Performance

We expect the Panasonic AG-HSC1U to perform nearly identically to its consumer counterpart in all aspects other than color rendering because the camcorders are mechanically identical. Both are equipped with a 3-CCD imaging system that features 1/4" sensors, each with a gross pixel count of 560,000 and 520,000 effective.

In our 3000 lux tests, the SD1 produced a nice-looking image that was very close in quality and apparent sharpness to this year’s HDV camcorders including the Sony HDR-HC7 and Canon HV20. As is typical for Panasonic consumer cams, color balance was better than average, and not overly saturated. The AG-HSC1U should produce an even less saturated image because professional camcorders are calibrated for accuracy unlike consumer camcorders that are designed to produce eye-popping color. The assumption on the part of manufacturers is that most consumers are not going to post their footage, while professionals always post their footage, and thus need to begin with the most accurate colors possible. On the SD1, we found manual white balance was slightly greener than the other camcorders in its class. It would be reasonable to assume that the AG-HSC1U will improve on this performance since its overall color calibration is geared towards professional applications.

The biggest concern for professionals looking for a compact and durable camcorder to work into their shoots is that the AG-HSC1U records AVCHD rather than HDV. The new format’s low bit rate accommodates recording to a wide range of non-linear media, including flash cards and HDDs, unlike HDV but at this stage in its development, its performance is inferior to HDV. In all the AVCHD camcorders we’ve reviewed including the SD1, we’ve observed more graininess than seen in HDV. AVCHD compression also produces motion artifacts in the form of mild trailing. We observed both of these problems in SD1 footage, though overall the image was still very good.

Low Light Performance

The SD1 turned in a relatively weak showing in low light, and the AG-HSC1U should perform identically. Shooting our color chart at 60 lux in auto mode, the SD1’s light gathering ability was maxed out with gain automatically raised to +18dB, and the image was quite grainy. Unlike other compact HD cams, the AG-HSC1U cannot be lowered below 1/60 manually without using the MagicPix AE preset. On a camcorder that’s aimed at professional users, the lack of manual shutter speeds below 1/60 is a surprising omission.

At 15 lux, the SD1 showed in even noisier image, and color accuracy suffered with significant saturation loss.

The SD1 produced a peak of 50 IRE at 14 lux, while the Canon HV20 and Sony HDR-HC7 both mustered 50 IRE at only 7 lux for 1080i video. Measuring for noise level and color accuracy at 60 lux, the SD1 showed a noise percentage of 0.63% and a color error of 11.8. The noise percentage at 60 lux was quite low for a consumer camcorder, but the color error is a red flag to be considered for any low-light pro application that the AG-HSC1U might be used in.

Format

Compression

The Panasonic HSC1U uses AVCHD compression, a consumer-oriented flavor of MPEG-4 H.264 developed jointly by Panasonic and Sony, and announced in early 2006. Sony brought AVCHD camcorders to market first with its introduction of the HDR-UX1 and UDR-SR1 last fall. The benefit of AVCHD over other types of HD is that it has the potential to be up to 50% more efficient than MPEG-2 compression. This higher efficiency allows AVCHD to be implemented in a broader range of recording media, including SDHC cards in the case of the AG-HSC1U. The camcorder supports three quality settings: 13Mbps HF (CBR, or constant bit rate), 9Mbps HN (VBR, or variable bit rate), and 6Mbps HE (VBR). The AVCHD spec will support higher bit rates in the future that should yield performance improvements as the codec matures.

In 13Mbps HF mode, we found the HDC-SD1 to produce very sharp HD video that looked very close to HDV in terms of quality, with slightly more noise, and some motion trailing. Though the difference is subtle at first glance, AVCHD video holds up poorly relative to HDV over multiple generations. AVCHD can also be edited natively using only a handful of consumer NLEs, so HSC1U footage must be converted to a more universal standard to drop into a timeline. For editors accustomed to working with video from diverse sources, converting AVCHD video to an editable form will not be difficult as numerous options exist from developers including Ulead, Canopus, Elecard, Intervideo, and Nero. BlackMagic’s Intensity capture card is another option, allowing for uncompressed ingest via the AG-HSC1U’s HDMI terminal.

