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October 5, 2009

Panasonic HDC-TM300 review

Product Code: HDCTM300EBK

The Panasonic HDC-TM300 camcorder captures good video and still images, allows deep manual control, and provides useful automated settings.

In 2008, we knocked the hard-drive-based Panasonic HDC-HS100 HD camcorder for its lacklustre video quality. But 2009 is looking up for the company, as the excellent Panasonic HDC-TM300 delivers some of the best still and video images we've seen from a small camcorder.

The Panasonic HDC-TM300, which stores video on both an internal flash drive and an SDHC card, provides robust and innovative features that justify the camera's relatively high price.

Three 1/4.1-inch CMOS chips capture images that the camera encodes as 1080i (at 60 interlaced frames per second) or 1080p (at 24 progressive frames per second) AVCHD files with a maximum data rate of 17 mbps. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 has 32GB of built-in flash memory, and it supports SDHC cards (you need to supply one yourself).

In our subjective evaluations, the Panasonic HDC-TM300's image quality slightly trailed that of the category-leading Canon Vixia HF S10. The narrow image-quality gap is impressive considering that Panasonic caps the HDC-TM300's maximum data rate far below the AVCHD format's (and the HF S10's) 24-mbps limit.

Even with the 17-mbps limit, the Panasonic HDC-TM300's video exhibits impressive resolution, smooth motion, accurate colour, and low noise. Under standard indoor lighting, the HDC-TM300 outscored all but one of the other HD camcorders in our test batch (the Vixia HF S10), earning a score of Good.

Under low light, the Panasonic HDC-TM300 didn't sacrifice a clean image to preserve smooth motion (or vice versa), a compromise that some other camcorders make. Even so, its low-light video results were in line with those of the competition, and it earned a low-light imaging score of Fair.

The Panasonic HDC-TM300 also boasts 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound, which it captures with a cluster of built-in mics mounted on the top. Audio capture was decent - more than adequate for casual shooters, but in the middle of the pack among the camcorders we tested. Still, our jury evaluations resulted in an audio-quality score of Good.

In case you want to shoot still photos in addition to your footage, the Panasonic HDC-TM300 also excels in that regard. The camcorder shoots 10.6-megapixel stills, and extremely sharp ones at that. In still-image quality, the HDC-TM300 was among the best in our test pack, exhibiting sharp, undistorted photos with reasonably accurate colour and exposure. The HDC-TM300 netted an overall still-imaging score of Good.

Like previous Panasonic HD camcorders, the Panasonic HDC-TM300 allows detailed manual control of attributes such as focus, shutter speed, gain, colour, and sharpness. The zebra and histogram features provide visual feedback that helps users dial in the best possible exposure. Experienced videographers will appreciate the clear viewfinder (an increasingly rare feature), the microphone and headphone jacks (no hot shoe, though), and the lens-ring control of camera settings.

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All users will like the 12X-optical-zoom Leica lens, which has very good optical image stabilization. Casual shooters (and experts in a hurry) will benefit from the unique Intelligent Auto (iA) features, which reach beyond standard automated control of focus, white balance, and the like. The iA settings automatically select the most appropriate scene file (portrait, low light, night scenery), optimise contrast, and improve skin colours.

Most impressive is the Panasonic HDC-TM300's AF Tracking feature. After you select a subject by touching its image on the LCD screen, the camera tracks the subject as it moves, keeping it in focus and well exposed for the length of the shot. The feature doesn't work perfectly in every situation (such as when a subject briefly moves out of the frame), but AF Tracking is surprisingly effective in many situations.

The Panasonic HDC-TM300 does have some minor issues, however. The 2.7-inch LCD touchscreen, while a great control interface for casual users, can become obscured by fingerprint smudges, and thus hard to view under bright sunlight. The camera lacks a mode for taking 30 progressive frames per second, which would have been extremely helpful for web-bound productions and the YouTube crowd. And the bundled HD Writer AE software gets simple jobs done but is limited in functionality.

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Independent customer reviews from

Panasonic HDC-TM300 scored:
9.0 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 41 reviews:

07 May 2009 Jeff, Sandbach

9

Good Points

The light weight and small footprint are all plus points on the TM300. The internal memory gives you around 4 hours of filming at full 1080i. The addition of an SD card facility can double this if required. There are many play back connection options with the HDMI being the best. Have yet to use all the facilities on the machine as there are so many but eventually I am sure I will be able to make use of most of them. The touch screen is easy to use but you have to do this with your left hand - so right hander start practicing.

Bad Points

When zooming as the product is so light keeping it free from shaking is a little difficult but this is something you will get used too (especially after using a more heavier device). The maiximum digital zoom is not really worth using as you get very pixelated (700x). 30x is good however.

28 Jun 2009 Emelie, Derby

10

Good Points

I love this camera. The image quality is great and the menus are easily accessible and logical. In opposite to a lot of reviews I have read I also think the touch screen is very responsive. The manual functions are great when you want more control and they are easy to operate.

Bad Points

The widest angle is not very wide so have had to buy a wide angle lens. The battery life could be better.

See more Panasonic HDC-TM300 reviews on Reevoo.com

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