Panasonic HC-VX1 Review

The Panasonic HC-VX1 4K Camcorder features a back-illuminated 1/2.5-inch sensor with an f/1.8 to f/4 Leica Dicomar zoom “MOS sensor to provide the best imaging even in low light. The HC-VX1 can record 4K video at up to 30 frames per second, Full HD video at up to 1080p60, and still images at up to 26MP.

With the help of one or two smartphones acting as your additional cameras, a wireless multicamera capability allows you to record up to three camera perspectives simultaneously. The 24x optical zoom lens on the HC-VX1 has an expanded 32x Intelligent Zoom in 4K and a 25 to 600mm focal length in HD.

Panasonic’s Hybrid OIS+, Ball OIS, and Adaptive OIS are three optical stabilizer technologies in the HC-VX1 for steadier handheld photography. High-contrast images benefit from the Active Contrast feature’s smoothing of gradients, while HDR Movie mode offers a broader dynamic range for more accurate representations.

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Wi-Fi is built into the HC-VX1, a 3 “touchscreen LCD, recording on SD/SDHC/SDXC cards, and several creative effect settings. The Panasonic HC-VX1 includes a 3.5mm mic/line input and an inbuilt 5.1-channel, wind-shielded zooming microphone for the best audio capture.

Image Quality

If you want to capture images with a shallow depth of focus, this camera’s optical zoom will be your friend (DOF). However, the video zoomed in will have a more obvious background blur because telephoto lenses compress space. Wide-angle shots of the picture are excellent, but like other small-sensor cameras, a shallow depth of focus is not possible.

A practical use for this camera would be for someone who doesn’t require shallow DOF but wants a clean, clear image with decent color because it looks lovely. Also, shooting sports would be a good fit due to the long zoom and broad DOF.

HC-VX1 evaluation

We took pictures at each gain setting to check when the noise started to appear to assess the camera’s low-light capability. The presence of noise is present in all gain settings. In the picture’s dark or black sections, it may be seen dancing. That is reasonable, given the size of the sensor. But with the back-illuminated sensor, the image still appeared acceptable even at the maximum dB of gain. Was there any noise? Yes, but other than that, there wasn’t much picture degradation.

The rolling shutter on this camera is accurate, but it’s not too awful. Vertical lines will bend if you pan too rapidly, but the look is still quite acceptable. Even better, it features a function that alerts you if you pan too rapidly.

Conversely, the moiré is particularly evident when panning or tilting; tiny lines dance in it. Avoid taking pictures of anything with small bars, like clothes. Nothing is worse than capturing a stunning image only to have the viewer’s attention diverted by the stripes on a shirt.

This camera cannot be manually focused. The sole method for bringing a subject into focus is autofocus. We did discover that it struggled to locate what we needed in the direction in several challenging shooting settings, such as photographing a highly backlit issue. But with some time and refocusing, it found our topic and brought it into sharp focus.

There was a little hunting between two subjects in the same frame but not the same focus plane. However, no hunting from the subject to the backdrop was seen. Hunting like that would be useless.

According to Panasonic, a single charge will give the battery an hour of use. You’ll need to use the camera to charge it if you need more than one battery for your shot. This implies that you will be stuck if you don’t have a spare charged battery. But you can power the camera from a wall socket.

The Various Variations

Two further cameras from Panasonic use the same sensor. The HC-WXF1 costs $1,000, features a dual camera, and comes with an EVF. Unfortunately, the camera is the same else. Although the EVF may be helpful in some shooting scenarios when the display is difficult to view, the dual camera is not worth the price.

On the opposite side of the HC-VX1 is the HC-V800, which costs $600 and can capture video in HD. The only difference is the resolution, so you may save $200 if you don’t require 4K. None of the three cameras have a separate battery charger; instead, a USB cable and the camera are used to recharge the battery.

Using a touchscreen

Additionally suitable for esports or other broadcasting requirements, this camera. It’s an excellent complement to a multicamera session because it’s easy to operate and produces quality images. Because of its slower data rate, you won’t be using your storage disks as rapidly with this 4K camera. All popular editing applications can handle the files with ease as well.

Customer Benefits

This camera is for video producers who might not want to modify their footage after filming it. There are a ton of features on this camera that are designed to appeal to that kind of customer.

Use 4K cropping as an illustration. Because you can edit the photos in the camera and save them in full HD, Panasonic claims that when you shoot in 4K, your subjects will stay focused and not get out of focus. Said this is in-camera cropping. The majority of popular video editors make this simple to achieve. We anticipate that most of our readers will film in 4K and then crop and downsize the material in post-production for an HD output rather than doing it in-camera.

This camera was made with the consumer in mind and is intended for videographers who might not edit their videos after shooting.

The dynamic contrast comes next. According to Panasonic, the gradation is automatically equalized in response to the brightness distribution in the image. There isn’t much difference between the images taken with and without it.

At most, it raises the shadows, but it could do so badly since it’s automated. For example, we discovered that the auto contrast caused the skin tone to be blotchy when filming a video of a person. Another feature that is best left to the editor is this one.

