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Model
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| Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Canon 
|
| Name | HDC-TM350 | HF21 |
| European name ? | HDC-TM350 | Legria HF21 |
| US name ? | HDC-TM350 | VIXIA HF21 |
| lowest US price | 1300 $ | 1099 $ |
| On the market since | June 2009 | September 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory
| SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 17 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Leica
| Canon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 15 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 45 mm | 39,5 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 43 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4,1 inch | 1/4 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2070000 Pixel | 2990000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/8.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/25 | 1/6 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 100% | No
|
| Histogram ? | Yes
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out mini
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| also AV-output
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| Advanced Mini
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 390 g | 340 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 450 g | 400 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic VW-VBG130-K
| Canon BP-809
|
| Battery capacity | 1320 mAh | 890 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal external
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 70 mm | 62 mm |
| Width | 72 mm | 70 mm |
| Depth | 141 mm | 124 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 5 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| - |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230400 Pixel | 211000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Menu
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 7530000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 3984 x 2656 | 2304 x 1296 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode ? | | |
| Test image 12 lux optimized ? | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 372 | 367 |
| Pros | + Sharpness and colour at the upper AVCHD limit + Many manual controls + Good image stabilizer for moving camera
| + Many manual controls
|
| Cons | - weak wide angle
| - fiddly operation - No Zebra - Manual focus very poor
|
| Conclusion | The new image stabilizer is better and especially interesting for people who like cheap glide camsIn terms of low light the camera easily gets surpassed by the Sony XR520 and the wide angle is a sorry affair in this price range.But that is just about all we could find to complain about.Except maybe that you get almost the same technology without the internal memory and improved image stabilization in the notably cheaper HDC-SD300. | Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Canon HF21 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | Panasonic TM350 - images generally too dark and colorless?
Purchase the Panasonic HDC-TM350
Replacement Battery for HDC TM350 Original VW VBG130
Test: Panasonic HDC-TM350
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