Which reviews are more 'reliable', Camcorderinfo or Infosyncworld

[Thronsen]

Hi there-

I have been trying to decide between the Canon HF-S100 and the Panasonic TM300. I have found in the past that the reviews at Camcorderinfo and Infosyncworld to be the best. Camcorderinfo has its detailed lab tests down to the 2nd decimal point, Infosyncworld takes loads of real world footage in lots of different conditions and analyzes it.

In the comparison though between the HFS100 and the TM300 they seem to have widely different views. Specifically in regard to lowlight (though in other areas as well) CCI rates the TM300 much much better then the HFS100 (at 60i). While Infosyncworld says the HFS100 has the best lowlight of any Canon, and the TM300 has worse the mediocre lowlight due to huge amounts of grain among other reasons. The 2 reviews also disagreed on other aspects, such as daylight capabilities, speed of focus, exposure, and ease of use ('Intelligent Auto is a great feature for Panasonic'......'Intelligent Auto isnt that intelligent'). Seemingly the only thing they agree on is Panasonics superior OIS.

So my questions is, which would you tend to put more faith in for a $1000 purchase. The meticulous lab based nature of the CCI review, or the real world less systematic Infosyncworld opinion?

Unfortunately I have been unable to find either camera in a shop here so cant test them myself (and not that I know 1/10th as much as any of those reviewers).

Any thoughts would be really appreciated, thanks. And my hats off to both websites for putting up such thorough helpful reviews.

If you are looking for the links:

http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/camcorders/panasonic-hdc-hs300/10147.html
http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/camcorders/canon-vixia-hf-s10/10176.html

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Panasonic-HDC-HS300-Camcorder-Review-36492.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HF-S100-Camcorder-Review-36389.htm

[thequads]

here's a side by side someone did to throw in the mix:
HDC TM300 vs HF S10 on Vimeo

[DrDave]

I think you have to look at both and kind of judge their respective strong suits. CC does a pretty good job of testing at different frame rates, but their ratings don't always stack up against each other and they keep changing the metrics--hey, how about testing a few things under both metrics, that's what some would call "science". Good luck with that--I guess they prefer yearly confusion. But they are what they are, which is better than nothing. There is so much sample footage on the web now, just root around and you will get a feel for the cam. The thing about the low light, you really have to decide if 24p is for you. If you are OK shooting 24p, you will be fine with Canon in LL. Infosync played mostly in 24p. They both look like winners. Check out Paramon's video on Vimeo as well--he spends hours seriously comparing the cams. The "Camscape" is a bit different now because there isn't one cam to rule them all--there a couple of top contenders. But you get a whole lot of cam for your dollar. Rejoice, and remember, you will need more than one anyway. I myself am looking at the Canon and the GH1, but I'm happy with 24p. I think if I was going to go Panny I would get the GH1, but I have a huge pile of old glass. I'm sure the 300 is a beautiful machine. I have to say I need the Zebras and the Canon lossless digital zoom looks like a very cool feature, there is no real downside here. I suspect the canon is going to be sharper, and I like sharp. The HF100 is very sharp as well and is good in LL at 24p, but no Zebras, Zoom, etc, and the noise on the newer model seems a bit finer in texture, can't say for sure, but ppl love the cam. I'm looking for a fourth cam with DOF, though, so it may be the GH1.

[Rumpelgeist]

Try this one for a change, though I would not call footage that they shot even on daylight any good, maybe just the compression they used for the video:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/video/Panasonic-HDC-HS300

[Yzed]

I think sharpness is not that important in the long run because all of these cams are already good in that (hvxx included!!), but features and ergonomy are.

No viewfinder sucks in my opinion, for a $1200 cam...

[morphin1]

So what's the verdict?
Which is better and is HV30 better than HS300?
Thanks

[politikill]

I have found in many reviews, they will test out a camcorder on auto, and use this to rate the camera. That's not always the case, but a good amount of time it is. So if your an indie film maker, your not going to be able to use the same user friendly review an amatuer would use. This is why we always search Vimeo for independant reviews on the camera's were interested in.