Panasonic HDC-TM700

Colour (11.99)

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 did an impressive job with our bright light colour test. The camcorder held a slight edge over last year's HDC-HS300 from Panasonic by registering a colour error of 2.92 and a saturation level of 98.39%. These are among the best scores we've seen from a consumer HD camcorder. (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Panasonic HDC-TM700 produced a colour error of 2.92 and a saturation level of 98.39% in our bright 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.)

Looking at the Colour Error Map above you can see the HDC-TM700 had no problem rendering blue and purple tones accurately. In fact, the camcorder ran into very little trouble with any of the colour patches on our test chart (the red tones were the most inaccurate, but even they were pretty good). We're also impressed with the picture adjustment options available on the HDC-TM700. Along with a colour depth setting is a new WB shift feature that allows you to make the colour tones hotter (more red) or cooler (more blue). You can see sample images of these settings below.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Colour Modes
Auto	100% Crop
Colour -5	100% Crop
Colour +5	100% Crop
WB Shift -5 (red tones)	100% Crop
WB Shift +5 (blue tones)	100% Crop

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 rendered colours that looked warmer and more vivid than the Canon HF S21. Overall, there wasn't too much difference between the colours captured by the TM700 and the HS300, however, and the Sony HDR-XR520 managed to produce a very saturated image as well. Since determining colour quality has a lot to do with personal preference, we recommend you decide for yourself what looks the best by checking out the colour comparisons below.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Colour Comparisons
Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21
Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300
Red
	Ideal	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300
Green
	Ideal	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300
Blue
	Ideal	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	Sony HDR-XR520	Panasonic HDC-HS300
Skin Tone 2

While the Panasonic HDC-TM700 produced the most accurate colours in our bright light testing, some people may prefer the colour quality from other camcorders. We must say, however, that the TM700's images looked very good on our HDTV and the colours had a lot of pop and depth. Still, most high-end HD camcorders do very well in this test—we just happen to prefer the warm, saturated colours of the TM700 over the competition.

Colour Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Sony HDR-XR520
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Panasonic HDC-HS300

Noise (10.81)

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 averaged 0.52% noise in this test, which is a very strong performance. The Sony HDR-XR520 and Panasonic HDC-HS300 both had slightly lower noise levels than the HDC-TM700, and the Sony HDR-XR520 did the worst job in this test. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
Panasonic HDC-TM700 100% Crop	Canon HF S21 100% Crop	Sony HDR-XR520 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS300 100% Crop

The crops above are useful for comparing sharpness and detail levels across these four high-end models. Each of the camcorders shown above did an exceptional job in our bright light testing and each managed to capture a very sharp image. The Panasonic HDC-TM700 actually did the best in our sharpness test, however, and you should be able to see a bit more detail near the bottom of its vertical trumpet in its cropped image above. The Canon HF S21 also captured a very sharp image, but it didn't do as well in our video sharpness test (continue onto the next section of this review to read more about sharpness).

Noise Score Comparison		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Sony HDR-XR520
		Compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 to the Panasonic HDC-HS300