Almost a Prosumer Camcorder

I bought this camcorder to replace a Sony DSR-PD170. I needed to switch to from miniDV/DVCAM to HD and in the process I wanted to go to flash media. There are very few choices right now. Panasonic's AG-HMC70U is a gigantic monster compared to my DSR-PD170 and the new Panasonics and JVCs aren't getting the greatest reviews - so I looked at the consumer camcorders.



I wanted 3CCDs and XLR inputs but no XLR on a consumer camcorder so I'm using a Studio One stereo mini to XLR box. The CCD vs. MOS isn't important to me as long as I get 3 sensors. This is the only 3-sensor consumer camcorder using flash media I could find.



The quality is good and I would say it's at the top of the consumer camcorder heap at this point. AVCHD is great for good quality with a very small file size but make sure your editing software can handle the MTS format.



Panasonic supplies a utility that gives you some preformatting options when you download your video from the camera but I'm not using it.



Here's how the camera records: Each time you record it creates an mts file (AVCHD) if you pause and then continue it writes the first file and starts a new one. So you end up with a lot of sequentially numbered MTS files. I just download them to my PC without any pre-processing and import them into Premiere Pro CS4 (it reads the mts files with no problem). You just put them in order on the timeline.



I am so happy to be done with tapes. The last vestiges of an ancient era in video processing. No more capturing video from the camcorder. Just lay the files into the timeline and edit them there.



Just for the heck of it I tried to upload the mts files directly to YouTube. YouTube accepts the files and transcodes them but they are very choppy dropping frames left and right once on YouTube. So I bought a batch converter that converts them to 720p MPEG 2 files and that makes YouTube happy.



So is the Panasonic HDC-TM300 a pro camcorder? Not hardly. Is it a prosumer camcorder? Not really. But it's a good choice if you want good quality HD video at a low price (compared to pro camcorders).



On the other hand I just used this camera to record a 6-hour workshop in a hotel with not-so-great lighting. The video was very washed out - not even close to the low-light quality of my Sony DSR-PD170. The TM-300 has a manual iris/gain feature that lets you open up to 18db. Surprisingly the brightness improves significantly without getting too grainy. Still not close to the PD170 in auto mode but significantly better than the TM-300's auto mode.



I would have liked to have replaced my Sony with a Panasonic AG-HMC150 but at $3800 I just wasn't ready for the price. Although the TM-300 isn't quite good enough to cause me to get rid of my PD170 it's good enough to make it my camcorder of choice in well-lit shooting environments.



The Panasonic HDC-TM300 is a really great consumer camcorder that's well-worth the price.More detail ...

Great job by Panasonic

This the first review I have felt was worth the time to do. I have have worked in several fields of photography over a 37 year career that include motion picture commercial catalogs and aerial mapping. I am also an avid amateur nature photographer. I lost count of how many film and video cameras I have purchased over the years. My last camera was a JVC model GR-DV3000 and 3.5 years old. It was a very good camcorder. I read several reviews on the Panasonic DHC HS300 before purchasing it. I is an outstanding piece of engineering. It work great right out of the box. I purchased the camera on July 6 and used it extensively on a recent trip to Las Vegas. The results from daylight and night time shooting is superb.



Pros: There are so many good features it is difficult to determine where to start. Switching from Video to Stills is easy and smooth. The touch screen is a big plus in navigating through the various menus. For the advanced user the are numerous manual options to chose from. The 10..6 megapixel stills are better that my 8.2 megapixel Canon D20 digital still camera. I purchased a 16 GB Transcend SDHC card to compliment the 120 GB internal hard drive. I used both the hard drive and the card in Vegas. It is very easy to transfer files from one to another. The video and still files work well with editing software. I use CyberLink Power Director 7 Ultra. Cables are provided to link up to HD TVs and pro logic receivers with the HDMI mini. Other cables are also provided. The thumb nails provide easy access to the video clips and stills.



Cons: The camera button and touch screen might pose some difficulty for a person with large hands. In this case the stylus to navigate the touch screen is necessary. Do not buy the filter sets that use a reduction ring from 43 mm to 37 mm. You end up with vignetting at the wide angle setting. I purchased Tiffen 43 mm filters. The additional Tele and Wide angle lenses are not worth the money. There is no neck strap or case available for this camera. Therefore I purchase a Lowpro gadget bag. It can be used as a fanny pack this a belt.



Conclusion: A bit pricey but Panasonic has put together a great overall package. More detail ...

Best camera for the price!!

It was a long wait but finally got it last week and then took it for a trip right away its performance it's outstanding I got this camera for a TV show we are producing after seeing a few options we decided to get this one because of several reasons:



- Size the camera is very compact for a camera that provides broadcast quality image the size is amazingly small.