Recording in 4K and Full HD 1080p

records up to 26MP still images, Full HD video at up to 1080p60, and 4K video at up to 30 frames per second. Utilizing a 5.1-channel, wind-shielded zooming microphone, in-camera audio is captured.

Optical Zoom at 24x with 1/2.5 “MOS BSI Sensor

a sizeable 1/2.5-inch sensor, a Leica Dicomar 24x optical zoom lens, and a 25 to 600mm focal length range. “Even in low light, the BSI MOS sensor offers outstanding picture capture. In 4K, Intelligent Zoom has a 32x range, while Full HD provides a 48x range.

OIS Systems with Triple Optical Image Stabilization

The three OIS technologies of 5-Axis Hybrid OIS Plus, Ball OIS, and Adaptive OIS offer excellent steadiness in various shooting circumstances.
Wireless Several cameras captured.

Use one or two cell phones as your supplementary cameras to simultaneously record from up to three perspectives.

HDR and Active Contrast Movie Modes

The Active Contrast function smoothes down high-contrast situations, and the HDR Movie mode offers a broader dynamic range for more realistic images.

Panasonic VX1 Specifications

Camera

Sensor Type1/2.5″-Type MOS Sensor
Sensor ResolutionActual: 8.57 Megapixel
Effective: 8.29 Megapixel

Optics

Focal Length4.12 to 98.9mm
35mm-Equivalent Focal Length25 to 600mm at 16:9 4K/Full HD 24p Video: Level Shot function OFF or Normal
28.9 to 693.7mm at 16:9 Full HD 60p/60i/30p, Video: Level Shot function OFF or Normal
25 to 600mm at 16:9 Photo
30.6 to 734.4mm at 4:3 Photo
Maximum Aperturef/1.8 to 4
Minimum Focus Distance3.9″ / 10.0 cm
Fixed FocusNo
ZoomOptical: 24x
Intelligent: 32x
Intelligent: 48x
Digital: 70x
Digital: 1500x
Filter Size62 mm

Recording

SystemNTSC
Media/Memory Card SlotSingle Slot: SD/SDHC/SDXC
Video Format3840 x 2160p at 30 fps (72 Mb/s MP4)
3840 x 2160 at 24 fps (72 Mb/s MP4)
1920 x 1080p at 60 fps (50, 28 Mb/s MP4)
1920 x 1080p at 24 fps (50 Mb/s MP4)
1280 x 720p at 30 fps (9 Mb/s MP4)
1920 x 1080p at 60 fps (28 Mb/s AVCHD)
1920 x 1080i at 60 fps (24, 17, 13, 5 Mb/s AVCHD)
Still Image SupportJPEG
25.9 MP (6784 x 3816)
JPEG
14 MP (4992 x 2808)
JPEG
2.1 MP (1920 x 1080)
JPEG
20.4 MP (5216 x 3912)
JPEG
10.9 MP (3808 x 2856)
JPEG
.3 MP (640 x 480)
Channels5.1-Channel Stereo
Audio FormatDolby Digital 2ch
Dolby Digital 5.1
LPCM

Display

Display TypeArticulating LCD
Size3.0″
Resolution460,000 Dot

ELF

Size.24″
Resolution1,550,000 Dots

Exposure Control

Shutter Speed1/8000 to 1/60 Second in Video Mode
1/2000 to 1/2 Second in Photo Mode
Exposure ModesModes: Auto
Shooting ModesAuto
Low Light
Miniature Effect
Movie
Night
Time-Lapse Movie

Features

Image StabilizationOptical & Digital
Scene ModesPreset: Yes
White Balance ModesAuto
Cloudy
Indoor 1
Indoor 2
Outdoors
Overcast
Creative EffectsYes
Built-In MicYes
Built-In SpeakerYes
Built-In Light/FlashLight – No
Flash – No
Accessory Shoe1 x Cold
Tripod Mounting Thread1/4″-20 Female

Input/Output Connectors

Video I/O1 x Micro-HDMI Output
Audio I/O1 x 1/8″ / 3.5 mm TRS Stereo Mic/Line Input
Other I/O1 x Micro-USB (USB 2.0) Output
WirelessWi-Fi 4 (802.11n)

General

BatteryRechargeable Battery Pack, 1940 mAh
Max Runtime: 1 Hours per Charge
Charging MethodAC Adapter
Charging Time2.3 Hours
Power Adapter110 – 240 VAC, 50 / 60Hz
Operating Temperature32 to 104°F / 0 to 40°C
Humidity: 10 to 80%
Dimensions (W x H x D)5.6 x 3 x 2.7″ / 142 x 77 x 68 mm
Weight15.9 oz / 450 g (Body Only)

Packaging Info

Package Weight1.905 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)8.25 x 5.8 x 4.05″

Panasonic VX1 Price

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Panasonic PANASONIC HC-VX1 4K Camcorder, 24X LEICA DICOMAR Lens, 1/2.5" BSI Sensor,...

& Free shipping
Last update was on: March 28, 2024 7:57 am
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