Media

Flash media is unique among other types of recording media because it is solid state. Cassettes, DVDs, and HDDs are all driven by motors that can wear out, slow down, freeze, skip, or otherwise spoil a shoot. Panasonic has been eager to evangelize flash media (both professional P2 cards and SD/SDHC in their lower-end camcorders) for precisely this reason – there are no moving parts meaning "mechanism-free" recording for the AG-HSC1U.

No moving parts means the camcorder should be very durable relative to camcorders that do make use of recording mechanisms, so frame drops during a roller coaster drop or ATV ride should be eliminated or reduced. Flash media itself has also proven to be very durable, moisture-resistant, portable, and fast. Finally, flash cards are very small and easily concealed giving it great potential as an ultra-low profile option for anyone who finds themselves crossing hostile checkpoints as a routine component of their work.

Editing

For pros, the current state of AVCHD should be less problematic than it is for consumers looking. This is because the format is currently sparsely supported, and getting AVCHD footage into a post production workflow involves purchasing the right software and converting it into an editable format like AVI or Quicktime. We have knocked AVCHD as a poor choice for consumers looking for a dedicated camcorder for shooting home movies because most casual shooters are looking for convenience above all else.

For pros who would only use this camcorder as a B-camera for certain shots, or for very low-profile applications, the issues are different. Conversion or decoding programs for AVCHD footage are widely available, and Black Magic’s Intensity card offers a way to easily ingest uncompressed 1080i video via an HDMI terminal. The key with AVCHD footage is to capture it and then conform it to your working timeline, based on your NLE environment. We found Elecard’s Converter Studio (free trial available) to be a high-quality and efficient AVCHD converter, while InterVideo, Ulead, Canopus, and Nero all offer some level of AVCHD compatibility.

Tour

The Front

Cosmetically, the only difference between the AG-HSC1U and the previously reviewed HDC-SD1 is the matte black surface of the new camcorder. Up front, the HSC1U is all lens, with the 12x optical zoom lens occupying the entire front end of the barrel-like body. The lens has an aspherical design according to Panasonic, a 43mm filter diameter, and a focal length of 4mm-48mm. An automatic lens cover that activates when the camcorder is switched on and off. Beneath the all-encompassing lens are the white balance/remote sensor and video lamp. To the left of the lens is a flash for digital still recording.

 

The Right Side

A look at the right side of the camcorder reveals virtually no protruding parts above below in back or in front to catch on clothing or other pieces of equipment, a perk for low profile work. The USB and HDMI terminals are protected by a rigid plastic cover just behind the lens that can be opened by pulling on a tab. The grip area is rubberized, and the onboard speaker is in the center of the grip. The HSC1U’s hand strap is thin, and not terribly comfortable in comparison to hand straps on some other HD cams we’ve seen, including the JVC GZ-HD7 and Sony HDR-HC7, but the camcorder is small enough that it still feels balanced during hand-held shooting. The zoom lever and joystick are positioned adequately, though we found out fingers tended to overshoot the zoom lever due to the very compact girth of the camcorder.

 

The Back

The mode dial sits centered at the back end of the body with options for video, playback, and PC connection modes – there is no dedicated still photo mode. The Rec/Start/Stop button sits in the center of the mode dial. The joystick controller is just to the right of the Mode Dial allowing for easy one-handed thumb access. Below the mode dial are the Menu button, used to access the Administrative Menu, and the Trash button, used to discard video and still clips from the SD/SDHC flash card. The enclosed battery slot slides open from the base of the unit, and its back end can be seen below the Mode Dial. For tripod mounted operation, the bottom-loading battery slot is an inconvenience to consider because swapping out the battery will require removing the camcorder from the mount.

The Left Side

Panasonic has supplied the AG-HSC1U with the largest screen on any palm-sized HD camcorder this year, measuring 3" and boasting a 250,000 pixel resolution. This compares with the average 2.7" size of LCDs this year, and the extra real estate is fortunate because there is no viewfinder. Once flipped open, the LCD screen can be rotated through 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles, and displays a crisp, balanced image. Several ports and controls are housed in the LCD cavity including the Power LCD button and the Auto/Manual/Focus switch on top. The SD/SDHC card slot is below these buttons, and protected by a sliding plastic cover that must be closed in order to record. Below the card slot is an L-shaped port cover opened by pulling a tab along its bottom edge. This port cover can be opened when the camcorder is tripod-mounted – but only with the help of a knife blade or long fingernail. The ports are, from left to right: AV out, component, external microphone, and DC-In.