- Construction this camera has most of its body made out with metal panels that makes it very solid and also makes it reliable also the set up of the buttons are easy to access.

- Price there are other models in the market that could deliver a similar quality or probably a little better but the cost is at least $1k more if you think like I do "creativity is the main ingredient for a good production" spending the extra cash doesn't really make a difference as long as you are aware of the camera's capabilities and limitations but there is always ways to improve performance in some conditions that could affect the correct functionality of your equipment.

- Tapeless technology we bought another AVCHD camera a little less than a year ago we use it mostly for action shots and underwater recording the transition was effortless the advantages and capturing time are reduced to minimal and the quality is amazing with this model we found that its quality is even better than older models and editing is a lot quicker also recording cost are cut to almost nothing with new SDHC cards that can be used over and over without loosing quality... Just this fact makes it a must buy!!!



After using it for this little time I have managed to work around its many controls and get exactly what I want from it the response to low light is not the best but it's decent you can always add a good light for little money and resolve that problem also the sound quality is excellent I didn't get the optional xlr adapter piece for it but I am using a 8mm wireless mic system that combined with this little fellow deliver great results!!



In short words: "the new Panasonic AG-HCM40 is not the best camera money can buy but to my opinion it's the best camera money can buy for this price!!" More detail ...

Don't Be Confused O.I.S. vs. E.I.S. and Camcorder Movement!

This Panasonic SDR-S26 camcorder is by far the best you can buy for the price and is rated best camcorder of 2009 CES!



I have owned a few others and none of them had true O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) and I assure you that this one does. My others had E.I.S. (Electronic Image Stabilization) and believe me there is a big difference. I have noticed a few other reviews on this camcorder and some say the image stabilization works great out to 20x and good to 40x 70x is still tripod territory. That's good advise as a tripod will assist in producing great videos with virtually no camcorder movement. Please don't be confused between the O.I.S and plain old camcorder movement with camcorder movement at 70x optical zoom the object that you are looking at may move somewhat due to arm and body movement BUT notice with O.I.S. the image remains clear and crisp with great detail even with some hand shakiness. With E.I.S camcorders which usually have less zoom capabilities approx. 40x optical zoom you'd notice while zoomed out not only is there camcorder movement BUT the image is also a bit blurry and has limited detail due in part to hand shakiness. So don't be confused or fooled by plain camcorder movement or the difference between O.I.S vs. E.I.S as Panasonic's SDR-S26 with O.I.S and 70x optical zoom will absolutely exceed your expectations as did mine and amaze you with a spectacular camcorder experience. I am an extremely satisfied owner of the Panasonic SDR-S26 Camcorder and I know you will be also.



You can also search the WEB for the Panasonic sdr-s26 and view some of the you-tube video zoom tests that were performed by camcorder owners and see the quality of the O.I.S. and the 70x optical zoom for yourself.



P.S. Don't forget to pick up a SD/SDHC flash memory card (preferably a 16GB priced around $40.00)and possibly an extra battery (part # B-9681 priced around $14.00) both at AMAZON.COM. More detail ...

The picture quality of a '90s cell phone

I bought the Panasonic SDR-H80 digital video camera from Best Buy yesterday (May 23 2009). It cost $399 + extra for a backup battery and a warranty.



The Good Stuff:



The optical image stabilization feature is quite adept at stabilizing a shaky image.



The 70x zoom is kinda cool though you really need a tripod for anything over about 30x.



The camera looks attractive is light weight and has a relatively easy to use interface. The buttons are mostly positioned well except the zoom lever which I couldn't easily reach without jostling the camera.



The Bad Stuff:



The image quality of this camera is utter trash. Pure garbage. My picture phone literally takes better quality video at a higher resolution. I was absolutely stunned at how bad the image quality is. It looks like some kind of highly compressed late 90's webcam or something.



And it gets even worse in low light. And here by "low light" I mean anything less than direct sunlight. My first attempts with this camera last night turned out so bad that I couldn't see anything.



I did have the camera set to the highest quality and I followed the instructions for the different lighting types (fluorescent mercury etc) with no luck.



The camera claims to have an intelligent auto (iA) feature but I didn't notice it doing much but fiddling with the white balance at odd intervals.



There is also a special low-light feature called "magic ..." something or other. I forget. But it reduced the frame rate to 1 or 2 fps which makes it completely unacceptable as a video recording device.



I am surprised at how good the reviews are for this piece of equipment. Really people set your bar just a little bit higher.



I returned this product this morning to Best Buy. I brought my laptop and while I was there I tried out other cameras of this model to make sure that mine was not simply defective. They were all trash.



I ate the $60 Best Buy restocking fee but that's okay because I'd rather be out $60 than $400 for a camera that won't do anything but sit in my closet.More detail ...