The smallest 3CCD SVHS camcorder
The Panasonic AG3 Super VHS camcorder is so rare, there is very little information about it on the Internet. All I know is that it was touted the smallest 3CCD camcorder at the time it was released, which was thirty years ago.
This professional camcorder is based on a family of consumer models that seem to have never been sold in the U.S., like NV-S65, NV-S77, NV-S85, NV-S88, NV-S90.
It records video onto an VHS-C or SVHS-C cassette in one of the four formats: VHS SP, VHS SLP, SVHS SP and SVHS SLP. SLP is also known as EP and allows tripling the recording time. Tape counter can be preset for 20-, 30- and 40-minute cassettes.
Its three ⅓-inch sensors provide horizontal resolution of 530 lines. The 10X lens accepts attachments via 37-mm thread. Audio is recorded either with a built-in stereo microphone, or with an external one as high-quality Hi-Fi stereo.
The prefix “AG” in the name tells that this is a professional camcorder, sold and serviced through Panasonic’s broadcast division. Compared to its consumer-grade progenitors, it has been beefed up with the Panasonic 5-pin Control-M interface to connect to select Panasonic edit decks and editing consoles. I don’t know whether the camcorder records timecode, but the Control-M protocol is not capable of transmitting timecode information anyway.
The 3CCD imager was a very big deal in the early 1990s. It was primarily used in broadcast-style shoulder-mount cameras, some of these cameras were modular and could accept SVHS or Hi8 recorders.
The AG455/456, the workhorse of event videographers of the time, had just a single CCD. The AG460 had two CCDs. To offer such a small camcorder with 3CCDs was remarkable, and it was priced dearly: $3,300 original manufacturer’s price, about $2,400 street price in 1994.
The AG3 was not the first portable camcorder with a 3CCD imager. Sony VX1/VX3 released in 1992 is considered to be the first one, and it was even more expensive — $3,500 original manufacturer’s price.
The camcorder has no menu. You control its operation with the buttons and switches, all are clearly marked. The information is indicated both in the viewfinder and on a dedicated info screen. There is no flip-out LCD screen; the viewfinder uses a tiny color cathode ray tube.
In full auto the camcorder does everything, you cannot even use manual focus.
In the manual mode you can set white balance: outdoor, indoor or manual. You can select shutter speed, then you can adjust brightness of the scene by adding exposure compensation. Manual focus is also available in this mode.
In Shutter AE mode you would set exposure similarly: first select shutter speed, then adjust iris in a rather narrow range, less than two stops, but the big difference is that you can lock the exposure to prevent the image from getting bright or dark when the scene changes, this was considered a professional feature back then.
In low light, you can add gain with the “Low Light” button, it has two settings, +6dB and +12dB, or in other terms, one and two stops. The “Gain Up” button is a combination of slow shutter and gain, it has two settings: 4X and 8X and it can be used together with “Low Light” button.
To switch to manual focus and back there is this button in the front. I noticed that the lens does not maintain focus when zooming in and out. The standard focusing practice is to zoom in, focus, zoom out. It does not work on this camcorder, either the lens is not parfocal, or something has broken.
If you press and hold the Fade button, the image fades to white. When you release the button, the image comes back.
There is no manual control over audio, but at least there is a headphone output.
There is no zebra and no color bars either.
The camcorder has an efficient image stabilizer, which helps when shooting handheld.
A relatively rare feature is the ability to shoot widescreen. Because the sensor itself is not widescreen, the camcorder simply chops off the top and the bottom of the frame and records the resultant widescreen video on tape. So, some sensor resolution is lost, but at least the tape is not wasted recording black bars. Panasonic used the same approach to enable widescreen on the DVX100 ten years later, which also had a sensor block with three ⅓-inch 4x3 CCDs. I wonder, is it the same sensor block?
The image comes as rather wobbly despite the built-in time base corrector — another rare feature in the 1990s. I acquired the camcorder in a rather sorry state, without a battery, without a power adapter, even the rubber eyecup is missing. Luckily, I was able to power it with a 6V JVC battery pack.
The head drum makes loud noise, I don’t know whether the bearings are completely worn out, or it is simply a matter of lubricating them. It chews tape, but at least it pulls it through, so I was able to make some shots, I have to throw out the tape though. Image stabilizer sometimes stops working.
It needs a complete overhaul. So, this is it for now. Whether I will have it repaired is to be seen.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
