New Panasonic GS120, is it good for making my first movie?

[mast990]

Hi everyone,

I need a feedback regarding the 3CCD Panasonic GS120. Is it good for making my first movie? What do you think about this camcorder?

Thank you in advance.

Arthur[/b]

 

[Digigenic]

Well,
What kind of a story do you intend to tell with this camcorder?
Are you able to shoot some test footage to see if it can produce the desired look of the film you envision? You are aware of consumer grade digital camcorders' inherent inability to shoot clean images in low light? So, if you’re shooting dark scenes without a strong source of light to stimulate the itty bitty sensors in that camcorder, you might want to reconsider.

I'm familiar with the GS120’s stats; it's considered one of the highest valued point and shoot camcorders on the market at the moment, primarily because it’s one of only three consumer grade camcorders, all provided by Panasonic, which employs the coveted 3 CCD technology. Of course, when shooting digital, loyalty resides in technological innovation, and as a result the highest valued camcorder can easily become mediocre within 6 to 12 months after its introduction.

As a learning tool, a point and shoot camcorder sets limitations on how you're going to develop your skills for manually controlling/setting up your camera to accomplish a specific look. Just because it's a three chip, doesn't mean it's automatically a prosumer grade camcorder.
Hopefully, at the expense of only a few mini-DV tapes you'll discover if that particular tool/medium works for you or not.

All the best... :wink:

 

[Lazlo]

I think that it is a fine camera for learning to tell a story with pictures. As a beginner, I don't think it really matters whether you have an Canon (really good camera) or a JVC (bad camera). Especially as a beginner, because you probobly wouldn't even know what to do with the features of a really expensive prosumer camera! So, its a good camera to start. Now, for storytelling it works, but I don't think it would work so well (as digigenic pointed out) for learning the more technical aspect (f-stops, shutter speeds, lighting). If you decide you like film making a lot after a movie or two, then go out and get an srt101, 201 or something for like 30$. Yeah, that's all. The lenses are pretty cheap, they go up to about probobly 75$ for a very good fast lense like, 28-135mm F-1.7-22 or something. But overall, for your purpose, you would learn lighting, and also at the same time exposure. I learned on an srt201 (still learning in fact , fun to work with). Mess with filters, lenses, films and all that fun stuff for pretty cheap.