Panasonic Full HD Video Camera Camcorder HC-V180K, 50X Optical Zoom, 1/5.8-Inch BSI Sensor, Touch Enabled 2.7-Inch LCD Display (Black)

This is a great product for what it is designed to do and it seems that many of the negative reviews are by people that didn’t research their purchase properly. I understand that frustration, but if you know what it can and can’t do before purchasing then you will not be disappointed! Let me give some of the pros and cons to explain what I mean. At the end I have a small explanation of what you can expect for picture quality.Pros- Zoom: The zoom is amazing! I shoot most of my videos on a 1.6x crop frame Canon DSLR and there is no lens in the world that will get you 59x optical zoom. That is something like 1650mm equivalent which gives you a tight headshot at 200ft. There are several “Intelligent” or digital zoom options, just disable that from the first day and forget about it.- Battery/Charging: The battery lasts forever. I’ve done long recordings and I really haven’t hit 50% battery. It is also easy to power off USB (in two different ways: the included barrel plug or micro USB) which means that a cheap battery bank will keep it at 100% power for days.- Price: At just under $200 this is $50 cheaper that most of the competition (for example the Vixia HF R800). Even for the same price I prefer the Panasonic to the Canon, and I’m an avid Canon DSLR fan!- Microphone: No, this doesn’t have a broadcast quality microphone. However, it is noticeably better than the mic on my Canon DSLR, especially in the wind. I do wish that it accepted an external mic input, and I’ve listed that as a con. So the quality isn’t great, but since it’s better than a DSLR I have to put it as a pro.Cons- Microphone Input: I really wish this accepted an external mic input as most of it’s competitors do. I get that most people buying a cheap camcorder aren’t going to use an external mic, but I would!- No Carrying Case: Even a simple cloth bag would have been better than nothing, I bought a $10 case that’s a bit too big for it. I wish I had something better.- Menu Interface: This isn’t a strong point for most camcorders, but this one is particularly finicky with the menus. The low quality touch screen and small icons mean it often takes two tries to hit the right button and the menus are designed someone who has never actually used a camera.- Live-Video Output: I haven’t even tried this, it uses a mini-HDMI, which is a stupid standard, but at least they include a mini-HDMI to HDMI cord with the camera. There are a lot of other reviews that talk about this… I haven’t tried and I don’t care, but others have issues, so consider that if you care.A note about video quality:I’ll start by saying that this is about on par with a good smartphone for video quality and maybe underperforms a flagship phone in low light. In a daylight scene it can be hard to tell the difference between this camcorder footage and a $1,000 DSLR with a good lens! However, as soon as you go indoors the quality of the camcorder footage deteriorates to a barely usable level. It says it is F2.08 @ 108mm and while I don’t think they are lying, the quality of the footage would not lead a person to believe that number…So why would you buy this!? Why have I given it 5 stars!?Because a good new DSLR+lens cost 3 or 5 times as much, and this camcorder keeps pace with good lighting conditions.Because a smartphone is lucky if it can get to 2x zoom without the quality collapsing and this camcorder does 59x and looks great.Because it is $200 and can get great footage that would be hard to get other ways!If you want to record indoors/low-light, or need the absolute best in video quality then spend the extra money to get something with a much larger sensor (not really available on any "camcorder"). Otherwise, you’ll love this!

I purchased two of these to use a live camera sources for a Blackmagic ATEM Mini switcher. Provided a clean HDMI signal (no on screen readouts) and when hooked to the supplied power adapter, worked reliably as a video source during an all-day meeting we were streaming live. For the affordable price they are excellent 1920x1080 camera sources backed by a global camera manufacturer. Small, compact, lightweight, these are a cheap way to get a quality multi-camera setup going.

I use this camera to record two to three high school football games a week and do highlights for the team. I love the zoom and the picture quality is fantastic (day or night). The still photos are great when you are in photo mode, but I was disappointed nothing or low quality, small size, out of focus and fuzzy if you take any photos on video mode. I was hoping to be able to get action shots while filming. But I think the photos will be great when I zoom in on far off mountains etc when I get back up to the hills.I love the fact that you can film in 1080p 60fps MP4 format. This way I don't have to convert MTS files before posting online. But these files are 28Mbps, so they are rather large compared to my old camera. You can record in 720p or 360p I prefer better quality. You can also record in near 4K with MTS files.10 or 15 years ago you could get a camcorder with a viewfinder and maybe a my hookup and flash in this price range. But not anymore.

Lost a similar one in a rive when the canoe overturned. This is the replacement.The software for this works on Win11. It is more basic than some of the advanced movie maker software, but I only need simple stuff.The image does shake a bit when hand heldThe zoom is excellent, need a tripod for sure at max zoom

For about 2 years I have been looking for a camera like this. One that will 1) Provide a video to a monitor without having to be in record mode, 2) had an HDMI output, 3) has an AC connector on it and so it is not dependent on batteries , 4) is small / compact, 5) has excellent optical zoom and video capability. I was especially surprised (and suspicious by then low price of the camera, but I trusted the Panasonic name and put it to the test at a 3 day live concert using 2 of these cameras to view video from 2 stages on my hotel room balcony that was easily 300 feet way. These cameras ran for 10 hours straight each of the 3 days non stop, had great pictures, and more than enough zoom power to bring the performance up close. .. all without using a SIM card or recording the performance in any way. The previous year I used telephoto lenses on 2 iPhones to perform this same feat last year. GREAT CAMERAS!.

I don’t recommend this camera. Yes, the quality of video and zoom feature is stellar, however, I often have to press the record button two and sometimes three times to start recording. It is also rather slow on start up when the camera is turned on. I rely on the video camera for instant video recording and when it is slow to start up and the record button isn’t always working, it’s a good reason not to buy this camera. I wish I had returned it but I missed the return window. Expensive regret

This thing lived up to all of my expectations, and exceeded them in some areas. The zoom is very clear, and I use it a lot more than I would have guessed. It is a perfect tool for vlogs because of the decent quality microphone, auto-focus and rotating screen. I also use it quite a bit to document interesting events and places, and can go from "off" (I stow it in a sleep mode instead of being truly off; it lasts for weeks without going dead) to recording in seconds. I think as far as cost to quality goes, this camcorder must be one of the best deals available at the moment. I imagine I am going to use it for a long time.

I use this camera for surveillance. Small, easy, good quality video, amazing zoom.