For a manufacturer of today's increasingly tiny digital camcorders, the biggest design challenge is to pack the immense number of features now available on even the lowest-priced models into a compact product while keeping the features easy to find and easy to use. With the entry-level PV-DV51, Panasonic succeeds at this task beyond all reasonable expectations.
Compared to the quality of the footage, ergonomics and features may sound like secondary considerations when discussing a camcorder. But quite frankly, virtually any digital camcorder will capture images superior to those of analog formats like VHS-C and Hi8. The PV-DV51 is no exception. Not only does this inexpensive Panasonic produce better images than many other entry-level DV models I've tried, but the untutored naked eye would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between footage shot with this camcorder and models three times the price, which means the vacation videophile will be well satisfied.
The PV-DV51 hides its abilities inside a rather traditional and uncluttered exterior. The DV51 isn't cute or fancy; it looks like most other camcorders, if a bit smaller and a bit lighter. But the DV51 makes up for its lack of styling with ergonomic excellence. Frequently used buttons such as the VCR/power/camcorder thumb switch, the zoom toggle, fade, menu, manual control and electronic image stabilization buttons, as well as the playback transport controls (play, rewind, fast forward, pause) are all logically and conveniently arrayed. The on-screen menu list is only six choices deep, and all the varying suboptions are outlined in the instruction booklet, which makes locating even the most obscure feature or option relatively easy.
Power handling also is excellent. The small lithium-ion battery takes only an hour to charge for about an hour's worth of shooting (90 minutes if you use the black-and-white viewfinder rather than the LCD), about average for DV models. The camcorder also is equipped with a FireWire jack for connection to a PC, an A/V mini-jack (cable included), and an S-video output (cable not included) for connection to a TV or VCR. Like most of Panasonic's digital camcorders, the DV51 offers an 18x optical/300x digital zoom lens.
So why is this model so inexpensive? On the technical side, the PV-DV51 offers just 640 x 480 pixel resolution when shooting digital stills. More expensive models offer more than a million pixels of resolution in still mode. In addition, stills are stored directly onto the tape, while other camcorder models have the option to store these images on a dedicated memory card. The other cost savings come from the small 2.5-inch LCD screen and monochrome viewfinder; shooting for lengthy periods makes you realize why you might want to spend more for a unit with a 3- or 3.5-inch screen.
Despite these minor limitations, the PV-DV51 is an excellent choice for the weekend video warrior seeking a simple, easy-to-use, feature-packed, low-cost camcorder that produces great pictures.
--Stewart Wolpin
There are a lot of pluses and a few minuses for the DV51. The biggest plus is you're getting all the video quality of a much more expensive camera like the DV601. The 680,000 pixel CCD is a big part of that. Most low-end digital cams (including those from Sony) don't have anywhere near this kind of resolution. If you currently have a VHS or 8mm camcorder, you're in for a big step up in image quality. The DV51 is reasonably easy to record with. If you want to do much more than defeat the EIS, enable manual focus, or enable the backlight compensation however, you'll have to go into the menus. The "jog dial" makes menu selection reasonably easy but for some reason, you sometimes turn the dial to choose which selection you want and sometimes you're forced to press it multiple times depending on the menu. The same jog dial is also the manual focus adjustment and it's a bit awkward for that purpose. The EIS works well. It takes it a second or so to kill any undesired camera shake after you stop panning or zooming but that's typical of most digital EIS systems. You can also use it after the fact on playback which is a bonus as EIS usually shortens battery life (and can cause side effects you might not want in your final video). If you want to export your videos via the digital 1394 link to your computer, however, you best use it when recording. The battery life with the included battery is less than an hour with the LCD monitor in use and close to 1.5 hours if you use the viewfinder instead. Most will likely want to get a spare (and possibly larger) battery but this is typical of most camcorders. The zoom is quiet (you can barely hear it on the recorded video) and has multiple speeds but it takes a light touch to keep it at the slow speed. The digital zoom works well up to about 30x or 40x but beyond that, you lose a lot of quality (just like with any other digital zoom). There are "program" settings for sport, portrait, low light and bright (i.e. snow) scenes. There's also a "gain up" setting that, when used, allows the DV51 to shoot decent video in relatively low light. Like most camcorders, however, the video noise is much more noticable under such conditions. My biggest complaint is this camera lacks a microphone input. If you've done much camcorder work, you probably know that capturing quality audio is often difficult. The lack of a microphone jack makes it impossible to use anything but the built in stereo microphone. While this isn't a big deal for taping your baby crawling around the house, it would be a big deal if you want to pull off a professional sounding interview or record your son's band performance. The built in microphone of any camera can't help but pick up some camera noises, any noise made by whoever's doing the recording and the noise of the camera being handled. Plus, if your subject is more than 5 feet away, you'll get a lot of echo indoors. The microphone in the DV51 is decent as far as built-in mics go, but your videos will still scream "amateur" from the poor audio. The camera is a little light on accessories as might be expected for this price. You don't get an 1394 digital cable. You also don't get a blank miniDV tape. I didn't buy the DV51 to use as a digital still camera. It's not well suited to this as you have to record the images to tape and transfering them to your PC is an involved process. If you want this feature, spend a little more money and at least get the PV-DV101 which has a serial connection or the PV-DV201 which steps up to faster USB. That way you can directly download the images to your PC. In summary, Panasonic chose to throw out features instead of video quality for their least expensive DV camera. For my needs, it's mostly a good compromise. I just wish they could have spent the extra dollar or so and included a microphone jack. Relatively speaking, DV cameras are likely to continue to rapidly improve. I would expect that two years from now a $500 camera will have a megapixel rating, 32mb or more of still picture memory plus added bells and whistles. In the meantime, the DV51 is a good choice if you're on a tight budget or just want something to get you buy until DV cams are more mature.
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