I recently purchased the Panasonic PV-GS12 miniDV camcorder. It was the only model available at my local store in my price range with the features that I wanted. I also own a Sony DCR-HC20, but its lack of top-load cassette access and no flash memory still picture capabilities left me wanting something to supplement it. I had done a fair ammount of research before buying the HC20, so I knew what I was getting into with this price range of palmcorder as far as as image quality and ease of use. This is not intended to be a complete review of the capabilities and features of the PV-GS12 as there are several other sites that have adequately done so. This is intended to be a setup/trouble shooting guide based on my experiences.
Package contents: The PV-GS12 comes with a very bare-bones setup: camcorder, battery, DC adapter/charger and manual. Please keep in mind that this does NOT include a USB or firewire cable, or a driver disc. The generic drivers are available from panasonic, but I was not able to get webcam or memory card functionality. I will go into more detail on the driver issue in a moment. My recommendation is that you pony up the extra money and get a different package that includes more bundled items, like the PV-GS15 or PV-GS35 if you like the PV-GS features and style.