Panasonic HDC-HS700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 240GB HDD (Black)

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Item Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0035LCZOU
• Item model number: HDC-HS700K
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,534 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 24, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The 3MOS System and Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 60 Progressive Recording Produce
All-New Color-Bright Image Quality.
Capture Crisp, Clear Images Even in Dim Lighting.
HDD/SD Card Hybrid
Full-HD Camcorder


High-density, ultra-smooth images
1080/60p Recording (Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 60 Progressive Recording)

The HDC-HS700 uses the progressive method to record twice as much image data as the interlace method. Whereas interlacing requires two images to produce a complete picture, the progressive method records a single image as a complete picture. Plus, the 60 Progressive Recording of the HDC-HS700 produces 60 images per second. This extremely dense image information creates intricate detail and silky smooth motion. Even when subjects move quickly, afterimages are minimized to create more natural images. The progressive method is most effective when shooting detailed designs where moir patterns tend to occur, or when capturing scenes during sports events where the subjects are intensely moving around. Also, the recorded images are displayed clearly even when they are made into still images, so it is possible to preserve stunning photos when clipping them from videos.

A bright, high-performance lens.
Leica Dicomar Lens

Panasonic HD camcorders use Leica Dicomar lenses, which are renowned for their ability to render sharp images and excellent shading. They also suppress ghosting, flare, and distortion at the image edges. Even in strong sunlight, these superb lenses maintain high contrast and resolution. A bright new F1.5-F2.8 lens with a 46mm filter diameter has been created for the HDC-HS700. Efficient light collection allows the new lens to capture bright, clear images even in dim lighting or at high shutter speeds. This high-end lens brings out all the beauty of Full-HD images. *Leica is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystem IR GmbH, and Dicomar is a registered trademark of Leica Camera AG.

Captures large groups, even when shooting from up close.
35mm Wide-Angle Lens*

The 35mm wide-angle lens on the HDC-HS700 fits more people and more of the background into the frame than a conventional 44.9mm lens.This is especially handy when you want to take a group photo in a small room.

*35mm-lens equivalent

Beautiful zoom shots of distant subjects.
18x Intelligent Zoom

The HDC-HS700 features a 12x optical zoom and an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 18x. When using Intelligent Zoom, Intelligent Resolution Technology lets you shoot at high zoom rates while preserving image sharpness. You get crisp images of highly detailed objects - without the blurry edges.

Product Description

Panasonic HDC-HS700 Digital Camcorder HDC-HS700K Camcorders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best camera I've owned yet, June 3, 2010

By 

Steven Toth (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic HDC-HS700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 240GB HDD (Black) (Electronics)

I've only had this for a week but everything good that can be said of the Panasonic HDC-TM700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 32GB Flash (Black) can also be said of this one. It's slightly larger because it has a hard drive and that's not a bad thing. The hard drive holds 40(!!!) hours of 1080/60i and 20 hours of 1080/60p video. Plus you can always use the flash slot to store more video/pictures and export. I need to play with the picture mode more but the pictures are just as good as my normal digital camera so far. Most amazing camera I've ever owned.

Cons:
USB is slow, I still find FireWire to be faster, it works, what can I say.
When plugged into a Mac, the hard drive is READ ONLY, no file management from a computer. The file management interface on the camera sucks.
1080/60p videos are too much for most software to handle. At this point they are nice to have since the camera is basically forwards compatible with future software but right now it's not too useful since you have to down convert your videos to edit them. iMovie HD can't read them for example, you have to shoot in a standard format.
Some of the features should be more accessible, as some are buried in a menu somewhere.
Battery charger cannot charge and be used as an AC adaptor for the camera at the same time.
It could startup faster, but it's still fast to me.

