Description

HI-DEF CAMCORDER/32G FLASH/GUNMETAL GREY

Customer Reviews

 Satisfied customer - Aug 15, 2010

I bought the TM700 a month ago because of its ability to shoot 1080p60 video. I have been very happy with the results. The video quality is excellent, and doing simple trim and splice edits of the 25Mbs H.264 files have been no problem on my Gateway SX2800-01 (Core 2 Quad processor Q8200). I have owned several camcorders in the past, both SD and HD, and this produces the highest quality video I've ever shot. 60 progressive frames per second produces very smooth motion, which I believe makes handheld footage very easy on the eyes. When I use this unit with a highly fluid tripod head the results are astounding.

The low-light performance is quite good, but I've seen footage from more expensive cameras that can out-do the TM700 in that regard.

The auto white balance sometimes acts contrary to my wishes -- sometimes there's latency in adjusting the white balance during a rapid change in lighting conditions (say, walking indoors from outdoors). The unit does eventually settle down to a good white-balance.

The fan noise issues I read about here concerned me prior to my purchase. However, at room temperature and a foot away from my ear, the fan on the TM700 I received does not make any sound I can discern. (I'm in my mid-forties and the frequency response in both my ears drops sharply at 14 khz). When I amplify the sound recorded in a quiet room at room temperature I do not hear the fan. I recorded outdoors on a 94 degree F day and I think I hear the fan briefly on a short segment from that session. I would not initiate warranty service based on my fan experience so far.

As the title of this review states, I am a satisfied customer.

 "Low Light is Great" - Aug 11, 2010

I have owned many HD camcorders. As with computers/electronics most get better with technology changes or "time" I would say that whatever the reason behind this technology it is outstanding. FYI: for those who complain about fan noise I have yet to hear anything other than whats intended. Dont doubt yourself this is a great camcorder I cant wait until the 3-d version arrives in october 2010.

 Wasted Time - Aug 07, 2010

The low light is bad, battery does not last long enough, and the 1080p is not as sharp as a traditional 1080i from Canon, Sony or previous TM300 model. Do not lose your time buying this camcorder and invest in better equipment...

 Great Camcorder - Aug 06, 2010

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 is a great camcorder. It easily fits in my hand and is very convenient to use. It records to AVCHD format or 1080/60p (European 1080/50p). Fan noise is really not a problem. The zoom capability is incredible. I also like the fact that I can record directly to an SDHC memory card. The HDC-TM700 comes with the AE2.1 software package. It's not very easy to use, but it does the basics. It will convert the AVCHD format to MPEG2, in either XP (10Mbps) or SP (5Mbps) formats which can be burned to a DVD or saved on your hard drive. The AE2.1 also has basic editing capability, so portions of a scene can be deleted.

 exelente camara tm700k - Aug 06, 2010

es un exelente producto, mucho mejor que sony, yo use sony por muchoa años, pero el producto es muy caro y de rendimiento no muy alto, pero esta camara es exelente

 Nightmare - Aug 06, 2010

I only was able to use it for a month and during that time I was happy, good features, lots of manual controls and acceptable still shots. My nightmare started when I tried to pass all my videos to a DVD, my PC crashed and I was not able to make a single DVD. Since I'm not a Blue-ray woman I decided to start recording in 1080i to see if smaller files could have been transferred and edited easily... WRONG, same thing happened over and over again. So I have to use the camcorder itself as a reproducer machine. Yesterday it stops working so I'm contacting Panasonic Services (which is terrible) to see how to fix it...

Not recommended for day to day users.

 Few things to know before buying... - Aug 05, 2010

If you're planning to buy this camcorder, here is what I noticed about it and you should know:

1. The image quality will drop down a lot while shooting in low light condition: I got very surprise when I saw the image quality difference between shooting in a sunny day (where you can see so many details on the videos) and in a low light environment. I compared a video I made in low light with a video found on youtube done in low light using a semi professional camcorder = the image quality difference is not that big ! If you shoot pictures, you know that light is everything... well same with camcorders...

2. No LANC remote: I'm not a professional and using the zoom can be hard and frustrating. The use of the zoom makes you're video look great or bad ! I wanted to get a zoom remote to use it will shooting videos on a tripod / steady cam: well there is no LANC port (where you plug a wired zoom remote). You could use the infrared remote, it's just that the sensor is in front of the camcorder so forget about it. You will have to stick with the zoom control on top of the camcorder. This is a BIG disappointment.

