 Almost a Prosumer Camcorder |
| Review Date: June 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Reece, Atlanta, GA USA |
I bought this camcorder to replace a Sony DSR-PD170. I needed to switch to from miniDV/DVCAM to HD, and in the process I wanted to go to flash media. There are very few choices right now. Panasonic's AG-HMC70U is a gigantic monster compared to my DSR-PD170, and the new Panasonics and JVCs aren't getting the greatest reviews - so I looked at the consumer camcorders.
I wanted 3CCDs and XLR inputs, but no XLR on a consumer camcorder, so I'm using a Studio One stereo mini to XLR box. The CCD vs. MOS isn't important to me, as long as I get 3 sensors. This is the only 3-sensor consumer camcorder using flash media I could find.
The quality is good, and I would say it's at the top of the consumer camcorder heap at this point. AVCHD is great for good quality with a very small file size, but make sure your editing software can handle the MTS format.
Panasonic supplies a utility that gives you some preformatting options when you download your video from the camera, but I'm not using it.
Here's how the camera records: Each time you record, it creates an mts file (AVCHD), if you pause and then continue, it writes the first file, and starts a new one. So you end up with a lot of sequentially numbered MTS files. I just download them to my PC without any pre-processing, and import them into Premiere Pro CS4 (it reads the mts files with no problem). You just put them in order on the timeline.
I am so happy to be done with tapes. The last vestiges of an ancient era in video processing. No more capturing video from the camcorder. Just lay the files into the timeline and edit them there.
Just for the heck of it, I tried to upload the mts files directly to YouTube. YouTube accepts the files and transcodes them, but they are very choppy, dropping frames left and right once on YouTube. So I bought a batch converter that converts them to 720p MPEG 2 files, and that makes YouTube happy.
So is the Panasonic HDC-TM300 a pro camcorder? Not hardly. Is it a prosumer camcorder? Not really. But it's a good choice if you want good quality HD video at a low price (compared to pro camcorders).
On the other hand, I just used this camera to record a 6-hour workshop in a hotel with not-so-great lighting. The video was very washed out - not even close to the low-light quality of my Sony DSR-PD170. The TM-300 has a manual iris/gain feature that lets you open up to 18db. Surprisingly, the brightness improves significantly without getting too grainy. Still not close to the PD170 in auto mode, but significantly better than the TM-300's auto mode.
I would have liked to have replaced my Sony with a Panasonic AG-HMC150, but at $3800, I just wasn't ready for the price. Although the TM-300 isn't quite good enough to cause me to get rid of my PD170, it's good enough to make it my camcorder of choice in well-lit shooting environments.
The Panasonic HDC-TM300 is a really great consumer camcorder that's well-worth the price. |
Great camera
|
| Review Date: August 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Brian D. Lackey, Fort Collins, CO USA |
Pros:
This camera has amazing color saturation. The 3 chip sensor design can be attributed to that. I have 2 Canon GL-2 cameras and their color with the 3 chip design had awesome color. That 3 chip design is what pointed me to this camera as no other HD cameras by other vendors.
The 10 mega pixel picture mode is nice too but is a little slow in processing the shot after the button is pushed.
The camera is small and the only thing I added that makes it a little bigger is a wide angle view lens. I highly recommend this add-on because it does lack a wide enough angle for indoor shooting. The flash works great but not with the wide angle lens as it is so large that it covers the flash.
Cons:
Panasonic does not provide any AVCHD support for Mac (but does for Windows) in that there is not an app on the software CD that will transfer the video files to your computer. iMovie and Final Cut Pro/Express work for pulling in video but you cannot simply copy the media from the card to the hard drive. The files are not self contained and the movie apps need additional meta data that is in other folders on the card to do anything with the files. A 40MB file turns into a 200+ MB file after Final Cut has log and transfered the file. This is a 5x change in file size. Yikes! Better buy more hard drive space.
