Customer Reviews

Panasonic HDC-TM700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 32GB Internal Flash Memory (Black)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Length:: 5:06 Mins

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 is a rare camcorder in that it breaks new ground. The key upside of this camcorder is its 28 Mbps 60P mode -- the camera is capable of recording at 1920x1080 resolution in 60 PROGRESSIVE frames per second. This captures TWICE the image information of the interlaced method, resulting in smoother motion. The TM700 also capture more vertical resolution than other consumer camcorders when used in 60P mode.

There are many features of this camera that blur the line between "consumer" and "prosumer."

Whether you dub the 35mm lens "wide" or not, it's a hell of a lot more wide than any other consumer cam lens I've tried. My $6500 Sony EX1 has a 31.4mm equivalent lens, so the TM700 is in the same ballpark. For me this make a big difference in the practical use of the camera. No longer do I need to carry and constantly attach/detach a wide angle adapter. This also makes me more likely to use the 18X zoom (since there's no wide angle adapter on the cam).

One nice TM700 feature I haven't seen discussed elsewhere is peaking. Quite simply, "peaking" means that the camera outlines objects in focus with a color, so as to help the camera operator achieve correct focus. The camera does include a peaking function when switched to manual focus. Panasonic calls it "manual focus assist." This really helps achieve critical focus with the 260k pixel LCD screen. The peaking color is blue; I prefer yellow, but will gladly settle for blue.

Another upside to the TM700 vis-a-vis other consumer cams is the manual control ring. Panasonic has done a nice job implementing this feature and it's easy to quickly adjust zoom, focus, shutter speed, & iris using the ring. This is a slam dunk win for the TM700 because the competition doesn't even offer a control ring (the control wheel is a far less satisfying alternative).

Some have expressed concern over the cooling fan. The fan does generate some noise when it activates, although it's not always on. The fan has really not been an issue for me so far. I usually use an external mic when I'm serious about capturing quality audio.

I'm a picky camera buyer who usually finds flaws with consumer equipment. But I haven't found many with the TM700. It has a number of nice features like facial recognition (automatically exposing for certain faces), outstanding low-light performance with minimal noise and strong color reproduction, an almost "instant on" technology (you can power on the camera simply by opening the LCD screen or extending the viewfinder), stellar image stabilization, plenty of menu customization options, all the benefits of tapeless workflow...and I could go on.

If you are shopping for a "flagship" consumer camcorder, when considering the TM700 you must ask yourself whether you really care about 60P. After all, it's the 60P mode (and resulting high image quality) that sets this camera apart from its Sony & Canon competitors. I believe that the TM700 in 60P mode produces arguably the best image quality you can find in a consumer camcorder. But you need a fast PC with the right software to edit this material. If you intend to edit your footage, do some homework on this point before making a purchase decision.

If you want 60P...and you can handle 60P... then you will love this camcorder.

Panasonic finally released a 1920x1080p60 camcorder to the market (Sony still refuse to add Progressive and canon max out at 1920x1080p30 or p24)

With the TM700 Panasonic did combine the smooth motion of 1080i60 with the crisp image of a progressive motion
I can not praise the footage quality from this camcorder, it's basically the best camcorder i have ever used, it beats my HF100 and HF S100 when it comes to sharpness and motion by far (I still prefer Canon colors though however Panasonic colors looks exactly as we see them in real life, Canon colors are unrealistic but looks more fun to me)

The wide angle 35mm~ is much better than my previous canons (Canon 43mm~, a little bit zoomed in) but still not as wide as Sony latest camcorders 29mm~, The stabilization From TM700 is really groundbreaking, All low hand shake are completely gone! as if you are using a tripod, almost as good as Sony stabilization (Sony stabilization is the best in the market, Canon got the worst stabilization from the major companies)

Now about the Major flaw with TM700... something i didn't see coming and would have properly canceled my order if i knew about it before i bought it, the Audio is really noisy ! TM700 got a built in Fan on the side (Sony/Canon does not have a fan like tm700) the fan is noisy and the microphone will pick up the noise, now if you think closing the LCD and using the viewfinder will eliminate the fan noise you couldn't be any wrong! close the LCD and the fan noise will be even higher !, problem is I'm afraid that it will collect dust over the months and it will properly be even louder by then or might even break.

