Panasonic HDC-TM55

alaTest has collected and analyzed 69 reviews from magazines and websites. Reviewers really like the image quality and value for money. The portability and zoom are also appreciated. The features and color get negative opinions, while views are divided on the connectivity.

usability, zoom, portability, value for money, image quality

color, features

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Camcorders the Panasonic HDC-TM55 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 81/100 = Very good quality.

See all Panasonic Camcorders

Review analysis

(Based on 69 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (70% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (14% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (7% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (1% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (7% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

Usability
  Show positive (76%)None yet(Show all)
Zoom
  Show positive (67%)None yet(Show all)
Portability
  Show positive (65%)None yet(Show all)
Value for money
  Show positive (38%)Show negative (9%)(Show all)
Image quality
  Show positive (48%)None yet(Show all)
Battery
  Show positive (50%)None yet(Show all)
Memory
  Show positive (30%)None yet(Show all)
Color
  Show positive (20%)Show negative (40%)(Show all)
Connectivity
  Show positive (25%)Show negative (25%)(Show all)
Features
  None yetShow negative (100%)(Show all)
More features

Showing 70 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews
Showing 1 - 10 of 70 Show Reviews: in English

Expert review by:

Panasonic HDC-TM55

 

Is it just me, or are four nearly identical versions of the same product a wee bit much? Panasonic seems to be taking a carpet bomb approach to the entry-level HD camcorder market, with those four models in the slim range between $500 and $700. The...

Manual shutter-speed and iris controls; comfortable size; smarter-than-average autofocus; lens focuses relatively closely; decent battery life

Soft video; cramped, low-resolution touch screen

Panasonic's quartet of entry-level HD camcorders--the HDC-HS60, TM60, TM55, and SD60--delivers a nice manual feature set and good performance, as well as solid video quality for their class. As long as you don't pay list price, the SD60 is a great...

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Consumer review by:

"Mine died, Panasonic seems unable to fix it!"

 

The CNET video review states this is a full HD 1080p camera. I don't very much blame them because Panasonic says it's full HD but in reality it is a 1080i camera. The difference between 1080i and 1080p is the difference interlaced scan and progressive...

Good OIS, intelligent zoom and auto controls. Reasonably good low light performance. Well written manual.

Blurry image is evident when anything moves in the scene. Problem seems to be related to OIS but when that is turned off, auto exposure and color are turned off too. I have been unable to determine if this was a malfunction or not but the biggest con may

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Consumer review by:

Mine died, Panasonic seems unable to fix it!

 

The CNET video review states this is a full HD 1080p camera. I don't very much blame them because Panasonic says it's full HD but in reality it is a 1080i camera. The difference between 1080i and 1080p is the difference interlaced scan and progressive...

Good OIS, intelligent zoom and auto controls. Reasonably good low light performance. Well written manual

Blurry image is evident when anything moves in the scene. Problem seems to be related to OIS but when that is turned off, auto exposure and color are turned off too. I have been unable to determine if this was a malfunction or not but the biggest con may

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Consumer review by:

Amazon review summary for the Panasonic HDC-TM55

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 59 user reviews of the Panasonic HDC-TM55 from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.5/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products on Amazon.com.

usability, portability, value for money, zoom, battery

88% of reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

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Consumer review by:

Watch out...proprietary video format!!!

 

I have had this video camera for some time now, so I have had time to "feel out" the pros and cons. Pro- The camera is small, light, and has fairly well placed buttons. The video is really nice quality, 1080i (according to another review) is fine for...

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Consumer review by:

Great HD quality - Terrible customer service

 

I went with Panasonic to take advantage of the VIERA connectivity with my Panasonic TV and Blu Ray. Camcorder worked great for the first 11 months then the shutter refused to open. Returned to Panasonic and was told that the warrantee only covers 90...

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Consumer review by:

Really Like It.

 

Bought for a trip to DC and was quite impressed. Good zoom, good quality video and pretty decent price. Quite small and easy to carry as well as easy to use and it's a Panasonic.

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Consumer review by:

Horror Story

 

This review is for the Panasonic HDC-TM55K camcorder I purchased from Amazon in December 2010 for a very reasonable $400. The camera has 8G built in flash memory, and a slot that accepts an SDHC memory card of up to 64G. It's ability to zoom to 35x...

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Consumer review by:

just okay

 

I have not used the camera too much, however it seems to work farely easy with a decent video quality. Downloading videos to the computer is a little cumbersome (you have to use power cord when downloading videos; will not work with camera battery...

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Consumer review by:

Nice unit, but not for nature photography

 

Overall a nice compact unit that gives good videos outdoors under cloudy conditions. The touch screen doesn't really work while recording; touch it to adjust and camera jiggles. Seemed like a good idea. The on/off button is also on the wrong side for...

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Product Specifications

When used with Panasonic's HDC-TM55, the 64 GB SDXC memory card can record up to 8 hours and 30 minutes of video, while recording in the highest video quality in HA mode. Or when recording in 1920 x 1080i in HE mode, the SDXC memory card can hold approximately 27 hours and 30 minutes of video.

Audio Input

Microphone Operation Mode:Stereo
Microphone Technology:Electret condenser
Type:Microphone

Battery

Battery Form Factor:Manufacturer specific

Camcorder Features

High Definition Video Support:1080i
Low Lux / Night Mode: Yes
Widescreen Video Capture: Yes

Camera Flash

Type:Built-in flash

Digital Camera

Supported Flash Memory:SD Memory Card / SDXC Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card

Dimensions & Weight

Depth:4.4in
Height:2.6in
Weight:9.1oz
Width:2in

Display (Projector)

Diagonal Size:2.7in
Diagonal Size (metric):6.9cm
Display Form Factor:Rotating
Technology:TFT active matrix
Type:LCD display

Exposure Parameters

Shooting Programs:Spotlight / Portrait mode / Scenery / Fireworks / Low light / Night scene / Sunset / Beach / Snow

Flash Memory

Form Factor:Integrated
Storage Capacity:8GB

Header

Manufacturer:Panasonic
Model:HDC-TM55
Packaged Quantity:1
Product Line:Panasonic

Lens System

Lens Aperture:F/1.8-3.3
Max Focal Length:75.5mm
Min Focal Length:3.02mm
Optical Zoom:25
Type:Zoom lens

Optical Sensor

Camcorder Effective Still Resolution:2.32Megapixel
Camcorder Effective Video Resolution:2.11Mpix
Camcorder Sensor Resolution:3.32Mpix
Optical Sensor Size:1/4 / 1/4"
Optical Sensor Size (metric):6.4 mm ( 1/4 ) / 6.4 mm ( 1/4" )
Optical Sensor Type:CMOS
Sensor Qty:1CMOS

Optical System

Built-in Optical Image Stabilizer: Yes
Image Stabilizer:Optical (POWER O.I.S.)

Service & Support

Type:1 year warranty

Storage Floppy Drive

Type: None

Video Input

Digital Video Format:AVCHD / H.264
Digital Zoom:1500
Face Detection: Yes
Media Type:Flash card
Shooting Modes:Digital photo mode
Still Image Format:JPEG
Type:Camcorder
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