Panasonic HDC-TM900

Introduction

Product Tour

The HDC-TM900 doesn’t come with a 3D conversion lens. Instead, it must be purchased separately at an additional cost (modelname VW-CLT1).

Front

Back

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Right

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Bottom

Color

The HDC-TM900’s color results were unchanged compared to last year’s HDC-TM700 from Panasonic. This is to say they were still top-notch, as the camcorder measured a color error of just over 3.0 and a saturation level only slightly under 100%. These numbers are not only consistent with other high-end models, but they are also among the best we’ve seen from a consumer camcorder. More on how we test color.

Color Accuracy Performance

There aren’t any preset color modes on the HDC-TM900, unless you’re counting the soft skin or intelligent contrast settings as color modes. Instead, Panasonic includes customizable picture effects where you can adjust sharpness, color depth, color temperature, and exposure manually. This is advantageous for people who want more precise control (each effect can be adjusted from a -5 to +5 range), but it requires you to actually do more than simply turn on a color mode preset, and that may turn some people off.

Panasonic HDC-TM900 Color Modes

Most high-end camcorders do very well in our color tests. The Panasonic HDC-TM900 certainly had one of the better scores we’ve seen in terms of accuracy and saturation, but its score wasn’t that much higher than the competition from Canon (or last year’s TM700 for that matter). Cycle through the charts below to see more color comparisons from other models, and check out the blown-up color crops as well.

Low Light Color

Like we saw in our bright light color test, the HDC-TM900’s accuracy and saturation levels were consistent with what we saw from the TM700 last year. The camcorder measured a color error of 4.32 in low light with a saturation level of around 84%. Both of these numbers are very good and are comparable to the results from the new Canon HF G10 as well as last year’s TM700.

The HDC-TM900 has a 1080/60p mode and a Digital Cinema 24p mode, but neither of these modes made a significant difference in low light color scores. The 24p mode does increase the brightness of the low light image a bit, however, but it does so by allowing the camcorder to use a slower shutter speed (in conjunction to the lower frame rate).

Noise

Noise is another category where top-level camcorders often put up excellent results, particularly in bright light. The HDC-TM900 embodies this statement well, as the camcorder averaged just 0.38% noise in our bright light test. This is a bit less noise than the HDC-TM700 measured, but the difference is negligible.

The crop above shows a sharp image from the HDC-TM900, but we did see a surprising problem during some of our testing. When we used autofocus with the camcorder, we noticed the left side of the frame was not perfectly crisp. The right side generally looked fine, however, which is why we noticed this discrepancy. To correct for this, we switched the TM900 over to manual focus and that’s how we captured the crop shown above. The problem, though, was that when we focused the left portion of our test chart properly, the right side then appeared slightly out of focus. We’ve seen this problem on some camcorders before, but never on the likes of a flagship unit. Is this a defect within the lens or a slight problem with the sensor, we don’t know? We do know that it was an issue on both HDC-TM900’s we tested, although the second one didn’t have as much of an issue as the first. This problem could be a side-effect of Panasonic’s new processing system that the company employed on the HDC-TM900, but again, we don’t really know.

Before you go all up in arms about this, let us assure you that this problem is hard to notice. We only saw it when we looked at footage from our test chart, which has very fine details, on a large HDTV. You’d probably never notice this sort of thing with regular video content… but you might. And, for a high-end consumer camcorder, it’s a problem that should not exist.

Low Light Sensitivity

The HDC-TM900 didn’t surprise us in our low light sensitivity test. The camcorder managed to reach 50 IRE with 11 lux of light, and that’s exactly the same amount of light the HDC-TM700 needed in this test (that’s what we meant by “no surprise”). Of course, if you shoot 3D video with the TM900, you can expect to need a whole lot more light to capture a usable image. The conversion lens limits the amount of light that hits the sensor, and that doesn’t bode well for low light situations.

Here’s another thing to remember: the HDC-TM900, like many of today’s modern camcorders, has a very wide angle lens. So, when we zoomed in for our sensitivity test, the camcorder had to close up its aperture a bit. This also lets more light hit enter the camcorder and negatively impacts low light sensitivity. We tested the TM900 without any zoom and it needed just 6 lux of light to hit 50 IRE. That is a difference of 5 lux, and that is significant. It isn’t as huge as some of the discrepancies we’ve seen—just take a look at the Sony HDR-CX550V’s different results with and without zoom to see what we’re talking about.