Other than the Fan noise (It sound like older tape camcorders noise through the entire video if you are familiar with tape noise) it's an excellent camcorder, you can capture low light indoors without any problem (Much better than my canon camcorders when it comes to low light) you can't hear the fan noise if you capture outdoors or in a noisy environment but for indoors or a quite environment you will hear it.

Finally about the 1920x1080p60, you really need a quad core to even playback the footage! my Dual Core 2 Duo 2.5GHZ laptop can not play the footage at all (Trust me i tried everything it's not a codec problem but you need power to play the footage) even PS3 can not play the footage smoothly, the PS3 will struggle to playback the video (Will freeze about half a second for every 4 seconds of playback)

There is no 1920x1080p30 option in this camcorder, it's either 1920x1080p60 28Mbps or 1920x1080i 17Mbps
The camcorder playback the footage just fine though

Some people are having trouble to edit the videos, well i use Sony Vegas Pro 9 and had no problems editing the 1080p60 footage.

If you use an external microphone that only pick sound from the front you properly wont care about this flaw but for my use (Traveling etc) i need my camcorder to be as portable as possible so using an external microphone is not an option

This camcorder would have gotten 5 Stars from me if it were not for the Fan issue.

Update : Fan issue Test done by someone else [...] "Just search in VIMEO" "Panasonic TM700 indoor audio test"

Update 2 : Returned the camcorder.... the noise issue is really ruining my videos, the noise is not stable it does change when you pan or change the position of the camcorder, read my 6th comment in comments below for video sample, since amazon wont let me post links

I bought this camcorder to replace my ageing tape-based Sony HDR-HC3 and was drawn to the TM700 by great reviews all over the Internet and its awesome 1080p60 framerate. I wasn't really looking for manual controls - I just wanted the best possible quality video from the default auto setting (whether indoors or out) so anyone in the family can pick the thing up and record the kids. Therefore, all my comments are based on the default settings with iAuto on.

The 1080p60 image quality was magnificent, and noticeably smoother and sharper than the HC3. One annoying thing I noticed though was as I followed people around the house and moved between rooms with different lighting (windows versus artificial light etc), the TM700 seemed to get its white balance knickers in a twist, and would seem to get stuck in the white balance suitable for the previous room's lighting, meaning everything looked wrong before suddenly shifting to new settings after 10 seconds or so, which would suddenly shift all the colours, giving a fairly bad look on playback. Presumably I could have avoided this by not using iAuto, but for the reasons above, this isn't my thing.

I had read about the fan noise issue, and could hear the fan on recordings during quiet segments but I was okay to overlook this issue, given the overall package. I know the effect can be reduced by switching iAuto off and disabling automatic gain, but then it seems I have to have to have everything in manual mode, which I don't want to do.

The whole user interface/menu system is poor: ugly, badly thought out and clunky. In my experience, consumer electronics companies all seem to be pretty bad at UI, but this has to be the worst effort I've seen in a long time.

Also, I disliked the battery charging arrangement. There is a charger unit with a regular mains cable, and also a secondary cable that can be used to connect the charger to the camcorder so the camcorder can run off mains power. The power connection socket is behind the battery, which is annoying, as you can't charge the battery while it's in the camera (or even power the camera). Also when the secondary cable is plugged into the charger unit, it stops charging any battery that is in the charger. It all just seems unnecessarily complex, and I'd prefer a onboard charging solution.

Anyway, on balance I was reasonably happy with the camera, and being the kind of person who does tons of research, and then buys something, and then never thinks about it again, I certainly wasn't considering sending it back, but then it broke down 2 months after I bought it. I was trying to delete a large number of video clips from the internal memory (itself a task that seems to take the camcorder many minutes) when it crashed and from then on wouldn't let me record anything, format the memory, use an external memory card or even switch off without pulling out the battery. It was when I was trying to get Panasonic to fix this, that I learnt what truly lamentable customer service is.

I called Panasonic and their automated phone bot gave me the details of their closest authorized repair center. I called this center (who seemed to be some kind of outsourced repairer for Panasonic) and they told me 2-10 working days for repair. (They also told me that only parts were covered by warranty for 1 year, and that labor was only covered for 90 days, which surprised me) This outfit had had the camcorder for about 10 days without contacting me, so I called them and they told me they needed to order a new main board for the camcorder. After this, I called them every week or so, always being told they would have the part any day, which repeatedly turned out to be false.

After about a month, I started emailing Panasonic directly asking for the product to be replaced, as I thought it was unreasonable of them to make me wait for spare parts. Panasonic told me no-one anywhere had this spare part, and I would have faced the same issue had I sent the camcorder directly to their central service center for repair, which was neither relevant nor reassuring to me.