3. Battery life: get a second one or get frustrated !!! The battery last for about 1h15 mns.

4. Warranty: 1 year parts / 90 days labor.

5. Stabilization features: even if it helps a lot not having a shaking effect on your video, they will not make your videos look "professional". I strongly recommend to get a steadycam (it's a tool that you use to hold your camera and stabilize it while shooting).

The points hereunder are not intended to discourage you from buying this product. It's a great camcorder, light, with an IMPRESSIVE image quality and a lot of features. Overall, I am satisfied with it and will recommend it. However, when i buy something i like to know the product is like. If you are hesitating with an other model, read the cons also before making your choice !!!

 What you think of this camcorder depends on what you will use it for - Aug 03, 2010

Let's start with the universal positives about this camcorder. The 60p option is obviously phenominal and no other camcorder can touch it in terms of video quality. The image stabilization is top notch. The menu system is very easy to learn and use. It's excellent for night and low-light filming. The video colors are very good. And also factory-supplied battery has decent life (though I would reccomend upgrading to a larger battery pack). And finally, it's relatively cheap compared to comparable Canon and Sony models.

If you are using this camcorder for just everyday film shooting and not using any specialized editing software... this camcorder is a buy. HOWEVER.....

If you use specialized editing software, such as Final Cut Express, it is not compatible with 60p video. In fact, the 60p video is not compatible with MOST advanced video editing software out there. So you have to shoot in 60i instead. This isn't dealbreaker for me except that at 60i and below, under certain lighting conditions, there are major edge artifact issues in the video. Since I do fast distance videography this is a problem. And some of my videos come out looking sloppy as a result. I am not the only one that has noticed this. If you look at CNET's and others reviews of this camcorder they mention the same thing. I would expect that kind of thing from a low-end $400 HD camcorder but not from a $750-$1000 camcorder. And I know for a fact that Sony and Canon do not have the same issue.

So, I do not reccomend this camcorder for folks who are using advanced video editing software just yet. More than likely, the newer versions coming out will support 60p and this camcorder will be worth considering. Otherwise, I would say, look elsewhere.

 Things I didn't like - Aug 03, 2010

This is an awesome camera. You can read all the other reviews about just how great it is. Instead of singing its praises like everyone else let me tell you what I don't like about this camera. I have owned it about three months now and use it about twice a week.

First the audio gain is a pain. I'm not talking about this fan hum that other reviewers have mentioned. I always use an external mic anyway so that doesn't bother me, I can't hear this so called hum on my camera anyway. There is an audio gain level built into the software which is great when you use external mics. The problem is the auto setting doesn't really work to well so I am forced to adjust it manually. Which would be OK but I use three different mics each needing a different level. It is about four clicks on the little view screen menu options to get to the audio gain option. Would love for this feature to be an external turn nob. Guess I should just be happy the gain feature is even available.

Second when using the cold shoe attachment the cover for the cold shoe partially blocks access to the Mic and headphone ports. Not so much that you can't use the ports but it just gets in the way. Kind of a pain.

Third when the view screen is facing forward you do not get the same level of information displayed as when it is facing rearward. Especially the audio meter. I often film myself with the camera on the tripod and me in front and without the audio meter display it is hard to know if I remembered to turn the mic on or not. This is a big pain in the ass. Wish there was an option to turn on all the info when the view screen is facing forward. Why have it turn off anyway?

And lastly my view screen display has broke after only two months. It just intermittently goes black. The screen still works as you can push buttons on the screen but it won't show anything. The work around is to close the screen then view trough the view finder, guess were the button is that you want to press, then open the screen and hope you press in the right location. Close the screen and repeat.

I am calling Panasonic support today so we will see how that goes. Note that the warranty on Labor is only 90 days! Yikes! I am under the limit but if I was over it would probably be almost cheaper to buy a new camera. A 90 day labour warranty is pretty piss poor for such an advanced piece of equipment. Service and support better be above and beyond to make up for it.

