the DS29 and DS39. Well , the last time I looked anyway...

Paul Scott

11-01-2003, 18:29

after playing for this camera for the last, I definetly would recommend this to everyone on the forum.

Vman

11-01-2003, 18:39

well, I can't wait now. the worst bit is that although my panny is arriving on Monday, I ordered my tapes from 7dayshop, so I'm facing a dilema.

Do I go and buy a tape at rip off high street cost or wait a week or so before playing with my new toy.