Panasonic PVDV852 MiniDV Multicam Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Color LCD, Color Viewfinder & 8MB SD Memory Card

Panasonic PVDV852 MiniDV Multicam Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Color LCD, Color Viewfinder & 8MB SD Memory Card
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Product Type: Photography

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Panasonic has added Leica optics to its PV-DV852 Palmcorder digital camcorder. It uses a 1-megapixel CCD and a 2.5-inch LCD for maximum color quality. This model sports a Leica Dicomar lens with 10X zoom power. The PV-DV852 also features optical image stabilization, which avoids the image degradation of electronic stabilizers; an MPEG-4 video-clip feature for easy transfers of footage on the Web; and a Progressive PhotoShot mode that enhances still-image sharpness. In addition to capturing video on MiniDV tapes, the camcorder uses SD memory cards to store still shots, voice recordings, and Web-quality video.
Amazon.com Product Description
The PV-DV852 will appeal to amateur filmmakers and home-video enthusiasts alike because of its unique combination of features and performance. The a large 2.5-inch LCD screen and color viewfinder make things easy to see, and your shooting experience is enhanced by a 10x optical zoom, digital still capability, and a zoom mic that automatically magnifies sensitivity as you zoom in. You can also record MPEG4 movies for Internet sharing and e-mail.

Lens
With a lens developed by world-renowned lens maker Leica AG, the DV852 has an optical zoom magnification of 10x along with a 200x digital zoom, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image. The optical image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes without compromising picture quality.

Digital Stills
The camcorder has a mode called progressive photo shoot, so that images captured will not have the jagged lines of interlaced video and instead come out clear and undistorted. You can store the stills on DV tape or on the included 8 MB Secure Digital card (the DV852 is also compatible with MultiMediaCards). The convenient pop-up flash unit comes in handy for low-light environments.

Inputs and Outputs
The DV852 comes with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also called FireWire) for no-loss connections to PCs or other DV machines. By using the USB port or RS-232C serial connection, you can easily transfer your digital stills. RCA connections are used for direct viewing on a television or for VHS dubbing.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture. You'll also get excellent sound quality in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.

• 16-bit audio includes one set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
• 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary to your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.

This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12 the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

Average customer rating: 5.0 An Update... "Varanus Komodoensis"

NEC-Mitsubishi MultiSync FP1355 22" CRT Monitor Manufacturer: NEC-Mitsubishi Product Group: CE Binding: Electronics ASIN: B00005IC5Y

Amazon.com Product Description

The redesigned cabinet of the FP1355 Monitor uses considerably less deskspace than predecessor models do, while the unusual vertical cables furtherreduce desktop clutter. The semidark tint and Opticlear surface treatmentprovide a clear view of your graphics, even in sunny spaces. The optimalresolution of 1,600 x 1,200, an 85 Hz refresh rate, and the Accucolorcontrol system provide you with a flicker-free screen and crisp colorseparation.

NEC-Multisync includes a full three-year warranty on parts, labor, and thebacklight.

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

An Update..........2002-05-14

I've since bought a new graphics card (ASUS GeForce4 MX440), which has made the monitor sooooo much sharper at the higher resolutions containing more than 1600 horizontal pixels (i.e. 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 1920x1440 and 2048x1536). I didn't think a graphics card would make any difference at all to the quality of the display. Boy was I wrong. Before I said that the screen was slightly blurry looking at say 1920x1440. Now I find it is very crisp indeed, and I suddenly realised why this monitor is worth so much.
The display is still the slightest bit "shaky" at 2048x1536 @ 75Hz, it kind of quivers or hovers around a bit. This is probably because it is 75Hz and not 85 or 100Hz. Personally, I don't find that 75Hz is high enough for the amount of time I spend in front of the computer. But anyway, the "blurriness" aspect has gone completely.
The only explanation I can come up with is that when I yanked out the two-year-old old graphics card, there was a really thick layer of dust on the back of the circuit board. A few times, I'd carefully vacuumed out some of the dust from inside the computer, but I must have missed that area. Sorry NEC, if you lost any customers because of the other review.

