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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
Image Quality
Value
Overall

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Since the optics and sensor are the same on the TM300 as the HS300, video performance should be identical. Unsurprisingly we couldn't see any differences, which is no bad thing as the HS300 shoots excellent video. The Panasonic shoots a slightly more naturally coloured video in good lighting than the Canon and Sony competition (although Canon provides settings to dial this back if desired). Detail is excellent, too.

Low light performance is noticeably better than the last few Panasonic HD camcorder generations. Colour and brightness are maintained to impressively low levels of illumination, without much sign of grain, so there's still plenty of detail, too. In comparison, Sony's HDR-XR520 has a slightly darker, but still very impressive image in the same lighting. Canon's LEGRIA HF S10 shoots slightly brighter footage, but with a little more grain. It's a matter of taste, but we still slightly prefer the Canon's performance in very low light. There's not much in it, and Panasonic's lens ring, full-sized accessory shoe and lower price provide more than enough compensation.

Verdict

The Panasonic HDC-HS300 looked like a hard act to beat when we reviewed it, but the TM300 is an even more attractive package. The smaller video storage is balanced out by the reduced weight, and it's around £50 cheaper too. Although Canon's LEGRIA HF S10 and Sony HDR-XR520 are brilliant camcorders too, the former is considerably more expensive and the latter doesn't offer the TM300's manual control. If you're serious about your video making, the HDC-TM300 gets the balance just right between features, video quality and price.

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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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