My view was that if they don't have their own spares in stock and can't get them in a reasonable time, they should just replace the camcorder. Panasonic basically told me to get lost, and refused to give me a replacement camcorder. At one point they said I could have a refurbished one, but there would be a lengthy wait. Their customer service email people seemed indifferent to the fact that I had just shelled out the best part of a grand on one of their products which their authorized repairer was sitting on, and meanwhile I miss out on recording my kids' ever changing lives.

In the end I got so fed up with waiting that I called Amazon, and explained that I had tried to get the product repaired by Panasonic to no avail, and Amazon told me that if I could get the product back from Panasonic's repairer and send it back to them, they'd refund me in full (even though I was outside the normal returns period). At least if Panasonic won't stand behind their own shoddy product, I was happy to see that I could rely on Amazon. 10/10 to Amazon. 0/10 to Panasonic.

Before I bought the TM700, I had read that Panasonic customer service wasn't great, and I'd now like to think I'll never buy Panasonic again, but can well imagine that one day I will cave in to glowing reviews pasted all over the Internet about a latest new product (are they all legit, I'm beginning to wonder?), ignoring reviews describing poor customer service as I usually do, thinking again "it won't happen to me..."

Length:: 4:33 Mins

There has been a lot of talking since the release of the HDC-TM700, a lot of good and bad things has been said. The reality of this will vary from the intention of the user and his abilities to get the most out of it. Some of the important facts to take into consideration before buying this camcorder is the specs of your existing computer or the economic ability to buy a new one with BD (Blu-ray) burner, at least 6GB RAM & lot of Hard Drive since the files produced by this HDC are really big. The wide lens is obviously a good thing but if you have one of the previous HDC models you can add a wide angle conversion lens to it and the result will be even wider.

Now let's talk about the "Ridiculous Price" that Panasonic came out with, this camcorder is $400 to $700 less expensive than others from the competitors including Panasonic's predecessor HDC-TM300 for US & HDC-TM350 for UK, why? It's because Panasonic has launched this dangerous experiment of putting a full time FAN inside the camcorder due to the heating of the Video Processor, when I said "full time" I mean it, the FAN is always on, so it's logically simple that at some point it will break and then the Video Processor will die, of course this will happen 90% of the time after the warranty has expired so in real life you are leasing a good Camcorder for a limited period of time, how long it will last, I do not know, maybe 2-3 years, maybe less, or you may get lucky enough to have this problem before the 12 months warranty period.

The Pros:

* Better and more realistic Video Quality in this class
* Wider aspect ratio which help for indoors and panoramic scenes
* Ton of manual features

The Cons:

* Poor Battery Life
* Mediocre Still Photo Quality
* Insufficient internal Memory
* Low LCD resolution
* Deprive Sound Quality, especially in quiet environment due to the internal FAN

The bottom line is, this camcorder produces good quality picture, good colors and have a lot of manual features but you have to have the right computer and the right editing software because otherwise you will end up using the camcorder as a reproducing machine (so the life expectancy of it will be less) and after the 32GB ends (only 2:50 Hours in the highest resolution) you'll have to erase some material to have free space or buy some very expensive SDHC class 10.

In my personal case this camcorder is helpful because I use it only a few times per month, when I'm going to some sporting events or a fast moving situation, on any other circumstance I carry the HDC-TM300 for day time and the HDC-TM350 for night or low light environment.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HDC-TM700 vs. HDC-TM350 vs. HDC-TM300

In this comparison you will have the opportunity to see 3 of the best Panasonic Camcorders working at the same time, HDC-TM700, HDC-TM350 & HDC-TM00 were recording simultaneously while the HDC-HS300 was used for still photography, and the HDC-HS350 was recording for 1:35 hours in "Time-Lapse REC" mode at 10 seconds interval.

If you would like to see this "Video Review" in HD, which makes a huge of difference, you can go to Youtube and search for "Leasing a Good Camcorder". The full address will be post on the comment because it's not allowed here.

Thanks for stopping by!

