Panasonic HDC-TM900

Review: Panasonic HDC-TM900 (AVCHD)

Last year’s tentative foray into the 3D HD camcorder market was just the beginning. This year sees a whole line of AVCHD models from Panasonic that can be instantly converted to 3D. The impressive HDC-TM900 leads the pack, even in old-fashioned 2D mode!

Taking pole-position in 2011: Panasonic HDC-TM900EBK AVCHD 3D camcorder

Introduction

The very best Panasonic products don’t retain their status as flagship models for very long, and this has certainly been the case with last year’s HDC-TM700 – a full-HD 3MOS AVCHD camcorder thought by us to be pretty much as good as it could get at the sub-£1,000 price point. Not only did it shoot fabulous 1920 x 1080i and 1080p high definition video but from the operator’s point of view it had just about everything going for it.

There was, of course, the little matter of the very audible fan noise which imposed upon the recorded audio track when shooting in extremely quiet environments (we noticed this by accident, only to discover that it was an internet talking-point). We also picked up a couple of niggly problems when using the bundled HD Writer software (Windows only) but that was about all we could find that was negative.

So, has this year’s top-of-the-range model managed to top even the mighty HDC-TM700? Let’s see.

First impressions

Like its sibling, the memory-card only HDC-SD900, the HDC-TM900 offers recording in 1920×1080 and both 50i (interlaced) and 50p (progressive scan) modes with the camera’s default being 1080/50i (in PAL lands, 60i elsewhere). A dedicated button is provided in order to intentionally activate the 50p mode, the reason being that 50p is difficult for all but the most powerful PC and Mac computer editing applications to handle and could cause insurmountable problems for many users.

Many of the TM900′s technical specifications differ little from the TM700 it replaces. It has three 1/4.1″ CMOS image sensors (“3MOS”), each producing a total of 3050k pixels, which translates to an effective resolution of 2530k x3 when shooting HD video in 16:9 widescreen as well as digital stills. There’s a 4:3 image mode, too, which produces 2320k pixels.

Its 35mm to 420mm (16:9) Leica lens offers 12x optical zoom or 30x-700x digital zoom. An in-between “i.Zoom” (intelligent zoom) offers 18x ratio. This is a sort of hybrid optical/digital zoom.

Filter diameter on the lens is 46mm and Panasonic actually throws in a screw-in lens hood to make use of it. Users can convert from the camera’s 2D operation mode to 3D when screwing on the optional VW-CLT1 3D Conversion Lens; in doing so, the camera automatically displays related set-up screens and menus in the 3.5″ (230,000 pixels) colour touch-screen LCD monitor. It also has a 0.27″ wide, 123,000 pixel, Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) which pulls out horizontally but can’t be tilted up or down.

Panasonic HDC-TM900 with optional VW-CLT1 3D lens

Controls are fully Auto, though manual control of White Balance, Exposure, Contrast, Sound Input level, etc., is facilitated through the use of touch screen controls.

External physical connections are provided in the form of a mini-HDMI socket (1080p/1080i/576i) in addition to an AV multi connector, a dedicated headphone output jack socket, an external microphone input jack socket (both 3.5mm) and USB2.0 socket (for which a cable is supplied). An accessory shoe adaptor is provided, and this sits onto a vertically-mounted slot near the front right of the body behind a slide-away door. This can support either an external microphone or a video light. For stills, a built-in Flashlight is operable in the range of 1.0m to 2.5m.

Choice of Recording and Playback media

The “TM” in the product name refers to its “twin media” recording and playback option. Like its TM700 predecessor, the TM900 has 32GB of internal flash memory for writing to, and reading from, HD video clips and digital photos. It also sports a slot for SDHC and SDXC memory cards.

What we like about the Panasonic “TM” series products is the ability to transfer video clips and pictures from one medium to another, either individually (by selecting them in the menu system) or in groups (by creating a “playlist” in the menu system). This facility shouldn’t be under-estimated; it’s a great way to back-up clip files and even to create duplicates of either all the files or groups of clip files when wishing to send copies to other people. Be careful with potentially clashing filenames when merging sets of clips from different cards, however!

Another major benefit of twin-media (or twin-memory) storage – especially if you’re inclined to record lengthy events such as plays, concerts or sporting events – is Relay Record. If you’re recording to the internal Flash memory and you run out of space then the camera will switch to the SDHC/SDXC card and continue recording seamlessly – provided that you pre-selected this option in the menu system before you start.

Another standard Panasonic feature is iA (intelligent Auto) which guarantees precise colour, focus and exposure control even when the scene changes or when people’s faces move. You can touch the screen to tell the camcorder to lock in to a person’s flesh tone, exposure or whatever, too – this is useful when deciding which part of the scene you wish to maintain focus on, even when it moves. It’s great for tracking a moving object in order to maintain focus on it.