Pros:
Amazing image quality.
Easy to use.
Love the remote

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Video - pathetic accessories, August 7, 2010

By 

T. Wilson "skexzies" (Saint Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic HDC-HS700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 240GB HDD (Black) (Electronics)

Just got back from a vacation (Canada) where we used the Panasonic hs700k in various lighting conditions - even a day of foggy mist. Returning home, I was disappointed that the accessories lacked an HDMI cable. Looks like Panasonic is stealing play book pages from dishonorable printer companies that short change you on toner/ink.

The packaging included low rez patch cables - but this is an HD camcorder and it didn't come with an HDMI cable. Unacceptable!!! This is like buying a car without wheels.

I recently purchased a Droid-X Smartphone - which oddly enough does come with an HDMI cable - but Panasonic picked a strange form factor and it even though I have a "mini" HDMI to "full sized" HDMI from the Droid...it won't fit on the Panasonic's special sized port.

But now that I'm done venting about the bumbling business decisions made by the incompetent Panasonic Management staff; individuals with ACTUAL JOB SKILLS have exceeded my expectations on the build and image quality.

After burning my videos to a Blu-Ray disk, I was mesmerized by the quality of the pictures. Summarizing to one word...Wow!! Crystal clear and simply wondrous on my Plasma TV. All our scenes were shot in 1080P - yes it is a storage hog but the clarity and resolution from the Panasonic is outstanding and I'm glad I did it.

Color saturation was excellent in this raw footage state. I burned the disk in a raw format without massaging the color/hue/contrast etc. Most people aren't aware that Hollywood uses Avid, etc. to color amp the scenes and even out the lighting between takes. Obviously I don't own this type of high end gear/software so those options were not available to me. As such, I detected a slight cold tint to the videos. Even during late evenings where Fuji chrome 35mm-film would have rendered warm colors an hour before sunset; the Panasonic was slightly `blue' (for a lack of a better word). Because the files are so large, editing is a severe problem - but oh well - welcome to Hi def.

The image stabilization was excellent. A few scenes where I purposely left it off made the video jiggle; but once re-enabled - the zero to middle zoom was rock solid. The Zoom button is a tad awkward to manipulate (I have large hands) - but it worked well and was relatively fast. We didn't pickup any zoom "noise" from the onboard mic, but wind did make for a blustery audio recording at times (sounds like a flapping flag with hiss). A camcorder of such outstanding quality really deserves a boom-mic with a fuzzy wind sock - so I won't fault this issue.

Mist and cold temperatures (40F) didn't affect the unit. Battery life was surprisingly good and the portable charger worked well. Still photos are soft, and I recommend bringing a 2nd camera. Overall I highly recommend this unit - it worked flawlessly, the lens is ultra sharp at all physical magnifications (ignore the gimmicky digital zoom) and the cost is in-line with results.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Panasonic HDC HS700K, August 12, 2010

By 

Holger Bruning (Florida Sring Hill) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic HDC-HS700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 240GB HDD (Black) (Electronics)

This review has been written on 08-12-2010. Recorded about 4 hours of movies and 50 or so pictures on the Hdc Hs700k. The movie quality when recorded at 1080 x 1920 at 60 frames/s just blows you away it is better then what you will get from a blueray dvd. Still picture quality is not as good as my canon 7D but still better then most consumer cameras. This camera is way ahead of its time. I use a top of the line HD TV and i suspect the camera actually supplies more then the tv can even handle. The only downside short batt. life. Get 2 extra batt. The other downside : As of this date there are no real choices of editing software. You have to use the software that comes with the camera. That works but is somewhat limited in editing variables. All the other newest type software out there starts getting the hickups when transcoding the m2ts files at 1080 x1920 60 f/s. I know its the software because my computer is an i7 quad-core with 8 gigs of ram.
But its only a matter of time before the software makers catch up and give us more choices. So go ahead and by it. If you been waiting all your life for supersharp homemade video,like me, you going to love this one.
BTW it has a slot for an SD card. If the hard drive fails (dropping it on a concrete floor while its running may do just that) you can still record up to 4 hours of movies on one 64 GB card. They are still expensive as of today but by the time the hard drive goes the will be dirt cheap. Holger