Because of this huge difference in sensitivity due to the wide angle of the HDC-TM900’s lens, we took the average of the two scores (one with zoom and one without zoom). We have begun to do this with all camcorders that show a significant difference in low light sensitivity when we shoot with and without zoom. We did it with the Sony HDR-CX550V last year, and we have continued this practice this year to keep things fair.

Low Light Noise

The HDC-TM900 averaged 0.76% noise in low light, which is marginally more noise than we saw on last year’s HDC-TM700. Despite this slight increase in noise, the TM900 still put up numbers that were of what we come to expect from a high-end camcorder in this test. Still, this noise increase surprises us because Panasonic claimed its new processor in the TM900 should reduce noise levels by up to 45%. We saw no reduction in our testing, so we can’t say there’s been any improvement over last year’s TM700. If anything, the two camcorders were nearly identical in terms of performance.

Much like we saw in our bright light testing, the HDC-TM900 didn’t have quite as sharp an image as its predecessor, the HDC-TM700. You can see this by looking at the crop comparisons above. The difference is slight, however, and it may not be noticeable when watching video on an HDTV, but we did see it during our tests. We also saw the same problem with autofocus not working properly with the left side of the image (but the image looked better when we used manual focus).

Low Light Color

Like we saw in our bright light color test, the HDC-TM900’s accuracy and saturation levels were consistent with what we saw from the TM700 last year. The camcorder measured a color error of 4.32 in low light with a saturation level of around 84%. Both of these numbers are very good and are comparable to the results from the new Canon HF G10 as well as last year’s TM700.

The HDC-TM900 has a 1080/60p mode and a Digital Cinema 24p mode, but neither of these modes made a significant difference in low light color scores. The 24p mode does increase the brightness of the low light image a bit, however, but it does so by allowing the camcorder to use a slower shutter speed (in conjunction to the lower frame rate).

Motion

In our motion test, the HDC-TM900 produced video that looked no different than what the HDC-TM700 was capable of producing last year. The two camcorders share an identical 1080/60p mode and offer 60i recording as well. The TM900 also has a 24p Digital Cinema mode, which produces a film-like aesthetic, but we didn’t find this 24p setting as visually pleasing as the 24p modes Canon offers on its HD camcorders.

The fact that the TM900 did just as well on this test as its predecessor means two things. First, it means the camcorder captured motion extremely well, particularly when using the 60p record mode. Images were sharp, smooth, with nearly no artifacting and limited amounts of trailing. What we’re discouraged about, however, is that this also means Panasonic didn’t improve anything from last year in terms of motion performance. The TM900’s footage looks no different than the TM700, and we’d hoped Panasonic would find an area where something could be enhanced. Essentially, with the TM900 you are getting top-notch motion performance… but it’s really no different than last year’s model in this category.

Video Sharpness

To get the sharpest images from the HDC-TM900, you should record using the camcorder’s 1080/60p mode. Using this mode, we were able to capture a horizontal sharpness of around 1000 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of close to 900 lw/ph. These numbers are consistent with what we saw from last year’s HDC-TM700 and its 1080/60p record mode—and they represent some of the best sharpness numbers we’ve seen from a consumer camcorder.

Shooting with a 60i frame rate diminishes this sharpness score significantly, but the TM900 still earned sharpness levels that were similar to other high-end HD camcorders. Shooting 1080/60i the TM900 managed a horizontal sharpness of around 800 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of only 650 lw/ph. Again, these numbers are similar to what we see from most high-end or flagship HD camcorders, but you notice an immediate increase in sharpness when you record using the 60p mode on the HDC-TM900.

Stabilization

The HDC-TM900 has a bunch of stabilization options, all of which make use of the camcorder’s optical image stabilization system (OIS). In our testing, the camcorder did its best job when we used its dynamic stabilization, although its performance with regular stabilization wasn’t far behind at all.

In our low shake test, the TM900 reduced the shake by 75% when dynamic stabilization was turned on (69% with regular OIS). Results were similar with our high shake test, as the camcorder’s dynamic stabilization reduced the shake by 70% (63% with regular OIS). These results in both tests are very good, but they are no different than the HDC-TM700 earned last year.

