Panasonic HDC-HS60

Ease of Use (7.0)

The HDC-HS60 is just as easy to use as last year's mid-range camcorders from Panasonic. The presence of Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) controls, along with the simple-to-use touch-screen interface, make the HDC-HS60 an ideal camcorder for beginners. That's not to say the camcorder doesn't have its faults, however. Many of the icons on the camcorder's Function Menu are difficult to understand, which can be a problem for first-time users. The camcorder does come with an extensive instruction manual, but we found it was often lacking important information and its layout made certain sections difficult to understand.

The menu system on the HDC-HS60 is simple, but it can take a long time to navigate through the various menu screens because you must do so one page at a time. This setup can definitely become frustrating once you start to get to know the camcorder extremely well. The menu does have an information box that you can select to get more info about certain menu options. While we love having this "tool tip" feature, we don't really like the scrolling text system that Panasonic put into place. Sometimes you have to wait for up to 20 seconds as information scrolls across the screen—at a very slow pace—before you are actually able to read the entire tool tip. This is a simple flaw that Panasonic could easily correct on future models.

The Record Setup menu is the main menu for accessing video controls.		The icons on the Function menu can be difficult to interpret.

Handling (5.75)

The design of the HDC-HS60 is very similar to Panasonic's mid-range models from last year. The camcorder isn't too big and it isn't too small, and it should appeal to those who like a traditional camcorder design. We weren't impressed with the way the HDC-HS60 felt in our hand because of its bulky right-side grip. This is entirely due to the fact that there's a 120GB internal hard drive located on this side, so if you are very concerned about comfort you may want to check out the HS60's flash memory siblings (the HDC-SD60 or the HDC-TM55).

The HDC-HS60 is a good size for people who like traditional camcorders.

Panasonic clearly doesn't use the best hand straps on its mid-range models, and we were a bit disappointed with the flimsy strap featured on the HS60. Still, the camcorder's compact body made it easy to get a good grip, and it's lightweight design made for a decent handling experience. As for the buttons located on the HS60... well, most of them are fine and there really aren't too many of them. The only ones that aren't great are the "membrane buttons" located on the base of the LCD panel.

The right side of the HS60 is uncomfortable because of the internal hard drive.

The HDC-HS60's LCD touch-screen has its problems (don't they all?), but it does work well with some of the camcorder's auto controls—like AF/AE tracking. We didn't think the touch-screen was all that great for setting manual controls, particularly because there is no alternative method (like a dial or lens ring) for making adjustments.

There aren't too many buttons on the HDC-HS60, so it has a simple interface.

Overall, the HDC-HS60 is a camcorder that offers simple handling and should appeal to novice users. If you are someone that hates touchscreens or wants the precise control of a lens ring or dial, you should check out some of the higher-end models on the market.

Stabilisation (5.93)

The HDC-HS60 is equipped with optical image stabilisation (OIS) as well as an additional active stabilisation mode that is supposed to help stabilise footage in a high-shake situation. In our testing, we found the active stabilisation mode did work better than the camcorder's regular OIS, although the difference wasn't that dramatic. At best, the HDC-HS60 reduced 39% of the shake in our low shake test and 41% of the shake in our high shake test. With regular OIS engaged, the camcorder improved stabilisation by 35% in our low shake test and 34% in our high shake test. (More on how we test stabilisation.)

Panasonic HDC-HS60 Stabilisation Effectiveness

39% correction at low shake (above) 41% correction at high shake (below)

This is a decent performance by the HDC-HS60, but we've gotten far superior stabilisation results from high-end camcorders. The Panasonic HDC-HS20—which has the same OIS and active mode system as the HDC-HS60—also did a bit better than the HS60 in this test. The different shape and size of the two camcorders is the likely reason behind this discrepancy.

Even though Panasonic didn't improve the OIS on the HDC-HS60, we're not really disappointed by these results. The camcorder did a decent job for a mid-range model and we like the fact that Panasonic uses OIS instead of a digital stabilisation system (which can degrade image quality). The JVC GZ-HD620 is the only model in this set that uses digital stabilisation, but still managed to get a better score than the Canon HF M31.

Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-HS60 to the Panasonic HDC-HS20
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-HS60 to the Canon HF M31
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-HS60 to the JVC GZ-HD620

Portability (8.85)

The HDC-HS60 is a bit larger and heavier than last year's HDC-HS20, but most of its increased proportions stem from its 120GB internal hard drive. This hard drive really bulks up the right side of the camcorder, although the HDC-HS60 is still fairly small. The camcorder is probably too large to fit in most pockets, although it would work in a decently-sized purse. The fact that the camcorder has a 120GB internal hard drive does increase its portability, as you don't have to worry about packing extra memory cards when you go on vacation.

Looking at the table below you'll see that the HDC-HS60 is about the same size as the JVC GZ-HD620 slightly larger than the HDC-HS20, and significantly smaller than the Canon HF M31.

	Panasonic HDC-HS60	Panasonic HDC-HS20	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620
Primary Media	120GB internal hard drive	8GB internal flash memory	32GB internal flash memory	60GB internal hard drive
Secondary Media	SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card	SD/SDHC memory card	SD/SDHC memory card	MicroSD memory card
Weight	375g (with battery)	278g (with battery)	400g (with battery)	370g (with battery)
Size	51.5 x 65.5 x 112mm	48 x 63 x 115mm	70 x 62 x 124mm	53 x 68 x 113mm

Battery Life (5.15)

The HDC-HS60 (with its provided battery pack) lasted for 103 minutes in our battery test. This is an average score for a mid-range camcorder and you can see how the competition stacked up by checking out the chart below. The best thing about the new design of the HDC-HS60 (compared to last year's Panasonic HDC-HS20) is that the battery compartment is open-ended. This means you can easily load the camcorder up with a larger, longer-lasting battery pack. (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

The HDC-HS60 with its provided battery pack.

LCD & Viewfinder (8.0)

The Panasonic HDC-HS60 has the same basic LCD as last year's HDC-HS20. The screen is 2.7 inches in size and has a roughly 230,000-pixel resolution. Neither of these specs are particularly impressive, but compared to the other mid-range HD camcorders the HS60's LCD is actually quite good. Most manufacturers made the jump to larger LCDs on their flagship models in 2010... When will they start to push larger screens for mid-range models?

The LCD on the HS60 uses touch-screen technology and the screen functions in the same manner as last year's Panasonic camcorders. (Last year was the first year Panasonic introduced touch-screen LCDs.) There are also a few buttons on the base of the LCD panel—start/stop record, zoom buttons, menu, video light, and a delete button (for deleting clips during playback).

We wish Panasonic had implemented a larger LCD.

The HDC-HS60 does not have an electronic viewfinder, which is the norm for a mid-range model. The LCD has a number of display options, including a Power LCD setting that allows you to raise or lower the backlight illumination. You can also change the brightness and colour settings for the LCD.

	Panasonic HDC-HS60	Panasonic HDC-HS20	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620
LCD Size	2.7 inches	2.7 inches	2.7 inches	2.7 inches
LCD Resolution	230,400 pixels	230,400 pixels	211,000 pixels	123,000 pixels
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes	No	No
Viewfinder	None	None	None	None

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