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General Features
Video Camcorder Features
Digital Still Camera Features
Battery Information
Inputs and Outputs Notes
Software And Computer Information

General Features

Hard Drive Camcorder: The Panasonic HDC-HS300P has an internal 120GB hard drive which will allow you to record video and still images. In addition, you can record video and still images on an optional SD or SDHC card. The unit is compatible with 1GB and 2GB SD cards (FAT 12 and 16 compatible) and SDHC cards from 4GB to 32GB (FAT 32 compatible). Smaller capacity SD cards can be used for recording still images, but not for video recording.

LCD Screen: The 2.7" (16:9) LCD screen provides excellent viewing clarity with improved resolution. The high resolution (230,400 pixels) LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp and detailed images for monitoring or playback. Mirror mode allows you to view a mirror-image of the subject you are shooting in the LCD screen when the screen is rotated 180 degrees, but the image will be normal when recorded. In addition, the touchscreen LCD allows you to navigate through the menu system using your fingertip or the included stylus pen.

Recording Formats: This camcorder captures high definition video in the AVCHD format. The AVCHD format is a high definition video camcorder format used to record a 1080i HD signal on the unit's internal hard disk drive using efficient data compression coding technology. The MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec is used to compress the video data while Dolby Digital 5.1 or Linear PCM (2.0) is used to compress the audio data. The result is image resolution of approximately 4.5 times that of standard definition image quality. Using the enclosed PC software, high definition video can be copied onto DVD media through your computer. DVD media containing AVCHD video may be played on a compatible Blu-ray Disc player/recorder or other compatible devices, but not on standard DVD players.

3MOS Image Sensor: Panasonic's 3MOS system consists of three 1/4.1" MOS sensors, each with 3.05 million pixels, for a total of 9.15 megapixels. The camcorder features 6.21 million effective pixels for shooting 16:9 video. For still images, the camera has 7.95MP for 3:2, 7.53MP for 16:9, and 6.96MP for 4:3 still images. The 3MOS system combines several optical technologies to enhance the quality of full-HD images, and produce extremely accurate images with superb contrast and rich color.

Leica Dicomar Lens: This camcorder features an f/1.8-2.8 Leica Dicomar lens with a 12x optical zoom. Leica Dicomar lenses preserve videos and stills with a high level of detail to produce truly moving images. The lens has a 35mm film camera equivalent figure of 44.9-539mm for 16:9 movies, 41.3-496mm for 3:2 still images, 40.8-490mm for 16:9 still images, and 45.0-540mm for 4:3 still images.

Optical/Digital Zoom: The camcorder has a 12x Optical Zoom for bringing your subject up close. It also features a selectable 30x or 700x (total) digital zoom. Because the picture is processed digitally, the picture quality deteriorates the more you zoom in. The power zoom lever can be moved slightly for a slow zoom, or moved further for a faster zoom.

Advanced Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.): Panasonic's Advanced O.I.S. helps suppress the effects of hand-shake as you shoot movies and still images. The system uses gyrosensors to detect even tiny amounts of hand-shake, then shifts the lens and adjusts the optical axis to compensate--all at 4000 times per second. O.I.S. Mode 1 works all of the time, while O.I.S. Mode 2 works when the shutter button is pressed halfway. You can also turn off the Advanced O.I.S.

Intelligent Auto Mode: The Intelligent Auto (iA) mode automatically sets the shooting mode that is appropriate for the condition when you simply point the unit to what you want to record. Intelligent Auto includes AF tracking which locks the focus onto and follows the subject as it moves. Other iA modes that are used include:

• Portrait: the unit detects faces and focuses on them automatically, and adjusts the brightness
• Night Portrait: subject and background are recorded with near real-life brightness (still images only)
• Scenery: the whole landscape is recorded vividly without whiting out the background sky
• Night Scenery: records the night scene by slowing down the shutter speed (still images only)
• Spotlight: clearly records a very bright subject in a dark background (movies only)
• Low Light: records clearly in a dark room or in twilight (movies only)
• Macro: allows recording at very close proximity of subject (still images only)
• Normal: normal recording

