Digital Trends

A video camera lives or dies by its optics. A poor-quality model (think: the Flip for about $100, or a no-name brand at Best Buy) is a real disappointment in terms of resolution and color depth, even though it makes YouTube uploading easy. Similarly, a low-quality camcorder introduces noise and artifacts to a movie – there’s a noticeable pixilated look. Alas, unless you want to fork over $2000 or more for a professional camera, there are almost certainly bound to be compromises with most models. But somehow, Panasonic has made the sensors in the HDC-HS300 video camera work overtime – color quality and resolution are exceptional. It’s not the device you’ll want for, say, shooting indie films or other artistic video work, but, against the odds, it’s a solid all-around performer.