Panasonic HDC-HS300

Low Light Sensitivity (8.38)

We haven't seen many camcorders with excellent low light sensitivity this year. The Panasonic HDC-HS300, however, put up terrific numbers. It needed only 8 lux to peak at 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—this is better then Sanyo VPC-HD2000 needed. No camcorder has scored better than the Panasonic HDC-HS300 on our low light sensitivity test so far this year. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Shooting in 25p mode will often boost a camcorders low light performance. The Panasonic HDC-HS300, however, did not show any improvement sensitivity when using the alternate frame rate. The low light sensitivity of the camcorder did not improve when using the 24p mode and the low light colour accuracy and noise levels didn't show any significant improvement either. In contrast, the Canon HF S100 proved to be a much better low light performer when using its 25p record mode. Its sensitivity improved by a whopping 6 lux in 25p mode (from 12 lux down to 6 lux) and the camcorder showed lower noise levels and more saturated colours when using the slower frame rate.

Low Light Colour (4.42)

The Panasonic HDC-HS300 had good colour accuracy in our low light testing, although the results were fairly average compared to the rest of the competition. The camcorder measured a colour error of 7.28 in low light, with a saturation of 60.53%. In our low light colour test, the HS300's image looked very similar to that of the Sony HDR-XR520V and Canon HF S100.  (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Panasonic HDC-HS300 produced a colour error of 7.28 and a saturation level of 60.53% in our low light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

In the diagram above, you can see that the camcorder had more trouble with certain blues and purples than anything else. You can see from our test image that the camcorder still has a decently bright image in low light and colours are still vibrant and strong. Below are low light comparisons with the other models in this group.

Low Light Comparison
Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sony HDR-XR520
Canon HF S100	Sanyo VPC-HD2000

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 clearly has the brightest image out of this set. As a result, its colours are also the most accurate. To some, the Sanyo's colours could appear too saturated, but that is entirely a matter of opinion. Both the Sony HDR-XR520V and Canon HF S100 measured a colour error roughly on par, an better than Panasonic's.

Low Light Colour Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (11.83)

As we saw with low light colour, the Panasonic HDC-HS300 is right in the mix with the rest of the high-end camcorders when it comes to low light noise. The camcorder registered 0.82% noise in our low light testing—a good score. The Sony HDR-XR520V posted a similar 0.89% noise, while the Canon HF S100 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000 produced higher numbers to the Panasonic.  (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Panasonic HDC-HS300 100% Crop	Sony HDR-XR520 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop

In the crops above, you can see that the level of detail captured by the Sony HDR-XR520V and Canon HF S100 is better than the Panasonic HDC-HS300 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000. The Panasonic is not far behind, however, and its image is significantly brighter than both the Sony and Canon. The minuscule amount of noise on the Sony HDR-XR520V probably has something to do with its sharp picture at low light. Notice how crisp the number and lines are on its 100% crop above.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons