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Panasonic HDC-HS9 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on Apr 7, 2008 3:28 PM 
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Ease of Use (6.75)
The HDC-HS9 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) is equipped with classic Panasonic manual controls—Focus, Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance, and Gain. That’s a lot for a beginner to take in. When the HDC-HS9 is set to Auto mode, most of the manual controls are disabled, but it’s not as restrictive as Sony’s Easy mode. You still have features like Digital Effects and Backlight Compensation available. The shooter looking for a free ride will find the HDC-HS9’s Automatic adjustments to be hit or miss, and will most likely be forced to come to terms with Manual Controls at some point. In this vein, Panasonics are great camcorders to learn on. The quick Joystick menu is convenient and easy to follow, though the Joystick’s placement within the LCD cavity is highly undesirable.
Luckily, the HDC-HS9’s menu structure is clean and quick—one of the best systems out there. Options are easy to locate and can be accessed almost instantly. Panasonic also threw an OIS button in the LCD cavity for instant stabilization adjustment. Of course, we would have liked more external controls, like a Cam Control dial, Focus ring, or Playback controls mounted to the LCD panel. The HDC-HS9 leaves you high and dry when it comes to external options, unlike the Sony HDR-SR12 (Review, Specs, $1399.00), which offers a Cam Control dial, viewfinder, and LCD controls.
To its benefit, the HDC-HS9 utilizes two of the friendliest forms of media out there—a 60GB HDD and Memory cards. Forget the annoyance of DVDs and real-time capture of tape. The only issue you’ll run into coincides with editing. AVCHD is still a demanding format, and a powerhouse computer is required to handle the complex files.
Handling (5.5)
Any way you slice it, the HDC-HS9 is subject to some tough competition. The Sony HDR-SR12 just floored us with some of the best architecture we’ve seen on a camcorder in a long while (and that goes for the Sony HDR-SR11 (Specs, $1399.00), as well, which is physically identical). The Canon HF10 is equipped with Mic and Headphone jacks and a hot accessory shoe, despite its diminutive size. Both the HDR-SR12 and HF10 are solid camcorders that handle like champs. Even JVC’s GZ-HD6 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) feels solid in the hand and features a slew of essential ports. Unfortunately, the HDC-HS9 received the short end of the stick here. There are no Mic or Headphone jacks, no accessory shoe of any kind, and limited external controls. Without these essential ports, the HDC-HS9 is at the bottom of the totem pole for serious shooters. The HDC-HS9 is limited in its capabilities and simply cannot pose any sort of threat to the formidable HDR-SR12 and HF10.
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Panasonic HDC-HS9 |
Panasonic HDC-SD9 |
Handling on the HDC-HS9 falls within the middle of the scale in terms of comfort. This camcorder is not constructed as solidly as a Sony or a Canon. As outlined earlier in the review, Panasonic left six screws uncovered, leading to an unfinished, cheap look. Size took precedence over quality handling—the HDC-HS9 is certainly portable, but it’s geared primarily toward consumers who could care less about manual adjustments. Power shooters will be very disappointed with the joystick’s inopportune LCD cavity placement. The location is awkward and the operating finger blocks the LCD screen. Remember the rear-mounted joystick of yore, a Panasonic standard? Furthermore, the HDC-HS9 lacks a viewfinder, essential ports, and any form of advanced external controls.
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The joystick in the LCD cavity |
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For a consumer, the HDC-HS9 may seem cool. Unfortunately, more advanced shooters will dream of something more. What more, you ask? How about this: an HDC-HS9 that is approximately 20 percent larger with a Focus ring, lens hood, rubberized viewfinder, Mic and Headphone jacks, accessory shoe, and external Aperture, Shutter Speed, and White Balance dials. Unfortunately, they don’t make ‘em like they did in MiniDV’s heyday. The Panasonic PV-GS400 (Review, Specs, $1099.00) (Review, Specs, $1099) is a prime example of how a camcorder could be designed.
