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Panasonic HDC-TM900
Panasonic’s camcorders have topped our list for videomaking enthusiasts for 2 years now, with the HDC-TM700 and HDC-TM300 before it. The progression hasn’t been a big one between each step, but when the core features are all present, there’s not such a lot to improve. The HDC-TM900 is another incremental enhancement, but it does have features to make it worth selecting over its predecessors.
The most significant difference is the ability to shoot 3D. While Panasonic’s first 3D-capable client mpeg recorder, the HDC-SDT750, was a full package including the 3D converter, with this generation Panasonic has switched over to selling the VW-CLT1 attachment separately, and only built in compatibility to key models from its latest range. These include the HDC-SD90 we looked at latterly, and the HDC-TM900 on review here. The lens attachment will set you back a fairly big ?280, but this still makes the combo cost around ?200 less than the HDC-SDT750 did when it was released.
The same flaws apply, though. Calibration is sensible whenever you remove and reattach the adapter, and this takes around half a minute. Virtually all of the manual features are disabled in this mode, as well , including the zoom. So you are left with a single framing option and automated exposure. Video is recorded in the side-by-side format immediately onto the sensor, effectively using half its area for every one of the 2 stereoscopic portions, so low light sensitivity is halved as well . Nonetheless, in sufficient lighting results are decent, with a clear sense of depth, and good colour fidelity, though the level of detail is a little impaired over 2D photographs.
Apart from its compatibility with the 3D attachment nevertheless , the HDC-TM900 is very much more of a mild improvement to the HDC-TM700 than a revolutionary new model. It is extraordinarily a little larger and heavier, but this is almost wholly due to the inclusion of a 3.5in LCD instead of a 3in one, which is a trade-off we’re quite happy to accept. Inside, the TM900 has identical specs to the TM700. It’s built around a threesome of 0.25 .1in CMOS sensors, each with 3.05Mpixels. The lens has the same blueprint too , providing a 12x optical zoom and 35mm equivalent wide angle, so you can capture more of the action at close quarters.
Panasonic camcorders