Panasonic HDC-HS60

Low Light Sensitivity (3.77)

The Panasonic HDC-HS60 didn't blow us away in our low light sensitivity test, but it did do a lot better than last year's HDC-HS20. The camcorder needed 15 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor, an improvement that we are pleasantly surprised to see. Often, when a camcorder comes along with an increased pixel count we notice a dip in low light sensitivity. Thankfully, this was not the case with the HDC-HS60. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Unlike most Panasonic camcorders, the HDC-HS60 does not include a 25p recording mode (called Digital Cinema mode by Panasonic). Panasonic strangely eliminated this feature from its whole line of 2010 mid-range HD models (the HDC-SD60 and HDC-TM55 don't have it either). Usually, a 24p frame rate gives the camcorder a better low light sensitivity and a boost in low light performance overall (such was the case with the 24p modes on the Canon HF M31 and the Panasonic HDC-HS20). The big surprise was the JVC GZ-HD620, which scored better than any camcorder in this set.

Low Light Sensitivity
Mode	Panasonic HDC-HS60	Panasonic HDC-HS20	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620
Auto Gain, 60i	15 Lux	21 Lux	17 Lux	11  Lux

Low Light Colour (6.79)

The HDC-HS60 had an average performance in our low light colour test. The camcorder managed a colour accuracy of 5.40 and a saturation level of around 60.57%. These numbers are decent, and they do represent an improvement over the HDC-HS20, but they aren't top-notch for an HD camcorder. JVCs GZ-HD620 was, again, the leader of the pack when it came to low light colour accuracy and saturation. (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Panasonic HDC-HS60 produced a colour error of 5.40 and a saturation level of 60.57% 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.)

If you look at the comparison images below, you can see that the HDC-HS60 has a much better low light image than the HDC-HS20. The HS60 does particularly better when it comes to saturation in low light. The Canon HF M31 has a very saturated image that looks similar to the HDC-HS60, although the Canon's image is a bit darker. JVC continues to outshine its competitors, with a colour error of 2.8 and a very impressive 88% saturation level.

Low Light Comparison
Panasonic HDC-HS60	Panasonic HDC-HS20
Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620

Even though the colour accuracy numbers for the HS60 weren't great in low light, we are pleased with the camcorder's performance. Its saturation level was relatively high, which helped the camcorder produce strong, vivid colours in our low light test. As you'll see in the next section of this review, the HDC-HS60 also kept the noise levels down in our low light test while still retaining a fairly sharp image.

Low Light Colour 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

Low Light Noise (8.99)

The HDC-HS60 averaged 1.335% noise in our low light test, which is higher than last year's HDC-HS20. The thing to look at, however, is how much sharper the HS60's low light image is compared to the HS20 and the JVC GZ-HD620. Many times we'll see a camcorder that measures a very low amount of noise, but its image has almost no detail—this is the case with the Panasonic HDC-HS20 and the JVC GZ-HD620. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Panasonic HDC-HS60 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS20 100% Crop	Canon HF M31 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HD620 100% Crop

The HDC-HS60 arguably captured a sharper image than the Canon HF M31 in our low light test, but it's difficult to pick a clear winner. What is obvious, though, is that the HDC-HS60 had more noise than the  Canon HF M31, and you can even see this noise in the images above.

With its decent scores across the board, the HDC-HS60 is one of the best mid-range camcorders we've tested in low light. Its noise levels were never too high and the camcorder retained strong colour depth and detail in all of our low light tests.

Low Light Noise 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