Panasonic HDC-HS9 Camcorder Review

by Michael Perlman
Published on Apr 7, 2008 3:28 PM

 
Intro Performance
Format Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features
 Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Comparisons / Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings
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Still Features (7.5)
Like the HDC-SD9, there is no special “Photo mode” on the Panasonic HDC-HS9. You simply push the shutter button and the HS9 records a still image. 1929 x 1080 is the only size option. Images can be captured in Fine or Normal quality to either the 60GB HDD or Memory card. Any cheap digital camera offers features that are miles beyond the capabilities of the HDC-HS9, so if you plan on using this camcorder as a viable alternate to a digital camera, think again. The HDC-HS9 lacks the great elements like the histogram tool found on Canons and is a long shot from the Sony HDR-SR12’s 10-megapixel maximum still image size. The best use we can see for the HDC-HS9 is using the still photo function for in-camera storyboarding or for simple reference shots.

 
 

The Panasonic HDC-HS9 has a card
slot on the back. You can also cature
stills to the hard disk drive.
   
The HDC-HS9 has a Rapid-Fire Burst mode that captures multiple pictures when the Photo Capture button is pressed and held down. There is a Red-Eye Reduction feature and a Shutter Sound option that emulates the snap of a 35mm camera. All Manual Controls are available when capturing stills. Focus, Exposure, Shutter Speed, White Balance, and Gain can be applied just as in Video mode.

Face Detection is a new feature for Panasonic. The HDC-HS9 can detect up to five faces, brightening the Exposure and enhancing the color of the highlighted subject(s). The Face Detection technology is not as good as Sony’s, which can detect up to eight faces at once and does a much better job recognizing faces. The HDC-HS9 is hit or miss when it comes to detecting a face—the technology is just not reliable.

Because of the flash’s off-center placement, you may experience uneven lighting at certain angles with the HDC-HS9. Most Sonys of the past embeded the flash directly above the lens to solve this problem. The HDR-SR1 is equipped with a flash embedded directly above the lens—past Sony MiniDV models included a flash that would pop up just like a still camera. Ah, the good old days… The HDC-HS9’s Flash is capable of Auto or On settings and the Flash level can be configured to -, +/- 0, or + brightness levels.

In the third page of the Joystick menu, the HDC-HS9 has a Self-Timer that can be set to 2 or 10 seconds.

The HDC-HS9's Picture menu can be accessed from the Administrative menu. The Picture menu consists of the following options: Picture Quality, Hi-Speed Burst, Flash, Flash Level, Red Eye, and Shutter Sound.


The Picture Menu

Still Performance (9.06)
The still performance of the Panasonic HDC-HS9 was tested by shooting an X-Rite Color Checker chart at an even, bright light. We then ran the images through Imatest imaging software to determine color accuracy, noise, and saturation. At best, the HDC-HS9 produces a color error of 6.62. For some strange reason, this is significantly better than the Panasonic HDC-SD9, which is equipped with exactly the same imaging set. On the same test, the HDC-SD9 received a worse score of 8.23. Just to be sure, we re-ran the tests on both camcorders, and the same results came back to us. So there you have it. We can’t explain the difference. It could be a manufacturing variance on these particular models. It could be a conscious effort of Panasonic.

The noise scores of the HDC-HS9 and HDC-SD9 were virtually identical, scoring a 0.88 percent and 0.8725 percent, respectively. Like the noise scores in the Low Light video performance tests, Panasonic did a better job at noise reduction than Canon, Sony, and JVC.

We manually lowered the exposure to get this best score. The best score is produced with an aperture setting of f/3.4 and a shutter speed of 1/60.

Still Resolution (5.45)
The still resolution of the Panasonic HDC-HS9 was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart at an even, bright light, then exporting those images to Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder is able to produce a horizontal resolution of 553.4 line widths per picture height (lw/ph), with a clipping of 1.78 percent and an oversharpening of 16.2 percent. The vertical resolution measured 465.4 lw/ph, with an undersharpening of 24.9 percent. Unsurprisingly, this is virtually identical to the HDC-SD9.

In order to get this best score, we manually raised the exposure of the HDC-HS9 by one increment from Auto mode. These scores were produced by setting the aperture to f/3.4 and a shutter speed of 1/50.

 

 

 

 



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