- C. Thomas

 High Quality Results for Advance Users. - Aug 02, 2010

Changing from an old Sony mini-dv camcorder, its obviously a dramatic improvement. Almost any HD Camcorder $600 or above sold by the mayor manufacturers (JVC, Canon, Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic) will give you a good quality Video/Audio. The thing is that each of these wide ranges of Camcorders has their strengths & weaknesses. By reading the manufacturer Specifications we will always hear that theirs is the best, so we have to do the homework or test it to see if the cam has most of the important features we need.

For me the choices were between this one (TM700), TM350 & Canon HF S21, the money factor let me to go for the TM700. The first 3 weeks everything was fine, I was recording amazing videos in 1080/60p, audio was acceptable, good 5.1 surround sound with little fan noise that is perceptible when plugged into my HD TV via HDMI. Good 1:20 minutes battery life, but now I ran out of memory and found out that a 32GB class 10 memory card cost over $170... I think a camcorder like this one should come with more internal memory since the files produces by the 1080/60p are too big. I've transferred all the data to the hard drive of my PC but no editing software seems to be able to render those files...

In conclusion I'm happy with the quality of this Camcorder but I do not have the proper equipment and experience to get the wanted results from a $750 investment. Now I'm lucky that prices have risen a bit so I may be able to sell it for the same price I paid and do more research to get it right next time.

 Almost Perfect - Jul 30, 2010

This is a great HD camera. There is a full set of manual controls, including: focus, WB, shutter, iris, and audio controls as well. The problem is, while in manual mode you can't set iris or shutter to automatic if you only, say, wanted to adjust the white balance. Same goes if you only wanted to adjust focus manually, you would have to set shutter and iris manually as well.

Another problem: 1080p mode. This camera shoots 60 fps on its progressive mode, which is great if you want to capture fast moving scenes or do slow-motion, but it's IMPOSSIBLE to edit. I have a dual core 2.5 GHz processor with a HD 4650 ATI graphics card, and editing programs could not handle the 60 frames per second footage. I tried Magix Movie Edit Pro, Windows Movie Maker, and Premiere Pro CS4, none of which could playback the footage without lagging horribly.
The Solution: Convert the video to a lower frame rate. After converting each clip to 30fps, they could be edited. From now on I leave 60p mode OFF when shooting unless I need a slo-mo shot. When shot on 30fps shooting modes the video can be edited smoothly with no problems, and no visible video quality is lost.

Next Problem: Fan noise. This camera has an internal fan which produces a faint buzzing noise audible when video is played back at high volume. In my experience, this noise can only be heard in quiet inside shots.
Solution: Luckily, this camera has an external mic jack which will support any standard microphone. If you use an external mic the fan noise is gone, but you compromise the 5.1 surround sound. I found that the lack of 5.1 channels of surround sound was a small price to pay for clean, fan-less audio. If you don't have an external mic, you can probably filter out the noise when editing pretty easily.

These are the only problems I have found with this camcorder. Even when not on 60p mode, the video quality on this device is AMAZING, and in my opinion, beats the Sony and Canon competitors. The 3 Cmos chips allow you to capture 14.2 megapixel photos (huge), and zoom up to 18x. The Power OIS stabilization makes what would otherwise be shaky and unwatchable footage smooth; great for handheld shots.
The 32GB solid state hard drive holds plenty of video, and the battery life is surprisingly good. What made this the choice of camera for me was the viewfinder, which (as you probably know) many camcorders nowadays don't have. This one does and I have found it to be very useful.
I use this camcorder for shooting short films and business videos for clients. Honestly, no other camera comes close in its price range ($600-$1200) If you want a full HD video camera with a plethora of manual controls and great video quality, you can't go wrong with the tm700, just make sure you have an external mic.

 Great for general use! - Jul 30, 2010

I bought this camera to do video of my nine month old son for personal use. I bought an HD Canon previous to this and didn't like it so I returned it. The video from this camera is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone for home use.

It has some really cool features for idiots like me who can't hold the camera still. I'm sure there are a lot of pretty great video cameras at the $750 price range, but, this is the one I ended up getting and love it. Video from this camera shows up on my 47" flat screen looking terrific and I'll have the video of my nine month old, in high-def, for years to come. So if you're looking to do basics, set it on "iA" mode right out of the box and enjoy!