Panasonic also includes a powered IS feature on the HDC-TM900, but we couldn’t test this feature effectively because it requires you to continually press a button on the LCD to activate. The powered IS may make a difference in certain shooting situations, but, as the results from our other tests show, the regular and dynamic stabilization systems work very well on their own.

Ease of Use

Most high-end camcorders look daunting and scary upon first glance. They’re often loaded with buttons, dials, rings, and controls that make no sense to the novice user. Thankfully, the touchscreen interface on the TM900 (and most consumer camcorders these days) helps to clean up the surface of the model. This lack of scary buttons makes the TM900 easier to use in a way—nearly everything is run through the touchscreen interface. If you happen to hate touchscreens, which some people undoubtedly do, this is going to be a problem.

The dedicated auto mode on the TM900, aptly named Intelligent Auto (or iA for short), is easy to use and works well for capturing video on the fly. The only major problem we saw was with the camcorder’s auto white balance under mixed, indoor lighting, but if you’re doing most of your recording outside this shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, if you care a lot about color accuracy, then you should use manual white balance or a white balance preset instead. In iA mode there a a bunch of fun features like AF/AE tracking, which Panasonic has offered for a few years now, face detection, and a set of stabilization controls. All are fairly simple to figure out, and Panasonic includes a better-than-average instruction manual for when you run into trouble. In the menu system itself there’s even an “info” box that gives you some helpful tidbits about the menu items you have selected (a great way to learn the ins and outs of a new camcorder).

Auto Mode

The auto features on the HDC-TM900 really aren’t much different than what you got from last year’s TM700. There’s the nifty AF/AE tracking mode, which is part of Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto (iA) control set, and can only be used when the camcorder is in iA mode (the TM900’s dedicated auto mode). The tracking feature works quite well, but it doesn’t always lock onto your subjects perfectly—especially if they’re moving around a lot—but this is par for the course with any tracking feature.

Auto Controls

What really stood out to us on the TM900 was the camcorder’s poor auto white balance and finicky autofocus. We mentioned the autofocus issues in the performance testing sections of this review, but we’ve provided you with some comparison images below so you can get a better idea of what we’re talking about. In simple terms, the TM900 had difficulty providing a fully focused image when we used autofocus. The left side always appeared slightly blurred, while the right side was crisp. We could correct this issue with manual focus, but, even when we did that, both sides of the frame were never perfectly sharp.

Auto white balance gave us similar problems. Things looked great outdoors or when we used a manual white balance, but auto mode often had troubles under indoor light. Images looked murky and discolored, at least for the first few seconds of recording under a new lighting condition. The camcorder does calibrate fairly well eventually, but it can take time.

Handling

Because it shares the same weight and dimensions as Panasonic’s previous flagship model, the HDC-TM700, the HDC-TM900 doesn’t offer that much new in the way of handling. Sifting through the fine details, however, you will notice some differences. For starters, the camcorder has a larger LCD at 3.5 inches. This extra 1/2 inch may not sound like much, but it definitely helps. When you see your subjects in a larger frame you can manually focus better, expose the image better, and make better use of touchscreen controls (like the AF/AE tracking feature).

Menus are also easier to navigate with a larger touchscreen, and, perhaps because of the larger screen, Panasonic decided to give its menus a slight redesign on the TM900. On previous models there was a Function menu that scrolled across the bottom of the screen. This is where you selected manual controls (like focus, aperture, etc), or, in auto mode, it is where you turned on special features (tele macro, pre-record, etc.). On the TM900 this menu has been moved to the left side of the screen instead of the bottom. This makes it take up less space on the screen, but it may end up being a bit more difficult to use—depending on the size of your fingers and your own personal preferences. You cycle through the function menu by pressing two small arrows in the bottom left corner, or by swiping along the side of the screen, both of which can be difficult due to the the small width of this menu.

There is no longer a dedicated “menu” button on the TM900 like there was on the base of the LCD panel with the TM700. Instead, the main menu and quick menus are accessed via the Function menu we talked about previously (on the touchscreen). We don’t mind this too much, but we like having a real dedicated button to bring us to the menu, especially when the touchscreen buttons can be so hard to press at times. We do love the quick menu on the TM900, which is another carry-over feature from previous models, as it gives you easy access to important controls and options (you have to know what you’re doing to use it, though).

