Three-chip technology delivers snappy shots

By STEVE HART

One can't help but be impressed by Panasonic's latest range of video cameras as they raise the bar in domestic video quality and leave their competitors (at least for the moment) on the sidelines.

Unusually for a domestic video camera the NV-MX500A has 3CCDs - or chips.

These chips are what most digital camera-makers brag about in terms of pixels or resolution. A camera can't have too many pixels.

For example, you may see a camera advertised as having three million pixels, but those pixels are often on a single chip that has to see all the reds, greens and blues that make up a digital picture.

Panasonic has gone two better by having three chips in this model - one for each colour and each chip has 800,000 pixels.

This offers much better quality images than single chip cameras and also makes it a worthwhile still camera.

Still pictures, according to the manual, are saved at 3.06 million pixels and are stored on a removable memory card (a 16MB Multimedia card is supplied).

Operating the camera in either video or still mode is simple - but it would have been easier if Panasonic had thought to include a tape in the box.

What is supplied, is a "tape" for cleaning the sensitive heads of the MiniDV unit that set the alarm bells ringing. After two hours of recording and playback I got a flashing icon on the large bright flip out display telling me the heads were dirty. Running the cleaning tape for 10 seconds fixed that.

The Leica Dicomar lens offers crisp images that are full of colour. The optical zoom (pay no attention to digital zoom figures) works smoothly, and the optical image stabiliser works a treat, offering a good trade off between unintentional camera shake and natural movement.

A string of automatic settings makes point and shoot videoing a dream. But for experts with a more artistic bent, functions such as focus, shutter speed, iris and the all-important white balance, can be adjusted manually.

Dozens of built-in effects such as fade, wipes and tracer (a trailing ghostly effect) are available, but apart from the fade control button (next to the lens) the others are accessed via on-screen menus. I don't recommend using onboard effects as it restricts what can be done later when editing.

The microphone is sensitive and performs well without picking up noises from the camera such as the drive motor or motorised zoom.

Sound is crisp and clear, but as with most in-built microphones wind noise is an issue.

There's an option to plug in a better quality microphone (not supplied) and the microphone input gain can be adjusted manually.

Taking still pictures is easy. Just slide a button from tape to card and away you go with three choices of resolution. Lowering the resolution (quality) allows more pictures to be saved. And unlike most still cameras, this has the benefit of a 10X optical zoom.

The stills were sharp and bright, even indoors, thanks to an automatic pop-up flash unit and comparable with any 3 megapixel still-only camera costing $1200 or more.

Transferring video to a computer is easy with the Firewire (IEEE1394) port. A USB socket is used for copying stills (Mac users will need a separate card reader) and there are inputs for converting old analogue tapes to digital.

The NV-MX500 range is for the more serious videographer who wants the best of both worlds, when it comes to digital photography and semi-pro functionality.

Panasonic NV-MX500A

* $4000 (but has been seen for $3500)

* Pros: Large 8.9cm viewing screen, basic functions are easy to use with clearly marked buttons. Latest DV tape technology, accessories such as wide angle lenses available.

* Cons: Night vision option is poor. The 500X digital zoom is nonsensical (pictures break up to an unrecognisable mush at full zoom). The camera isn't sold with a tape or a cable to transfer movies to the computer. USB software drivers (for transferring stills) are supplied for PCs only. At the time of writing Mac users will need a separate card reader.

* Rating: 8/10.