 The best camcorder in terms of its low light and quality of video - Jul 28, 2010

I have been using this camcorder for over 15 days and have loved every bit of it. The low light performance is exceptional and thats where the real test of a camcorder quality is done. I was actually astonished to see the quality, sharpness and details this camcorder caught. I have not faced any "Fan noise" issue as cited by some reviews but yea its needs a quad-core equipped processor to edit videos in 1080p. Over all, really satisfied with my purchase and would recommend to anyone looking for the BEST available camcorder in the market. You can check out some samples at VIMEO, TO SEE FOR YOURSELF What a monster this guy is....

 A disappointment - Jul 25, 2010

The cooling fan was the biggest issue for me. I took the courage to buy this despite the reviews warning of the fan noise. But as I had owned a mini-dv earlier, and was pretty ok with the tape noise, I went in for the TM700. But the moment I switched the camcorder on and the fan kicked in, I knew it was trouble. You can hear the fan even if you keep the camcorder a few feet away and there is no way that you can avoid the mic picking it up. The only hope that the ambient noise drowns it away. I tried a few sample recordings with and without ambient noise, but the fan noise was picked up to a annoyingly high degree in either setting. The noise was picked up even with the AGC turned off (or maybe my ears had become sensitive to it by then).

The picture was grainy too (on auto mode, in the indoor setting, corraborating Corbett's Media experience in a previous review). I did not try it outdoors.

I have since then picked up the Sony CX550 and have tried and decided to keep it (the indoor video image is far better). In comparison, the TM700 does have a few upsides - its smaller in size, has an easy menu system, better still images and of-course the 1080p recording. But net-net the TM700 loses out.

 A Major Dissapointment - Jul 22, 2010

Well, after lots of online research and side by side comparisons I ordered 2 of these cameras because everywhere showed them prefroming well in low light and having an abundant number of manual controls. however when i tried sample video in my house with the lights on in the room the video was horribly grainy. the still image was worse than my cell phone can produce. I know what your thinking. did you white balance and change the settings for your conditions? YES I tried every setting in the camera.. so I got to thinking that maybe its just the camera i recieved so i opend the other Identical camera and got the exact same results. I even tried hooking this to my high def TV to see if maybe it was just the low resolution lcd on the camera, and alas even WORSE. so i returned these cameras the very next day and ordered the SONY CX500Vs online at [...] (just a side note, B&H does not charge restocking fees for an open box return as long as its returned within 14days, in new contidition and with all packaging, unlike AMAZON I'm having to pay something like a 20% restocking fee for these. @ $1,400 for the pair of them you do the math), these in our local best buy seemed to have great quailty in all light even on the automatic settings. so beware of this camera. now with all of this said. I didn't even try this thing outside in the day light as my main reason for getting the cameras was to record indoors. it may perform very well outside in a well lit enviroment but if you want to be able to record little timmy at christmas opening presents I suggest you steer clear. also the star ratings are low because i demo'd these camera's for all of an hour before i packed them back up and shipped them back. so i don't know how the Battery, features, audio and such perform. Hope this helps you, Happy shopping.

UPDATE: I receive an error when I try replying to the comments on my review. So here are my reply's

TO: N.GNAS = Well its great that you've had success with your purchase, I'm glad you're happy with the camera. I don't know why my cameras had such low quality, unless maybe they were damaged during shipping ( maybe the heat or a bad x-ray scan?) I don't really know. I have a sample video with both cameras, straight out of the box and the sony just blows away what the panasonic gave me. but again i'm glad your quality is good for you. LOL and no I honestly don't work for sony. I wish i did, I could use the extra paycheck. I had just been to best buy several months back and a guy working there actually un hooked one of the display models and took me in the back to let me test the sony cam. and the low light performance was GREAT. but alas when I went to get one about a month ago i found out there filtering those out for the newer MORE EXPENSIVE model lol so i went in search of an alternative. when i founf the panasonic and decided to give it a try. when i was displeased with that i went online to see if i could find the older sony model for a good price. which i ended up finding at B&H and the quality to me was just so much better. I honeslty looked at Canon & JVC to. I should also note that Amazon seems to have waived there restocking fee these cameras so i'm siked about that. I wish you the best of luck and enjoy your vacation.

TO: LUV KASHYAP = you know, we're all entitled to our own opinions and this is mine. I do not work for sony nor do I appreciate being called fake/phony for stressing my Opnion. I'm sorry you seemed offended/unhappy by my opinion but that's really all I have to say on this comment.

