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!

Camera works great, had a bit of a postal problem but seller quickly fix problem and had my camera to me. Quick to respond to me and fix the problem. Will buy again from this seller.

This is 1 of the better entry level camcorders that I have tried and I tried a couple different brands before this 1. Most of the other brands have some manual settings but not too many so you kind of have to live with the auto and preset settings or limited manual settings, I needed a lower priced camcorder with a few more options for manual settings and the panasonic v180 fits the bill, as well as manual focus, you can set white balance, shutter speed and iris as well as mic audio level and i am happy with the picture quality. so I am sure a more expensive camera might do it better and have even more options and better quality video for a entry level camcorder It is pretty good, If i have a knock on it, the sound for me is not the best, I have had a little trouble setting the mic levels so it can still be heard well and not distort but maybe this is just me. So now I just hope the longevity of the unit holds up but time will tell. So if you need a nice entry level camcorder with quite a few features this 1 might fit the bill.

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

This is the second one purchased for my son. The first one purchased is mine. As a Gen Xer, this works perfect for home use. You can select file format and one is MP4. The quality outside is great and indoors is ok but light dependent. Easy hook up to computer. The days of old VHS are gone but I found this to be an easy replacement. Debated a camera for years because the formats, and other tech issues. This camera is user friendly and should work to relive those easy days of camcorder recording.

I've used this camera all over the world...literally. It has passed the test of recording moving and still images well enough to keep them as memories, but not anywhere near enough to write a good review about. I have used it as both a video cam and a still camera, and found it to have only moderate image quality in either mode. This system seems to use some kind of dithering in image recording, because the "HD" images do not seem that way at all. The zoom is good up to a point, but with this big zoom and small lens, (and small image sensor), loses quality quickly as you zoom. At higher zoom settings it's extremely difficult to follow a moving subject, and the stabilization is pretty much useless. But for ordinary day to day use: recording my wife's speaking engagements, making videos of golf swings, etc. it is just adequate. Do not confuse this camera with anything used by professionals...not even remotely close.

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!.