In its playback mode, you can delete scenes, combine them and trim them all in the camera. A Digital Cinema mode gives you control over hi-speed shutter in the range of 1/48th second to 1/8000th second for pin-sharp frames and slow-motion effects. As with all other equivalent Panasonic models in the last couple of years, the TM900 offers Pre-Rec, Face-Detection, Smile Shot and tagging features – all of which have been described elsewhere on this site. There’s little more we can say about the TM900′s OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) except that it’s exceptionally good as it is on the TM700.

Shooting in 3D with the optional VW-CLT1 3D Conversion Lens

As you’ll have seen already, the HDC-TM900 (and its sister product, the HDC-SD900) shoot in regular 2D by default, but with the application of the optional 3D conversion you’re able to shoot in 3D.

Affixing the lens is a bit of fiddle to begin with, but once it’s on the camcorder automatically switches to 3D mode and presents set-up and menu options as appropriate. You’ll need to ensure that the translucent lens-cap is in place because this is used to manually register the 3D settings in the camera. During operation in 3D the LCD screen it’s easy to see what you’re shooting (rather than being presented with an out-of-phase red/green image as you’d expect) although you can’t zoom when in this mode and nor do you have the same level of control over other manual functions, either. It’s also a good idea to shoot on a good tripod, too, since hand-held work in 3D needs extreme care.

Here’s a short video to show you what’s involved in setting up the camera for 3D use:

Performance

Given the similarity to the HDC-TM700 in so many respects, it’s difficult to comment on the TM900′s features or useability without back-referencing the model it replaces. Handling is superb, and the camera’s general ease of use and general functionality are second to none. We really like the fact that the really essential things to which you need immediate access when recording – such as the Camera Function button which provides access to a whole range of manual controls and accessed by clearly-identifiable graphical icons in the LCD screen, plus the iA/Manual and OIS activation buttons on the top of the body – are where you need them to be when you need them rather than their being buried in complex menus.

Given that Panasonic is committed to touch-screen technology (rightly so, in our opinion), the 3.5″ screen is a definite plus. Even though it’s only 0.5″ bigger than that found on the TM700 it does make a significant difference when navigating the menus. It also provides a fabulous monitor display when shooting in full-HD (and 3D) too!

The issue of a noisy fan imposing on recorded audio when shooting in very quiet surroundings has now gone – at least on the review model supplied to us; Panasonic has now changed the design of the fan completely in favour of a smaller, noise-free unit which expels warm air out through a vent in the LCD screen recess. Unlike previous models, this isn’t now picked up by those microphone capsules that are positioned on the left side of the body.

Edit (23rd February): Early adopters have reported audible evidence of the fan noise increasing during lengthy recording durations during which the camera warms up, but this isn’t something we’ve experienced on the sample provided.

However, there’s still an audio-related issue we’d like Panasonic to consider. The onboard, upward-facing 5.1 Surround Sound microphone produces very acceptable sound when there’s no wind blowing over the camera body when recording outdoors. However, even the slightest murmur of wind impacts with the mic capsules to very detrimental effect. What we end up with is very, very good Full-HD video pictures playing on a large HD screen but with audio that just doesn’t to it justice.

Perhaps Panasonic would like to consider offering an optional accessory in the form of a clip-over mini windjammer such as those offered by Rycote? All it would need is four little lugs to enable it to clip in place over the mic grille in order to give us a much-improved 5.1 surround sound experience. Just a thought.

Conclusion

We’ve come to expect high definition camcorder products from Panasonic that hit the spot, and the HDC-TM900 certainly does that. It’s no surprise that Panasonic has – in the last year or so – stolen the UK’s number one HD camcorder crown from Sony thanks to products that do everything they’re designed to do and more. Not only are its pictures and sounds (well, in most cases) of a staggeringly high quality when shown on high-quality HDTV displays, but the products are actually a joy to use. The HDC-TM900 is no exception – and we love it.

Summary: Panasonic HDC-TM900

• AVCHD Full-HD 1920 x 1080 recording
• 3D full-HD recording capability with optional VW-CLT1 converter lens
• 1080/50p (60p) progressive frame recording
• 32GB Flash Memory and SDHC/SDXC Card recording/playback plus Relay Record
• Mic input, headphone output, accessory shoe adaptor
• 35mm Wide-angle lens and Advanced OIS
• iA (Intelligent Auto) with face recognition
• Intuitive operation with touch-screen interface

If you’ve been holding on to your hard-earned cash in readiness to buy a state-of-the-art HD camcorder and still retain change from a grand, then don’t wait any longer. Right now, the HDC-TM900 from Panasonic is about as good as it can be.

Reviewed by Colin Barrett, SimplyDV. Text copyright Colin Barrett/SimplyDV Ltd 2011. Main product image courtesy Panasonic UK, all other images Copyright the Author.

See larger image Panasonic TM900 Full HD 1920x1080p (50p) 3D Ready Camcorder - Black (3MOS Sensor, 32GB Inbuilt Flash, SD Card Recording, Leica Dicomar Lens and Manual Control Ring) (Electronics) List Price: £999.99 GBP New From: £664.49 In Stock Release date January 28, 2011.