The PV-GS39 is a low- to midrange unit in Panasonic's current line of compact MiniDV camcorders. The PV-GS39 is smaller and sleeker than its predecessor, last year's PV-GS31, and it offers an improved feature set over the current low-end PV-GS29. This camcorder has true widescreen recording and a bigger 2-7/10-inch widescreen LCD display. It also has a USB connection, something the less-expensive model lacks. This allows you to use the PV-GS39 as a webcam or video conferencing tool (optional cable and software required), and the USB enables much faster downloads to a computer.

This digital camcorder has a 1/6-inch CCD capable of delivering 380,000 effective pixels for video. The PV-GS39 also features a powerful 30X optical zoom lens and 1,000X digital zoom capability, both of which are improvements over last year's model. Another improvement is the joystick for navigating menus, a feature found on all of Panasonic's new PV-GS MiniDV models.

Novice users will appreciate the easy-to-understand menu controls, as well as the PV-GS39's point-and-shoot simplicity. Experienced users, or those looking to take more creative control over their home videos, will equally welcome the useful manual controls on the PV-GS39. Unusually for a camcorder in this price bracket, the PV-GS39 enables manual adjustment of focus, shutter speed, and white balance.

The stills function on the PV-GS39 remains limited, although unlike the PV-GS29, this model does provide an SD card slot. You can capture stills at a maximum resolution of 640X480 to either MiniDV tape or memory card. While that is certainly no match for a dedicated digital stills camera, the PV-GS39 makes no claims at being a hybrid unit. This is an excellent introduction to digital camcorders, and it offers plenty of features and delivers solid video quality at a low price.

Pros: Budget price, excellent manual controls
Cons: Limited stills capability