The Top

One of the unique features on this camcorder is 5.1 channel Dolby surround sound recording via the onboard microphone, mounted just behind the lens. We generally regard onboard 5.1 channel sound as a consumer gimmick, due to the low quality of onboard mics, but in the marketing material for the AG-HSC1U, Panasonic notes that this mic will record sound with increased presence. Behind the microphone is a rubber strip that extends slightly above the top of the body, and is a useful aid during hand-held operation. The rocking zoom lever and Photo button are behind this rubber strip, near the back end of the body.

Auto / Manual Controls

Picture & Manual Control
*Automatic Control *

The AG-HSC1U’s performs very well in auto mode, and the core image adjustments, exposure, focus, and white balance all operate adequately in bright, consistent lighting. The camcorder keeps a number of options available in Auto Mode, including digital zoom set, OIS on/off, Guidelines, Wind Cut and Zoom Mic on/off, manual audio level control, and zebras. The availability of an option like zebras and guidelines in auto mode is a great inclusion for pro applications, because it offers a way of checking up on whether manual adjustment is necessary.

 

Overall Manual Control

The Panasonic AG-HSC1U has a good manual image control suite, allowing independent iris, shutter speed, and gain adjustment. This matches the level of manual control found on Panasonic’s consumer line, and is one of the qualities that sets the company’s camcorders apart. Yet, for all the manual adjustability offered by the HSC1U, it’s more a point-and-shooter with good manual controls than a scaled-down prosumer model – the JVC GZ-HD7 is built much more around that concept. For this reason, the HSC1U is best viewed as a tool suited to a specific set of consumer applications.

The professional features the camcorder does include are helpful but could have been implemented more successfully. Focus Assist magnifies a portion of the image during manual focus adjustment, filling roughly the center quadrant of the LCD with an enlarged display. This helps, but is not as effective as the focus assist on the Canon HV20, which fills the screen with a magnified image and adds peaking. The combination of full-screen magnification and peaking makes focusing the Canon faster and easier. In addition, the manual image adjustment controller on the HSC1U is a joystick rather than a ring like the one on the JVC HD7. It’s possible to focus the AG-HSC1U manually, but it’s not easy, and on a sunny day that blows out the LCD screen, forget about it.

The joystick on the AG-HSC1U is also a bit more difficult to operate than the ones on its standard definition consumer predecessors. It’s essentially the same controller, but it extends out less from the body than on prior incarnations, meaning it offers less leverage than we’re accustomed to. On the plus side, this design adds the exceedingly sleek no-snag design of the camcorder. Shooters who are familiar with the Panasonic joystick interface should feel right at home. In Manual recording mode, pressing the center of the joystick brings up a 4-page menu at the lower right corner of the screen, with options for iris/gain, white balance, and shutter speed on page 4. When manual focus is enabled, a fifth focus adjustment page is added to the menu. In comparison to most consumer camcorders, the joystick makes accessing these controls a very fast process. For adjustments other than focus, the joystick works very well and the ability to control gain manually is a terrific quality control feature that HD camcorders from other manufacturers like Sony, JVC, and Canon lack.

This camcorder has a useful set of manual controls, but the Focus Assist feature is less-than-stellar, there’s no headphone jack, and zebras default to a single mystery setting at around 100 IRE. These are surprising omissions on a camcorder marketed to professionals, but Panasonic must believe they are not vital for the applications the camcorder is most suited for: close quarters, action, law enforcement, and other situations that call for compact, durable, and/or low-profile equipment.

Zoom

The zoom controller on the AG-HSC1U is excellent, allowing for accurate control over speed, and it has a responsive, comfortable feel. The position of the zoom on top of the lens barrel, just forward of the photo button should also feel right for most users, though we found it suited operation with the middle finger best. Like most compact camcorders built on a consumer chassis, there are no options for fine-tuning the action of this variable speed zoom. The Canon HV20 is an exception, offering three fixed zoom speeds. The AG-HSC1U also lacks a secondary onboard zoom (the remote includes buttons for fixed speed zooming) while most similar camcorders feature onscreen zoom controls.

*Zoom Power Ratio *

The Panasonic AG-HSC1U includes a 12x optical zoom, and a digital zoom option that can be capped at 30x, or allowed to run all the way to an absurd 700x. We found the HSC1U’s image held up remarkably well up to about 30 xs. At that magnification, the resolution remained comparable to what many standard definition camcorders produce – an impressive feat. Above 30x, the image quickly degenerates, so if you must use the AG-HSC1U’s digital zoom, the 30x will allow ensure that your image remains usable even in digital territory.

