Panasonic e.cam compact NV-DS60A-S?

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Is anyone using this camera? Any experiences? It's the low-end model in Panasonic's digital video camera range, I guess it might compare to the Sony TRV-19? It seems like a good alternative, it's slightly cheaper and somewhat lighter(520g <> 440g) than the TRV-19.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Right. I went ahead and bought it. I wrote this review to help other people decide if they want to go with a Sony or save a couple hundred dollars.

I will be comparing the DS-60 to the Sony TRV-19 from time to time, as these two are the cameras that I ultimately chose between, and as they are the comparable low-end top-mount cameras in the Panasonic and Sony ranges of compact digital cameras. I'll also compare it to some of the older Sony models that were available for testing at the DZ at the time I was writing this.

On the DS-60, slow-motion during playback "jumps" when returning to normal speed; the footage freezes for approximately 0.5 seconds, and then resumes playback at a point 0.5 seconds after the freeze-frame. This is quite noticeable, and seriously limits the usability of the slow-motion feature. For comparison, a Sony TRV-18 does the exact same thing, but the "jump" is only about 0.2-0.3 seconds.

There is no "safety-catch" on the mode selector(VCR/OFF/CAM). This may cause the camera to be accidentally switched off CAMERA mode if the camera is bumped. Of course if the camera is mounted inside a D-box of some sort this shouldn't be a problem.

The DS-60 has quite a few digital effects, including some that the TRV-19 doesn't have, including "wipe", "mix"("overlap" on Sony) and "strobe". The TRV-19 has a rather limited selection of digital effects; to get the same effects as the DS-60, a Sony user would have to go for the TRV-22.

I have no experience with the tape inserting mechanism of the latest Sonys, but the older ones at least take quite a while to insert or eject the tape, as you have to wait for the mechanism to work. Compared to them, the tape loading mechanism of the DS-60 is very fast; the tape in a DS-60 can be ejected and a new tape inserted in the time it takes for a PC-9 to just eject the tape. Additionally, the DS-60 tape loads from the side, whereas the TRV-18 ejects the tape from the bottom of the camera, meaning that the camera must be removed from the helmet to insert or remove the tape.

I found that some of the function buttons on the side of the DS-60 were rather easy to push accidentally, but this was probably due to my general lack of experience in handling small videocameras; a couple of days later I wasn't pushing the buttons when I didn't want to.

The DS-60 is very small for such an inexpensive camera; to get a Sony as small(440g), you'd have to go for the MicroMV IP-series! In fact I think the DS-60 could be mounted on the side of a helmet without any problems; the DS-60 is actually 2mm narrower than a PC-9. To protect the lense from riser-slap, I would consider an unconventional right-hand side mount if I was planning on a side-mount; I'm going to be using a top-mount for now. See pictures sidemount_left.jpg, sidemount_right.jpg and pc9_ds60.jpg. These pictures were taken in bad lighting, using the still-picture function of the DS-60. Even in good light the quality of the stills isn't too good.

Another small detail in the DS-60 is its built-in light; Not that it would have many uses in skydiving(filming night-jumps from inside the formation?), but it's there if you happen to need extra light.

Finding wide-angle lenses for a Panasonic may be sligtly more difficult due to the 27mm filter thread, but I assume most 37mm lenses should work with an adapter ring. There is an OEM wide angle conversion lense from Panasonic, but the catalogue didn't specify how wide an angle the lense would give. I ended up ordering a Blue-eye .45 lense from Waycool Industries Not very cheap, but the lense is very small. This lense and the .3 Red-eye seem to be available in all the popular thread sizes.

The first two jumps with the camera went fine. The camera seems to function quite well in freefall, at least at belly-flying speeds and mounted on the top. Using the camera in actual skydiving environment brought to my attention one of the major drawbacks the DS-60 has when compared to Sonys: The camera has no external REC-indicator. No red light to confirm that the camera is recording, and no way of attaching a Cam-Eye. These two faults combined make the DS-60, in my opinion, somewhat unsuitable for professional use, as the only way of knowing whether the camera is recording or not is to look in the viewfinder or the lcd-screen.

Finally, a table comparing some of the features of the cameras I chose between:

|DS-60  |DS-65  |TRV-19  |TRV-22

RRP AUD	1)	|$1099	|$1319	|$1249	 |$1499

memory stick	| no    | yes	| no     | yes

"Mix"-effect 2)	| yes   | yes	| no     | yes

# of effects 3) | 12    | ? 4)  | 10     | 19

weight(grams) 5)| 440   | 440	| 520    | 530

USB streaming   | no    | yes   | yes    | yes

viewfinder      | b&W   | b&W   | b&W    | color

1) Recommended Retail Price in Aussie dollars
2) Crossfade, called "Overlap" on Sonys
3) including recording and playback effects.
4) Coudn't find the info, but assuming at least as many as the DS60
5) Weight excluding battery and tape

[newshooter12 0]

I appreciate the review and all the effor and $$ it took. I just find this line funny.

Quote

These two faults combined make the DS-60, in my opinion, somewhat unsuitable for professional use, as the only way of knowing whether the camera is recording or not is to look in the viewfinder or the lcd-screen.

Especially the "look in the viewfinder" part. At work when one of there is some crappy video someone usually chimes in to ask if the person shooting it bothered to look through the viewfinder, or not.
It's just that so many of the things a camera flyer has to do to get good or great skydiving video is contrary to a lot of what ground-bound videographers are taught. Something I need to get used too.
matt

[AndyMan 7]

I believe this was the camera I borrowed and jumped a few monthes ago. The jump was the first one for this camera. The lens fell off on opening. The video showed an otherwise normal opening, not even a touch of riser-slap.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

The lense? The actual lense on the camera, or a wide-angle conversion lense? Screw-on or a clip-on lense?

[AndyMan 7]

the screw on conversion lens... but it took part of the built-in lens with it.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.