The Digital Zoom is just useless for most camera! It is just a marketing sick joke. Turn off that stupid Digital Zoomm then your EIS will work a lot better ( try not to zoom all the way to 10X). If you need to get closer to the object then try to use a telephoto lense converter ( may be around $99 for a decent one). Over all I think this camera is doing very well! I would definately recommend it! Video quality is superb! Still camera is not bad if you need a quick shot at something. The user manual is a real joke though but the menu is very easy to use. Thing you may need beside the camcorder:
- IEEE cable
- Adobe Premier
You will not be disappointed! At lest i didn't.
The new PV-GS250 has the Optical I.S. so you may want to look at it as well. But to me, the PV-GS200 is very good you just have to get use to it.

The Panasonic PV-GS200 is a great camera as all the other reviewers have mentioned. Don't buy this camera for the computer program, DV Studio3. I have Win XP Home and installed the software that was included with the camera. I have yet to find out how it works as the program freezes as soon as you start it. I get the splash screen and that's it. I usually have to use the task manager to shut down the program. I contacted Panasonic via their website and after two weeks, have not received a response (not even an acknowledgement that they received my question). Camera is great but the program is the pits. -- Update: Finally got a response from Panasonic (three weeks). They recommended I use Windows Movie Maker to download the video. That worked.

First off......why are all concerned about low light capabilities....most cameras are lowsy without some sort of external bulb. I had a GL2 which i recently sold because i no longer need to documentaries, and that camera needed an external light. Also the image stabilization is a joke. Like recent reviews. If you want perfection on screen then use a tripod and remote. Usually using the zoom won't keep you steady anyway. The GL2 had a powerful zoom but was shaky when held by hand. Gl2 is an awesome Prosumer camera. But thats what its for, a semi professional who is using it for non home use. The Panasonic GS200 is a superb below 1000 bucks small compact camera that is comparable in 3CCD video clarity as the GL2. I give the GS200 3 thumbs up. Those extra little features are for movie makers people, not Joe Schmo who is videoing his daughters sweet 16 and making a momento for future reference.

After months of looking around, We had to opt out of 3 Camcorders, the SONY DHRC40, Canon Optura 40 and the Panasonic GS200. And we went for the later one.

November 12th 2004:

As the Camcorder is only 2 days old, I will post the Initial Review and Add to it later.
Factors in Making us buy this camcorder:
1) 3 CCD, its not a hype.
2) Compact Size, and in fact the camcorder is really small and nice.
3) One can edit the voice later on when doing the Playback, I loved this option.

PROS:
1) It comes with a Remote like external mike and stuff, which has zoom controls and all needed buttons to operate the Camcorder, Excellent.
2) The Remote is wonderful
3) Night Shots are wonderful.
4) the Mic is big and is on the Front of the Camcorder, Voice Recording is wonderful.

CONS:
1) The Manual is very lousy.
2) EIS not effective when Camcorder on Full Zoom.

December 6th:

PROS:
1) The Camcorder records really well during the Night.
2) The day light recording easily surpasses any camcorder in this range.
3) Very Decent Battery life.
4) Decent features like the Cinema Mode, Timed Recording.
5) During Zero lux(no Light) it lets the LCD to become a sorce of light.

CONS:
1) Again, the manual is very lousy. Do not expect any help from it.
2) As my laptop does not have a IEEE1394 port, transferring Video to my PC aint possible. I have ordered a $40 PCMCIA card and a cable on Bizrate and will finally be able to transfer video.
3) PANASONIC doe not provide a Firewire Cable for connection to PC.

And again, because the manual does not have any word of how to connect it the computer, It took me some time to figure all this out.

After a great deal of research, I decided to buy this camcorder. This is really an awesome piece producing vivid and life-like colors. I personally compared videos shot from popular models like Sony DCRHC40, JVC GRD90, Canon ZR90 and Panasonic PV-GS200. The built-in 3 CCDs in GS200 rocks and the difference is easily visible and of almost broadcast quality.

I have no complaints about the image stabilizer. It performs as good as the other make/models I have tested, if not better.

Pros:
1. Video quality & color reproduction.
2. Top mounting cassette deck, easy to use on tripods.
3. No motor noice, very feeble on rewinding.
4. Compact size.
5. 3 CCD technology at affordable prize.
6. White balance and wealth of other manual controls.
7. Focus ring.
8. Battery life.

Cons:
1. Low light performance could have been better. Though Sony performs a little better, Panasonic is just above average under low light. I can live with it though - I wouldn't be shooting my home videos in the dark.
2. Zoom is only 10x. It is sufficient for most of my requirement, but other make/models give longer zoom range for the same price. (I found that at full 16x zoom in JVC, the camcorder shakes badly and becomes almost unusable without a tripod)

I would highly recommend this for anybody looking for a feature-rich, great quality camcorder for around $700.

I won't go into all the technical specs of this camera because the other reviewers have already done an excellent job of doing that. I bought my pv-gs200 2 years ago and it's really an amazing and value packed product. They're a little tough to find new now but I would imagine a refurb would be of equal quality. The #1 reason why I purchased the gs200 is because it has a manual focus ring. I can use it for stills and full motion video. This is a huge benefit, especially in low light shots. The color reproduction on the GS200 is spot on. I recently shot a family reunion at a beach in Long Island NY and discovered that if you capture the video in an uncompressed format using an app like Sony Vegas, you get results comparable to that of a higher end broadcast quality camera. For me, figuring this out was like unlocking the cameras true potential. I highly recommend this camera for the steady handed. It's ideal for tripod use too! Check out a video of my nephew picking his nose with both fingers, filmed with the GS200 and rendered as a an mpeg layer 2 file. http://www.robdrew.us/thepick.mpg Here's a link to a still I took with the GS200. It's a pic of the sun using no filters. http://www.robdrew.com/gallery/IMGA0502.JPG

This is a tourist-camera body with a professional output! I use this camera for commercial video and public access cable TV. I've taken this camera on vacation all over the world. On a flat panel TV, people always remark how incredibly good the resolution is on this camera, in all sorts of lighting environs. One of the standouts is the excellent lens and the sharp autofocus. It also rocks with a steadicam. My next camera is going to be a lot less fun because it is more bulky.