Exposure Modes: The HS300P features the following Manual, Auto, and Scene Exposure Modes:

• Manual: Manual exposure allows you to fix the brightness of your picture manually You can adjust the brightness when the subject is much brighter or darker than the background. You can manually set the white balance, shutter speed, or the aperture adjustment.
• Auto: Automatically records pictures effectively without the preset scene modes
• Scene Modes: The following Scene modes are available to suit your specific shooting requirements:
  • Sports: to make fast moving scenes less shaky with slow playback and pause of playback
  • Portrait: to make people stand out against the background
  • Spotlight: improved quality when subject is brightly illuminated
  • Snow: improved image quality when shooting in snowy locations
  • Beach: to make the sea and sky a vibrant blue
  • Sunset: to make the sunrise or sunset a vibrant red
  • Fireworks: to capture fireworks in the night sky
  • Scenery: for spatial scenery
  • Low Light: for dark scenes, such as at dusk
  • Night Scenery: to capture evening or night scenery beautifully (Still images only)
  • Night Portrait: to capture a person and the background brightly (Still images only)

Illumination Requirements: The camcorder records video and photos in normal mode at a standard illumination of 1400 lx. You can record at 1.6 minimum lx. in the Low Light mode. In the MagicPix mode you can record color images in very low light situations (approximately 1 lx.).

PRE-REC: The PRE-REC mode allows recording of pictures and sound to start approximately 3 seconds before the start/stop button is pressed. This helps prevent you from missing a shot.

White Balance Adjustment: You can set the color balance to the brightness of the recording environment using the following methods:

• Auto: The white balance is adjusted automatically.
• Preset: Depending upon the lighting, you can choose Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor Mode 1, and Indoor Mode 2
• Manual: With a white card or paper on the screen, you can manually set the white balance.

Accessory Shoe: The unit has an accessory shoe on the top for mounting an optional video light (VW-LDC103PP).

Video Camcorder Features

Video Recording: The HS300P records high definition, full 1080 video onto the 120GB HDD or an inserted SD/SDHC memory card. The camcorder records audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio using the built-in microphone, or in 2 channel Linear PCM with an external microphone. You can choose from any of the following video recording modes:

• HA: 1920 x 1080 (60i) at approximately 17 Mbps
• HG: 1920 x 1080 (60i) at approximately 13 Mbps
• HX: 1920 x 1080 (60i) at approximately 9 Mbps
• HE: 1440 x 1080 (60i) at approximately 6 Mbps

Recording Capacity: The built-in HDD and optional SD/SDHC cards have the following capacity at each recording mode:

Fader: When you start recording, the image and audio will gradually appear, and when you pause or stop recording, the image/audio gradually disappear. You can select a black or white fader, or turn off the fade mode altogether.

Thumbnail Display: You can view a thumbnail of a video when you are in the playback mode. The number of thumbnails on the screen can be set to 1, 9, or 20 scenes.

Playback Modes: During playback, you can choose the following operations: Play/pause, rewind, fast forward, stop, skip forward, skip backward, slow-motion, and frame-by-frame. Audio will only be heard during normal playback.

Still Images While Recording Movies: You can record still images at the same time you are recording movies. You can choose from two picture sizes: 8.3M (3840 x 2160) or 2.1M (1920 x 1080).

Still Images From Recorded Movies: A single frame from a recorded movie can be saved as a still picture. The size of the still image will be 2.1M (1920 x 1080).