TO: Gabriel = I do like the performance of the Sony Over the Panasonic so far. the Low light is more crisp to me as well as the quality of the video. and also the auto focus seems to respond a little better.

TO:PhD Physicist = LOL yeah I agree on the fan. We were going to record audio separatly so it didn't bother me but had I wanted to use it for just homevideos then that would have sucked. but i did notice that the unit heats kinda quickly so having a fan may be a good idea. but still a nuisance. also not sure why it would heat up so fast being a flash based unit?

 Really wonderful camera - Jul 19, 2010

I've had this camera for a couple of weeks and I really love it. The image quality is very good. It's got great built-in stabilization so you can shoot hand held -- though of course everything still looks better when shot on a a tripod. It's so small and light you really can fit it in a pocket or almost any size purse. The colors are vibrant and life-like.

A couple of draw backs. I have not been able to download directly into Final Cut Pro. I did download using a free trial of Clipwrap, but I still couldn't download the images shot in 1080/60p. The battery doesn't last very long and I have not been able to find a cheap replacement. Sometimes, when you zoom in close on a subject, the camera tends to focus on the background so you have to go to manual focus. But it is easy to get focus as the camera then outlines the focus areas in blue.

When you do zoom in and get manual focus, the background then goes into a very appealing bokeh, so that's a nice benefit. I'll be posting my first project using this camera on my Website soon: [...].

My conclusions, this is a great camera that shoots video that seems as good (possibly better if I could download the 1080/60p) as what I get on my Panasonic HPX 170 professional camcorder, but it is small and light enough to put in a coat pocket and easy to take anywhere. It also shoots to both an internal storage drive and an SD card. I plan to take it to France this summer and post a vlog on my Website documenting my experiences as an adult student at a French language school and traveling in the area around Nice.

 Excellent Camcorder. However HD Write Software needs work - Jul 12, 2010

The Camcorder is extremely good, very pleased to have bought this camcorder back in May 2010. Everything about the Camcorder is excellent and solid, very happy. I would have given 5 stars to this product, but the HD Writer software pulled back a couple of stars. I will explain below.

The software that backs up the Video content is causing some grief right now. It's the HD Writer software that came with the camcorder.

I copied the HD 1080 60P video from the Camcorder into my PC hard drive. Worked perfectly. Then the HD Writer asked if I wanted burn to DVD.

Now I tried burning onto a DVD+R DL. I used AVCHD format as final DVD format. This is where it faltered. The HD Writer estimated 6.9GB of disc memory required. My DVD+R DL disc has 8.5GB of memory. However, the HD Writer says 6 discs would be required. I don't quite understand why 6 discs, when only 1 is sufficient. I read the User Manual, and appears everything I did was correct.

It is interesting to note, when I switched to DVD-XP or DVD-SP format, the HD Writer still asked for 6 discs. I think there is some QA work needed on the software that corrects this problem. I don't want to burn all 6 discs!
I do hope to have an updated version of HD Writer asap.

UPDATE 8/1/2010
Panasonic tech support did not resolve the disc miscount issue by HD Writer software. They did not escalate to the software engineer either, so I am not sure what they are doing. They suggested going to the Bluray burner.... read next!


UPDATE 8/6/2010
I copied the 1080/60P video onto a BD-R disc using the Panasonic HD Write 2.1 Software. I was able to play back on my PC. However, the same disc would not be recognized on the PS3 with the latest firmware. I contacted Panasonic tech support, and they don't have a clue. That's another issue entirely together. The tech support does not have enough experience of going through the copying exercise, confirm the issue, solve it and suggest a solution. They are shooting in the dark. I also contacted PS3 Tech support. They could not figure out why the video could not be played back. I had to reset the video default setting on the PS3, AND still not working.
I believe this is probably Panasonic's overlook. They should have done more thorough software QA to make sure burned BD-R discs will play back on the PS3. The PS3 does not have issues playing Bluray movies.

