Japanese Panasonic Started to advertise GS400 in big time. at DVinfo.net

Kaku Ito · August 23rd, 2004, 06:03 PM

They started to advertise on TV now. The catch copy is "I'm a visual masetro". Clearly aiming for suggesting to shoot higher quality footage.
Knowing they had to spend so much money for the Olympic advertisement, GS400 seems to be treated well to have a sperate comertial on TV.

Guy Bruner · August 23rd, 2004, 06:29 PM

Kaku,
It sure would be nice if Panasonic.US would post the information and graphics in English they have posted on the Panasonic.JP site. A lot of people's questions would be answered outright if they did...no need to run an ad blitz.

Patricia Kim · August 24th, 2004, 12:55 AM

So, Kaku, is this likely to mean the price will stabilize rather than drop? I'm against it not dropping! But I'm for a lot of sales, if that will keep Pana developing products for this niche.

Guy, you know, with the stories I've been hearing - however few they are - I'm not sure Pana can publish the same info on its English-language (North America) web site as on its Japan domestic one. I'm still not sure this is quite the same product across the board. May be just a lingering suspicion as a result of the differences between the 953 and the 5000, but if that's the case, then Pana did it to itself.

Frank Granovski · August 24th, 2004, 01:27 AM

The GS400 I saw was very light and plastic like. I was surprised because the PV-DV953 felt so solid. It would be interesting to find out if the Japanese version is a different beast.

Allan Rejoso · August 24th, 2004, 02:06 AM

As expected, the biggest complain about the GS400 in the Japanese market is its size (Sony's PC350 is said to be very hot in terms of sales. Nonetheless, the Black GS400 is also a very fast moving item especially in the discount shops. However, prices still keep on dropping at an amazing pace :-)) In fact, the GS400 is now cheaper than the HC1000.

Frank, I'd have to concede the MX5000 feels more rugged than the GS400, but I guess Pany had to keep the cam weight and size as minimal as they can to make it attractive to this market. At least, the GS400 does not have that scratch-sensitive micro-grooved surface of the GS100 at the back of the LCD panel, and actually, the areas near the lens barrel have a nice metallic paint finish.

Hey Panasonic N.A., you don't need Berlitz for these kinds of translation works. People like me are lot more reasonable :-))

Frank Granovski · August 24th, 2004, 02:38 AM

The puffed plastic like body of the GS400 doesn't bother me. It reminds me of my MX300 except that it's easier to grip. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks and then make some time to shoot test footage, to see if I can use it in funeral parlor lighting conditions. If it's up to snuff, I might as well replace the old JVCs.

I also looked over the HC1000. It's not a bad cam at all, for $200 more. But it's uglier than Hell. Nevertheless, I'll have to test that one out too.

Allan Rejoso · August 24th, 2004, 03:50 AM

Yeah, the HC1000 is quite nice too and the extra weight gives it a more solid (albeit front heavy) feel IMO despite having, without any doubt, a body made of some smoooth plastic. When viewed from the side, the HC1000 quite deceivingly looks very compact but it's real fat breadthwise. Still, how I wish the GS400 had LANC.

Frank Granovski · August 24th, 2004, 04:12 AM

LANCs disappeared on Canons also.

Yes, I found that Sony very solid, but I didn't find it to be unbalanced. I'll have to take another look at it. The good thing about the GS400 is that it's $450 CAN cheaper than the PV-DV953, although the shop I was at listed them $200 higher. Never liked that place but they are the only ones who have them in stock. The other shops bring them in on special order only.

Guy Bruner · August 24th, 2004, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Guy, you know, with the stories I've been hearing...

Pat, what stories?

Patricia Kim · August 24th, 2004, 01:00 PM

Guy, a few of the posters in your forum own gs400s. The response has been "mixed," from what I can tell. I'm waiting to see what the fellow who got the Japan model comes up with. Does the PV-GS400 really not have a hot shoe while the NV-GS400 does?

Guy Bruner · August 24th, 2004, 04:46 PM

As best I can tell, the NA GS400 does not have a hot shoe and that is consistent with the accessory shoe on the DV953.

Patricia Kim · August 24th, 2004, 05:50 PM

I suspect the Japan version has a shoe that is only "hot" with proprietary Pana items (like the mike, flash, etc.), but I wonder if the NA version would also be able to use those accessories. Why Pana makes such questions even necessary is way beyond me.

Guy Bruner · August 24th, 2004, 06:13 PM

I suspect the NA model would not be able to use those accessories since they appear to require a hot shoe to function. Could be why those accessories are not available in NA?? BTW, the PAL model seems to have a hot shoe (like the MX500). The question is what was left off the non-NA versions to allow the hot shoe?

Andreas Winkler · August 24th, 2004, 07:12 PM

Oh, I think my PV-GS400 (the NA model) has a hot shoe! There is a small protection panel that will move aside when you plug anything on the hot shoe and give access to the electric connector pins.

edit: you can also see the hot shoe described with photos in the dvspot-review.

