After spending countless paychecks getting the *best* (read: expensive) electronics, I took a step back and decided to get the best value instead. Little did I know I wasn't giving up much.
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br /Like most Panasonic products, the interface on this camcorder is intuitive and easily deciphered. This model has a joystick in the center, a red record button and just five icons surrounding the joystick. Without reading the manual, I can tell you that the icons stand for PC interface, photo playback, picture-taking mode, video playback mode, and record video.
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br /My husband usually wants me to show him how to use our new gadgets. This time, he didn't ask. In fact, he was the first one using it, picking it up for the first time and shooting without any guidance. His rating is a big thumbs-up.
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br /The fact that this camcorder is extremely small and compact also adds to its allure. This week, without planning in advance, I picked up the GS-39 on my way to my son's school event and put it in my medium-sized purse. It was easy for me to quietly take casual video from the sidelines without looking like an overenthusiastic proud mama. The camcorder is less than the size of my D-SLR camera and, unlike the camera, makes no shutter noise.
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br /After taking the school video, I went home and uploaded it to my computer (using Adobe Premiere Elements -- this product does not come with software, but then again, how many people actually use the product that comes with the camcorder?). The product worked seamlessly. There were no dropped frames, and the video was clear enough for the standard user. By that, I mean that it looks like what would have been considered superb three years ago.
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br /I confess that I haven't had the opportunity to use the photo mode, which records still frames to a SD card. I like having the option, but like most integrated products, the resolution isn't as high as with a stand-alone camera.
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br /To sum up this review, the GS39 is an excellent product at a fantastic price. The compact size and weight make it more likely to be taken to events and utilized. Don't let the price fool you. You'll still get all of the major features you need in a camcorder.
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br /ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AFTER 2 WEEKS OF CONSTANT USE:
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br /I still rate this with five stars for the reasons above. However, I would like to add these observations for consideration. This camera takes excellent natural light photos, but is a little on the dark side under low light. It does have a built in light which you should turn on even when the video on the camcorder screen looks okay.
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br /The photo mode was a nice idea, but captured video actually comes out nicer than still pictures from the photo mode.
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br /All in all, I still don't think there's a better value on the market today.

I was looking for a relative inexpensive camera gift for a graduating senior. While looking in a local store this Panasonic PV-GS39 camcorder caught my attention. It's got a clean, attractive styling, compact size, and the video quality looked good on a nearby TV to which it was hooked up. I've had positive experiences with Panasonic camcorders in the past -- in fact my current workhorse camcorder is the beloved VDR-D300 3CCD DVD model (see my review on Amazon). The GS39 also seems to be user-friendly, and the salesman confirmed to me that it's got better video quality than some of the more expensive models out there. The 30x optical zoom with image stabilization technology would be a boon to the gift recipient who's about to embark on a yearlong world "study" tour. (Of course, we all know what young people do on such tours.) Finally, the price was definitely perfect as a graduation gift, so I bought it.
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br /BTW, buy before July 1 and get a free camcorder bag and 3 free blank tapes from Panasonic. You can get the rebate form in store or on Panasonic's website; e-mail me if you can't find the rebate link.
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br /In short, this is a terrific value and starter camcorder.

THerre are many camcorders in the market and many are superior to this one. However you have to pay much more money, In this price range it wouldbe impossible to find a better camcorder. Easy to use with a powerful zoom (better and more powerfull that more expensive camcorders) connects easily to a mac or pc it offerssomething that similar camcorders do not: the possibility to set your manual settings (if you wish to do so) and experiment. For the users that ewant it simple, the auto settings will deliver you an excellent result. Again if you want something more than you should look elsewhere and pay more. But for the price this is the best buy

Well I paid $330 for this a year ago. I thinks its the best camcorder for the value. The image quality is excellent in well lit conditions. If you are shooting in dim light I would suggest to use an auxillary light. I wish the camcorder came with a shoe for light attachment.
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br /There are lot of manual controls that if used properly can improve the picture quality a lot in dim conditions. The joy stick control is easy to use and the settings can be changed with one hand. All in all its a very good camcorder.
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br /Few tips to get the most out of this one.
br /- use auxillary light in dim conditions.
br /- make sure not to record directly into a bright light.
br /- buy a extra capacity battery.

I bought this camcorder back in August last year right after my vacation, not so smart but I needed a new one just didn't act fast enough. That's the lesson I learned here. Although you have a 1 year Parts warranty you only have 90 day for labor. You wouldn't think that would be bad but guess what, it will cost $200 for labor no matter how large or small the job. I unfortunately didn't test the video output through the television until recently when I discovered it wasn't working. I had never used so I'm guessing that it never worked. I tried to explain this to Panasonic service center but they weren't having it. I paid $299 and I cannot see paying $200 to fix something that didn't work in the first place. The moral of the story is, it's a pretty good little camcorder for the money. Just make sure you test every little feature within the ninety days because you'd be better off buying a new one if it goes wrong after that.

