The PV-GS 400 is the video camera I surely recommend for anyone who wants to have a camcorder which in my opinion is small but not to small, great value for the money and most of all fantastic in video quality performance and also very useable manual functions.

A replacement to of the PV-DV953 the GS400 is a great improvement, even though I can clearly say that its predecessor was already a good camcorder for its time. For three 1/4 inch CCDs, this camera produces stunningly great video and excellent in good and even in low light conditions. The colors of the videos are vibrant and indeed well balanced. You will notice however that it will begin to loose it luster as your lighting conditions generally deteriorate. I realized this when using the camera to cover the Chingay Parade early this year.

Lens
As with most of the Panasonic’s 3 CCD camcorders, the GS400 comes with the usual Leica Dicomar Lens with a focal length of 3.3-39.6 mm. The superior glass is renowned for its quality performance and also sizeable for a camera this size.

Lighting
With a pop up flash that is found immediately behind the focus ring you are able to set the flash to various modes including forced mode, off and automatic. It would have been really nice if Panasonic could have added a video light with an output of about 3 watts, which I am sure, would prove immensely helpful in low lighting situations.

Design Plus Points
The top loading mechanism is indeed a great design element especially for a camera this good in the event you are shooting with a tripod and needed to change tapes. The rubbery grip is a great design and allows you a comfortable grip while shooting. The zoom toggle is also strategically placed and also allows you comfortable control over the zoom function. Right behind the zoom lever is also the photo button which is also very well placed in terms of design and layout by the designers from Panasonic. The recording button that Panasonic has included at the body frontal position is also a plus plus point of which I have a lot to brag about in terms of handling and shooting abilities. Alas, the day has come that you get a consumer priced camera with professional features.

Manual Zoom
The zoom ring on the GS400 is not that bad but does take quite a fair bit of practicing. The zoom works with a small sensor however I realize that you will have a big problem when you want to apply a slow zoom as it is impossible to do this with the zoom ring. I can clearly say that in this area the Sony HC1000 does a hell of a better job. So if you want to really get a slow zoom I suggest you using the ZOOM rocker instead will definitely prove more effective. You will love the zoom rocker on the GS400 and it would have been surely a great plus again for Panasonic if they could have introduced this ability to their manual zoom ring.

Manual Control
The manual functions on the GS400 are really something to brag about, especially in the case where a consumer grade camcorder is sold in this price category. All this can be done via the hybrid ring or focus ring found on the lens. Every time you activate the button to a specific mode the ring allows you to quickly make the adjustments either to the exposure, shutter, manual focusing or zoom. There is also an Auto exposure lock feature via a switch found below the focus and shutter buttons. This allows you to lock the settings of the shutter and aperture and white balance that you have set allowing you then only control over the zoom and focus controls. The hybrid ring beats any kind of touch screen control and which is the very reason why the GS400 beats Sony’s HC1000 hands down in this area.

Cons
The one thing I discovered annoying about the GS400 is that when you try to shoot mid level angle and use the recording button situated at the frontal of the camera you would need to have the LCD screen flip upwards to view your composition and because of this the LCD screen will almost definitely get in your way in activating the buttons for your manual zoom and aperture shutter controls.

Another setback I realize is that the minimum shutter speed on the GS400 is 1/50 of which is a pity especially when you want to play with the shutter controls to achieve more creative results. This is where the Sony HC1000 reigns over the GS400 with their ability to shoot right down to 1/4 frames per second.

I also realized that if you are not experience enough, you will find that you the light meter and infrared sensor which is situated at the bottom of the lens can get in a the way especially for those with larger fingers.

Still Images
Using Pixel Shifting technology that you can also find in the JVC camcorders, the GS400 allows the user the record up to 4 mega pixels stills with a resolution of up to 2288 X 1788 pixels. The technology combines the pixels of each of the CCD to produce this. Stills recorded with the GS400 is still decent enough to use but I would still recommend a dedicated digital still camera if you need the quality for zooming in during post production.

Conclusion
I am very proud and happy to note that compared to the Sony HC1000, of which is also equipped with 3 1/4 inch CCDs, the GS400 is definitely my choice in terms of performance and also pricing. Furthermore in terms of pricing, the GS400 is also cheaper off the shelf.