Charger has a green light for charging and no light for when charging is done. Seems that if the power went off for the receptacle or the cord unplugged, you would not have a reliable sign as to whether the battery was charged or the cord came unplugged. Green light should note charging is done and an amber light should note it is charging. |
Great Camera HDC tm300 compact
|
| Review Date: May 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Reddy, BEAVERTON, OR USA |
I bought this HD video camera and so far I am really enjoying it
I wanted a 3 CCD Camera for the longest time and I finally bought one, I think 3 chips give better color depth than single chip ccds
This particular camera is HD specifically AVCHD and gives me full 1080 X 1920 in the AG mode; this is not the default I had to choose it in the settings; higher the resolution higher the storage on the built in card.
So far I am using the built in media and I think 32GB should keep me going for this year and I am waiting for the prices to fall on these HC cards.
The video quality is fantastic when I connected it to my Sharp HD LCD TV
It does not come with mini hdmi cable although it comes with the component video cables but I don't have the sound with that, so play back you need to buy this cable, I will do it later when I have the money for it
I shot in low light and the video is fine, In the daytime low light is better than night time low light; the best is out door daytime, especially the spring colors came out pretty good
Editing is a bear, this is the problem with AVCHD format, I need to upgrade my old computers, right now I will just stash those videos on big NAS drive, the HDWriter that comes with the camera is decent and it also can be used for Youtube (I have not tired this yet)
The touch screen is pretty good for choosing the clips I want and delting the clips I don't want
There are lots of features in the main menu and the quick menu is good for choosing the recording mode such as high res etc.
I have just tired one photo and it came out fine, I have not really pushed the envelop on the still photos
the media tree structure allows me to copy the photos and video easily this is inherent on AVCHD
Overall I give it 4.5 stars out of 5
The Camera is pretty light and my 10 year old daughter feels it is pretty light and she too loves it
I like the lens as it is bigger than the lens on cheeper cameres and it closes automatically, no more losing the lens cap
the view finder is takes some practice to use as I am used to my old view finder;
Defenately had to read the manual to get the most out of it
I have not tried the time lapse yet
It has many interfaces for headphone and mic etc, this is good as I wanted all these
Eventually I want to try green screen effects so the 3CCD should be an advantage, I hope to find a good editor for this |
Awsome camcorder!
|
| Review Date: December 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Moon the Loon, |
| Before purchasing this product I studied reviews of the competition for months. This camera wasn't on the market when I started my research. I wanted a camcorder that offered professional features and results at a prosumer cost. This camera certainly fit the bill. The picture quality is fantastic. Portability and ease of use are great. My only problem with the cam is that it's manual controls are somewhat more ackward to access than was my experience with my recently retired larger prosumer cams. For example, using the lens ring to manually adjust the iris forces you to use two hands when shooting. My prior cams had these adjustments on the back of the cameras where you could control the zoom, audio levels and iris with one hand while the other balanced the cam. However, I'm developing a new style to match this new Panasonic. Not dealing with tape anymore is like a dream come true. I'm also glad that I stayed away from the hard drive models that are larger and can be more problematic. |
Panasonic HDC-TM300
|
| Review Date: January 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: James Womack, USA |
First, let me say the sound quality rating was selected because the question for me is moot. I'm deaf so have no idea what the sound quality is like. I got the camera to film short sign language instruction sessions.
I bought the camera after a year long review of various types of cameras including some professional cameras. I actually had decided on the Canon XH-A1S and ordered it form Bingo Camera. Thank goodness my credit card is a real snot about large orders and protecting customers from fraud. I discovered Bingo was a scam sending falsely labeled junk IF they sent anything at all. So I started over again and found myself looking at the TM300 and its competitors. I narrowed it down to the Canon HF S100 and Panasonic TM300. I opted for the Panasonic and so far must say I'm stunned at its performance and very happy with it. Thinking (just thinking) of getting a second one. the big thing for me is that using this camera instead of my tape based systems of yore, I find my efforts to chroma key with Ultra 2 is now as simple as it should have been long ago. And I will never, ever, ever go back to tapes. The SDHC experience is wonderful, really speed sup my work.
I recommend this camera though not an expert, I did talk to experts online for a year and right up to my purchase decision. The most impartial ones, even those who used Canon, recommended the Panasonic TM300 based on how and what I planned to film. I'm glad I listened to them. |
|
No video reviews found for this product.
