Panasonic HDC-HS60

Compression (7.0)

The Panasonic HDC-HS60 uses the same AVCHD compliant compression system as last year's HD models from Panasonic. This compression system, which uses the MPEG4-AVC/H.264 codec is a standard in the consumer camcorder industry for high definition camcorders. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of AVCHD here.

We must point out that the HDC-HS60 tops out with a bitrate of 17Mbps for recording video. The maximum bitrate AVCHD can handle is 24Mbps, and all of the other major manufacturers offer this recording bitrate—including Sony, who implemented a 24Mbps bitrate on its new camcorders in 2010. We're somewhat surprised that Panasonic did not make the jump to 24Mbps this year, although the company does offer a 24Mbps bitrate on some of its professional camcorders. The HDC-HS60 has four quality settings for recording video, but it does not have any options for recording in standard definition.

Format	Resolution	Bitrate	Codec
HA	1920 x 1080	17Mbps	MPEG4-AVC/H.264 (AVCHD)
HG	1920 x 1080	13Mbps	MPEG4-AVC/H.264 (AVCHD)
HX	1920 x 1080	9Mbps	MPEG4-AVC/H.264 (AVCHD)
HE	1920 x 1080	5Mbps	MPEG4-AVC/H.264 (AVCHD)

Media (9.49)

With the Panasonic HDC-HS60, you have the option of storing video on the camcorder's 120GB internal hard drive, or to memory cards via its SD/SDHC card slot. The memory card slot is also compatible with SDXC cards up to 64GB in size, although SDXC cards aren't widely available yet. The 120GB internal hard drive will allow you to store lots of video right on the camcorder (close to 16 hours at the highest quality), but internal hard drives do have their problems as well. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of internal hard drive camcorders.

The HDC-HS60 has a 120GB HDD, but you can also record to memory cards.

The table below lists the approximate record times (according to Panasonic) for the HDC-HS60. The record times vary depending on what media and quality settings are used. The HDC-HS60 does not allow for continual recording from the camcorder's internal hard drive to an inserted memory card (often called relay record).

	HA (17Mbps)	HG (13Mbps)	HX (9Mbps)	HE (5Mbps)
120GB internal hard drive	15 hours 50 min	20 hours 30 min	31 hours 20 min	51 hours
4GB SD card	30 min	40 min	1 hour	1 hour 30 min
8GB SD card	1 hour	1 hour 20 min	2 hours	3 hours 20 min
16GB SD card	2 hours	2 hours 40 min	4 hours 10 min	6 hours 40 min
32GB SD Card	3 hours	4 hours	6 hours	10 hours
64GB SD card	6 hours 20 min	8 hours 10 min	12 hours 30 min	20 hours 20 min

Editing (7.0)

The HDC-HS60 ships with HD Writer AE version 2.0 editing software. This is the same software that came with last year's Panasonic camcorders, but it has been updated to a new version. The camcorder also has a few internal editing options that allow you to divide or copy clips in-camera.

For an overview of the software that ships with the Panasonic HDC-HS60 and other Panasonic camcorders, see our article: "Video Editing Software For Your Camcorder".

Panasonic HDC-HS60 Comparisons
Panasonic HDC-HS20	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620