Focus

Focus is the bane of HD video. While standard definition video is quite forgiving, thanks to a much lower resolution, high definition video is sharp enough to magnify the slightest mistake. This is especially true of focus, and it’s simply not possible to focus accurately using the 2.7" – 3.5" displays found on today’s consumer HD camcorders. The resolution of HD video is too high (1080 x 1920) and the screens too small to make this possible. There have been a few successful remedies to this problem. Sony’s debut AVCHD camcorders, the HDR-UX1 (sadly discontinued) and HDR-SR1 feature huge 3.5" screens and excellent ring controls; the Canon HV20 has an excellent Focus Assist feature that magnifies the image to fill the 2.7" screen, and adds peaking.

Panasonic too has a Focus Assist option on the HSC1U and DX1, but it’s only a partial success. Instead of filling the screen with a magnified image as on the HV20, the HSC1U fills only the center quadrant of the LCD with a magnified image. As a result, you’re only given 1/8 of the entire frame to focus on – without peaking to make the job easier. Although the HDR-SR1 from Sony doesn’t offer any assist functions, the size of the screen and the ring control makes focusing manually a relative breeze. In addition, Panasonic AG-HSC1U manual focus control is a joystick that doesn’t offer the finesse of a rotary controller like a ring or dial.

*Exposure & Aperture *

The joystick on the AG-HSC1U may not be a great focus controller, but its fast and adept for working your way through the manual iris adjustment options. We find the Panasonic joystick interface to be extremely efficient in the hands (or thumbs) of power users who become adept at the system’s quirks.

Here’s how it works: With the Auto/Manual/Focus selector switch set to Manual (Auto does not allow manual exposure adjustment) pressing the center of the joystick brings up the joystick navigation menu on the LCD’s lower right corner. After the menu appears, tapping down towards the "Next" option will cycle through the pages; The exposure adjustment is on the left side of page 4, labeled Iris. Tapping the joystick towards Iris enables manual exposure control, while tapping down towards "Back" returns to page 4. When Iris control is enabled, you cycle through f-stop settings by tapping left (to close down) or right (to open up) the iris. The iris settings are displayed in full f-stops as follows: f/16, f/14, f/11, f/9.6, f/8, f/6.8, f/5.6, f/4.8, f/4, f/3.4, f/2.8, and Open. An incremental (1/2 step?) setting lies between each full stop, for a total of 23 steps.

The beauty of this system is that once you pass the Open aperture setting, manual control over gain – fully independent of aperture – kicks in. The AG-HSC1U and HDC-DX1 are the only currently available consumer HD camcorders that allow you to de-link iris and gain, though the JVC Everio GZ-HD7 will also offer this feature.

Shutter Speed

When the AG-HSC1U is recording in manual mode, the shutter speed settings can be easily reached by pressing the joystick in and navigating to page 4 of the manual control menu. Shutter speed appears on the same page as the iris/gain and white balance, and tapping the joystick left towards the SHTR label enables shutter speed adjustment. Page 4 is replaced by the manual shutter speed interface, indicating joystick-left will lower the shutter speed and joystick-right will increase the shutter speed.

The settings available on the AG-HSC1U are: 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, and 1/8000 – a wide range of shutter speed options. However, the HSC1U does not allow you to select shutter speeds below 1/60 manually. To make use of slower shutter speeds, the camcorder must be set to MagicPix mode, Panasonic’s low light recording mode. With MagicPix enabled, the camcorder will automatically drop the shutter speed below 1/60 in low light. It’s certainly a useful recording mode, but it gives you no direct control over shutter speed. HD camcorders from Sonya and Canon both offer manual shutter speed settings below gm, 1/60, and the ability to select either 1/30 (1080i) or 1/24 (24P on the HV20 only) is an especially valuable asset available on those cams.

White Balance

The Panasonic AG-HSC1U includes a handful of standard-issue WB presets including AWB (auto), indoor (incandescent or halogen), and outdoor (clear, not cloudy skies). This is a limited number of presets, so the circumstances under which you’ll be able to use them are also limited.

