Panasonic HDC-HS60 Camcorder Review

by Jeremy Stamas
Published on Feb 19, 2010 3:00 PM

 
Intro
 Product Tour
Color & Noise Performance Motion & Sharpness Performance
Low Light Performance Compression & Media
Manual Controls Still Features
Handling & Use Playback & Connectivity
Audio & Other Features Panasonic HDC-TM10 Comparison
Canon HF20 Comparison JVC GZ-HD300 Comparison
Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Introduction
The Panasonic HDC-HS60 The HDC-HS60 is part of Panasonic's new crop of mid-range camcorders for 2010. It boasts a 1/4.1-inch CMOS sensor, 25x optical zoom lens, and 120GB internal hard drive. The camcorder impressed us with its strong performance, but we expect a lot of good competition in the mid-range camcorder market this year.

The HDC-HS60 will be available later this year for $699.95. The HS60 is part of a series from Panasonic that includes the HDC-SD60 and the HDC-TM55. More...
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Section The Good The Bad
Product Tour Wide angle lens; automatic lens cover Hand strap is flimsy and doesn't have much padding
Color & Noise Performance Good color accuracy and low noise levels None
Motion & Sharpness Performance Video sharpness was quite good for a mid-range camcorder; motion also looked good in our testing No 24p Digital Cinema mode
Low Light Performance Overall low light performance was very good None
Compression & Media 120GB internal hard drive; SDXC memory card compatibility No 24Mbps recording option; no standard definition record mode
Manual Controls Lots of manual controls available; Intelligent Auto controls work well; 25x optical zoom is one of the longest we've seen on an HD camcorder Controls must be set using touchscreen; auto white balance wasn't effective under certain lighting conditions
Still Features Decent set of still features 5-megapixel still images are interpolated
Handling & Use Camcorder is compact, has good button placement, and feels durable LCD isn't very impressive and the touchscreen system can be annoying
Playback & Connectivity Playback is simple and the camcorder has all of the most important connectivity features No accessory shoe; ports located inside the LCD cavity are unprotected
Audio & Other Features Audio levels can be adjusted manually; wind noise canceler feature is an impressive addition No external mic or headphone jack

 

Panasonic HDC-HS60 Comparisons
the Panasonic HDC-TM10 the Canon HF20 the JVC GZ-HD300
Panasonic HDC-TM10 Canon HF20 JVC GZ-HD300



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