Panasonic welcomed a new crop of mid-range HD camcorders this year, one of which is the HDC-HS60. The HS60 is a Full HD camcorder that records to a 120GB internal hard drive or to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. The camcorder also has a 25x optical zoom, which is quite a long zoom for an HD camcorder.

While the HDC-HS60 is not a top-of-the-line model, it still has an extensive amount of manual controls and very good video quality to boot. The camcorder is pretty compact, but it's definitely not too small—so it should appeal to people that are used to traditional camcorders. The HS60 has a touchscreen LCD, which Panasonic implemented on its line of HD camcorders last year. The touchscreen is easy to use, but it isn't the best system for adjusting manual controls. We're also disappointed that Panasonic didn't increase the size of the LCD on the HDC-HS60... 2.7 inches is a bit too small for a touch-sensitive interface.

The HDC-HS60's internal hard drive really beefs up its right side, which makes for some uncomfortable handling when you grip the camcorder. This problem, combined with the fact that the HS60 features a pretty flimsy hand strap, makes for a less than ideal handling experience. Other than this downside, though, we like the simplicity of the HS60's design.

In a surprising move, Panasonic got rid of the Digital Cinema 24p recording mode on its new crop of mid-range camcorders this year—the HDC-HS60 included. A lot of consumers might not even notice its absence, but the 24p alternate frame rate was a popular feature for pros and video enthusiasts. Other than the lack of the 24p Digital Cinema mode, the HDC-HS60 has basically the same set of features as last year's HDC-TM10 from Panasonic.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at CamcorderInfo.com)
The HDC-HS60 did very well when we brought it into our testing labs. It was most impressive in low light, but it also did well in our sharpness and motion testing. The only disappointment from a performance standpoint was image stabilization; Panasonic didn't seem to do much to improve this feature on the HS60.

In most of our testing, the HDC-HS60 did nearly as well as the flagship models from Panasonic and other manufacturers. (That's saying a lot, considering those camcorders cost hundreds of dollars more!) The HDC-HS60 was a little behind the top-tier camcorders when it came to sharpness and still image capabilities, but it put up some very impressive numbers nonetheless.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at CamcorderInfo.com)
The main difference between the HDC-HS60 and the flagship camcorders offered by Canon, Sony, JVC, and Panasonic is handling. The HS60 doesn't have a fancy lens ring or control dial, which makes adjusting manual controls a bit of an annoyance (the touchscreen is your only option for adjustment). Yes, a flagship model like the Panasonic HDC-HS300 does offer slightly better performance than the HDC-HS60, but we were consistently impressed by how well the HS60 stood up to the top-notch camcorders we compared it to.

Because of this improved performance, the HDC-HS60 is a far better camcorder than any of Panasonic's mid-range models from last year (like the HDC-TM10 or HDC-HS20). The HDC-HS60's performance reminded us more of the Canon HF20 and JVC GZ-HD300, which were two of the best mid-range models we reviewed last year.

Overall, we feel the HDC-HS60 is one of the best mid-range camcorders we've seen in a while. We still have a number of new mid-range camcorders to tackle in 2010, however, so we can't crown the HS60 champion just yet. What we can say is that the HS60 is a solid performer in both bright and low light, which more than makes up for the camcorder's deficiencies when it comes to handling.