As usual, the hand strap on the HDC-TM900 isn’t quite as plush as what you get on Canon models, but it is decent. The compact size and ergonomic shape of the camcorder makes it simple to grip regardless of the hand strap quality. We spoke of the lens ring a bit in the Manual Controls section of this review, but we should address it here as well. The ring feels great, it works for controlling almost everything (focus, zoom, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, gain), but its proximity to the back of the LCD is a bit disconcerting. You can adjust controls during recording—always a plus—although the lens ring only controls zoom when the camcorder is in auto mode. Unlike some older Panasonic camcorders, you can use the lens ring to set controls when the LCD panel is open or when the viewfinder is in use, either is acceptable.

Portablity

According to Panasonic, the HDC-TM900 has the exact same weight and size as last year’s Panasonic HDC-TM700. This left us wondering how Panasonic was able to increase the size of the LCD by 1/2 an inch, but still maintain the same dimensions as last year’s model? The answer is with a tighter design and layout. The new TM900 has its battery compartment sit flush with the back of the camcorder, while the TM700 had the battery jut out roughly 1/4 or an inch. The front of the camcorder is also a bit more compact, with the lens sitting closer to the edge of the LCD panel. This does make the lens ring a bit more difficult to use (your fingers may bump the back of the LCD panel when you rotate the ring), but it enables Panasonic to keep the compact design we loved so much on the TM700 and the TM300 before it.

Battery Life

The HDC-TM900 recorded for 104 straight minutes in our battery life test, which is just three minutes shy of the HDC-TM700’s results in this same test. 104 minutes is close to average for a consumer camcorder, although it is slightly worse than the other three models we compared it to.

Panasonic did change the design of the battery compartment on the TM900 a bit. Unlike the design of the TM700, the battery on the TM900 does not extend out from the camcorder. Instead, it aligns flush with the edge of the LCD panel. This probably has to do with the larger size of the LCD, but we think it looks a lot cleaner. It isn’t necessarily the most functional design, as you still need to open the LCD panel to eject the battery, but it looks sleek.

LCD & Viewfinder

Finally! Something new to talk about with the HDC-TM900. Panasonic decided to catch up to the big boys and increase the LCD on the TM900 to a solid 3.5-inches. It is one of the few major updates for the camcorder over last year’s TM700 (other than being 3D-capable, of course). Unfortunately, Panasonic chose not to bump up the resolution of the LCD too much when it increased the size. The 3.5-inch screen has a pixel count of just 460,800—far less than the 900K+ resolution screens we’ve seen from Sony, Canon, and others.

The LCD uses touchscreen technology, and, other than the fact that the larger screen makes certain touch-buttons easier to push, the touchscreen system is really no different than what we’ve seen from Panasonic in years past.

Most people won’t notice anything different about the viewfinder on the HDC-TM900 as compared to what was on last year’s TM700. Upon very close inspection, we noticed the eyepiece was a tiny bit wider on the new model, but this isn’t something that will have a huge impact at all. The viewfinder can still extend out from the camcorder almost an inch, but it does not pivot or rotate whatsoever. In fact, the viewfinder must be pulled out from the camcorder in order for it to be active. The viewfinder also has a diopter adjustment dial on its left side.

Stabilization

The HDC-TM900 has a bunch of stabilization options, all of which make use of the camcorder’s optical image stabilization system (OIS). In our testing, the camcorder did its best job when we used its dynamic stabilization, although its performance with regular stabilization wasn’t far behind at all.

In our low shake test, the TM900 reduced the shake by 75% when dynamic stabilization was turned on (69% with regular OIS). Results were similar with our high shake test, as the camcorder’s dynamic stabilization reduced the shake by 70% (63% with regular OIS). These results in both tests are very good, but they are no different than the HDC-TM700 earned last year.

Panasonic also includes a powered IS feature on the HDC-TM900, but we couldn’t test this feature effectively because it requires you to continually press a button on the LCD to activate. The powered IS may make a difference in certain shooting situations, but, as the results from our other tests show, the regular and dynamic stabilization systems work very well on their own.

Manual Focus

Miscellaneous Controls

x.v. Color Panasonic calls this feature “Digital Cinema Color”, but it is no different than any x.v. Color mode. It simply allows you to record using the xvYCC expanded color gamut, which, when displayed on a compatible HDTV, will show you a wider range of colors.

