Panasonic HDC-HS300 Camcorder Review

Compression & Media Summary
• 120GB internal hard drive provides plenty of storage space • SD/SDHC card slot expands storage capacity and versatility • 17Mbps bitrate isn't as high as other manufacturers, but this has little impact on overall video performance. • Editing software isn't very well designed, but it can work for simple tasks.
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Compression (8.0)

As with all high definition Panasonic camcorders, the HDC-HS300 records using the AVCHD codec. Panasonic and most of the other major manufacturers have been using AVCHD for several years now. This means that you should have no trouble finding video editing software that can work with the files. On the other hand, there's no getting around the fact that AVCHD files are very large and can gum up the works of older, less powerful computers. If you've never worked with large high definition files before, make sure your processor can handle the files before you make the transition.

Tech-savvy Canon fans might balk at the "mere" 17Mbps maximum bitrate, but we still don't see this as a deal-breaker. Sure, it's disappointing that Panasonic and Sony haven't risen to the 24Mbps ceiling for AVCHD, but we haven't seen a huge difference yet between the two bitrates. For now, the lens, sensor, and processing have a much larger impact on video quality. When Panasonic and Sony feel they're able to take advantage of a 24Mbps bitrate, we imagine they'll join the others.

Media (9.24)

The Panasonic HDC-HS300 includes a 120GB internal hard drive, which takes up a good portion of the right side of the camcorder. This is a lot of storage space, and it should be large enough to hold roughly 15 hours of video at the highest quality setting (exact record times are not available). If that isn't enough space for you, the camcorder also has memory card slot located inside the LCD cavity (just below a collection of ports). Here, you can insert standard SD/SDHC memory cards, which are currently made in sizes up to 32GB, to increase the storage capacity of the camcorder.

If recording to an internal hard drive doesn't suit you, Panasonic offers the HDC-TM300, which records to 32GB of internal flash memory (as well as having an SD/SDHC card slot). The TM300 is a bit smaller and lighter than the HDC-HS300, and it also costs $100 less than its hard-drive-based sister model. If you're looking for a camcorder with a larger internal hard drive than 120GB, Sony offers a whopping 240GB hard drive on the HDR-XR520V.

The camcorder has the option of recording to SD/SDHC cards as well as its 120GB hard drive

Below is a table listing the approximate record times for the camcorder when using various media:

Editing (7.0)

The camcorder ships with HD Writer AE 1.0, which is a simple editing software that is only compatible with Windows operating systems. The software lets you make simple edits to your footage, helps you organize clips, and assists with uploading video to the internet. Most importantly, the software enables you to import video from the camcorder onto your computer (the AVCHD footage can't simply be "dragged-and-dropped").

The "Simple Menu" screen on the HD Writer AE 1.0 software

When you open the HD Writer AE software, a "simple menu" pops up that guides you through some of the more common tasks the program can perform. We found the simple menu was fairly easy to use, although some of the features were too confusing than they needed to be. The image below is a screen grab of the "import to PC" screen. The design of the "import to PC" window has too much information and isn't very user friendly. We would have liked to see a simpler, cleaner layout for this very important option.

Importing video footage using the software

We got loads of error messages while working with the HD Writer AE software. Most of the time the messages popped up when we tried to do more complex tasks with the program, but they appeared consistently throughout our time spent with the software. Most professional or prosumer video editing programs should work smoothly with footage captured by the HDC-HS300. The camcorder is also compatible with iMovie. Our recommendation is that if you already have an editing program that you're comfortable with using, by all means keep using it with the HS300. HD Writer AE isn't a very good program, although it will work in a pinch if you need it to.

We got a lot of error messages when using the provided software.