Panasonic's HDC-HS300 HD camcorder reviewed, thoroughly enjoyed

Panasonic's HDC-HS300 was unleashed amidst a flurry of other camcorders at CES this year, but according to Trusted Reviews, it won't be hiding under the shadows of everyone else for long. Rather than bogging you down with details, we'll just get right to the punch -- critics didn't hesitate to suggest that this "could well be the best [consumer] camcorder released all year." The most important aspect (yes, we're talking about image quality) was said to be "nothing short of stunning in virtually all conditions," and low light performance was deemed "particularly amazing." There were plenty of outputs, a swank touchscreen LCD and a very impressive cross-shaped array of microphones that could record 5.1 audio. Add all that up, and you've got a real winner; in fact, these guys suggested that even Canon's stellar line of VIXIA camcorders should watch closely, 'cause the HS300 is stepping all up in that rarefied air.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 8th 2009 5:05AM]

I would go for this camera, IF it had two things:
- 24mbps AVCHD recording instead of 17 mbps.
- 1/3 sensor size instead of this miniscule 1/4.1.

And then, adding some zebra support, and internal ND control, wouldn't hurt either. But the first two things are a must have for me to leave Canon behind.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 8th 2009 9:18PM]

Did you see it has "3" CMOS chips compared to Canon's "1"? Canon has one 1/4 inch Panasonic has three 1/3 inch chips. I think there is a little more power in the panny when you do the math :)

I believe Canon will have their work cut out for them.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 8th 2009 9:24PM]

Panasonic has three "1/4 inch" and Canon has on "1/3 inch" my mistake.

[JDM Posted Feb 12th 2009 7:36PM]

Recording 5.1 using on camera microphones? On-camera microphones are almost never worthwhile.

A little competition is good. Obviously some sensor size might have to be traded to get three dedicated color sensors. I don't know about the Panny, but at least some of the Canons can focus on items that are touching the front of the camcorder, if you set the zoom to its widest. It's really fun stuff to play with.