I have to post a quick review here due to the negative comments posted about the fan noise. The fan noise is COMPLETELY ELIMINATED by disabling the automatic gain control (AGC) in the recording options. The background in silent environments is COMPLETELY SILENT when this is done. The AGC tries to adjust the microphone to the ambient noise and thus overcompensates in completely silent environments and this causes it to pick up the fan noise. Turn off AGS and the problem is gone. It is unfortunate that some users have not bothered to read the manual and have returned what is arguably the best camcorder currently on the market. There is even an option to keep AGC enabled and turn down the base sensitivity of the mic. In my testing, if the gain is adjusted to -6dB the fan noise is virtually eliminated as well, but you still get the benefits of AGC (which normalizes the sound so that no loud transient noises will be captured in your footage as well as still being sensitive enough to capture more subtle quiet sounds).

I have not written a review before, but truly felt the need here as the reviews that comment on the fan noise are a disservice to those doing research in an effort to find a new camcorder. I hope this helps anyone trying to make a purchase decision. This is simply a wonderful camcorder offering amazing picture quality and beautiful 5.1 surround sound!

(And no, I neither work for Panasonic or a Panasonic reseller nor am I invested in the company-I simply own the HDC-TM700K.)

The cooling fan was the biggest issue for me. I took the courage to buy this despite the reviews warning of the fan noise. But as I had owned a mini-dv earlier, and was pretty ok with the tape noise, I went in for the TM700. But the moment I switched the camcorder on and the fan kicked in, I knew it was trouble. You can hear the fan even if you keep the camcorder a few feet away and there is no way that you can avoid the mic picking it up. The only hope that the ambient noise drowns it away. I tried a few sample recordings with and without ambient noise, but the fan noise was picked up to a annoyingly high degree in either setting. The noise was picked up even with the AGC turned off (or maybe my ears had become sensitive to it by then).

The picture was grainy too (on auto mode, in the indoor setting, corraborating Corbett's Media experience in a previous review). I did not try it outdoors.

I have since then picked up the Sony CX550 and have tried and decided to keep it (the indoor video image is far better). In comparison, the TM700 does have a few upsides - its smaller in size, has an easy menu system, better still images and of-course the 1080p recording. But net-net the TM700 loses out.

Let's start with the universal positives about this camcorder. The 60p option is obviously phenominal and no other camcorder can touch it in terms of video quality. The image stabilization is top notch. The menu system is very easy to learn and use. It's excellent for night and low-light filming. The video colors are very good. And also factory-supplied battery has decent life (though I would reccomend upgrading to a larger battery pack). And finally, it's relatively cheap compared to comparable Canon and Sony models.

If you are using this camcorder for just everyday film shooting and not using any specialized editing software... this camcorder is a buy. HOWEVER.....

If you use specialized editing software, such as Final Cut Express, it is not compatible with 60p video. In fact, the 60p video is not compatible with MOST advanced video editing software out there. So you have to shoot in 60i instead. This isn't dealbreaker for me except that at 60i and below, under certain lighting conditions, there are major edge artifact issues in the video. Since I do fast distance videography this is a problem. And some of my videos come out looking sloppy as a result. I am not the only one that has noticed this. If you look at CNET's and others reviews of this camcorder they mention the same thing. I would expect that kind of thing from a low-end $400 HD camcorder but not from a $750-$1000 camcorder. And I know for a fact that Sony and Canon do not have the same issue.

So, I do not reccomend this camcorder for folks who are using advanced video editing software just yet. More than likely, the newer versions coming out will support 60p and this camcorder will be worth considering. Otherwise, I would say, look elsewhere.

I don't have much experience with video but the image quality, ease of use and portability are fantastic. The fan noise is, however, a real issue. It will appear as a faint background whine in any recording with low ambient noise, even with an external mic mounted on the camera (in fact the Rode Videomic I use is more sensitive and makes it worse). Panasonic recommends adjusting the mic sensitivity to -15db; this does eliminate most but not all of the noise; with an external mic I found you had to reduce it to -21db to get rid of it entirely. And, the only way to set the mic level is in manual mode; if you revert back to intelligent auto that custom setting is lost. (I checked with the company: manual mode is fully manual, not just for whatever custom setting you may have specified.) Of course, some mics (later versions of the Rode, for example) and other add-ons let you adjust mic level independently of the camera. But, if you have to rely on the camera to do it, and want to shoot in auto mode, you are out of luck, unless you can mount the mic some distance from the camera.

