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Our poor pockets. It seems more and more gadgets are downsizing to be ‘pocketable’, and now there’s the Panasonic HDC-TM10 full HD camcorder vying for space in there too. Read our full review of the Panasonic HDC–TM10 to see how it really measures up.
At 227g, it’s the lightest full HD camcorder around, and is genuinely small enough to squeeze into your jeans. But of course its in your hand that it really belongs, and it’s a pleasingly snug fit. It really does feel like an extension of your arm, and you sometimes have to remind yourself that this is no entry-level wannabe but a full-blown, full HD powerhouse.
That said, the arrangement of buttons and controls on the TM10 appear a little haphazard until you get used to them. The Record button and zoom rocker are well placed for your thumb and forefinger, but the lack of surface space forces some controls into less convenient places. In addition, the playback controls below the 2.7in touchscreen LCD are quite stiff.
Moving beyond its impressive tininess, the TM10’s other party trick is dual-format recording – either on its own 8GB of flash storage, or via SD/SDHC memory card. And what could be quite a fussy system has been well implemented. If you’re recording on one medium and run out of space, the camcorder simply switches to the other (assuming there’s space available) and continues recording without interruption, leaving you to focus on getting the shots you want.
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And that’s all to the good, because the TM10’s sheer ability and ease of use means you’ll be filling up its memory pretty quickly. Panasonic’s Advanced OIS and intelligent Auto (iA) prove more than just gimmicks – the image stabilisation in particular works brilliantly, heading off the potential for disaster in the combination of full HD recording and a 16x optical zoom.
The TM10 has four HD shooting modes if space is at a premium. The maximum-quality HA mode eats up about 1GB in about 6 minutes, you can step down to HG, HX or the lowest-quality HE, which will make your gigabyte last around 24 minutes.
Our biggest grumble is that footage is exported in the dreaded MTS file format. If you don’t have a video-editing package that works with MTS, you’re forced to use Panasonic’s own limited software, which can be frustrating.
But beyond that, we have no real complaints. You feel that with the HDC-TM10 Panasonic has gone out to prove you can combine the full HD experience – complete with stunning picture quality and technical wizardry – with the simplicity and fun of a palm-hugging pocket cam. If so, then it’s very much job done.
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