 WOW ! What A Camera ! - Jul 11, 2010

If you want a great camera and a great 1080p high definition camcorder, then you will not find it better then the Panasonic HDC-TM700K Hi-Def Camcorder with Pro Control System & 32GB Flash (Black)& 32GB Flash.
I knew that it was a great camcorder but what really took me by surprise was the still camera.
The pictures are just stunning.
This camera-camcorder will make you a professional photographer the first time you use it.
The only thing is that it is so new that the editing software is hard to find.
I have been using VideoPad Video Editor Software and it will help you convert any movie to any format you want, and it is supported by Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008 & Windows 7.
Try it for FREE ! at: [...]
I love this camera and there is nothing that will give you better performance for your money in such a small package.

 Very poor file transfer system - Jul 08, 2010

I purchased the video camera Panasonic TM700. It has a built-in 32Gb memory which I used for videos and pictures.
The camera uses a complex system to store pictures and videos in different memory sections, which take more steps and time to transfer.
To transfer files, one must connect the camera to the PC via a special cable. And one must plug the camera into an electrical outlet using two additional cables. If one attempts to use the battery, there is a danger that the battery may die in the middle and corrupt files. Or perhaps the camera?
Once the connections are made, one must start panasonic software and click PC transfer. The software searches for existing files. One has the option to select the folder where one wants the files to go, but the system creates a new folder with a cryptic name. This approach unnecessarily creates extra folders. It may be dangerous to delete the extra folders.
Video file consist of several files. One is the actual file with the recorded information. The other files probably help panasonic software to keep track of their location, etc. I did not find the explanations adequate.
I had many files. The options I found allow me to select one at a time, or all at a time. I could not figure out a way to select several at the same time, like it is usually done by clicking the first and the last one (holding the shift key). The result is error prone, as I must carefully select the files I want to transfer.
Once I selected the files, I must select the folder. I then accept the transfer. It takes a long time to transfer files.
The process is much faster for photos.
When I want to erase the files transferred, I must disconnect the camera. Apparently it is not possible to delete files using the PC connection. Once the camera is disconnected from the PC, I identify thefiles I want to erase, and click the erase icon.
Alltogether, the process is cumbersome and time consuming. In my case, I usually have a group of files from different events. I want to transfer each group to a different folder. This means I must spend considerable time marking each file.
With other cameras, I simply take the SD card and put it into the PC reader. Then I click and mark the files I want to transfer, and move them to the folder I chose. It is very quick to both mark the files and transfer them. When finished, I simply click delete on the files I transferred.
Panasonic should drastically modify its software and operating procedure. Make things better, faster, simpler. Users should be able to access the build in RAM as if it were a separate hard drive and simply copy files to a PC and delete files copied.

 NIce camera - but a major flaw that makes it useless! - Jul 04, 2010

Just bought this camera based upon reading the reviews and speaking with a number of customer service reps. I have to say that the on-line reviews are very accurate. The optics are beautiful in this camera, and it handles great. That being said, the noise from the fan is a complete deal-breaker, making the camera essentially useless. I regret my purchase very much and would not recommend this camera for anyone. Save yourself a lot of grief and look elsewhere for a camcorder.

 Great little camcorder! - Jul 04, 2010

This camcorder has a lot going for it. I have used it couple of weeks while on vacation and just downloaded it to imovie09. I used 60i recording. The video quality is impressive and the color accuracy is awesome. The recorder is very easy to use and handles nicely. Great image stabilization. It is a very nice size and helps it be easier to hold and operate. It is little smaller than the Sony HDR-CX550V or VIXIA HF S21 big a little bigger than the Canon HDR-XR350V. 32G storage provides 4 - 5 hours of recording at the best quality 60i and 2+ hours at 60p. This is plenty for the standard vacation or 2 or 3.
The unit has some great and fun features like time lapse recording, pre-record and burst photo capture. One of the key features I bought this for, the pre-record, has to be enabled every single time which is little annoying. At least it is easy to turn on.
Like I said, in general, this is a great little unit and has lots of great things. The few annoyances are 1) fan and 2) that the unit can get very warm and heats up your hand. The fan is not noticed if you are outside where there is some ambient noise, but inside where it is very quiet, you can notice it. If it gets on my nerves, I will buy a small external microphone that will plug into the flash shoe. The fact that the unit gets warm is more an annoyance than anything. You only notice it when you record for minutes at a time. It doesn't get warm unless you record.
I've read articles in which people have techniques to get 60p recoding into iMovie09, but I didn't want to bother with the complexity. I figure that as more units can record in 60p, iMovie will eventually be able to handle it. In the mean time, its 60i.
One last thing that I really like is the standby mode. After you turn it on, but close the viewscreen, it goes into standby mode. When you open the viewscreen, it turn on almost instantly. When in standby it drains the battery very little. I accidentally left it in this mode all night and it only drain the battery half way which I thought was impressive. The unit lasts about 1+ hr of recording so I might suggest a spare battery.