Guy Bruner · August 24th, 2004, 09:03 PM

Andreas,
I stand corrected. But, looking at photos on DVSpot and Camcorderinfo, I see no connectors. In fact, it looks very much like the accessory shoe on the DV953 which is cold.

August 23rd, 2004, 06:03 PM	#1
Kaku Ito Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Posts: 1,382	Japanese Panasonic Started to advertise GS400 in big time. They started to advertise on TV now. The catch copy is "I'm a visual masetro". Clearly aiming for suggesting to shoot higher quality footage. Knowing they had to spend so much money for the Olympic advertisement, GS400 seems to be treated well to have a sperate comertial on TV.

August 23rd, 2004, 06:29 PM	#2
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	Kaku, It sure would be nice if Panasonic.US would post the information and graphics in English they have posted on the Panasonic.JP site. A lot of people's questions would be answered outright if they did...no need to run an ad blitz.

August 24th, 2004, 12:55 AM	#3
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	So, Kaku, is this likely to mean the price will stabilize rather than drop? I'm against it not dropping! But I'm for a lot of sales, if that will keep Pana developing products for this niche. Guy, you know, with the stories I've been hearing - however few they are - I'm not sure Pana can publish the same info on its English-language (North America) web site as on its Japan domestic one. I'm still not sure this is quite the same product across the board. May be just a lingering suspicion as a result of the differences between the 953 and the 5000, but if that's the case, then Pana did it to itself.

August 24th, 2004, 01:27 AM	#4
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	The GS400 I saw was very light and plastic like. I was surprised because the PV-DV953 felt so solid. It would be interesting to find out if the Japanese version is a different beast.

August 24th, 2004, 02:06 AM	#5
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	As expected, the biggest complain about the GS400 in the Japanese market is its size (Sony's PC350 is said to be very hot in terms of sales. Nonetheless, the Black GS400 is also a very fast moving item especially in the discount shops. However, prices still keep on dropping at an amazing pace :-)) In fact, the GS400 is now cheaper than the HC1000. Frank, I'd have to concede the MX5000 feels more rugged than the GS400, but I guess Pany had to keep the cam weight and size as minimal as they can to make it attractive to this market. At least, the GS400 does not have that scratch-sensitive micro-grooved surface of the GS100 at the back of the LCD panel, and actually, the areas near the lens barrel have a nice metallic paint finish. Hey Panasonic N.A., you don't need Berlitz for these kinds of translation works. People like me are lot more reasonable :-))

August 24th, 2004, 02:38 AM	#6
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	The puffed plastic like body of the GS400 doesn't bother me. It reminds me of my MX300 except that it's easier to grip. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks and then make some time to shoot test footage, to see if I can use it in funeral parlor lighting conditions. If it's up to snuff, I might as well replace the old JVCs. I also looked over the HC1000. It's not a bad cam at all, for $200 more. But it's uglier than Hell. Nevertheless, I'll have to test that one out too.

August 24th, 2004, 03:50 AM	#7
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Yeah, the HC1000 is quite nice too and the extra weight gives it a more solid (albeit front heavy) feel IMO despite having, without any doubt, a body made of some smoooth plastic. When viewed from the side, the HC1000 quite deceivingly looks very compact but it's real fat breadthwise. Still, how I wish the GS400 had LANC.

August 24th, 2004, 04:12 AM	#8
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	LANCs disappeared on Canons also. Yes, I found that Sony very solid, but I didn't find it to be unbalanced. I'll have to take another look at it. The good thing about the GS400 is that it's $450 CAN cheaper than the PV-DV953, although the shop I was at listed them $200 higher. Never liked that place but they are the only ones who have them in stock. The other shops bring them in on special order only.

August 24th, 2004, 01:00 PM	#10
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Guy, a few of the posters in your forum own gs400s. The response has been "mixed," from what I can tell. I'm waiting to see what the fellow who got the Japan model comes up with. Does the PV-GS400 really not have a hot shoe while the NV-GS400 does?

August 24th, 2004, 04:46 PM	#11
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	As best I can tell, the NA GS400 does not have a hot shoe and that is consistent with the accessory shoe on the DV953.

August 24th, 2004, 05:50 PM	#12
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	I suspect the Japan version has a shoe that is only "hot" with proprietary Pana items (like the mike, flash, etc.), but I wonder if the NA version would also be able to use those accessories. Why Pana makes such questions even necessary is way beyond me.

August 24th, 2004, 06:13 PM	#13
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	I suspect the NA model would not be able to use those accessories since they appear to require a hot shoe to function. Could be why those accessories are not available in NA?? BTW, the PAL model seems to have a hot shoe (like the MX500). The question is what was left off the non-NA versions to allow the hot shoe?

August 24th, 2004, 07:12 PM	#14
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Oh, I think my PV-GS400 (the NA model) has a hot shoe! There is a small protection panel that will move aside when you plug anything on the hot shoe and give access to the electric connector pins. edit: you can also see the hot shoe described with photos in the dvspot-review.

August 24th, 2004, 09:03 PM	#15
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	Andreas, I stand corrected. But, looking at photos on DVSpot and Camcorderinfo, I see no connectors. In fact, it looks very much like the accessory shoe on the DV953 which is cold.