Panasonic PV-GS85 Digital Camcorder - Design
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Design
The design of the Panasonic PV-GS85 has its good points and bad points. The overall look and feel of the camcorder is good. This camcorder measures 3.09" by 2.86" by 5.36" and weighs about one pound. Overall, it's a very good size, which makes it very easy to travel with. The body is black and silver plastic, and the 2.7 " LCD display flips out from the left side of the body.
The front of this camcorder holds the 32x optical zoom, f/1.8-f/3.7 lens with a focal length of 2.3mm-73.6mm. Typically, Panasonic uses a high-quality Leica lens in their camcorders, but not with this one. They opted for a much cheaper alternative, which is to be expected in a budget camcorder. Next to the lens is the LED video light - great for shooting night video. Just below the LED light is the white balance sensor, which works to automatically adjust the white balance settings according to the lighting conditions.
The sides of this camcorder are pretty bare. The right side sports a hidden A/V jack, an auto/manual/focus toggle, camera strap, and the hatch for the MiniDV tapes. The other side of this camcorder sports only the flip-out LCD display with a speaker hidden behind it.
The top of the PV-GS85 is pretty basic. Here, you'll find the zoom toggle, on/off button, and the eject button for the MiniDV hatch. You'll also find the still-camera shutter button on the top of this camcorder.
Most of the controls are on the back of this device, which is also where you'll find the biggest design flaw of the PV-GS85. The battery pack is located on the back of the device, and underneath the battery pack is the DC in, FireWire, and USB port. A problem arises in situations where your battery is running low, and you want to use the DC input to run power to the camcorder. In this situation you have to stop shooting the video in order to get to the DC input - very inconvenient! Another problem with this design is that you can't upload video via FireWire to a computer unless you have access to an external power source, because the FireWire port is underneath the battery. Why Panasonic didn't put these three inputs underneath the flip-out display, which is an empty space on this camcorder, is beyond me.
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