Panasonic HX-WA2 First Impressions Review

Introduction

Lens & Imaging System

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The WA2 will capture light on a 1/2.33-inch MOS sensor, and even though megapixel count will only be 14.4, to the WA20's 16.4, more of those pixels will be used for video and still recording. The WA2 will take advantage of 11.9 effective megapixels in 16:9, and 14.3 in 4:3, while the WA2 will use roughly 8.4 and 9.9 megapixels respectively.

Unlike the Sanyo HD2000, on which this camera is based, the WA2 will only feature 5x optical zoom, with an aperture capable of opening to only f/3.5.

Front

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Right

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Back

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Left

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Top

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Bottom

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Compression

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The WA2 will record using H.264 encoding, with a maximum resolution of 1080/60i, though it's also possible to record in 1080/30p, 720/60p, 720/30p, 480/30p, and iFrame format at 540/30p. Two channel stereo in AAC is the only supported audio recording method.

Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of different compression types.

Media

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Video and still image data may be stored on SD, SDHC, or fast SDXC memory cards. The camcorder will also come with some built-in flash memory, however Panasonic has not yet specified how much internal storage will be available.

Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of different media types.

Auto Mode

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We briefly tested the WA2 using the camcorder's Intelligent Auto mode. Autofocus was highly responsive inside the Panasonic booth, but automatic exposure had a tendency to make drastic adjustments, and resulted in rather amateurish footage. Bright areas were blown out in many cases, however this could've simply been the low quality LCD monitor.

Low Light Modes

The WA2's MOS sensor is capable of producing a decent, usable image from only 9 lux with shutter speed at 1/30th. The dedicated Low Light mode stretches that number even further, down to only 3 lux, however a long 1/15 shutter speed is necessary, and that will result in very choppy footage.

Zoom

Focus

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The WA2 supports both automatic and manual focus modes, but without a physical ring it was difficult to pull focus manually. In automatic however, sharpness was usually achieved quickly and precisely.

Aperture

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While many camcorder lenses have fixed apertures, the WA2's closes ever-so-slightly: from f/3.5 at the widest focal length to f/3.7 at the farthest. No manual aperture control is available, but with such a restricted iris this really wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

Shutter Speed

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Under normal shooting conditions the WA2's shutter speed can range between 1/30th and 1/10000th of a second, though in Low Light Mode an even slower setting, 1/15th, is available. During still image shooting it's possible to perform a 1/2-second exposure, but the shutter will no longer reach speeds quicker than 1/1500th.

White Balance

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The WA2's automatic white balance seemed to function adequately, even in the challenging lighting of the CES show floor. White balance settings, including custom, are buried in the cumbersome menu, so this does make adjustment a little trickier than it should be. Only four presets are available: Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor1, and Indoor2.

Ease of Use

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The WA2's control layout is poorly designed. What should be an elegant button scheme created with this camcorder's unique form factor in mind, is instead a disjointed combination of three button areas that only take minimal advantage of the pistol-grip shape.

On the back of the lens barrel is a small directional joystick used for operating the main menu system. Above that are shooting buttons for still and video modes, along with a criss-crossed zoom rocker between them, in an arrangement that looks very much like a directional pad itself. Pretty redundant in our opinion. The buttons themselves are imprecise, shoddily manufactured, and offer almost no tactile feedback.

Instead of placing the remaining controls on the front of the hand grip (you know, like a pistol), the very important keys for power, menu, playback mode, and iAuto have all been placed underneath the LCD, on the side of the "hilt." This makes two-handed operation necessary all the time.

Handling

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Physically holding the WA2 is, thankfully, much less painful than operating it. The grip is thick enough to hold comfortably, and the camcorder is quite light and painless to support even for long periods of time.

Even though their layout didn't impress us too much, most buttons are at least within reach. An exception to this is the joystick, which is way too low and requires resetting one's grip often.

Stabilization

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The WA2 uses Panasonic's Active Electronic Image Stabilizer. This model is a 4-axis correction device and may be used with any shooting mode.

LCD & Viewfinder

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This camcorder's LCD monitor is small and low resolution: only 2.6 inches and only 230,000 dots. It was difficult to get a sense of performance on the aggressively-lit show floor, but dynamic range seems to be a problem for this LCD. Blacks were decent but bright areas seemed to blow out early. We'll need more time with this model to be sure though.

Menus

Audio Features

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The WA2 supports only 2 channels of AAC stereo sound. The microphone is located on the back of the LCD panel, a far from ideal place for it, since angling the screen up while shooting from the hip will point the microphone directly downward and away from your subject. This concludes the WA2's impressive audio suite.

Connectivity

Still Features

Other Features

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Durability

The WA2 is waterproof to a depth of 10 feet. That's not the best we've seen, but it'll be sufficient for most backyard pools. Strangely Panasonic has not classified this model dustproof, shockproof, or freezeproof. So the WA2 isn't truly a "tough" camcorder, just a waterproof one.

Conclusion

At first blush, it doesn't seem like the Panasonic HX-WA2 will be a top camcorder. Construction is shoddy, design is boneheaded, and if either of these are an indicator of image quality, then we're not expecting much.

Of course we've been fooled before. And not by just any camcorder, but by this model's direct ancestors: the Sanyo Xacti models like the VPC-HD2000 and VPC-CG10, which, thanks to Panasonic's acquisition of Sanyo, featured very similar designs as the WA2. The Sanyo Xacti models suffered the same problems with construction and control, and became known for odd quirks like buzzing and even D.O.A. units, yet that camcorder absolutely aced our lab tests and even remained at the top of our charts for a couple months.

Do we expect a repeat performance? Not really. The WA2 uses an entirely different sensor and lens, so even though the chassis is the same, this is hardly an "apples to apples" comparison. In fact all we really know for sure is that the WA2 has retained the undesirable qualities of the old Sanyo. Not exactly a selling point. Still, we'll cross our fingers and hold back judgement until the full review later this year.

Photo Gallery

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Specs

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