Panasonic M5

The Panasonic NV-M5 is a VHS recording camcorder, first launched in 1986. As one of the first camcorders to record directly onto VHS, the M5 enjoyed commercial success throughout the late 1980s at a time when VHS was becoming increasingly established as the home video format of choice for consumers. Unlike other cassette types such as Hi-8 and VHS-C, cassettes recorded on the M5 could be played directly in a conventional VHS VCR, without the need for an adaptor or connections between the camcorder and television.

Features

The M5 featured high specification which was more often found on high-end broadcast equipment. Such features included autofocus, high shutter speed for fast action shots and editing functionality such as audio dubbing and fade to black. Although bulky (97x181x398 mm), at the time it was considered compact, especially in comparison to the Betacam which had separate camera and VTR units.

The camera utilised a powerful 6:1 Optical zoom lens, electronic viewfinder and 4 rotary heads, notable features at a time when camcorders were an emerging and limited market. Located on the right of the camcorder is a mono microphone and on the left the electronic viewfinder and VHS cassette loading deck. Power and video connections to the AC adaptor are located on the rear of the unit, as is the battery compartment, microphone and earphone jacks.

The M5 is notable for its AC Adaptor unit which supplies external power, charges the onboard battery and can be used as an RF modulator to supply AV signals from the camcorder to a television without the need for a VCR. This is also useful for duplicating cassettes allowing the VHS cassette in the machine to be copied onto whichever cassette format the VTR supports. A VHS cassette can thus be copied to a betamax, permitting interoperability between formats. The camcorder was the first to implement the VHS HQ (High Quality) standard which advanced picture quality yet still ensuring compatibility with older machines.

pecification

**12V DC power source (AC adaptor, SLA 12V 2.2Ah battery pack or 12V cigarette lighter adaptor)
**4 Rotary heads
**240 Min recording time (with E-240 Cassette)
**CCIR television system featuring 625 lines and 50 fields PAL colour signal
**1 (mono) audio track
**1/2 inch CCD Image Sensor
**6:1 Power Zoom Lens with Macro function and auto iris
**Auto Focus system
**Auto White Balance control
**2/3 inch Electronic Viewfinder
**1,400 Lux illuminance
**80 Hz - 8 kHz Audio Frequency response
**2.5KG (exc. battery pack)
**Dimensions: 97(W) x 181(H) x 398 (D) mm

ee also

*Panasonic
*VHS

References

*Panasonic NV-M5 user manual