Kudos to Jim

[Karl Seilo]

Thanks, Jim.  That's exactly the kind of actual 'user' info. I was 
looking for!
>
> I've got the Japanese version of the 953 -- called the MX5000 here.
> Great cam -- don't see how you can go wrong with it. Ergonomically very
> nice, no complaints about picture quality. Only average in low light --
> not as good as the VX2000 there. Got the biggest Panny battery for it
> and can shoot for 3 or so hours on it. LP mode for 90 minute shoots on 
> a
> 60 min tape works flawlessly. Panasonic's wide angle adaptor is also
> excellent, very little flare compared to similar Sony and Raynox
> products I've used. Only thing I've found that is a pain is that when
> shooting in manual audio, you can only change the gain level when tape
> is _not_ rolling. So you can't make minor adjustments on the fly while
> taping. If you use a mixer, or a Beachtek (essentially a mixer) then
> it's no problem since you adjust levels with the mixer. Viewfinder is
> not as high resolution as some others, but frankly, I haven't found any
> miniDV camera that has an adequate viewfinder. YMMV -- after all, my
> eyes are 45 years old, and I'm used to shooting broadcast cameras that
> have viewfinders that are 3 times more expensive than a whole miniDV
> camera!
>
> Tim Selander
> Tokyo, Japan
>
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