Picture Adjust You can adjust sharpness, saturation, white balance shift, or exposure using Picture Adjust. Each can be adjusted on a scale from -5 to +5 increments. We love this control, but we wish it was easier to access (it is buried in the menu system).

Guideframes Grid lines appear on the screen to assist with framing. The TM900 has three display options: a set of 3 horizontal lines, a 9-sector grid, or a 60-sector grid.

Tele macro Turn this setting on and the camcorder automatically zooms in to its full zoom setting. You can then focus in on subjects that are less than 70cm away from the lens.

Zebra Pattern A prized feature for many pro videographers, Zebra Patterns displays stripes on overexposed portions of the frame.

Luminance Meter A small box appears in the center of the screen that measures the luminance level for that portion of the frame (this option can be set to always appear or to only be active during iris adjustment).

Histogram Displays a histogram chart on the LCD (can be set to always appear or to only appear during iris adjustment).

Auto Controls

What really stood out to us on the TM900 was the camcorder’s poor auto white balance and finicky autofocus. We mentioned the autofocus issues in the performance testing sections of this review, but we’ve provided you with some comparison images below so you can get a better idea of what we’re talking about. In simple terms, the TM900 had difficulty providing a fully focused image when we used autofocus. The left side always appeared slightly blurred, while the right side was crisp. We could correct this issue with manual focus, but, even when we did that, both sides of the frame were never perfectly sharp.

Auto white balance gave us similar problems. Things looked great outdoors or when we used a manual white balance, but auto mode often had troubles under indoor light. Images looked murky and discolored, at least for the first few seconds of recording under a new lighting condition. The camcorder does calibrate fairly well eventually, but it can take time.

Audio Controls

The HDC-TM900 has a built-in, 5.1-channel surround sound mic. It’s the same mic that has been featured on Panasonic’s flagship models for the past two years. The mic isn’t placed extremely well, as its position on the top of the camcorder comes in close proximity to where your pinky ends up when you grip the TM900, but we do like the surround sound capabilities. There’s also plenty of audio controls on the TM900 as well—manual audio level adjustment, zoom mic capabilities, an advanced wind cut feature—just to name a few.

If you’re really adamant about recording great audio, the HDC-TM900 has a convenient 3.5mm external mic jack near the front of the camcorder. This port is protected by a small cover, and it is grouped with a headphone jack as well. Our only issue: the hand strap kind of gets in the way of the two ports at times.

Editing

The Panasonic HDC-TM900 comes with a new version of the HD Writer AE software (version 3.0) that it has been including with camcorders for years. The new version isn’t wildly different than past iterations, but it offers a few new tricks worth talking about.

Compression

For the most part, the TM900 has the same compression system as the Panasonic flagship camcorder that preceded it, the HDC-TM700. To recap for those who don’t know their Panasonic camcorder history, this means the TM900 uses AVCHD compression for all HD video recording other than its 1080/60p mode. The one new feature is an iFrame record mode that captures standard definition video at a 960 × 540 resolution and a 28Mbps bitrate. The iFrame format is designed to work specifically with Apple’s iMove software, and it should be far less taxing on your computer than AVCHD video.

The 60p mode is special, mainly because AVCHD compression can’t handle 1080/60p recording. To get around this, Panasonic uses its own MPEG-4 compression system for recording 1080/60p. It’s a good move in one sense, as it allows you to record Full HD using the coveted 60p frame rate, but the proprietary compression system limits the compatibility of the resultant video.

Media

Media is our term for “what the camcorder records to.” The answer to this question was tape for many years, but nowadays its a mixture of internal memory, hard drives, and memory cards for the most part. The HDC-TM900 is a “twin memory” camcorder (that’s what the “TM” stands for). This means it has both internal memory—32GB to be exact—and a memory card slot. Any memory cards from the regular-sized SD card family, and that includes SDHC and SDXC cards, will work with the HDC-TM900.

Still Features

To be blunt, you can take photos at tons of different sizes on the HDC-TM900. Some of those photos are very large, but the camcorder’s maximum effective pixel count is just under 8-megapixels. So, all the photo size options that are larger than this (the largest is a 14.2-megapixel setting) are what we call “interpolated.” The images will be physically larger when you view them, but they will contain the same amount of detail and pixels as the 8-megapixel photo option on the camcorder.