The best thing about manual white balance on this camcorder is its accessibility and speed. To reach the manual white balance setting option, press the center of the joystick in Manual recording mode, and navigate to page 4 of the menu. The white balance select screen appears, and pressing left or right cycles through the four options, with manual white balance identified by a standard white balance icon. Tapping up once on the joystick sets white balance, and it locked in a setting after only a few seconds. We found the HSC-SD1 manual white balance setting to lean slightly towards the green end of the spectrum, though the error was visually negligible.

Gain

Independent manual gain control is a rarity on consumer camcorders, outside the Panasonic brand, and the availability of this option on the AG-HSC1U should help its case among pros who are looking for a compact cam. The AG-HSC1U includes gain options of 0dB, 3dB, 6dB, 9dB, 12dB, 15 dB, and 18dB. In between each whole-number step is an incremental gain step giving the HSC1U a total of 12 manual gain settings.

Other Manual Controls
*Zebras - *The AG-HSC1U includes a zebra stripe option – a feature that’s standard on prosumer camcorders, found only on high-end consumer models. Surprisingly, Panasonic only allows you to turn zebras on or off, with no level specified. It appears to be about 100 IRE, but the manual sheds no light on this so you should do some camera tests before relying on this control.

*Guide Lines - *The AG-HSC1U includes three LCD marker options (called Guide Lines by Panasonic) that assist with shot framing, found in Menu > Basic. The Horizontal option superimposes three horizontal lines on the LCD display; Grid1 superimposes a nine-box grid; and Grid2 superimposes a much finer grid on the screen. We found Grid2 to be the most versatile option, as it is well-suited for both horizon alignment and rule of thirds framing.

*Color Bars - *The AG-HSC1U includes a color bar display for color calibration of ean external monitor in Menu > Advanced.

*MF Assist - *MF Assist magnifies a quadrant in the center of the LCD display that is superimposed over the main image. When manual focus is complete, the enlarged quadrant disappears. If MF Assist is being used at the same time that zebras are set to on, zebra striping does not appear in the magnified portion of the image.

Still Features

Still Features

The HSC1U does not offer a dedicated still photo mode, but photos can be captured in video mode when video recording is paused, or during active recording. The manual indicates that stills captured during video recording are lower in quality due to the fact that "priority is given to motion picture recording." The only resolution available is 1920 x 1080 (identical to the camcorder’s HD video resolution). If the Photo Button, just above the back end of the body, is pressed down halfway, the camcorder focuses automatically. In manual focus mode, the joystick can be used to adjust still image focus. The options available in the Picture submenu include high and low picture quality, flash level, and shutter sound on/off. The flash is located to the right of the lens.

Handling and Use

Ease of Use

The HSC1U is stripped down, sleek, and easy to handle for such a compact model. The exterior is relatively unadorned. Scrolling through the menu using the rear-mounted joystick takes only a few seconds to master, and playing back videos and pictures is cake, thanks to the condensed, tabbed playback menu screen. As mentioned earlier, this is no scaled-down prosumer cam like the JVC HD7, but a minimalist low-profile tool. As a result, you shouldn’t expect handling anything like a larger unit, but the miniaturization process has been thoughtfully executed.

 

Handling

Handling is an area of strength for the Panasonic AG-HSC1U, though it works best as a point-and-shoot camcorder. The camcorder has a great in-hand feel thanks to the gun-barrel shape of the body, though users with large hands will probably find that their fingers overreach the zoom lever and photo button. Nonetheless, like most other small Panasonics, it can be operated with only one hand – a feat that other manufacturers don’t aspire to. This is made possible by the location of all the important controls on the top (zoom lever, photo button) or back (Mode dial, joystick, Menu Button, delete button) of the body.

Panasonic’s joystick-based menu and manual control interface are also key to making this a camcorder that offers access to virtually every feature during one-handed operation. The company has refined the manual control display as well, adding helpful marquees with descriptive text that serve as signposts for each setting. In the hands of an experienced user, the 5-way joystick makes short shrift of such tasks as manual iris/gain setting, white balance setting, and Scene Mode selection. Unfortunately, the efficacy of the joystick can take any camcorder only so far. Compared to the focus dial on Sony’s higher-end HD camcorders, like the HDR-UX7, or Canon’s HV20, the joystick is a poor control for focusing manually. The Focus Assist feature is not terribly effective compared to those on the JVC HD7 or Canon HV20, and weak Focus Assist is a liability for any HD camcorder.

