Digital Trends

Panasonic HDC-HS9 May 27th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Performance and Use

The HDC-HS9 records 1920 x 1080I video and uses a trio of 1/6-inch 520K CCDs as imaging devices. 3CCD systems use dedicated sensors for red, green and blue colors (RGB) and—in theory—should deliver high-quality video. I set the camcorder to the highest-quality option (HA at 17 Mbps), started off in Auto with grid lines (nine boxes) enabled, and then proceeded to explore the various manual options.

As mentioned, this camcorder is extremely compact so it’s fun to carry around. The controls are nicely placed and it’s a breeze to operate in Auto—as is every other camcorder. You simply adjust the zoom, press record and that’s the end of it. Since it’s a HDD model, you’re recording in less than 3 seconds.

The HDC-HS9 has onscreen help which is quite handy in some instances. If you pan too quickly, a warning appears to slow down. If you’re in a tough contrast situation such as shooting a sunlit window
it tells you to use Intelligent Contrast and the icon appears to do that. Unfortunately the joystick is still in that weird location, so you fumble a bit making the change. Overall this tutorial is a good thing but a control on the LCD screen would make all the difference in the world.

There are only four scene modes (sports, beach/snow and so on) and a few manual adjustments. These include focus, white balance, iris and shutter speed, hardly the stuff to make a cinematographer’s heart go pitter-patter but it’s fun to experiment with. The camcorder also has a 1920 x 1080I 24 frames per second setting in case you’d like a film-like feel. I prefer the pop of standard video but again, it’s nice to have this option to try out.

While working with the manual options I came to this inevitable conclusion: Panasonic really needs to rethink the onscreen menu system. While moving through the basic parameters is well done, the use of miniscule icons in conjunction with the awkwardly-placed joystick control is a bust. Back to the drawing boards, gentlemen.

Image Courtesy of Panasonic

An added note: you’ll find a dedicated face detection setting (called Face Clear). Unlike the Sony HDR-SR12, it only works with stills not video as well. It handles up to five faces and did a decent job. Once I made a dent in the hard drive and SD card indoors and out, it was time to play them back on a 50-inch Panasonic plasma.

After popping out the battery and connecting the AC power to the HDC-HS9, I was even more peeved about the hidden HDMI port. This design knocked the rating by a good half point. Sheesh. On a slightly more positive note, the camcorder has EZ Sync that works with Panasonic HDTVs so the remote controls the set.

Once all the cables were connected it was time to review the footage. In a word—it was bad—especially compared to the JVC GZ6, Canon HF10 and Sony SR12. Scenes shot indoors in standard mode as well as with the low light and MagicPix settings engaged were all filled with noise and not in the same league as the recently reviewed models. Material taken outdoors in plenty of sunshine was “off”; it did not look real with a touch of florescence to it, like the unit was on acid. This was very disappointing and it was readily apparent the three 520K pixel CCD system is old news and has been left behind by the sensors employed by Canon, JVC and Sony. On the plus side, sound quality was good and the camcorder focused quickly and accurately.

As far as the stills were concerned, these 2MP photos were barely worth taping to the refrigerator door.

Conclusion

Although all of these camcorders use the AVCHD format to record 1080I video, Panasonic’s quality doesn’t compare to the other models. It’s definitely not worth the money ($999 list, $750 real world) and you should seriously look elsewhere if you want a new high-def home video maker. I know the 60GB Sony HDR-SR11 costs $400 more but the quality is so much better it’s worth every penny. If Panasonic doesn’t rethink the way it designs its AVCHD camcorders, it will become irrelevant as Sony, Canon and JVC walk away with the prize—and consumers’ dollars.



Pros:

• Compact and lightweight
• Ample Full HD storage (almost 8 hours)

Cons:

• Poor video and still quality
• Menus/icons needed updating
• Poorly placed joystick and HDMI jack
• No hot shoe