Panasonic AG-DVX100B Mini DV Camcorder

• Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 4 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 9 stars

  great camera

  by BKnize on July 3, 2006

  Pros: lots of great fine tuning, COMFORTABLE weight, pro audio abilities (and phantom power), very sharp LCD (good for focusing)

  Cons: could use more physical controls

  Summary: The people who reviewed this product from CNET said that the learning curve for this camera is pretty steap, and it is IF you're not all that in to ...

  Read more

  Summary: The people who reviewed this product from CNET said that the learning curve for this camera is pretty steap, and it is IF you're not all that in to cameras. This camera is designed for people that want to do profesional looking videos. Yes, they DO film TV shows and comercials with this camera (like Wild Boyz [if you wanted to see what the picture quality looks like]). So, if you're looking to step-up a consumer style camera to THIS ONE, than YES, the learning curve is steap.
  
  My neighbor (who makes comercials for a living) was trying to convince me that HD was the way to go (as far as a good LONG TERM investment is concerned). In all honesty, it probably IS, but I find that this camera shoots very clearly for my purposes, PLUS I don't have to buy any new equipment to import my SD (standard definition) footage onto my computer (you'd need to do some upgrading if you went the HD road). The picture quality is fantastic with this camera, and it reproduces colors extremely well. All you need to do is white balance it (just by hitting a button in the front of the camera), and everything is perfect from there. If not, you can always fine tune your picture (and trust me, there's much you can fine tune in this camera).
  
  With all of that said, i guess my only major qualm would be the shortage of physical controls on the camera itself. It CAN be tedious to go through the menu and fine-tune your picture that way, but like I said before, all you really need to do is white balance your picture and your set. There ARE physical controls for IRIS, SHUTTER, AUDIO LEVELS and more...
  
  This last paragraph is my reason for chosing standard definition (SD) over high definition (HD), so you can skip this if you don't care to here my reasons why (this doesn't really have anything to do with the camera). So anyway, like I said, I chose an SD camera over HD, and the following is why. First of all, much of my work I export to DVD, and thus far there are no DVDs that will accept HD format (there WILL be, and it's called Blue Ray [or whatever]). Even if there were HD DVDs, I have yet to see any HD DVD players. I have only heard of one (but i'm sure there will be more to come, since I just saw some movies that were put to Blue Ray at Best Buy today). But even at THAT, you need to find a way to put it onto your computer for editting, and you need to find softwear that will preserve the clarity of HD video. All of this is too much money to spend for me, and plus HD is still an emerging form of video, so if I were you, I'd wait and just stick with the standard definition.

  Show less

  10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Great Camera, you get more that what you pay for

  by ronkhmps on February 4, 2008

  Pros: Cheap price, light, high SD quality, great low light performance

  Cons: No HD and no 16:9 chip

  Summary: I have had this camera for over a year and all I can say is it's great. of course you can find HD camcorder such Sony FX-1 with almost ...

  Read more

  Summary: I have had this camera for over a year and all I can say is it's great. of course you can find HD camcorder such Sony FX-1 with almost same price but this camera is an actual Pro camera.

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  This is a great camera. The 25p mode is extremely useful for professional application and editing.

  by big-thinking on January 15, 2007

  Pros: Both 25p and 50i mode available. Easy standalone and multicamera use. Affordable pricing.

  Cons: No variable framerate for slowmotion stuff like AG-HVX200.

  Summary: I use two of these cameras in my company www.040-itv.nl for all TV and DVD productions. Using both 50i and 25p depending on the desired effect. Motion, resolution ...

  Read more

  Summary: I use two of these cameras in my company www.040-itv.nl for all TV and DVD productions. Using both 50i and 25p depending on the desired effect. Motion, resolution and brightness differ depending on the selected mode. I also use the wide angle conversion lens on one camera. So I can get even closer to the object. Compared to most consumer models this camera hardly displays any noise artifacts. Even during low lux shooting. The automatic presets look great, but everything can also be manually adjusted and saved for easy access. I like the multi-camera features. They make it easy for one person to operate two cameras. The pricing is simply amazing.

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  For videographers who know "manual" control

  by feldmandigital on June 1, 2008

  Pros: Image Control, XLR inputs, CCD size, Professional Features, Large LCD, Clean Zoom, Good For Any Application

  Cons: May take some time to learn

  Summary: Consider this for people who know what they are doing when behing this powerful camcorder. This will allow you to take full advantage of manual controls over the image and ...

  Read more

  Summary: Consider this for people who know what they are doing when behing this powerful camcorder. This will allow you to take full advantage of manual controls over the image and the audio. Overall, a great video camera for the experienced.

  Show less

• 9 stars

  The most versitile camera in the standard definition market.

  by Trevor Colley on March 5, 2007

  Pros: Excellent image quality in light or dark, the progressive modes are very good, and the build is very solid and well thought out.

  Cons: Still no high def, auto focus is a little noisy, and there are a limited number of lenses for it.

  Summary: For many months I was debating over whether I should get the vx2100 or the Dvx. I eventually decided that this camera is superior enough to the vx to out ...

  Read more

  Summary: For many months I was debating over whether I should get the vx2100 or the Dvx. I eventually decided that this camera is superior enough to the vx to out weigh its price tag. I bought it form Blue Stripe Photo for $2600 as opposed to the vx for $2000, and someone I know bought the vx. From comparing the two cameras, I noticed the significantly better audio qualiy and an absence of the typical red lines that appear in the outline of vx footage. Whith this quick though I conclude that the DVX is the best prosumer camera on the market thus far.

  Show less

  0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

See pricing