Panasonic HDC-HS300 Camcorder Review

by Kaitlyn Chantry and Jeremy Stamas
Published on May 6, 2009 2:17 PM

 
Intro
 Product Tour
Colour & Noise Performance Motion & Resolution Performance
Low Light Performance Compression & Media
Manual Controls Still Features
Handling & Use Playback & Connectivity
Audio & Other Features Sony HDR-XR520 Comparison
Canon HF S100 Comparison Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Comparison
Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Introduction
The HDC-HS300 is Panasonic's new flagship camcorder. In addition to a wide range of manual controls, the Panasonic offers a manual control ring and a retractable viewfinder, something pros can appreciate. The new touch screen LCD is a nice touch, as well, though its far from iPhone-quality. With up to 15 hours of high definition video on the 120GB hard drive, the HS300 is among the most intriguing camcorders of the year.


(Page 1 of 17) Product Tour

Section The Good The Bad
Product Tour Has a similar aesthetic as pro camcorders Nothing of note
Colour & Noise Performance Noise and colour accuracy were excellent  Not enough colour modes or adjustment tools
Motion & Sharpness Performance Smooth and sharp videos Shows a little bit more artefacting than the competition
Low Light Performance Low light sensitivity is superb, very good low light colour and noise No performance improvement in 25p mode 
Compression & Media Plenty of storage in the 120GB hard drive Editing software not very good 
Manual Controls Numerous manual controls and Intelligent auto (iA) features  No possibility to use manual controls and iA cannot at the same time
Still Features Sufficient of image size and aspect ratio options Burst feature not available in still mode, menu system a little confusing
Handling & Use Manual control ring and viewfinder are good features to have When not using the viewfinder  other settings  ring than zoom or focus when not using viewfinder
Playback & Connectivity Cold accessory shoe fits many devices Power input is inside the battery compartment.
Audio & Other Features Pre-record and time lapse record very useful  Microphone and headphone jack are   poorly placed



Product Tour >>