Panasonic PV-GS31 camcorder

[auxplage]

Sorry for reposting this, but I had it in another area before I realized there was a thread dedicated to digital video. Here is my post:

I am looking to buy the Panasonic PV-GS31 camcorder for around $359. At the price of no more than $400, are there any better camcorders? I want to get serious but lack money, and to clarify this is ONLY for fun. I am only exploring film shooting and editing. After reading for awhile, I found this one to be best. Also, I only have iLife '04 for the moment, so it has to be compatible. Thanks in advance.

 

[Espnetboy3]

I have the pvgs120 and love it. Panasonic delivers a very crisp looking image with a nice gradient of colors onscreen. As for ilife it will work with imovie. Should be a ton of fun man. Good Luck

 

[jbwills]

pv-gs31

I just recieved the panasonic pv-gs31 camcorder as a wedding present. I cannot figure out how to import the video from the camcorder to my mac mini. I called panasonic and they told me it was not compatible with a mac. You can only import still pics. If this isnt true, anyone, please get back to me and tell me how to import video from my panasonic camcorder to my mac mini and the to dvd. Check this if you planned on importing video to mac. If i am wrong please help.

 

[Rod Rod]

please help.

Are you using a FireWire 4-pin to 6-pin connector? It's possible that you're using a USB cable.

 

[auxplage]

I just recieved the panasonic pv-gs31 camcorder as a wedding present. I cannot figure out how to import the video from the camcorder to my mac mini. I called panasonic and they told me it was not compatible with a mac. You can only import still pics. If this isnt true, anyone, please get back to me and tell me how to import video from my panasonic camcorder to my mac mini and the to dvd. Check this if you planned on importing video to mac. If i am wrong please help.

hmmmm . . . interesting b/c Apple's website states that all Panasonic with firewire are Mac compatible.
Hopefully other's will comment.

 

[Espnetboy3]

Its got to be mac compatible make sure your using the firewire line into the firewire port on the mini. NOT USB 2.0 because the camera comes with both wires i believe.

 

[jbwills]

panasonic pv-gs31

Ok heres what I am using. I bought a cable from the best buy and it is a geek squad(?) brand. On the camcorder it has two slots and one says dv and the other has a pic of a dot with three threelines coming out , one with an arrow in the middle(i am not too good with computer stuff, the mac mini is the first computer i have spent time(3mos) on). The cable they gave me plugs into this one, not the one labeled dv. Then it plugs into my mac mini into the port with the same symbol. There is writing on my cable which says USB mini 5-pin cable-6'. On the box it was labeled firewire. I hope this is enough info to let you help me. Do i need a cable to plug into the DV hole? Did they give me the wrong cable? Can someone give me a link or tell me how to find the right wire, or what to ask the geek squad for in best buy. Thanks for helping me out.

 

[Rod Rod]

At Best Buy the cable will cost you $20 or $30. Order one off eBay for less than $10 shipped. You need a 4-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable. What you've described is a USB cable.

Here's one that's $5.04 including shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7530197564

edit: This one has an Apple logo on it for $5 shipped:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48680&item=5787781484

 

[5300cs]

*bump* and a question:

If I dump footage from this camera onto my Mac, what will the resolution be? For example my digital camera can do 640x480 @30fps. Can this camera beat that?

Thanks

 

[Rod Rod]

If I dump footage from this camera onto my Mac, what will the resolution be? For example my digital camera can do 640x480 @30fps. Can this camera beat that?

Thanks

NTSC DV resolution is 720x480@30 frames/sec. However, that 3:2 aspect ratio is actually properly displayed at 4:3, which is kind of sort of downsampled to 640x480.

 

[LethalWolfe]

NTSC DV resolution is 720x480@30 frames/sec. However, that 3:2 aspect ratio is actually properly displayed at 4:3, which is kind of sort of downsampled to 640x480.

IIRC, the difference is due square vs non-square pixels, not due to downsampling.


Lethal

 

[Rod Rod]

IIRC, the difference is due square vs non-square pixels, not due to downsampling.


Lethal

You're right . . . I guess I was just recalling when one of my friends wondered why his video looked distorted when he exported a QuickTime movie for web distribution. I suggested that he export to a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of DV's 3:2, and all was good.

 

[5300cs]

Thanks for your answers guys

Before I unload 4 bills on the thing I wanted to make sure that the res wasn't something like 320x240 or something like that. Otherwise I'd give up.

 

[5300cs]

I got the camera, and on the side it has 2 ports: USB and one labelled DV. Sorry to be redundant here, but is DV the same as FireWire? All I need is a 4pin to 6pin FireWire cable?

There's no information on this camera and its compatibility with Macs on the web. Google leads me to this thread A guy at the Apple store said that DV had nothing to do with FireWire and that I should use USB instead.

Much confused now

 

[Rod Rod]

A guy at the Apple store said that DV had nothing to do with FireWire and that I should use USB instead.

Whoever that guy is, I feel sorry for him. If he's an employee he needs a little more training.

Yes, DV is transmitted over FireWire and all you need is a 4 pin to 6 pin cable.

edit: The USB connection is for use as a webcam (with Windows PCs) and for transferring digital still pics (which are crap on all camcorders).

 

[5300cs]

Whoever that guy is, I feel sorry for him. If he's an employee he needs a little more training.

