Panasonic TM 900

[col lamb]

I bought one of these great little camcorders last week, the Panasonic TM900 does everything most of us would want in a camcorder.

The first movie shot in AVCHD mode rather than 1080p visually looks good. The optical/hybrid image stabilization system works great. I shot a local Classic Car and Bike Show and I used another great addition to my kit in the form of a Manfrotto Monopod, the combination enable me to get for very good video as stable as I could. Going to the Show on my motorbike limited me to using the monopod which collapses down to only about 500mm.

In another test using my Sony TG3, my Canon 7D and Panasonic AGHMC 151 the video from the TM900 compares very well to all my dedicated camcorders and exceeds the quality from the 7D in panning shots even in its 1080p mode and it matches the much more expensive 151.

[John C]

Just received my TM 900. Ordered and paid for June 29th hoping for delivery by 7th July 2011 as it was in stcok according to Simply electronocs Web site. Camera arrived 14th July marked ordered 13th July.

I contacted them several times before leaving on holiday and they did not come back within their time scale.

Moral of the Story: Goods as described but do not need them in a Hurry.

I note that there is an automatic lens cover and a very simple lens hood. Many years ago I was advised to always put a Skyline on my camera lens to protect it from dirt and damage. Will this affect the TM's performance?

I need step down rings to accomodate my Panasonic and Sony lenses but need to get the filter sorted out first.

Any advice appreciated.

KR

John C.

[col lamb]

I do not use skyline filters, I use a simple protective lens that is multicoated.

No effect on the performance on my 900

[tom hardwick]

My advice would be to stay well clear of any sort of filters with a camcorder using such very short focal length lenses. OK to fit a UV if you think you're going to be hit by sea spray or Sahara sand, but otherwise don't do it. Certainly don't use filters with additional screw-on lenses.

You're adding two extra air-to-glass surfaces (which are never spotless) and you're reducing the lens hood's efficiency hugely - just when you most want it. I've demonstrated to disbelievers the image degradation filters can bring to your footage in against the light and wide-angle situations, and they've removed them immediately. Just use a microfibre cloth on the front element every now and again, as I've discussed in Positive Image many a time.

Just to say that I've bought a couple of SLR lenses at Simply Electronics this month and saved quite a bit of money. Jessops price was an extra £251 more for the two and admittedly I could have driven to town and picked them up, whereas it was a two week wait for the postman to arrive from SE. At that sort of saving I have no complaints.

tom.

[John C]

Thank you both for your counsel and wisdom.

KR

John C.

[col lamb]

I have always had protective filters on my lenses of both camcrder and (D)SLR's with no discernable effect or degradation of image. In fact one of the protective lenses on one of my DSLR lens actually saved it from damage when I accidentally dropped it as the filter took the impact.

For the Panasonic models with lens hood that retract into the body of the camcorder then a most definately YES to fitting a protective lens filter as you do not want dirt and grit getting into the camcorder internals.

As I stated previously stay clear of UV filters unless you want to add an effect as putting one on your lens will upset the electronics determining the colour balance.

Just in case anyone else is intending buying from Simply Electronics no matter what address they give they are actually based in Hong Kong hence you are getting a camcorder from there. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with them just that they are not UK based. The Panasonic TM900 from SE currently £689, and £780 from UK Digital which for me getting a camcorder from an outlet 10 minutes from where I work is well worth the extra.

[Geoff Addis]

Tom is quite correct in his advice that additional filters in front of the lens can reduce the image quality. To see an extreem example of what can happen, shoot looking towards a light source with and without a filter and you are likely to see a very marked 'bloom' over the image when using a filter, multi coated filters (MC) produce reduced effects though. As far as UV filters causing inaccurate colour balance, I have never knowingly experienced this and if you do a manual white balance with the filter attached then there should be no difference.

Geoff

[col lamb]

I have now completed two movies using the TM900, one shot in 1080i and another in 1080p.

Both have great clarity and colour rendering.

So all in all a great little camcorder, only downsides (1) wind noise (2) the auto/manual button is sensitive on my camcorder and easily caught and switched into manual mode.

CS 5.5 handled both files natively with no issues but it did handle the 1080i files better as scrubbing the timeline was smoother.

As I do not usually put my movies on Blu-ray shooting in 1080p is not an issue for me but it is something to remember when deciding which format to shoot.

Next task is to shoot another movie in 1080p and edit that in Edius 6.3.