We got our hands on the Panasonic HDC-TM10, the current "world's smallest Full HD camcorder." Read our first impressions here, complete with hands-on product shots.
Remember when Panasonic announced the latest World's Puniest Full HD Camcorders last month? Well, we got a chance to spend some quality time with the dual memory Panasonic HDC-TM10, the fraternal twin of the card-only Panasonic HDC-SD10. As we projected earlier, the company's initial flash memory duo announced at CES (the Panasonic HDC-TM20 and Panasonic HDC-SD20) were simply too large to compete with the likes of the Sony MHS-CM1, so a bold move was made on Panasonic's part. According to Panasonic, the market trends point toward smaller camcorders with larger zooms and capacious storage space. The Panasonic HDC-TM10 was a hat-trick of all three aforementioned characteristics with its tiny size, 16x optical zoom and extra 8GB of internal flash memory.
We asked Panasonic if they planned to jump on the Flip-driven bandwagon within the near future, since the next logical step would be a camcorder the size of a cell phone at the rate models are shrinking these days. Their response appeared to reveal that an ultra-compact Flip-like camcorder is seemingly inevitable in the future, though Panasonic would need to build a camcorder that strays from the pack in order to gobble up enough of the market share to remain competitive. Regardless, the Panasonic HDC-TM10 felt preposterously miniscule in our hands. In fact, it didn't even feel like a camcorder, but rather a high-tech friction-powered flashlight from Brookstone. The Panasonic HDC-TM10 was so small that the battery just sat within the LCD bay, staring at us. We weren't too keen on the ugly battery sticker along the camcorder's backside, which made the model look more like a toy with a "harmful if swallowed" label
However, we did see the allure of having a three chip HD camcorder nestled covertly into our jacket pocket. The Panasonic HDC-TM10 utilized the same touch hybrid menu system found on the Panasonic HDC-HS300, the company's top HD camcorder. Menu response was around a 75% success rate, for there were instances when we attempted to mash an onscreen button and received nothing in return. We did like the touch Auto Focus and AF/AE tracking, a feature we've seen ingrained in Panasonic's digital camera and camcorder lineup for 2009. We stressed about the hand strap last month, but when we ratcheted the Panasonic HDC-TM1 to our hands, our qualms were highly minimized. Though not the cushiest or plush strap we've ever encountered, the Panasonic HDC-TM10 did provide an adequate degree of comfort. The design is also a rip off the JVC GZ-HD320's, and we're seeing smaller camcorders adopt this particular setup.
The addition of the OIS button was a nice touch, though the zoom toggle was a little small for our fingers. Fortunately, the LCD panel had a strip of controls that offered a secondary zoom toggle, Record, Menu, Video Light and Delete buttons. We tested the OIS while shooting with the Panasonic HDC-TM10 and the results were highly impressive. We liked the ability to be able to instantly switch on the video light, and it was actually brighter than we would have expected, especially when we shot under the table. On the whole, external controls were kept to a minimum, and we missed the functionality of Panasonic's joysticks. The SD/SDHC card hatch was difficult to pop open because it required us to shift a tiny tab upward and to the right. This is a good thing though, for we can't imagine the hatch being inadvertently smacked open, thanks to this Alcatraz design. Video quality is still up in the air, and we can only hope that the Panasonic HDC-TM10's three-chip setup will crank out the goods on the big screen.
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