Five independent microphones sit atop the lens barrel, providing 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Surround Sound. This configuration is designed to simulate directional audio, and it is enough to distinguish some left/right front/rear aural "movement" from subjects moving across the screen. Of course, with the mics so close together, the spatial separation is limited. The quality of the audio is exceptionally good for narrating while you are shooting. But, as with all on-camera mics, the fidelity drops off rapidly for subjects further than several feet away from the camcorder. Audio quality is very good when you are using an external mic.

Finally, getting clips to your PC or viewing on an HD television is easy. For your computer, one way is to simply transfer via USB 2.0. Another way, if you are shooting on location, is to dump your clips down to the included 40GB portable hard drive recorder by inserting the SD card, hitting the "copy" button, then transferring the whole lot via USB 2.0 when you are back at your computer. As of publication, however, getting serious software to edit the new AVCHD format is the problem. The AG-HSC1 does ship with a very elementary timeline editor, but it is quite limited. Updates for popular editing software will no doubt be forthcoming, but this is an issue if you need to edit your footage now. You can also enjoy clips straight from the camcorder in pristine quality by using an HDMI cable, or you can use component or composite cables as other options.

If you are looking for a second camcorder to match the high-quality images of your main HD camcorder, or even if this will be your main HD camcorder, don't let the snickers from shooters with full-sized camcorders dissuade you. The images from the AG-HSC1 will make believers out of them as well.

Image Device: 3 CCD
Imager Size: 1/4", 16:9 native, 520k (3x) effective pixels
Lens: 12x Lecica Dicomar, f1.8-f2.8, 38.5 - 462mm (16:9)
Filter Diameter: 43mm
Image Stabilization: Yes, optical
Zoom: 12x optical, 30x/700x digital zoom
LCD Monitor: 3.0" wide LCD (251k pixels)
Viewfinder: No
Microphone: 5.1-ch surround sound, zoom mic
Microphone input: Yes, Stereo mini jack
White Balance: Auto, manual set, indoor, outdoor (with IR sensor)
Video Out: AV multi (composite), component
HDMI Out: Yes, ver. 1.2a
Audio Out Stereo (AV multi), 5.1 surround (HDMI)
PC Connector: USB 2.0
Recording Media: SD memory card, SDHC memory card (4GB memory card supplied)
Recording Format: AVCHD (1440 x 1080 / 60i)
Compression Method: MPEG-4 AVC / H.264
Audio Recording Format: Dolby Digital (5.1ch, 2ch)
Size: 3.6" x 1.3"x 2.4"
Weight: Approx. 0.94 lb (430g) (without battery); approx. 1 lb (490g) (with battery pack, SDHC memory card)
Additional Accessories: 40GB SD Store Drive w/ USB 2.0
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

• Very compact
• Manual focus, iris, white balance options
• External mic jack

• Manual focus control is tricky.
• No viewfinder
• Access to A/C power jack and some I/O can be restricted when on a tripod.

Impressive performance and some pro-level features are jammed into a very small, palm-sized camcorder.

Contributing editor Brian Peterson is a video production consultant, trainer and lecturer.

Panasonic Broadcast
One Panasonic Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094
www.panasonic.com

$2,099