Digital Still Camera Features

Digital Still Image Recording: The HS300P can record still images on either the unit's built-in 120GB hard disk drive or on an optional SD/SDHC memory card (sold separately). You can select between high and normal quality settings for each picture size. You can record still images in the following aspect ratios and resolutions:

• 4:3 Aspect Ratio:
  • 9M (3520 x 2640)
  • 8M (3264 x 2448)
  • 5M (2560 x 1920)
  • 0.3M (640 x 480)
• 3:2 Aspect Ratio:
  • 10.5M (3984 x 2656)
  • 7M (3264 x 2176)
  • 4.5M (2592 x 1728)
• 16:9 Aspect Ratio:
  • 10M (4224 x 2376)
  • 6M (3328 x 1872)
  • 3.5M (2560 x 1440)
• 16:9 Stills in Movie Recording Mode:
  • 8.3M (3840 x 2160)
  • 2.1M (1920 x 1080)

Flash: The HS300P has a built-in flash for illuminating your subject in dark places. You can set the flash to On (always flashes), Auto (flashes when needed), and Off (doesn't flash). In the Intelligent Auto mode, you can also set the flash level to Less Bright, Normal, or Much Brighter.

Self Timer: This feature lets you record a still image after a preset amount of time, allowing you to get into the picture or for a steady recording from a tripod. The self-timer can be set to 10 seconds or 2 seconds.

Time Lapse Recording: The HS300P lets you create a scene that compresses action over a long time into a short video. You can record at intervals of 1 sec, 10 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, or 2 min. Playback is at 30 frames per second.

Burst Shooting: You can record multiple still images continuously in the Hi-Speed Burst Shooting mode. You can record 72 still pictures continuously at the rate of 24 frames per second at a resolution of 2.1M: 1920 x 1080. You can also record 180 still pictures continuously at the rate of 60 per second at 0.9M: 1280 x 720 resolution.

Slide Show: You can automatically play back images stored on the hard drive of the HS300P or from an optional SD/SDHC card. The interval can be set to short (1 second), normal (5 seconds), or long (15 seconds). Pre recorded music can be selected to play during the slideshow.

PictBridge: You can print directly from the camcorder to a PictBridge-compliant printer via USB cable, even if you don't have a computer. In the camcorder menu, you can select the number of copies to be printed (up to 9) and choose to print the date and time on each picture. You can also select the paper size and layout of the prints as well.

Battery Information

Battery: This unit comes with the VW-VBG130 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (7.2V/1250 mAh). Optional batteries for this camcorder include the VW-VBG260 (7.2V/2500mAH) and the VW-VBG6 (7.2V/5400mAh). The playback (using the viewfinder*) and charging times for each battery is as follows:

Inputs and Outputs Notes

A/V Output: This camcorder features a 3.5mm minijack Audio/Video output for use with the supplied A/V connecting cable (composite video/stereo audio) for displaying the camcorder's contents on your television. A proprietary component video output connector is located next to the A/V output for use with the supplied component video cable. When connecting to a TV via component video, both cables are used (the composite video plug from the A/V cable isn't used). The camcorder will output 1080i and 480i video through the component video output and standard video (480i) through the A/V output.

HDMI Output: High definition video in 1080i can be output to a connected HDTV using the camcorder's mini-HDMI connector. For a non-HD ready TV, the output through the HDMI port is 480p. In most cases, a mini-HDMI to full-size HDMI cable will be needed to connect the camcorder to your TV.

USB Port: The camcorder has a mini-USB version 2.0 jack for connecting to a PC via the supplied USB cable. Connecting the hard drive camcorder to a PC via USB allows the computer to access the information on the camcorder's hard drive. You will be able to download still images and video files to your computer. This will also allow you to back up the files recorded on the hard drive onto a DVD. You can edit and save your video files onto your computer, then make DVDs of them using the software that is supplied with the camcorder. The camcorder can also be used as an external storage device, convenient for archiving, storing and transporting your videos and still images.

Microphone Input: The camcorder has a 3.5mm minijack for connecting an optional microphone. The external mic will record in 2 channel Linear PCM.

Headphone Output: The camcorder has a 3.5mm minijack for connecting optional headphones.

Software And Computer Information

Included Software: The camcorder includes HD Writer AE 1.0 for HDC, which is compatible with Windows operating system only.

Computer Requirements: HD Writer AE 1.0 for HDC requires the following environment:

Operating Environment for the Card Reader Function (mass storage):