Menu (6.5)
Panasonic’s menus are well organized and easy to navigate. All options are grouped in logical categories and menu selection is rapid. The new joystick location is a pain in the behind—we long for the rear-mounted design of yesteryear. The Sony HDR-SR12’s 3.2-inch touch screen is a better system—we never thought we’d prefer a touch screen over a joystick, but until Panasonic gets its act together, we’re sticking with Sony’s menu.
Panasonic’s Joystick menu allows for instant image adjustment, as it contains all Manual Controls. Press the center of the Joystick to access the Joystick menu. When the HDC-HS9 is set to Manual/Manual Focus mode, the Joystick menu contains the following options:
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Joystick Menu |
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| Page 1 | Fades, Help Mode |
| Page 2 | Soft Skin Mode, MagicPix |
| Page 3 | Low Light Mode, Self-Timer, Tele Macro |
| Page 4 | Iris, White Balance, Shutter Speed |
| Page 5 | Manual Focus |
The Joystick menu in action
The Administrative menu is accessed by pressing the Menu button located in the HDC-HS9’s LCD cavity. When accessed, the Administrative menu contains the following items:
| Administrative Menu | |
| Basic | Scene Mode, Digital Zoom, Guide Lines, Clock Set, Set World Time |
| Video | Record Mode, 24p Digital Cinema, Fade Color, Wind Cut, Mic Setup, Mic Level, AGS |
| Picture | Picture Quality, Hi-Speed Burst, Flash, Flash Level, Red Eye, Shutter Sound |
| Advanced | Record Lamp, Zebra, Color Bar, MF Assist, Auto Slow Shutter, Shooting Guide, Digital Cinema Color |
| Setup | Display, Date/Time, Date Format, Power Save, Quick Start, Beep Sound, TV Aspect, Initial Set, Demo Mode |
| Language | English, Francais, Espanol |
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Portability (7.75)
The HDC-HS9 is closest in size to Panasonic’s standard definition SDR-H200 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $569.00), last year’s three-CCD HDD leader of the pack. The HDC-HS9 measures 75 x 74 x 126 (2.96 x 2.9 x 4.96 inches) and weighs in at 452 grams (0.997 pounds). Certain pockets that are cavernous enough will accommodate the HDC-HS9, but this camcorder is not as freakishly petit as the HDC-SD9. This is the smallest AVCHD HDD on the market, but many users will long for more features and weight. A small camcorder bag will do the trick, and since the HDC-HS9 has both a 60GB HDD and Memory card slot, you’ll be able to save space for cables and backup batteries.
The 2.7-inch LCD screen
LCD and Viewfinder (5.0)
The HDC-HS9 has a 2.7-inch LCD screen that extends 90 degrees from the body of the camcorder and rotates up to 270 degrees. The HDC-HS9’s sharp, colorful display is composed of 300,000 pixels, which is a major bonus over most LCD screens that only offer 123,000- or 211,000-pixel resolutions. LCD Set allows you to adjust the color or brightness of the screen, but that just alters your perception of the actual Exposure or White Balance of the image. We recommend evading the LCD Set for the sake of your video quality.
A Power LCD Plus feature brightens the screen +1 or +2 steps, but this is another meaningless addition. When the HDC-HS9 is connected to its external power source, the Power LCD Plus feature automatically kicks in. You’ll have to manually disengage it if you want the LCD screen to display an image with accurate brightness. With all of the time spent pouring into LCD adjustments, Panasonic could have concentrated on improving the design and port configuration on the HDC-HS9. An overload of LCD tools is yet another red herring that Panasonic is leaping every hurdle in sight to reach the consumer audience.
There is no viewfinder on the HDC-HS9.
Battery Life(11.7)
We tested the life of the HDC-HS9’s VW-VBG130 Battery Pack by shooting continuously with the LCD flipped open and OIS disabled in Manual mode until the battery ran out of juice. Video was recorded in the highest quality mode (HA1920). The HDC-HS9 lasted 117 minutes and 4 seconds (1 hour, 57 minutes, and 4 seconds), which is just shy of the HDC-SD9’s 119-minute performance. The HDC-HS9’s long battery life is one of the positive things the camcorder has going for it.