Panasonic HDC-TM300

Lens & Imaging System

The TM300 uses the same high quality Leica Dicomar lens that you’ll see in the rest of Panasonic’s top-of-the-line camcorders. Photography and videography geeks might drool at the Leica branding, but we’re more interested in the 4 – 48mm focal range and 12x optical zoom. That’s a good complement to quality high definition video.

But what’s the biggest difference between Panasonic’s flagship cams and the rest of the competition? Most manufacturers have decided to go with a single large CMOS sensor, while Panasonic has yet again opted for three smaller sensors. The TM300 records a brighter image in low light, but it’s unclear whether that’s a result of the three-chip array or some internal processing.

Lens
Filter Diameter	43.0mm
Focal Range	4.0–48.0mm
Focal Range (35mm equivalent)	44.9–539.0mm
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8–1.8
Optical Zoom	12x
Advanced Zoom	0x
Lab-Tested Wide Angle	45.0°	How we test wide angle

Sensor
Type	CMOS x 3
Size	1/4.1 (x3) inches
Pixel Count (Gross)	9.15 megapixels
Pixel Count (Effective)	6.21 megapixels (video) 7.95 megapixels (photo)

Zoom Ratio Examples
Wide Angle	6x Zoom	12x Zoom

LCD & Viewfinder (9.00)

The Panasonic HDC-TM300 has both an LCD and an electronic viewfinder. Most consumers will probably opt for the less intimidating LCD, but the viewfinder is sure to appeal to some advanced videographers. Sony and Panasonic are currently the only major manufacturers including a viewfinder on their flagship models; Canon, JVC, Sanyo, and Samsung have all opted to leave this feature out.

The LCD is 2.7 inches in size and has a resolution of 230,400 pixels. This is fairly average for a consumer camcorder, although the Sony HDR-XR520V features a larger screen (3.2-inches) and a much better resolution (921,000-pixels). As is common on camcorders, the LCD screen can rotate 270 degrees so you can shoot at odd angles or do some self-recording. New for Panasonic this year, the LCD is a touchscreen, allowing the manufacturer to implement its AF/AE tracking feature.

There are a number of brightness settings for the LCD screen. Power LCD (accessible in the Q.Menu or Setup menu) allows you to choose from Auto, +2, +1, 0, or -1. You can also manually set the LCD brightness in the camcorder’s menu (with 11 increments). There is also a color adjustment feature that allows you to tune the color settings of the LCD screen. Making adjustments to the LCD color or brightness will not change your recorded image.

Feature	Panasonic HDC-TM300	Canon Vixia HF S100	Sony HDR-TG5V	JVC Everio GZ-X900
Display Size	2.7 in.	2.7 in.	2.7 in.	2.8 in.
Display Resolution	230400 pixels	211000 pixels	211200 pixels	207000 pixels
Touch Screen	✓	✗	✓	✗
Viewfinder	✓	✗	✗	✗
Viewfinder Resolution	183000 pixels	0 pixels	n/a	n/a

If you need to avoid LCD glare on a sunny day or you simply prefer to use a viewfinder, the TM300 is equipped with a 0.44-inch electronic viewfinder. The EVF doesn’t have the best design—it’s surrounded by hard plastic, doesn’t pivot, and has no real eye piece—but does feel like a luxury among modern camcorders that typically eschew a viewfinder altogether.

The viewfinder does extend and has a small diopter adjuster dial. The image resolution is 183,000 pixels and brightness can be set to any whole number on a scale from -16 to +16.