If sound quality is not an issue, or you use an independently-mounted microphone (not on or near the camera), or only record in situations where there is sufficient background noise to overwhelm it, it won't be an issue; unfortunately that is not the always case. Note that if Panasonic had only chosen to mount the exhaust port on the bottom of the unit, pointing away from the mic (and where, incidentally, it would not be obstructed by the LCD panel when closed), the problem would have been negligible. (Indeed, multiple ports along the bottom would prevent it from being obstructed when mounted on a tripod and might bleed off the noise better.) I just can't understand the engineering decision behind the placement, especially when the rest of the camera is so beautifully done. I really hope Panasonic reads this and other posts and takes the noise issue seriously, because I can't accept this flaw as is and, in fact, returned the camera, but would get a version that fixes this problem without hesitation.

The Camcorder is extremely good, very pleased to have bought this camcorder back in May 2010. Everything about the Camcorder is excellent and solid, very happy. I would have given 5 stars to this product, but the HD Writer software pulled back a couple of stars. I will explain below.

The software that backs up the Video content is causing some grief right now. It's the HD Writer software that came with the camcorder.

I copied the HD 1080 60P video from the Camcorder into my PC hard drive. Worked perfectly. Then the HD Writer asked if I wanted burn to DVD.

Now I tried burning onto a DVD+R DL. I used AVCHD format as final DVD format. This is where it faltered. The HD Writer estimated 6.9GB of disc memory required. My DVD+R DL disc has 8.5GB of memory. However, the HD Writer says 6 discs would be required. I don't quite understand why 6 discs, when only 1 is sufficient. I read the User Manual, and appears everything I did was correct.

It is interesting to note, when I switched to DVD-XP or DVD-SP format, the HD Writer still asked for 6 discs. I think there is some QA work needed on the software that corrects this problem. I don't want to burn all 6 discs!
I do hope to have an updated version of HD Writer asap.

UPDATE 8/1/2010
Panasonic tech support did not resolve the disc miscount issue by HD Writer software. They did not escalate to the software engineer either, so I am not sure what they are doing. They suggested going to the Bluray burner.... read next!

UPDATE 8/6/2010
I copied the 1080/60P video onto a BD-R disc using the Panasonic HD Write 2.1 Software. I was able to play back on my PC. However, the same disc would not be recognized on the PS3 with the latest firmware. I contacted Panasonic tech support, and they don't have a clue. That's another issue entirely together. The tech support does not have enough experience of going through the copying exercise, confirm the issue, solve it and suggest a solution. They are shooting in the dark. I also contacted PS3 Tech support. They could not figure out why the video could not be played back. I had to reset the video default setting on the PS3, AND still not working.
I believe this is probably Panasonic's overlook. They should have done more thorough software QA to make sure burned BD-R discs will play back on the PS3. The PS3 does not have issues playing Bluray movies.

This is an awesome camera. You can read all the other reviews about just how great it is. Instead of singing its praises like everyone else let me tell you what I don't like about this camera. I have owned it about three months now and use it about twice a week.

First the audio gain is a pain. I'm not talking about this fan hum that other reviewers have mentioned. I always use an external mic anyway so that doesn't bother me, I can't hear this so called hum on my camera anyway. There is an audio gain level built into the software which is great when you use external mics. The problem is the auto setting doesn't really work to well so I am forced to adjust it manually. Which would be OK but I use three different mics each needing a different level. It is about four clicks on the little view screen menu options to get to the audio gain option. Would love for this feature to be an external turn nob. Guess I should just be happy the gain feature is even available.

Second when using the cold shoe attachment the cover for the cold shoe partially blocks access to the Mic and headphone ports. Not so much that you can't use the ports but it just gets in the way. Kind of a pain.

Third when the view screen is facing forward you do not get the same level of information displayed as when it is facing rearward. Especially the audio meter. I often film myself with the camera on the tripod and me in front and without the audio meter display it is hard to know if I remembered to turn the mic on or not. This is a big pain in the ass. Wish there was an option to turn on all the info when the view screen is facing forward. Why have it turn off anyway?

And lastly my view screen display has broke after only two months. It just intermittently goes black. The screen still works as you can push buttons on the screen but it won't show anything. The work around is to close the screen then view trough the view finder, guess were the button is that you want to press, then open the screen and hope you press in the right location. Close the screen and repeat.

I am calling Panasonic support today so we will see how that goes. Note that the warranty on Labor is only 90 days! Yikes! I am under the limit but if I was over it would probably be almost cheaper to buy a new camera. A 90 day labour warranty is pretty piss poor for such an advanced piece of equipment. Service and support better be above and beyond to make up for it.

- C. Thomas