Panasonic HC-X900 Camcorder Review
$1,199.00
- Sections:
- Low Light Sensitivity
- Low Light Noise
- Low Light Color
- Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
Low Light Sensitivity
Unfortunately, the low light sensitivity for the HC-X900M took a hit compared to last year's HDC-TM900 camcorder from Panasonic. The results for the new model weren't drastically different, however, and the X900M is still one of the better camcorders in low light we've seen, but it is always disconcerting when a new camcorder does a worse job than its predecessor. When using zoom, the X900M required 14 lux of light to record video that was bright enough for broadcast. Without zoom, the camcorder needed just 8 lux of light to capture an image at the same brightness. More on how we test low light sensitivity.
Low Light Noise
The Panasonic HC-X900 excelled in our low light noise test, and its numbers were nearly identical to what we measured on last year's HDC-TM900 camcorder from Panasonic. Here's the hard numbers for all the noise geeks out there (you know who you are!): the HC-X900 averaged a0.86% noise in low light, which is just a tad higher than its bright light noise levels. When shooting under dim indoor lighting, we noticed very little noise on our recorded image. Obviously, things got worse in extreme low light situations, but that's the case with nearly all camcorders. More on how we test low light noise.
Low Light Color
Color results in low light for the HC-X900M weren't as strong as the camcorder's noise results, but they were still decent. The camcorder managed a color error of 4.76, which is not far off from the Panasonic TM900's error of 4.32 last year. Where the X900M experienced a drop was in color saturation, as the camcorder put up a meager 68% saturation level in low light. This is a far cry from the vibrant, 85% color saturation we measured on the HDC-TM900 last year. More on how we test low light color.
Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
Color Error Map
The map on the left is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.
The Panasonic HC-X900M produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.
