Ring around the lens
The lens ring serves a variety of purposes, including manual focus and zoom, and adjusting shutter speed and iris. It has a pretty nice feel for a servoelectronic mechanism.
Manual controls
You use the zoom ring in conjunction with the buttons and switches to control most of the manual features. The Cam Func button is quite small and difficult to manipulate without looking, unfortunately.
Electronic viewfinder
Unlike many midrange and prosumer camcorders, Panasonic retains an EVF on the HS100.
Switches
The HS100 has a traditional zoom switch with a very nice, responsive feel that makes it easy to get a controlled zoom. The camcorder also has a switch to toggle between the EVF and LCD, which is odd but nice; usually the camcorder automatically switches when you open the LCD.
No joy on the joystick
The joystick's location makes it disorienting to use, and it's a bit too recessed, which makes it difficult to manipulate. Thankfully, you don't need to use it too much--unless you use face detection, night mode, telemacro, or other marginal shooting features.
Under covers
The component output, headphone jack, and SD card slot are located within the LCD recess.
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