Best Professional Panasonic Camcorder

Panasonic's trio of prosumer camcorders, the hard-disk-based HDC-HS900 and flash-based TM900 and SD800, deliver generally excellent video quality and provide the full set of manual controls and features advanced users want. But you have to be willing to baby the white balance a bit. The TM900 is my top pick of the three for its EVF, but if you're on a tight budget the SD800 should suit just fine.

The HDC-TM900 (MSRP $1099) is a great camcorder, that much is clear. It captured excellent video in a variety of record modes, and its performance recording 1080/60p HD video was as good as it gets. It has a ton of controls, a solid body design, and its 3D recording option (with the purchase of an optional conversion lens) makes it a cutting-edge product.

Despite all this, we are still disappointed with the TM900. Other than adding the 3D capability and increasing the size of the LCD, Panasonic didn't do much to improve on last year's HDC-TM700â??

Panasonic's HDC-TM900 offers no revolutionary new features, now that 3D shooting has already started its journey to ubiquity. But like its predecessors it blends excellent enthusiast features, headlined by the lens ring, with supreme image quality. There's also no significant premium being charged for this new model compared to the outgoing TM700, if you can still find it. So the TM900 takes over from its predecessor as our videomaking enthusiast camcorder of choice.

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In our time with the HDC-Z10000, we were impressed by the camcorder's plethora of manual controls, excellent set of features, and very good performance in 3D record mode. We have not tested the camcorder at this point, but we were able to shoot some video with the Z10000 and watch it on a 3D TV during our hands-on with the product.

The HDC-Z10000 has a couple of notable niggles - the touch-operated shutter speed control and laggy zoom ring being at the forefront. It will also seem massively expensive when JVC's Everio GS-TD1 costs half as much and Panasonic's more consumer-focused devices even less. But it should be seen in the light of full professional 3D models costing £7-8,000. These offer bigger sensors for even better image quality, and extra professional studio features like genlock and HD-SDI digital video output.

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The Panasonic HDC-Z10000's £3,000 asking price may seem steep, but it's actually pretty cheap when you consider that the company's professional 3D line starts at around £15,000. And, when it comes to image quality and functionality, the HDC-Z10000 is in a league of its own -- at least until Sony's similarly priced but less consumer-friendly PMW-TD300 makes an appearance.

- It's also more practical here, since Panasonic also has the smallest, lowest-resolution LCD in its class.
- Because of the small, low-resolution sensors still photo quality doesn't match the competition's.
- It's better in low light than the rest, with lower noise and accurate but slightly more saturated colors.

The Panasonic HDC-HS700 is one of two high-definition digital camcorders (HS700, TM700) announced in February 2010 as successors to Panasonic's HS300/TM300 series. Both camcorders feature a 35mm wide-angle Leica lens, a 12x optical zoom, and SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card expansion.

The Panasonic HDC-Sd700 is everything that a high-def camcorder should be. It provides a wealth of advanced features for experienced videographers, while remaining very user-friendly for beginners. Without question, it is one of the best HD camcorders in its price range.

A very good prosumer HD camcorder, the Panasonic HDC-HS300 still isn't as good a deal as the similarly featured but flash-based TM300 and has the same annoying touch-screen interface.

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- Most of the buttons are poorly designed and some are difficult to access while you are shooting.

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- The HDC-TM300 has a 2.7” wide LCD, auto focus tracking, and a manual ring that can control zoom, focus, aperture, shutter speed and white balance.