Connectivity (6.13)

Connection	Panasonic HDC-TM300	Canon Vixia HF S100	Sony HDR-TG5V	JVC Everio GZ-X900
A/V output	✓	✓	✓	✓
Component output	✓	✓	✓	✓
HDMI	✓	✓	✓	✓
USB	✓	✓	✓	✓
FireWire	✗	✗	✗	✗
Headphone jack	✓	✓	✗	✗
External microphone	✓	✗	✗	✗
Accessory Shoe	✓	✓✓
Wireless Remote	✓	✗	✗	✓
DC Power	✓	✓	✓	✓
WiFi	✗	✗	✗	✗
GPS	✗	✗	✓	✗

The Panasonic HDC-TM300 has a fairly standard set of connectivity options, including a collection of ports in the LCD cavity. These ports are covered by a small sliding door that protects them from the elements. Behind the door is a standard composite AV output, mini-HDMI output, and proprietary component output. In a separate enclosure (protected by a plain rubber port cover) is a mini-USB terminal.

On the front of the camcorder is a standard mini-microphone input and headphone output. These jacks might be in convenient proximity to the right-mounted accessory shoe, but they come very close to rubbing against your hand. We can see that becoming irritating after prolonged use.

Most of the TM300's ports are nestled in the LCD cavity.	The mic and headphone jacks are up front.

In a refrain from last year’s models, the TM300 once again places the DC power input in the battery cavity. We were happy to see that all the other ports were removed from this inconvenient location (thank you, Panasonic!), but we could do without the constant switching back and forth required by this design. If your battery is running low, you have to turn off the camcorder, remove the battery, plug in the power, and turn the camcorder on again. That’s either a minor annoyance or a huge frustration, depending on whether it cause you to miss your daughter’s game-winning three-pointer.

The SD/SDHC memory card slot, on the other hand, is in a perfectly reasonable location. A small switch opens a small door in the LCD cavity and the card itself is spring-loaded to pop in and out of the camcorder with ease.

DC power is still in the battery cavity.	The SD/SDHC card slot serves as an alternate recording media.

The final connection on the TM300 is the cold accessory shoe, with its curious location on the right side of the camcorder. Considering you have to use an adapter in order to attach any standard accessory, we were skeptical of this design at first. It seemed like a strange location for the shoe and it’s always easy to lose extra pieces when you’re traveling around a lot.

To our surprise, however, this location is incredibly comfortable. Accessories placed in the shoe are no longer an obstruction, as they are when placed on the top of the camcorder. The HS300, as well as models from Sony and Canon, place the accessory shoe right where you want your fingers to be. In contrast, the TM300 stashes it off on the side, well out of the way. Plus, the little sliding door closes right back up to make sure that smooth contour is still in tact. The TM300 is very comfortable to hold when the accessory shoe is not in use, but it’s just as comfortable to hold even when the shoe is in use. An extremely impressive design by Panasonic.

The shoe's location seems peculiar at first...	...but the adapter keeps accessories out of the way and ensures that your grip remains comfortable.

Battery (5.25)

Purchasing a larger battery might not be a bad idea, since the TM300 persists in Panasonic’s irritating design that prevents you from charging the battery and operating the camcorder at the same time. The DC power input, located in the battery cavity, can only be accessed when you remove the battery. That means that if your battery is running low, you can’t simply plug it in and continue recording; you’ll have to stop your recording, swap battery for power adapter, and then turn on the camcorder and start recording again. Even when the battery is in its charging station, you can’t charge it while the camcorder is in use. Find out how the HDC-TM300 performed in our battery life test.

Media (8.52)

Recording media is the primary difference between the HDC-TM300 and the HS300, which we reviewed earlier this year. The big brother has a beefy 120GB internal hard drive, while the slimmer and more budget-friendly TM300 records primarily to 32GB of internal flash memory. If you run out of space on the internal memory, the TM300 can be set to automatically shift recording onto a removable SD/SDHC memory card (sold separately).

If you’re tempted by the ‘bigger is better’ mentality, think carefully before you choose the HS300 over the TM300. For starters, hard drives have moving parts that are more likely to fail in the event of an unfortunate drop or bump. Flash memory—the kind of memory that the TM300 utilizes—is much more weather- and shock-resistant. Plus, if you get rid of that bulky hard drive, you end up with a much lighter, slimmer, and more comfortable form factor. And there’s that $100 you save. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.