As with other HD camcorders in Panasonic’s consumer range, the HDC-HS9 has a respectable stable of features. It records video at Full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution, uses a 3CCD system for processing reds, greens and blues separately (the same system used in professional-grade video cameras), has a Leica Dicomar 10x optical zoom lens, and employs a highly-effective advanced optical image stabiliser for minimising hand shake and blur while you’re recording.

Audio is also well looked after, with 5.1-channel surround sound courtesy of the five built-in microphones, in addition to a nifty function that links the camcorder’s microphone to the zoom, which filters out ambient noise in your immediate surroundings in favour of subjects that you’ve zoomed in on.

Camcorders with hard drives are usually quite chunky, but Panasonic have managed to squeeze everything into the size of a tape-based camcorder. It’s not as slim as the company’s SD-only camcorders, but at 390 grams and measuring 75 x 74 x 126mm, it’s certainly compact enough for travellers. The 60GB hard drive can fit up to 23 hours of footage, although you’ll have to recharge the battery after less than two hours of recording.

Still, Panasonic have left some features out to get the HDC-HS9 to its size. It doesn’t have an electronic viewfinder, for starters, leaving you reliant on the 2.7-inch flip-out LCD screen for recording and playing back video. It’s also missing a hot shoe, which limits the ability to add external flashes and boom mics. And, to add insult to injury, it’s missing both headphone and external microphone jacks.