One new feature on the TM900 in photo mode is the touch-shutter option. With this option engaged, you can simply tap anywhere on the LCD and the camcorder will snap a photo with that specific area exposed and focused properly. This feature only works in iA mode (not manual mode). Of course, you can always press the dedicated shutter button to take a photo as well.

Lens & Imaging System

It doesn’t appear that Panasonic made any changes to the lens on the HDC-TM900 (compared to last year’s TM700), but we bet at least a little tinkering went on under the hood. At the very least, the lens had to be slightly altered in order to make the TM900 functional with the optional 3D conversion lens. Still, the lens has the same f/1.5 aperture and 12x optical zoom as its predecessor.

The HDC-TM900 uses a three chip image sensor system, just like Panasonic has been implementing on its high-end camcorders for quite some time now. The three chips are all a 1/4.1-inch CMOS imagers, and each chip has a pixel count of 3.05 megapixels.

LCD & Viewfinder

Finally! Something new to talk about with the HDC-TM900. Panasonic decided to catch up to the big boys and increase the LCD on the TM900 to a solid 3.5-inches. It is one of the few major updates for the camcorder over last year’s TM700 (other than being 3D-capable, of course). Unfortunately, Panasonic chose not to bump up the resolution of the LCD too much when it increased the size. The 3.5-inch screen has a pixel count of just 460,800—far less than the 900K+ resolution screens we’ve seen from Sony, Canon, and others.

The LCD uses touchscreen technology, and, other than the fact that the larger screen makes certain touch-buttons easier to push, the touchscreen system is really no different than what we’ve seen from Panasonic in years past.

Most people won’t notice anything different about the viewfinder on the HDC-TM900 as compared to what was on last year’s TM700. Upon very close inspection, we noticed the eyepiece was a tiny bit wider on the new model, but this isn’t something that will have a huge impact at all. The viewfinder can still extend out from the camcorder almost an inch, but it does not pivot or rotate whatsoever. In fact, the viewfinder must be pulled out from the camcorder in order for it to be active. The viewfinder also has a diopter adjustment dial on its left side.

Connectivity

Being a high-end consumer camcorder, the HDC-TM900 has a lot of connectivity options. We’ll try to go through them as succinctly as possible, but some of the terminology may be confusing for those who aren’t familiar with camcorders. Just bear with us, check out the photos along with the text, and you’ll be fine.

The largest port cluster on the TM900 is inside the LCD cavity, behind a flexible, flip-down cover. Here you’ll find three ports—HDMI, USB, and AV/Component-out—and one memory card slot that fits SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. The AV/Component port works with the “mult-AV” cable that ships with the camcorder and has both AV and Component video connections. The HDMI connection is a standard mini HDMI port, but the camcorder does not ship with this cable (you can buy these cables online or at most electronics stores). The battery release switch is also located near these ports.

The rest of the ports on the TM900 are all located on the right side of the camcorder, but they are scattered in a few different places. There’s the camouflaged DC-input that is used to charge the camcorder’s battery (or run off of wall-power). This port is located near the back, with a nib just above the record button that is helpful for popping the cover open. Additional ports are near the front of the camcorder, behind a similar port cover that blends into the body of the camcorder. This is where you’ll find the external mic and headphone jacks.

The final connectivity feature is located just above the audio jacks, behind a larger cover. This is the cold accessory shoe input, which requires you to insert the shoe adapter (provided with the camcorder) before you can attach accessories. This shoe adapter system isn’t great—if you lose the small adapter you’re basically out of luck—but we do like the way it positions the accessory shoe on the side of the camcorder rather than right on top.

Battery

Panasonic did change the design of the battery compartment on the TM900 a bit. Unlike the design of the TM700, the battery on the TM900 does not extend out from the camcorder. Instead, it aligns flush with the edge of the LCD panel. This probably has to do with the larger size of the LCD, but we think it looks a lot cleaner. It isn’t necessarily the most functional design, as you still need to open the LCD panel to eject the battery, but it looks sleek.

Media

Media is our term for “what the camcorder records to.” The answer to this question was tape for many years, but nowadays its a mixture of internal memory, hard drives, and memory cards for the most part. The HDC-TM900 is a “twin memory” camcorder (that’s what the “TM” stands for). This means it has both internal memory—32GB to be exact—and a memory card slot. Any memory cards from the regular-sized SD card family, and that includes SDHC and SDXC cards, will work with the HDC-TM900.

