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Panasonic HDC-TM300 Review

Author	James Morris
Published	23rd May 2009
Manufacturer	Panasonic
Price	£765.17 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£879.95 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Features
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Other than the differences already mentioned, the TM300 is pretty much the same camcorder as the HS300. The use of flash memory means power consumption is 10 per cent less, so batteries will last a proportional amount longer. But the features which made the HS300 such an excellent camcorder remain. Chief amongst these is the lens ring, something so few HD camcorders offer. In auto mode, this provides another way of controlling zoom. But simply press the manual focus button and it switches to controlling this feature instead.

There's an assist function to make things even easier. This magnifies a central rectangle of the frame so you can see more clearly whether your focus is sharp. Although we like the focus knobs on Canon's HF S10 and Sony's HDR-XR520, Panasonic's lens ring is better still. It allows you to perform 'rack focus', also known as focus pulling, where you change focus to guide viewer attention. The Canon and Sony knobs are too slow to execute this popular piece of camerawork.

There are discrete buttons for toggling Intelligent Auto (iA) mode and PRE-REC. The former switches on Panasonic's automatic system which detects conditions and switched on functions such as Portrait and Low Light accordingly. The PRE-REC system spools footage until you hit record, tacking it on the front so you don't miss a shot. There are also buttons for disabling the optical image stabiliser and manual mode, but after pressing the latter everything else is operated via the touchscreen.

As usual for a Panasonic camcorder, manual settings are comprehensive. You can configure shutter and iris independently, and once the aperture is fully open you can add up to 18dB of video gain. There's even an onscreen histogram. However, these settings are harder to configure with the touchscreen than they were with the multi-function lens ring provided by the HDC-HS100 and SD100. The touchscreen also enables an AFAE option when in auto mode. This lets you specify a reference point for focus and exposure by simply touching within the frame. If this is a moving object the camcorder will track it across the frame, including human subjects picked up by the face detection system.

The only real missing feature with the TM300, as with the HS300, is that there is no specific progressive mode. The Digital Cinema option shoots x.v.Colour and progressive, but this also disables some of the features, in particular the AFAE function, so won't please the semi-pros. We wish Panasonic would follow Canon's leave and offer a true, separate progressive mode, because more and more TVs support this now and it's clearly the way computers display video.

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Coolsmoke said on 28th July 2009

James,
Watched & absorbed a multitude of your precise & informative reviews. I am very glad to have found your web site. Put in an order for the TM300 largely bas... more

abbeydale said on 8th August 2009

CANON HFS10 v. PANASONIC TM300. IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY GRAIL. To JAMES MORRIS,
Many thanks for your great reviews. I am trying to decide between these 2 excellent cameras (HFS10 and TM300). I have done hours of research and swayed both ways. I have a CANON HV20 producing excellent results. Time for upgrade. INFOSYNC rates the Canon HFS10 at 86% and is their winner. They rate Pan HS300(TM300) as 74% in 8th position! They slate the HS300/TM300 and suggest they should scap the 3-chip sensors. They say the manual controls on the Touchscreen crashed and the camera could not perform. SLASHCAM (Germany) produced extremely informative review and comparison. They rate the Panasonic HS300/TM300 at 372/570. They rate Canon HFS10 at 344/70. Their published review can be seen at www.slashcam.com/slashcom/cam-test.html. 3 Camcorders can be analysed simultaneously. It was incredible to see the 1200 lux and 12 lux picture comparison. Both cameras were excellent in good light (1200 lux). The Canon suffered terribly in lowlight (12 lux). Their analysis covers 13 categories and some of those categories can involve up to 37 parameters! TRUSTED REVIEWS (James Morris) also produce a fantastic comparison/review and I have read your articles with great interest. At the end of the day, some guys may prefer greener grass or paler skin or bluer sky. As SLASHCAM states, the Panasonic HS300/TM300 has excellent Focus Ring etc. They state that the image quality is FLAWLESS and even adjustable. Canon is equally praised in most areas. DIGITAL TRENDS states HFS10 needs better wind noise reduction (not a problem with directional mic attached?). Other cons for the HFS10 is 2 channel stereo, LCD should be bigger. They say that the CANON HFS10 has outstanding video quality but it is not the HOLY GRAIL. The search for the HOLY GRAIL continues. My research findings are that the HFS10 and TM300 are fantastic cameras and perhaps the CANON has the slight edge over the PANASONIC in image quality. Most of the camcorder ratings show that the HS300/TM300 has better numbers CAMCORDERINFO gives the Panason HS300/TM300 268.43 (1st) and the Canon HFS100 (HFS10 sister) 253.91 (3rd). My overall conclusion is that I would prefer the PANASONIC TM300 at the moment (£300 cheaper and within a cats-whisker of quality). Now that the PANASONIC TM350(and the CANON HFS11) has been launched in Japan (and the CANON HFS11) it will be interesting to compare these 2. I think I will reserve my choice (probably TM350, or is the HOLY GRAIL TM350?). ANY COMMENTS would be appreciated. To JAMES, please, please, please give us a review of the TM350 and HS11 as soon as you can, plus any comments of my other observations.

I hope this evidence is helpful to readers in this dilemma of searching for the Holy Grail

CANON HFS10 v. PANASONIC TM300. IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY GRAIL. To JAMES MORRIS,
Many thanks for your great reviews. I am trying to decide between these 2 excellent cameras (HF... more

TDV said on 11th September 2009

@ abbeydale - Funny. I've just spent the last few hours going through those exact reviews you mention. Great summary, by the way..

I'm also torn between the Canon an... more

TDV said on 11th September 2009

Doh! It's me again.. Since I have to wait for moderation, I think I made a mistake in one of my URLs..

One of the YouTube links should've been for the TM300, NOT the... more

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