Panasonic HDC-TM10 High Definition Flash Memory Camcorder With 8GB Internal Memory, SD Card Slot & 16x Optical Zoom - Silver

I'm new to camcorders but also a gadget fan and so went for a future proof high definition one. The small size and light weight of the TM10 attracted me. But unlike those cheap Toshiba Camelios and Flip things, this is a full spec HD camcorder. The TM10 is better than the SD10 as it has 8 Gb of built-in memory, which is good for over one and half hours worth of footage. Internal memory is great for when you unexpectedly run out of memory card space. Considering the small price difference I wouldn't bother with the SD10. Panasonic HDC-SD10 High Definition Flash Memory Camcorder with 16x Optical Zoom - Black

So what's it like? In short it's great! It's very light and can be easily held in one hand. I don't have big hands so most women should be fine too. It's very easy to use. Open up the LCD screen. Press the `on' button. Point it at what you want to film. Press the record button below the screen and you're away filming. Press record again and you stop (although the firm press that's need can cause a jerk or two!). It's that easy. You can then move the switch at the back of the camcorder from movie mode to playback mode and watch your footage. HD video playback is stunning on the LCD screen. And what's more the screen is touch sensitive so you can instinctively select menus, open files and move them around. I'm an iPhone user and found the touchscreen great to use, unlike a lot of phones I could mention!

The camcorder has a ton of clever default settings such as image stabiliser and intelligent auto which are designed to help even the greenest cameraman/woman get the most out of the camcorder with the minimum of fuss. I also liked the way the auto light kicked in when it was getting dark. The most dramatic feature is probably the face detection system which picks out the face of someone moving towards you and focuses in on it. Although sometimes I didn't want it picking out the faces of strangers who walked into view! I'm sure most people aren't even going to bother with the manual settings which are very comprehensive. It can film in four settings from 1920 by 1080 resolution down to 1440 by 1080. I know some people are already using 1440 res with HD camcorders because of the smaller file sizes it produces but more on that later!

I found the camcorder very vulnerable to shake when on max 16 times zoom. I've read stuff about the image stabiliser trying to over compensate and that causes issues. May be? Who knows?!. The battery that comes with it lasts less than two hours. That's ok if you're just taking small clips but if you're trying to film a long party or out all day at a site of great visual interest, you will have to be sparing or buy a bigger/ spare battery. There were concerns that the camcorder's small video sensor used in others might be bad in low light conditions. I know I'm no filmmaker but it was good enough for me.

You can use SD/SDHC memory cards in the camcorder. Go for class 4/6 SDHC cards if you can. Don't get smaller than 8Gb and get them online. The cards aren't cheap on the high street at the time of writing. You get a Mini HDMI-component cable to link up to an HD TV. On my 1080P Panasonic Viera TV the HD footage looked spectacular even if the subject material was boring!

Word of warning! Current PC power, as fantastic as it is, is only just catching up with dealing with HD video editing. Don't expect your beaten up 6 years old PC to deal easily with the huge AVCHD format files that will be generated by your footage. A ten minute video at the highest settings could be 1Gb in size and your poor old processor has to deal with converting it to other formats or cut it up for your custom movie. Also expect to be hunting down file converters as you try and change the format to something more usable for editing or uploading to YouTube such as mpeg or avi. My single core AMD system was taking well over 10 minutes to convert one minute of AVCHD footage to mpeg with some converters. This is quad core territory! Adobe Premiere Elements 7 (PC) Zoostorm Core I7-920 2.66ghz Hyperthreading Quad Core Vista Premium Gaming Pc,1tb Hdd,6gb Ddr 3 Ram,896mb GTX260 Graphics Card,blu Ray

Anyway I've got some HD footage on the nitebot channel of YouTube. Remember it's much, much better on your TV.

Over the past few days I've been trying out my new TM10 for the first time on a weekend break in France. It's a fantastic piece of kit. It's tiny and easy to use 'out of the box' after a quick flick through the 'basics' section of the manual. The HD quality is superb and on-camera editing is easy. The image stabilisation and face recognition are outstandingly effective. The screen is bright enough even in full sunlight and you can easily do without a viewfinder. It's easy to hold steady as there are buttons (start/stop, menu etc) along the bottom of the frame of the screen, so you can use your left thumb for starting and stopping while holding the screen between your thumb and forefinger, supporting the camera itself with your right hand. The screen tilts in pretty well every direction you need.

The software that goes with it allows very easy editing and creation of DVDs or output to HD media or PC. The 'high quality' output mode for DVDs is excellent. It beats the Ulead software I used with my previous DV tape camcorder hands down. After reading about HD editing problems in reviews on other HD camcorders, the results I've got from using the software are a great relief. Transfer to DVD takes quite a long time - it took me two hours to make a DVD in high quality (sub-HD but stunning anyway) out of 1.7GB of footage. The wait is worth it - you just have to be patient. I can recommend this amazing machine without reservation.

Bought this with Children's sports day in mind. Decided to go for this model, although more expensive than panasonic's sd10. The in-built memory has proved a real bonus, I never ran out of memory after a full afternoon of races. The intelligent auto function really useful switching between different views from the start to finish lines. I'm no expert but the camera was really easy to use and the footage looks great on my hdtv.