With over 3 million pixels at my disposal, I can display two whole pages in MS Word side-by-side simultaneously, while still being able to legibly read font (Verdana) as small as size six!! Try doing THAT with any LCD display!!
So it sure helps with the layout aspect of serious word-processing (such as producing a thesis or a book). It is also capable of displaying, perhaps, 3, 4 or even 5 times the number of cells at any one time than, say, a 17" monitor could in those huge spreadsheets you sometimes create (no I'm not kidding).
And for all you gamers out there, can you imagine playing need for speed 4 in 2048x1536, and 16-bit colour? That is the reality. What a blast!

One last thing, for all you desktop publishers and graphics artists out there: know that you better plan on getting a mighty fine graphics card if you intend to use 32-bit colour at the 2048x1536 pixel mode, because even though I bought the ASUS card that said it could cope with this @ 75Hz, it could only manage 60Hz, which is not good enough for me. I even edited the ini files of the display driver to try and force it to work, but could not get the claimed 75Hz - despite what it said on the website to the contrary. So I stick with 16-bit colour, partly because I can't really notice the difference, but mainly because the refresh rate is higher.
The other thing to consider is that even though the monitor may be capable of, let's say, 1600x1200@95Hz - the graphics card might only be able to display 85Hz or 100Hz at this resolution, so you must use the lower one, which is a pity because it isn't taking full advantage of the monitor's capabilities.

But I'd still give it six stars if I could! :-)

ONE MORE THING: NEC ISN'T NOT GOING TO MAKE THIS IN AUSTRALIA ANY LONGER, SO SNAP IT UP WHILE YOU STILL CAN 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT GETTING ANY CHEAPER!

"Varanus Komodoensis".......2002-03-28

You'll probably need to get yourself a new graphics card; the minimum that will take advantage of the FP1355's full potential will be at least the nVidia GeForce II MX400. If you're paying this much for your monitor, a little extra for a new card probably isn't going to make any difference (or like me, you can't afford anything else for months).
Don't think that because this monitor is capable of up to 2048 x 1536 @ 75Hz that this resolution will be practical. At this highest resolution, I couldn't help notice that the resolution is not all that crisp, perhaps a little blurry or more correctly, quivery - so it isn't perfect. Do you use the highest res possible on your existing monitor? Probably not, right? So if you can't live with using this monitor at the NEC recommended 1600 x 1200 @ 95Hz, I'd say don't buy it.
Don't forget that if you will be looking at text, you will have to make it slightly larger because you'll be using much higher resolutions. However, you can will be able to look at smaller-sized fonts than with normal monitors because it will look crisper and less pixelly.

A small tip for windows setup: go to the display properties window / settings tab / advanced button / general tab - and where it says font size, choose other and make it something like 150 or 200% and THEN go back to the display properties window / appearance tab and re-adjust the size of each item individually for fine tuning. If you don't make the fonts 200% of their normal size, some of the text that you will see in use during windows will be very small indeed and it can't be changed by changing any of the items in the appearance tab alone, and you will end up squinting.

I truly don't think this monitor is for everyone. If you know much about computers and windows setup, and you enjoy customising everything..... if you spend hours with your current monitor adjusting the screen's image so that you get the last millimetre of display area out of it - you will be very pleased; but I couldn't recommend it if you simply want to do ordinary computing just with a bigger screen. Remember that the intended use is desktop publishing / CAD / graphic design and perhaps spreadsheets (although NEC doesn't mention this use) - which is what I bought it for.

Yes, the two thin horizontal black lines are visible on any light-coloured background. But only a perfectionist or fastidious person would be truly bothered by it. It's something that you learn to live with.
I have personally called it "varanus komodoensis" which translates as komodo dragon - or the biggest monitor that ever lived!!

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