| Panasonic HDC-TM700 camcorder records high definition video onto Secure Digital memory cards or to built-in flash memory in AVCHD format. The most notable feature of this camera is FullHD mode (1080p60 for "NTSC" and 1080p50 for "PAL" regions), which delivers twice as much information than traditional interlaced video. FullHD video is recorded at 28 Mbit/s, which is the highest data rate for any AVCHD camcorder to date, including professional models. The downside to the FullHD mode is that it is not compliant with existing AVCHD spec. Even if your player or editing software accepts FullHD video from this camera, it may have trouble playing it back at full speed. Besides the glorious FullHD mode, the camera also records traditional interlaced video at up to 17 Mbit/s. It can also shoot film-like video called Digital Cinema, which is recorded in interlaced stream using pulldown. The 46mm lens is larger than on previous models, has wider angle of view, and is half stop faster. It has a built-in neutral density filter which can soak up at least two stops of light; it is hard to figure out exact strength of the filter, you have to look deep into the lens for a tiny piece of shaded film being inserted to or removed from the light path. The filter is completely automatic, and the camera does not report filter strength when the filter is engaged. The electronic viewfinder, is tiny and has low resolution. It pulls out, but does not tilt up. The 3-inch flip-out screen is reasonably ... |
