| Here it is a last, the Flagship HD Camcorder from | | | | in the HDC-TM700? Not in my book. And once the |
| Panasonic which everyone has been excited about, | | | | editing issues are sorted, just watch the price |
| yet was slow to sell at first. Maybe it was disbelief at | | | | rocket!!! |
| the amazing features on offer. Now that it's starting | | | | The only other minor complaint is that the viewfinder |
| to sell, it's flying off the shelves as the 5 star written | | | | is not adjustable by tilting upwards. Previous |
| and video reviews start pouring in. | | | | camcorders allowed this, but on the Panasonic |
| But, as with every camcorder, the HDC-TM700 is not | | | | HDC-TM700 HD the viewfinder adjusts only |
| without it's faults, so let's cut to the chase and deal | | | | horizontally. |
| with the shortcomings first, of which there are only | | | | Now we can maybe concentrate on the many |
| TWO: | | | | positives of the TM700: |
| 1. Audio noise from the cooling fan, audible when | | | | Great in low light thanks to the fast F1.5-F2.8 Leica |
| recording in quiet situations. | | | | Dicomar High-performance Lens with a 46mm |
| This cannot be denied, but the fan isn't always on, | | | | diameter filter. |
| and when you think about it, there is always extra | | | | 3x CMOS Optical Sensors of ¼ inch each. |
| noise around you which will not make this an issue. | | | | Optical Image stability excellent in Active Mode for |
| When recording a ball game or any other sporting | | | | hand held shots. |
| activity outside, or a school play or party indoors, | | | | 60 Progressive Recording Produce All-New |
| there is always plenty of noise to hear. | | | | Color-Bright Image Quality. |
| For those very rare times when the quiet noise of a | | | | Capture Crisp, Clear Images Even in Dim Lighting. |
| fan running close to the inbuilt microphone, you can | | | | Built-in Memory/SD Card Twin Memory Full-HD |
| adjust the mike levels. Turn down the automatic gain | | | | Camcorder |
| manually to a -6 or -9 setting, this should solve the | | | | High-density, ultra-smooth images |
| problem, or just use an external mic for quality | | | | 1080/60p Recording (Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 60 |
| audio recordings. | | | | Progressive Recording) |
| 2. Panasonic stands alone in offering progressive scan | | | | 35mm Wide-Angle Lens, especially handy when you |
| recording at 60 frames per second in a domestic | | | | want to take a group photo in a small room. |
| grade camcorder, giving a much smoother picture. | | | | 12x optical zoom and 18x Intelligent Zoom. |
| So where can that be a problem you may ask? | | | | Digital photo mode. |
| The problem is that the Panasonic HDC-TM700 HD | | | | Memory Cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC. |
| Camcorder is so future proof, most consumer editing | | | | Video Output: A/V, mini-HDMI, component. |
| software cannot yet handle codecs to re-play and | | | | 3inch LCD screen. |
| edit in full HD 1920x1080p mode at 60fps resolution | | | | 5-1 surround sound microphone. |
| which records 60% more data, therefore 60% higher | | | | Microphone and headphones jacks. |
| resolution, than 60i. | | | | Accessories shoe. |
| Your computer may struggle too, so what is the | | | | In the Box: |
| solution? | | | | HDC-TM700, charger, battery, AV cable, component |
| You have 4 choices: | | | | video cable, wireless remote, USB cable, Supplied |
| 1. Find a consumer edit programme which handles this | | | | Software: HD Writer AE 2.1,stylus for touch screen. |
| without breaking the bank, the newest version of | | | | There are many more features to commend in the |
| Sony Vegas Pro 9 Collection seems able to cope no | | | | Panasonic HDC-TM700 HD, so read some more and |
| problems. | | | | I'm sure you will be convinced that this is the future |
| 2. Upgrade your computer to a quad core processor. | | | | of high end consumer cams. There is no such thing as |
| 3. Record at the highest option, then re-render them | | | | the perfect camcorder to my mind, and never will be, |
| to a different format. | | | | so grab the Best HD Camcorder available right now |
| 4. Wait for technology to catch up, and meanwhile, | | | | for about 800 bucks before the price rises, as it |
| enjoy being a Trailblazer. | | | | surely must. |
| So are the temporary editing limitations really a fault | | | | |