The lack of solid manual focus on the HSC1U is a big issue, and leads us to recommend this camcorder as best used as a point-and-shooter even for professional use. The auto adjustments all operate well, and in bright light, we found auto focus was more trustworthy than manual. The camcorder’s OIS is its brightest spot, and it did a better job at damping Speed 2 on our shake emulator than any model we’ve tested. We’d be hard pressed to recommend any camcorder on the basis of good point-and-shoot performance and a stellar OIS alone, but for certain shots (where compactness and shock absorption are key) it may be the best camcorder available.

Menu

The Admin menu is about as straightforward as they come, and we think this is a good thing. In any operating mode, pressing the Menu button on the back of the HSC1U brings up a display of top level Admin menu options for that mode. In recording mode, for example, the options include submenus labeled Basic (Scene Modes, Digital Zoom, OIS, Guide Lines and Clock Set), Video (Rec Mode, Fade Color, Wind Cut, Zoom Mic and Mic Level), Picture (Pict. Quality, Flash Level, and Shtr Effect – all for still photos only), Advanced (Rec Lamp, Zebra, Color Bar, and MF Assist), Setup (Format Card, Display, Date/Time, Date Format, and Power Save), and Language (English, French, and Spanish).

Navigating through the menu is done with the joystick, and for this purpose it’s a great instance of miniaturized interface design. Submenus are nearly all one page long or less, which means you won’t spend time searching page 1, 2 and 3 of a given submenu for a desired option. On the other hand, this arrangement makes the naming of submenus seem arbitrary. Why all the audio options end up in the video category while Scene Modes makes no sense to us, but at least the one-page arrangement makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.

The joystick menu on the HSC1U is similar to those found in Panasonic’s consumer line for years, but it’s easier to use on this 2007 model thanks to the inclusion of banners and text. When an option is selected, such as the fade effect on page 1, a text description appears momentarily along the base of the LCD. Though we generally love the efficiency of the joystick menus Panasonic has included on its camcorders, the icons can lead to confusion especially for novices. The new text banner is a welcome improvement that even long-time Panasonic fans should appreciate. In addition, the Help function, also on page 1, offers more detailed explanations of each joystick option, all but eliminating our concerns over the approachability of the joystick menu.

Portability

Weighing in at 430 grams, the HSC1U’s 74 x 69 x 142mm frame will fit into a small bag, but not a pocket, and the closed battery slot means longer-life upgrades are not available. On the plus side, the mechanism-less construction of the AG- HSC1U and super stable OIS make it a credible option for extreme shooting.

LCD and Viewfinder

The ample 3" LCD screen has a resolution of 250K pixels and is the only monitor on the HSC1U. Without a viewfinder, the dependency on the big LCD screen will tax the battery. The LCD screen produces saturated, balanced color and a sharp picture.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

Audio

The AG- HSC1U can record 5.1 channel surround sound via the onboard microphone, and offers level control over every channel (unfortunately without the benefit of a headphone jack for monitoring). There are three microphone level settings that apply to all five channels at once, but not independently: Auto, Set+AGC, and Set. Auto activates the AGC (Auto Gain Control) and the recording level is adjusted automatically. Set+AGC allows you to set a desired recording level, but keeps AGC on to reduce noise distortion. Finally, Set deactivates the AGC so that natural recording can be performed. When Set+AGC or Set is chosen, a screen displaying each individual microphone channel appears and allows you to test their levels while tinkering with the gain. Also, a microphone input level meter is displayed on the recording screen, monitoring peaks and insufficient volumes.

The external microphone jack is located behind the port cover on the lower right side of the body.

Playback

Playback on the HSC1U is simple. Shifting the mode dial into playback mode cues a tabbed menu screen for videos and pictures represented by thumbnails. Up to 8 thumbnails can fill on the screen at one time, and scrolling and selecting videos or pictures is done by using the joystick. During video playback, a 32 step audio slider appears when the zoom toggle is activated, but raising and lowering the volume is like watching molasses drip in wintertime. It took over 15 seconds to go from silent to full volume, so start mastering the art of patience. In the bottom right corner, a joystick-operated submenu controls the rewind, fast forward, play/pause and stop functions. Pressing the menu button beneath the mode dial brings up a miniature menu consisting of play setup, setup, and language for both videos and pictures. Deleting footage or pictures is accomplished through the trash button, and Panasonic boosts security by providing a lot of hoops to jump through in order to officially erase a piece of media.