3D Lens

Before we get into the details about the TM900’s 3D capability, we must begin with this disclaimer: the HDC-TM900 is not ready to record 3D video out of the box. You must purchase an additional 3D conversion lens—model name VW-CLT1—in order to capture 3D video with the TM900. You may be able to find the HDC-TM900 bundled with a 3D conversion lens, but Panasonic is not currently selling this set on its website. If you want a 3D camcorder that is ready to record out of the box there are other options: the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, the JVC GS-TD1, or the Sony HDR-TD10.

The 3D functions on the HDC-TM900 should be identical to what Panasonic offered on the HDC-SDT750. Panasonic may have slightly altered the menu systems for calibration, but, as far as we can tell, nothing has changed.

3D Controls

The HDC-TM900 is still very limited when it comes to controls in 3D mode. The camcorder doesn’t allow you to zoom or use many manual controls when the VW-CLT1 conversion lens is attached. This is the big disadvantage of Panasonic’s 3D recording system—it doesn’t let you do much. This is especially true when compared to Sony and JVC’s 3D models, both of which give you far more control. Sony and JVC’s 3D camcorders also incorporate a dual lens and sensor system, rather than a removable conversion lens for recording 3D.

Having a removable 3D lens can be good, as it means the HDC-TM900 can be very compact when you shot regular 2D video, but it also means you must calibrate the conversion lens when you attach it. JVC and Sony also claim that their dual lens and sensor systems produce higher-quality 3D content than Panasonic’s system because they record two Full HD image. Panasonic’s conversion lens, on the other hand, splits one HD image into two in order to create the 3D effect.

Still Features

To be blunt, you can take photos at tons of different sizes on the HDC-TM900. Some of those photos are very large, but the camcorder’s maximum effective pixel count is just under 8-megapixels. So, all the photo size options that are larger than this (the largest is a 14.2-megapixel setting) are what we call “interpolated.” The images will be physically larger when you view them, but they will contain the same amount of detail and pixels as the 8-megapixel photo option on the camcorder.

One new feature on the TM900 in photo mode is the touch-shutter option. With this option engaged, you can simply tap anywhere on the LCD and the camcorder will snap a photo with that specific area exposed and focused properly. This feature only works in iA mode (not manual mode). Of course, you can always press the dedicated shutter button to take a photo as well.

Other Features

Pre Record This has become a common feature on consumer camcorders that allows you to capture a few seconds of footage before you press the record button. This feature can be useful if you’re shooting a fast-paced sports game and don’t want to miss an important moment.

Auto Ground Standby (AGS) AGS will automatically stop recording if the camcorder is pointed directly toward the ground for a a few seconds. This is meant to prevent unwanted recordings of the floor when you’ve forgotten to shut the camcorder off. While this feature can be useful, it can also be annoying, if, say, you want to film the ground for a few seconds.

Fader You can add faders to the beginning or end of your video clips during recording. Faders can be set to white or black on the TM900.

Time Lapse Record You set a recording interval and the camcorder will capture one frame of video each time this interval comes up. Interval options are: 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. With this mode, thirty frames will make up one second of video and the maximum recordable time is 12 hours. We like this feature, but it’s really only useful for recording things over a long period of time (like sunrises, sunsets, or blooming flowers).

Relay Record You can set the HDC-TM900 to continue recording from the internal memory (after it fills up) right onto an inserted memory card without any loss of data.

Canon HF G10 Comparison

The Canon HF G10 and Panasonic HDC-TM900 are competing flagship models for 2011. With the HDC-TM900, Panasonic decided not to mess with success—the camcorder is nearly identical to last year’s TM700 save for a larger LCD and compatibility with the company’s 3D conversion lens. Canon changed everything with the HF G10, however, as the camcorder uses a new sensor system and has an entirely different body design than last year’s flagship model (the Canon HF S21).

We have to applaud Canon for trying something new. The HF G10 put up amazing numbers in our low light test, and that’s the area where it was able to edge the Panasonic HDC-TM900. Both camcorders shine when it comes to performance, though, so you have to analyze design and control to really pick these models apart. The Canon HF G10 is a bit bigger, but it feels more professional and includes a few more professional controls. Its lens ring is of higher-quality than Panasonic’s, but it isn’t nearly as versatile (it only controls focus). It’s a tough call, but we think the HF G10 is the better camcorder for a control freak or prosumer. The TM900 get’s points for its more compact design, and for being slightly easier to use.

