Panasonic HDC-HS300

Audio Features (5.75)

The Panasonic HDC-HS300 has more audio controls than your average high-end consumer camcorder. For starters, it has a built-in 5.1-channel Dolby digital microphone located just behind the lens on the top of the camcorder. The mic is located poorly, as your pinky can easily rub up against it when you're holding the camcorder. Moving over to the right side of the HS300, you'll find the external mic and headphone jacks. The jacks aren't located very well either, as they come too close to the edge of the hand strap when you're holding the camcorder. On a positive note, both the built-in mic and a connected external mic can be set to manual audio level control.

The built-in mic is not placed very well.

The built-in mic can be set to surround, zoom, or focus. Levels can be set using the Set +AGC feature. The interface looks more complex than it really is. At the bottom is an AGC button for turning the auto gain control on and off. At the centre is a slider for manually adjusting gain levels on a scale from -30 to +6 (fourteen increments total). This feature alone is more than you'll see in most consumer camcorders, but Panasonic takes it one step further by offering bass control. There are four different settings here: 0dB, +3dB, +6dB, and Lowcut.

The audio level adjustment screen

The animated image above shows the microphone level control display (Set +AGC). The 5 bar displays around the perimeter of the sliding scale represent the audio levels of each channel on the built-in mic. You can't adjust the levels of the individual channels, so the bars are really for display purposes only. The camcorder also has a wind cut option that can be turned on and off. Below are the audio features found on the Panasonic HDC-HS300 and its comparison camcorders:

Other Features (4.0)

Time Lapse Recording
The Panasonic HDC-HS300 can be set up to record a time lapse video. When engaged, the time lapse setting will condense a length of footage into a short, animated clip. Clip length can be set to 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. For example, if you film a slow sunrise for 30 minutes with the time lapse setting on 10 seconds, the camcorder will turn that long sunrise into a sped-up, 10 second clip. The maximum continuous recording time on the camcorder is 12 hours per clip.

Auto Ground Standby (AGS)
To prevent 45 minutes of dizzying soil and ant documentation, turn on Auto Ground Directional Standby. When the HDC-HS300 is left recording and the camcorder senses that it has dropped below its normal horizontal recording level, it will automatically shut off. This will save you battery life and precious space on your memory card.

Quick Start
A common feature on many camcorders, quick start allows the camcorder to immediately turn on when you open the LCD or extend the electronic viewfinder. We find quick start mode does not save all that much time, although it can be convenient if you're constantly turning your camcorder on and off.

Pre Record
Pre-Record constantly records three seconds of footage that is stored to an internal cache. The moment you hit the record button, the three seconds before you hit the Record button are added to the beginning of your clip. As long as the camcorder is pointed towards the action, it will compensate slightly for your slow reflexes.

Auto Focus Assist Lamp
On the front of the camcorder is a small auto focus assist lamp that helps with auto focus in low light situations. The lamp provides assistance in photo mode only and it is a feature commonly found on digital cameras.

Faders
A fade can be added to the beginning or end of your video clips. With the setting turned on, a fade will begin when you press the record button (both when starting and stopping recording). The fader can be set to white or black.