**Connectivity
**The HSC1U has a total of two port covers and a bevy of terminals. On the right side, a rectangular, hard plastic port cover houses the USB and HDMI terminals. The cover is easy to open, thanks to a generous finger groove, but closing it is another story. The hand strap blocks the bottom of the panel, requiring you to pull the strap back every time in order the close it. In addition, the thin plastic strip that attaches the cover to the body is pretty feeble, so don’t tug on it too hard. The port cover doesn’t stretch far enough from the body, either, making it difficult to plug in the HDMI cable.

In the LCD cavity, a plastic, L-shaped port cover opens via a small tab underneath to reveal the A/V jack, component terminal, microphone jack, and DC jack. Panasonic opts for a round DC connection, which is not as secure as most rectangular or geometrically eccentric connections which hold tighter. The placement of the microphone jack is cumbersome in conjunction with the LCD screen, and we would have preferred it to be swapped with the USB terminal on the other side. Above the port panel is the SD card slot which opens by a sliding door. If the door is left open, the camcorder will beep at you and refuse to record, pounding the message home with a "Card Door is Open" screen. This is a great security feature to ensure that the SD or SDHC card remains free of dust or debris that could potentially hinder its performance.

Other Features

**Other Features
***Scene Modes - *Scene Modes are Panasonic’s name for AE modes optimized for specific lighting situations. The AG-HSC1U includes: Sports, Portrait, Low Light, Spotlight, and Surf & Snow.

*Fades - *Fades can be accessed from page 1 of the joystick menu, and fade color (white or black) can be selected in Menu > Video.

*Back Light Compensation - *BLC is found on joystick menu page 1, and is represented by a sun icon on the AG-HSC1U.

*Soft Skin Mode - *Soft Skin Mode reduces sharpness in "skin-toned" areas, smoothing out wrinkles and blemishes. Soft Skin Mode will only function if your subjects are of lighter skin tones.

*MagicPix - *The MagicPix Scene Mode allows the shutter speed to automatically drop below 1/60 in for low light recording. This mode is the only slow shutter speed option available on the AG-HSC1U.

*Tele Macro - *Tele Macro is a shorthand route to placing the camcorder in telephoto mode.

*Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound - *The onboard microophone supports Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, allowing 5 channel recording, and independent level adjustment for each channel.

*Zoom Microphone - *When the zoom mic option is selected, audio gain is linked to the camcorder’s zoom, so that a telephoto shot will have higher audio levels than a wide-angle shot.

*Wind Cut - *Wind Cut, in Menu > Video, reduces the effects of wind noise on the built-in microphone by digitally filtering lower frequencies.

Comparisons / Conclusion

Conclusion

The AG- HSC1U is marketed as a niche camcorder for professionals, and despite the fact that it records AVCHD video, we think there is a place for this unusual camcorder. Specifically, the mechanism-less design means it should be capable of operating without is hitch in extreme situations that would cause even tape- or HDD-based units to drop frames. The OIS system is truly impressive, and far outperformed anything we’ve tested this year, strengthening the case for the AG- HSC1U as an all-terrain performer. Flash media adds to the camcorder’s overall durability as it’s the most bomb-proof format commonly used on today’s camcorders. SD/SDHC cards are also easy to conceal, so it passing through hostile checkpoints is a concern, you can always seal your valuable footage in a rubber sheath and swallow it for recovery when the threat clears.

We do not think AVCHD is a good consumer format at the moment due to its lack of broad support. This should be less problematic for pros with a budget for the required plug-ins or hardware to decode AVCHD and convert it to an editable format like AVI or Quicktime. The performance weaknesses of AVCHD versus HDV should be considered, but the professionally calibrated color rendition and solid-state media of the AG- HSC1U are valuable attributed in and of themselves. Finally, the included DTE storage unit featuring transfer rates faster than 1GB/minute offers the camcorder a way to work in the field with a limited number of cards, and fast PC access via IEEE 1394 link. If video performance and adjustability are your primary concerns, this is not the camcorder for you. The Canon HV20 and Sony HDR-HC7 top the consumer field as full-fledged performers. However, if you need a camcorder that offers the speed and durability of solid state media, industry-leading OIS, and are not turned off by the quirks of AVCHD, the AG- HSC1U is an intriguing and unique option.