I really like this camera as far as it being small, lightweight, easy to hold with my small hands, the overall design of it, etc. But when I tried to hook it up to my pc, I ran into many problems. a) the camera doesn't come with necessary software or cables for using it with the pc. I had to purchase the cables seperately. b) I downloaded the driver from the panasonic website, which the manual instructed me to do, and the installer gave me an error and would not install it (I have winXP). I tried emailing them to get help, and after I went through all the time to fill everything out on their webpage form, the message would not send. Nice little camera - but too many frustrations. I'm probably going to return it.

This is a very nice little camcorder works best in out door lighting or well lit indoor areas. I have gone thru many camcorders and it seems that the analog ones worked better in low light than what the new DV camcorders do. So when looking for a truly great low light camcorder that is DV do not expect to get perfect picture quality it won't happen. Over all the PV-GS39 will give you good indoor quality and outstanding outside picture quality . For the money you will not find a nicer camera than this one. Watch for deals I picked my up at Amazon for only $[...] shipped best deal around. My old PV-GS36 cost me $[...] at costco and the are almost the same camera except the 39 has a larger screen and records in true widescreen format. Get this camera it will perform well in almost every aspect.

So, I bought this camera, and truthfully I really wish I hadn't. I guess the only thing I don't like is even with the light that you can turn on, nighttime shots are really, really poor quality. I don't know what it is about this camera, or many camera's panasonic has put out, but the minute it gets a little dark - FORGET ABOUT IT!
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br /Other than that, the battery is long lasting and it truly is really simple to use - I mean no brainer, really!
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br /It's small, so I can take it anywhere with me and not think I am carrying something bulky- love to put it in my purse, other than the night thingy, its a fine camera.

The video shot with indoor lighting is very poor.
br /I used windows xp's default driver to capture pictures off of the video. The captured pictures are blurred.
br /Microphone is good.
br /All in all performs best in good light situations.

It was a pleasent surprise, because the camera is smaller than i thought. Easy to use, has a light for the night shots and the audio is good...
br /I definetly would reccomend it.

I wanted a camcorder for my trip to India and did not have enough time to research into it. So I went to circuit city and bought one of the returned camcorder for a bargain. And what an amazing deal it was!
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br /I have had this camcorder for over two years now and I would like to point out that this camcorder functions just as good as it did when I bought it. I have has absolutely no issues with this camcorder. The optical zoom is amazing. I never use digital zoom. The video is not very clear when you use digital zoom. PC interface with vista is giving me issues with worked excellent with WinXP. Battery life with standard battery is very descent. Overall a steal for the price that I bought it for.
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This is a good solid camera. Very cheap with a large zoom. The image stabilization is good up to around 10x and then it doesn't help too much. The image quality is excellent and the night mode is good too.

You won't go wrong with a Panasonic DV. I've had a few models. I have several of this model for my business. They're rock solid reliable, nice and small for portability, and the quality of the recording is very good

I bought this last Christmas for my husband. Here it is, November of the next year, and we still have trouble using it. It is NOT user-friendly! The connections to PC or TV are not easy, and forget that, just shooting movies are a challenge, especially if inside. There's a lighting feature we still haven't figured out, and apparently we have a lemon, as there are 5 blue bands that span across our movies in playback. Sounds like we're not alone...
br /Also, I can't find any info on the Panasonic website about this model, or it's problems.
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br /Buyer beware!

I need an extra battery for my PV-GS39. I can't seem to find it anywhere. Can anybody give some info on where to find one.

I'll be doing a more complete review soon but right now I'm having one problem. How do you connect it to your computer via USB Cable? What kind of USB cable is needed? Can anyone maybe help me out to a link here on amazon for a usb cable I would need to get to use it as a web cam.

What a piece of junk. The display - both in-camera and on-TV - includes thick blue horizontal lines that obviously ruin the video feed. This occurred 50 days after the item was shipped, so we can't return it to Amazon and now have to lose time trying to see what the manufacturer will do. Disappointing experience all the way around.

I bought this from another retailer on "black Friday" for half of what Amazon is selling it for and I'm still bringing it back. I think it's horrible. I was so excited to get a mini-dv camcorder because I heard how great the picture was, but this takes horrible video. It comes out so dark that you can hardly see anything, even using the light. Even in a fairly well-lit room it came out dark. It looked Ok on the lcd screen, but when I hooked it up to the TV, horrible! And it's not my TV either because I hooked up my old camcorder and it looked fine. I love that it's so small, but if I can't see the video, it's no use to me. Back to by big old Sony!