Yes, DV is transmitted over FireWire and all you need is a 4 pin to 6 pin cable.

edit: The USB connection is for use as a webcam (with Windows PCs) and for transferring digital still pics (which are crap on all camcorders).

Thanks Rod Rod

I went in and asked for a DV to FireWire cable and the guy was like "uhhhhh. . ... .. .. " And I said "What, DV and FireWire are different?" And he said "Yeah, DV means Digital Video. They're different."

 

[5300cs]

So I popped in to the Apple Store last night and got a 4 to 6 pin FireWire cable. Plugged it into the DV port and hooked it up to my 12" PowerBook. With iMovie HD it worked flawlessly.

Thanks again for everyone's help. In case anyone else wants to know, YES this camera DOES work with the Mac.

 

[Advance The Man]

So this panny is easy to use? Is imovie easy to use? I want a simple camera to get started on for myself and my wife who knows even less bout electronics/cpts/software.

 

[5300cs]

I'm a beginer too, when it comes to video.

I just plugged it in and went. You plug in the camera, fire up iMovie, click to move the slider to import, and you can go from there.

The camera itself is really easy to use. The buttons are nicely placed and the menus are easy to use- not too many options. Good in low light, too.

 

[nbs2]

iMovie 4

So I popped in to the Apple Store last night and got a 4 to 6 pin FireWire cable. Plugged it into the DV port and hooked it up to my 12" PowerBook. With iMovie HD it worked flawlessly.

Thanks again for everyone's help. In case anyone else wants to know, YES this camera DOES work with the Mac.

Just out of curiousity, does anybody here have iMovie 4 and the gs31? I can't get imovie to acknowledge a connection (and the camera is just sitting here laughing at me). I guess it could be my firewire cable, but that seems a bit absurd - I don't see any physical damage.

 

[5300cs]

Just out of curiousity, does anybody here have iMovie 4 and the gs31?

Yes, I do.

Sorry to sound stupid (I'm new to video.) I just got a 4 to 6 pin FireWire cable, plugged one end into the camera, one end into the Mac and fired-up iMovie. In iMovie I click on the little slider and it worked perfectly. I switched to camera to view mode, not record (not sure if that made a difference or not.)

After clicking the slider over to import, the controls work perfectly with the camera. Rewind, fast forward, play and import.

Is that what you are doing? When iMovie detects the camera, it should say "Camera connected" up at the top of the blue display window.

 

[Rod Rod]

Thanks Rod Rod

I went in and asked for a DV to FireWire cable and the guy was like "uhhhhh. . ... .. .. " And I said "What, DV and FireWire are different?" And he said "Yeah, DV means Digital Video. They're different."

You're welcome. Funny story. I suppose you could have told the guy that FireWire is for lighting cigarettes.

 

[rfinger]

GS32?

All right, let me slightly change the subject. I have a GS32 (a line that seemed to have gotten discontinued to make the GS35). I really love this camera (seems that the only difference between this camera and the GS35 is 2x of optical zoom), but I'm having a tough time getting this hooked up to my mac. I have an iBook G4. I have the Firewire 4-6 pin cable , I plugged it into the right ports (heck, I'm a mac technician for a living, I think I would know how to do this), and when I go into iMovie HD, I get a message "no camera connected". I have a PC mode on this camera, switched it to it, and it didn't get anything. Switched it to the playback mode, nothing. Shouldn't the camera just get controlled by the computer when you plug it in? I know when I plug in my digital camera to it, it shuts off the camera and puts it into a mode to where the computer uses the camera. So, how do you do it with the camcorder. Does this camcorder not work? I'm calling Panasonic on Monday, but I could really use some help. We bought this to take on our honeymoon in a few weeks, and I really would like to get this up and running before then.

Thanks!!!!

 

[dollystereo]

Not to be redundant but:
ILink = IEEE1394 = DV = Firewire = Port used in macs and PCs to connect digital video cameras and transfer video.
USB doesnt do that, just to move crappy pictures.
=/
Anyone using FCP5?
Is any better than 4.5?

 

[dollystereo]

All right, let me slightly change the subject. I have a GS32 (a line that seemed to have gotten discontinued to make the GS35). I really love this camera (seems that the only difference between this camera and the GS35 is 2x of optical zoom), but I'm having a tough time getting this hooked up to my mac. I have an iBook G4. I have the Firewire 4-6 pin cable , I plugged it into the right ports (heck, I'm a mac technician for a living, I think I would know how to do this), and when I go into iMovie HD, I get a message "no camera connected". I have a PC mode on this camera, switched it to it, and it didn't get anything. Switched it to the playback mode, nothing. Shouldn't the camera just get controlled by the computer when you plug it in? I know when I plug in my digital camera to it, it shuts off the camera and puts it into a mode to where the computer uses the camera. So, how do you do it with the camcorder. Does this camcorder not work? I'm calling Panasonic on Monday, but I could really use some help. We bought this to take on our honeymoon in a few weeks, and I really would like to get this up and running before then.

Thanks!!!!

I use a Sony PD150 i put the camera in Dv editing and I select the camera VCR mode, anyway my computer recognize the camera in any mode, if its turned on.
Go to System Profiler (About this mac/more info) and see in Firewire if the camera is recognized.
Could be your Ibook.
Luck.