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Panasonic HDC-HS9 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on Apr 7, 2008 3:28 PM
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Compression (7.0)
The Panasonic HDC-HS9 is the third and latest generation of camcorders using the AVCHD compression format. From its outset, AVCHD was created to allow consumer-grade non-tape camcorders – HDD, DVD, and flash memory – to record in high definition. Like most formats, the first generation was expensive and, in many ways, deficient. We saw a lot of compression artifacting, including chunky blocks of pixels, trailing, and ghosting. The first and second generation recorded in 1440 x 1080, then stretched to 1920 x 1080 for playback. Bit rates were slower, and we just weren’t satisfied.
This third generation is finally starting to make good on the promise of replacing tape. It’s important to understand, though, that compression formats do not exist in a bubble. The video performance is as much dependent on the lens, the sensors, and the processing.
How did the Panasonic HDC-HS9 do? We’re happy to say that’s much better than earlier Panasonics. The bitrate has increased from 13 Mbps in the first generation to 17 Mbps. This seems to have reduced trailing. Unfortunately, the other AVCHD camcorders we’ve looked at this year have all produced sharper looking images than the Panasonics, particularly the Canon HF10 and Sony HDR-SR12. This may be as much an issue with the sensor as with the compression.
There are four quality settings on the Panasonic HDC-HS9, each of which corresponds to a bitrate: HA (17 Mbps), HG (13 Mbps), HX (9 Mbps), and HE (6 Mbps). The HA and HG settings record in full 1920 x 1080 and can capture in either 1080/60i or 1080/24P. The HX setting records in 1920 x 1080, but can’t capture 24P. The HE setting records in 1440 x 1080 1080/60i only.
Media (7.0)
The Panasonic HDC-HS9 offers two options for recording media, a 60GB internal hard disk drive (HDD) or removable SD/SDHC flash memory cards. No card comes included. The HDC-SD9, identical to the HS9 in performance, specs, and features, is $300 less expensive because it only records to memory card.
That’s an awful lot of money for a hard drive, but it does offer you some insurance. Memory cards are generally small and can’t hold that much video. Compare the capacities below:
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60GB HDD
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4GB SDHC Card
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8GB SDHC Card
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| HA |
460 min
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30 min
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60 min
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| HG |
610 min
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40 min
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80 min
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| HX |
920 min
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60 min
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120 min
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| HE |
1320 min
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90 min
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180 min
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Editing (4.0)
Editing AVCHD video is getting easier. There are many editing platforms that can import and work natively with the footage, including several consumer-friendly options. If you don’t want to spend any money on software from the outset, and you really like to edit, you may have a hard time. The Panasonic HDC-HS9 ships with HD Writer 2.5E for HDC. This allows you to do the basics – import video to your computer, make basic edits, and export movies. Also in the box is the trial version of Pinnacle Studio Plus HD Edition. The trial only lasts for 15 days after installation, so you may want to stockpile your footage, then do a barrage of editing. If you own a new Mac, iMovie ’08 works with AVCHD files, as well.
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