The Panasonic TM900 has the ability to record in 3D, and that is something that isn’t present on the Canon HF G10 (or any Canon model at this time). This feature alone may put the HDC-TM900 on top, but we acknowledge that many users don’t care about recording in 3D. If that’s the case, and all you’re looking for is a great prosumer camcorder, then the Canon HF G10 is your best bet right now. It feels and looks professional, and the new sensor system was downright fabulous in low light.

Sony HDR-CX550V Comparison

We must preface this comparison by reminding you that the Sony HDR-CX550V is last year’s model. Sony’s newest flagship is the HDR-CX700V and it has a boatload of new features (24p and 60p recording, ‘nuff said). We’ll be reviewing the CX700V soon (by the end of this month), so stay tuned for a more even comparison when we get the testing done on the new model.

For now, let’s look how the CX550V stacks up against the TM900. Since Panasonic didn’t improve on much with the TM900, this comparison looks a lot like the CX550V vs. the TM700. And, like we said last year, the HDC-TM900 beats out the HDR-CX550V in almost all of our testing categories. What the Sony has going for it, though, is its simple design and its standard definition record mode (in addition to HD). No, the CX550V doesn’t have the same amount of controls or features as the TM900, but its performance in auto mode is fantastic in general (and that’s what a lot of people are looking for).

The HDC-TM900 is the better camcorder, especially if your a pro or advanced user, but the CX550V is one of the best flagship models for those who, well, don’t know all that much about camcorders.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Comparison

The HDC-TM700 was as good as it got for a consumer camcorder in 2010. So, what did Panasonic do for an encore? Unfortunately, not that much. The HDC-TM900 has a slightly larger LCD (3.5-inch), a tighter design, and a few extra—but certainly not noteworthy—controls. Panasonic also added 3D capability to the TM900, but you have to buy an expensive conversion lens to make this happen. Honestly, unless you’re dying for the option to record 3D, the HDC-TM900 isn’t any better than the TM700. The larger LCD makes the touchscreen less frustrating, but it also makes the lens ring a bit more difficult to get your hands on. Plus, Panasonic got rid of the dedicated buttons on the base of the LCD panel and shuttled nearly all of the controls over to the touchscreen interface.

Seriously, if you can find an HDC-TM700 at a discounted price, and we assume it will be cheaper than the HDC-TM900 for quite some time, you should buy it over the TM900. Again, this is only the case if you have no interest to record 3D footage. If you do want to record 3D, you can rest assured that the TM900 is a quality camcorder that includes all of the features and performance we loved about our Camcorder of the Year in 2010—the HDC-TM700.

Conclusion

The HDC-TM900 (MSRP $1099) is a great camcorder, that much is clear. It captured excellent video in a variety of record modes, and its performance recording 1080/60p HD video was as good as it gets. It has a ton of controls, a solid body design, and its 3D recording option (with the purchase of an optional conversion lens) makes it a cutting-edge product.

Despite all this, we are still disappointed with the TM900. Other than adding the 3D capability and increasing the size of the LCD, Panasonic didn’t do much to improve on last year’s HDC-TM700—which was a fantastic camcorder in its own right. It’s this laziness and lack of innovation that bugs us. Panasonic had the chance to make a great product even better, but, instead, it chose to play it safe and maintain the status quo.

Unless you have a strong urge to record 3D video, there’s not much of a reason to buy the HDC-TM900 over last year’s HDC-TM700. The extra 1/2 inch of LCD real estate doesn’t intrigue us enough, nor does the redesigned menu system. We were also particularly disappointed by the fact that Panasonic’s new processor in the HDC-TM900 didn’t show us any improvements in our testing, despite the fact that Panasonic claimed this new processor would reduce noise up to 45%. To top it all off, the HDC-TM900 retails for around $100 – $200 more than the TM700 depending where you shop.

Don’t get us wrong, we like the HDC-TM900 and we think it is one of the better camcorders we’ve used. At this poin in 2011, however, we’ve been more impressed with Canon’s new HF G10, and we’re excited to get the new flagships from Sony and JVC into our labs soon. Panasonic is up for some stiff competition this year, and hopefully it will encourage Panasonic to innovate more in 2012.