Customer Reviews
not impressed 
2008-07-15
i bought this camcorder as a demo model back in april 2008 only used it 1 time,and when i went to use it in july 2008 it would not play any mini dv tapes,so i tryed another one,and it did not work out at all,so i contacted the store where i got it from,they said since you dont have a warranty with us,then you have to contact the manufacture,so i did, and oh my gosh,what a load of junk you have to go through.all automatated system. and no person able to talk to at all.so if you buy this camera and it breaks,good luck trying to get it repaired.sony is so much better customer service.i have other products that are sony and always able to get ahold of a live person. and to make matters worse,panasonics web site for supports link are not avalible anymore,interesting ...
Panasonic GS320 
2008-07-14
We have this camera for about a month , occasionally use and it work well for us, mainly for our little daugter, draw back: no flash light, not real good at night, picture quality is ok.
Pana PV-GS320 Camcorder 
2008-06-14
I bought this GS320 to replace a GS12 that quit working after about 6 or 7 years. It serves as a back-up for my Sony PD170 that I use to record high school football and volleyball games and live music events around South Texas. I was going to use it just for cut-a-ways for the videos and to act as a rewinder for all of the miniDV tapes that I run through the PD170. It turns out that the sound it records at live musical events is actually better that the sound I record using the PD170's removable mike. That will change once I start using the remote mic I have purchased, plus, at larger events I am able to tie directly into the sound board with the Sony.
The GS320 is a great, lightweight (in a good way!)camcorder loaded with an easy to use menu system. It is wonderful to use at outside events, but it lacks a little when used indoors at venues that use dim lighting.
It is a 3CCD camcorder, so the picture is crisp, clear and clean when the lighting is good. I am still learning all of the camera's features, but so far I am happy with my purchase and, once again, Amazon was amazing!
Brad Burns
La Vernia, Texas.
Great Little Camera 2008-06-04
Picture quality is excellent, especially outdoor shots on sunny days. The color reproduction is very good. Indoor shots are also very good and even low light shots aren't bad. This was a huge step-up from the old VHS HQ camera I used to use. Transferring the video to a computer with an IEEE 1394 (firewire) cable is easy and doesn't result in any loss of picture quality or frame rate. Videos do take up a large amount of hard drive space (594 Mb for a 2.5 minute clip), but the quality is exceptional. It certainly isn't HD but the picture will look very good on a standard definition TV (the output resolution is the same as DVDs use, 720x480). The camera is quite small so it is very easy to get shaky pictures and the image stabilizer doesn't always react fast enough to fix some of the jitters. With some practice though it's not bad.
panasonic pv-gs320 2008-05-31
This item works quite well on the Mac with I movie. The tape system works best for the mac even though the format is older. quality of the pictures is good and I am happy with the camera. It seems to be a good camera for an amateur. It has many good features 3ccd, minidv, macintosh compatable,mini dv, firewire.
GS320 has image edge issues. 
2008-07-26
I just returned the Panasonic PV-320GS MiniDV Camcorder due to one devastating problem: the video quality is at issue when viewing on a 1080p LCD. The edges of everything stairstep badly. It appears like the picture on an old analog tv, dark lines between the lighted pixels. Very lo res. I guess I'll need to move up to an hd model.
I want to thank Amazon for having a good return policy, accepting the camcorder back for a full refund.
Cheap Zoom Lever 
2008-07-21
Complete disappointment. The camcorder has so many features, but the zoom lever easily popped off and left the lens unable to zoom. Panasonic would not stand by their product and I was unable to get the camera fixed without a substantial fee. After four calls I was unsatisfied and the camera still cannot zoom. At a store I found that the zoom lever easily comes off. Avoid this product. There are too many cheap factors that can ruin the great features. Technical and customer support are useless.
GREAT CAMCORDER! 2008-07-18
I bought this because i'm filming a movie and we needed a new camera. I read all the reviews. The camera looks like its HD! The only problem with it is that there's no mic input. This is not a huge problem because to overcome this, we bought a mini disc recorder and hooked up our mic to it and then synced it in editing! I love this camcorder! Also! It will except filters and lenses (37mm)
Great Mini-DV Camcorder, but a bit Too Expensive 2008-07-15
Performance wise, this is a great Camcorder. I dropped my old one on the cement and needed a replacement. BEST thing is the image stabilization. I've got a ton of videos taken at maximum zoom that are very shakey, so I immediately noticed the improvement with IS. Even at maximum zoom, there's very little shake. Nice!
There's nothing fancy other than that. Typical zoom range, typical features. I do really like the jog dial menu navigation and it's really good for start/stop/FF/Rev. Much better than my old Panasonic's dedicated buttons that were located on the side of the camcorder inside the area where the screen folds out.
However, at $325, this is too expensive. Mini-DV is on the way out and I only bought this because I've got so many existing Mini-DV tapes that I've not yet digitized (I also like the higher quality over MPEG, but that wouldn't have stopped me from buying a HD camcorder by itself). It shouldn't cost this much. $200 or even $250 would have been much more reasonable.
However, given the IS & my need for the Mini-DV format, I would buy this camera again, even with my price comment above.
Recommended!
Great picture, no frills. 2008-07-15
If you want a miniDV camcorder before they all go away, the Panasonic PV-GS320 is a good choice. Every year they seam to reduce features on these cameras but at least the Panasonic PV-GS320 did not cut out picture quality. I really wish they had an external microphone jack on the camera but it does not. However, you can kill all the audio using the Panasonic software that comes with it. Use this one for point an shoot only, edit and add audio later on a PC. (However you can change the audio on the camera as well) It takes true 16x9 as well as standard. It is very easy to use and learn, especially if you ever owned a Panasonic VHS-C camcorder before, i.e. the ergonomics are like other Panasonic cameras I have used. Be sure to have a computer as new as possible and use the software provided with the camera to capture the video. There is nothing here that will do it for you, you will have to figure all the editing and adding audio and things like that out but it does give you some help. I use both a MAC and a PC. The PC is a Sony Vaio that also uses firewire (cable sold seperately). Firewire is better to use in my opinion. I could also use the hi-speed usb, (which comes in the box with the camera). I do not recommend standard microsoft movie maker/editor, for mine does not recognizes 16x9, it squishes it into a 4:3 frame. My Sony PC is a 2003 model, so I think the year has something to do with it but use the Panasonic software to transfer the video onto the PC. I have also used Nero 6.6 to edit after capturing the video on the Panasonic software and it works okay. Just keep in mind to use THE COMPUTER using the Panasonic software to edit the video, add new sound or music to it. You can also re-record the new version back on the camera using a new mini DV tape if you want. I'm not a pro at video know how, but I am an artist and have made videos in the past using amature equipment and find Panasonic video cameras a good choice. If you cannot afford a 1,000 dollar Panasonic like me, then go for this one, it will work for you if you are willing to sacrifice on-camera features for software instead. Otherwise do allot of research and ask some pro's. I have a realative who works professionally with video cameras in the business, (movies, sports etc.) and he said this one is not too bad. Not the best by any means (for the best cost in the thousands) but he did mention that Panasonic cameras are an excellent choice and said this one is a good starter, if that helps. Panasonic PV-GS320 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.