 Superb except for... - Jul 02, 2010

I don't have much experience with video but the image quality, ease of use and portability are fantastic. The fan noise is, however, a real issue. It will appear as a faint background whine in any recording with low ambient noise, even with an external mic mounted on the camera (in fact the Rode Videomic I use is more sensitive and makes it worse). Panasonic recommends adjusting the mic sensitivity to -15db; this does eliminate most but not all of the noise; with an external mic I found you had to reduce it to -21db to get rid of it entirely. And, the only way to set the mic level is in manual mode; if you revert back to intelligent auto that custom setting is lost. (I checked with the company: manual mode is fully manual, not just for whatever custom setting you may have specified.) Of course, some mics (later versions of the Rode, for example) and other add-ons let you adjust mic level independently of the camera. But, if you have to rely on the camera to do it, and want to shoot in auto mode, you are out of luck, unless you can mount the mic some distance from the camera.

If sound quality is not an issue, or you use an independently-mounted microphone (not on or near the camera), or only record in situations where there is sufficient background noise to overwhelm it, it won't be an issue; unfortunately that is not the always case. Note that if Panasonic had only chosen to mount the exhaust port on the bottom of the unit, pointing away from the mic (and where, incidentally, it would not be obstructed by the LCD panel when closed), the problem would have been negligible. (Indeed, multiple ports along the bottom would prevent it from being obstructed when mounted on a tripod and might bleed off the noise better.) I just can't understand the engineering decision behind the placement, especially when the rest of the camera is so beautifully done. I really hope Panasonic reads this and other posts and takes the noise issue seriously, because I can't accept this flaw as is and, in fact, returned the camera, but would get a version that fixes this problem without hesitation.

 HDC-TM700K - A Strong Buy For Me - Jul 02, 2010

I'm definitely not a pro but average home user. Very happy with the purchase, video quality is amazing even in non 60p modes. Fan noise problem is not an issue for me so far. If present, it is not easy noticeable. For now, only issue I have is AUTO still picture capture quality. Very often captures are over exposed / washed out, but could be my fault - it will take time to master all controls. Was thinking about SONY as alternative buy due to capability to capture in SD as well. Panasonic has a nice feature for very fast camcorder assisted down-sampling to SD. This way, you'll never be sorry you've made wrong decision/error to record precious moment only in SD with HD camcorder in your hands :) Did not do much PC editing yet, but did try to use Video Studio PRO X3 with short (5min) clips recorded in HQ HD . No problems whatsoever (speed/format) due to proxy edit capabilities of VS.

 Great Camera - Jul 02, 2010

The only thing I find lacking is the battery life. Less then a hour.

I love how the camera has many manual functions for people who want to push it a bit further. Being able to manually set the shutter rate is incredible esp since you have 60 frames a second. It is great for capturing an action moment.

 Nice Video & build quality... - Jul 01, 2010

I like the build & video quality of this Cam. I believe, its not too big or too small but just perfect to hold in hands.

Recording 60p is excellent & also in 4 other modes also its very impressive.
I don't have any problem importing 60p video either in Sony Vegas or Power director or video studio & all of them can play it very well. You need a powerful PC to do any sort of editing to footage, simply burning it to DVD or Blue Ray can be done on any normal machine.
I haven't tried the software which comes with it, but I think that is only to transfer files to your PC.

Video quality was excellent while seeing footage on HDTV by directly connecting Cam to it. It's better than my earlier Canon HG10.
Fan Noise: Its there but not as much that can't be ignored. To me it doesn't make any difference.
Low light quality is not very good but also not bad at all...its acceptable to me.

I'll have to try moving files to my PS3 & see how it plays...will update.

Update: I was able to successfully copy my video footage from cam to my PS3 by connecting it through USB. PS3 was able to run files smoothly, without any issues.

Update: 35mm wide lens really makes a difference. Video captured by it is mind blowing.