Panasonic HDC HS 300 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: We took Panasonic's top HD commander for a stroll down Broadway. Will it kick-line the competition into oblivion? Read the full Panasonic HDC-HS300 review here.

Pros: Great architecture. Chock full of ports. Enhanced manual controls

Cons: Mediocre video quality and poor photo quality. Terrible AC adapter and DC input setup. LCD screen is too small

Verdict: Across the board, the interface had us stymied. Take the e-mail client, for instance. While typing a message, you can delete a character by pressing "back" or "Del." But if you want to delete an entire message, you have to use the left soft key, which ...

Review summary: Packed with a 120GB internal hard drive, HD video capability, and a host of controls and features, the HDC-HS300 (MSRP $1399) represents Panasonic's top-of-the-line camcorder for 2009. The most surprising facet of the camcorder was its test results, ...

Verdict: Panasonic implemented a new touchscreen LCD system on a number of camcorders this year, including the HDC-HS300. While touchscreens are often shunned by pro and advanced users, they are generally liked by amateurs. The touchscreen on the HDC-HS300 is ...

Review summary: A video camera lives or dies by its optics. A poor-quality model (think: the Flip for about $100, or a no-name brand at Best Buy) is a real disappointment in terms of resolution and...

Pros: Good color quality ; manual zoom and focus ; records in 1080p ; light and portable ; great 24p options

Cons: Not quite prosumer ; small LCD screen ; few scene modes ; non-standard HDMI port

Award: Recommended!

Review summary: James thinks the HDC-HS300 could be the camcorder release of the year. Find out why...

Verdict: The best image quality we have yet seen in a consumer HD camcorder, and a complete feature set, but it's expensive.