Today we’ve got an interesting item from Panasonic, the HDC-TM10K, that’s going clearly for the bargain-priced market.  While I’m never averse to saving a buck or two, will this one manage to bring the kind of value we all want in a camcorder?  Or will it be a waste of just a little money?

The Panasonic HDC-TM10K offers up a 16x optical zoom and accompanying 1000x digital zoom, a 2.7 inch color touchscreen LCD display, both automatic and manual focus, advanced optical image stabilization systems, a digital still photo mode that shoots at 1920 x 1080, two channel Dolby Digital audio, an onboard eight gigs of memory with support for Secure Digital memory cards, USB port, HDMI port, and included editing software.

You can see right off that there’s not a whole lot on the spec sheet, but what is here certainly isn’t terrible.  And the package in which this lot is combined is pretty simple to understand and easy to work with–the zoom will get within striking distance of a hundred feet by my own admittedly poor estimation, and all the controls have a nice layout to them with nothing sticking out as unnecessarily awkward.

Best Buy wants just two hundred and thirty dollars for this one, which explains what I meant earlier by “bargain market”, but thankfully, the bargain package isn’t just a waste of a little money, it’s simply a decent if unimpressive package.

The Panasonic HDC-TM10K may not win any awards, but if you want simple shooting on a budget, then definitely spare this one a thought.

Related posts:

1. Panasonic HDC-SD3 Camcorder
2. Panasonic Launched HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 Camcorders
3. Panasonic HDC-TM60K Camcorder Review–Pricey But Potent
4. Panasonic HDC-HS700K Camcorder Review–Huge Price With Loads of Options
5. Panasonic HDC-TM35 is world’s lightest camcorder