I am a photographer and videographer with a lot of cameras in my collection. I have a Panasonic G7 (larger sensor, 4K capable, but not a camcorder) which I can directly compare this to. Despite the video produced by the G7 being objectively better, this camcorder has become my go-to video device for some purposes. A video-capable DSLR is generally better in a controlled environment because it has a bigger sensor and a higher video bitrate, but a DSLR will never be a camcorder. When you walk out your front door and want to record something spontaneously, your DSLR's automatic performance will be worse and the way you hold it for video and use the zoom capability will be quite uncomfortable. If you're choosing between a 4K DSLR and this camcorder for video production, you can't go wrong with this camcorder. There are benefits to a smaller sensor and this capitalizes on those, particularly the longer zoom ranges. I have shot "close" videos of helicopters flying over me that I could never do with the best DSLR and telephoto lens (480mm @ 35mm equivalent) I own. Auto-focus is very fast. There is no visible purple fringing even at maximum zoom. The manual mode requires that you choose shutter speed before you choose iris and gain, however this is in stark contrast to even the double-price Sony FDR-AX100 I was desperate to buy a few months ago, a camcorder which has a bigger sensor yet only allows ONE THING to be manual at a time; if you set Sony 4K camcorders to manual shutter and then set a manual ANYTHING ELSE, they'll kick the iris back to automatic! Contrast this to the Panasonic which allows full manual settings and the Sony camcorders look crippled by comparison. Image quality in daylight is equal to my G7; in darker settings the limitations of a 1/2.3" BSI sensor become apparent and noise reduction smoothing kicks in hard, but it is still reasonable. With adequate lighting most of the NR smoothing goes away and the image looks great. Highlight roll-off is superior to Sony camcorders which have banding problems. 120fps slow-motion support is GREAT to have around. Overall, this camcorder is a great purchase. Despite having Canon and Panasonic DSLRs with nice lenses that cost a lot more, this camcorder is competitive with them and sometimes makes me wonder why I blew all that money on the other systems. I know that my other cameras have better low-light performance due to larger sensors and huge-aperture prime lenses, but when you need any sort of image automation they start to look sub-par in comparison to any camcorder...especially this one. If you are going to do a lot of video with automatic settings (not in a fully controlled environment) and you have little interest in still photography, I'd recommend this over the G7 w/14-42mm kit lens. If you're looking for maximum image quality and good low-light performance and vastly superior fully manual controls, the G7 is a clear winner. Each has its purpose and this fills its purpose well. The only con I can think of is that the "photo" button is poorly located and when I go for the zoom control I sometimes hit the photo button. One final note: the photos attached are still frames from 4K videos taken with this camera. The "photo" mode is pretty terrible though; don't expect that the photo button will produce anything good at all. This is not a photo camera.

I hadn't used a camcorder for several years as I've been using my iPhone. However, I missed having a decent zoom lens and wanted better quality to capture vacations and family events. I recently bought a 4K TV and decided it was time to buy a suitable camcorder. I looked online for awhile at different makes but kept coming back to this model from Panasonic. I bought it and have been using it for about two weeks and so far I really like it. The playback on the 4K TV looks awesome! Super sharp and great colors. There are lots of features with the unit for 1080 video but many of these are not available when 4K recoding is selected. This doesn't bother me as I really wanted a simple camcorder that my wife could use too. Keeping the unit in standby is great since as soon as you open the viewing screen the camera is ready to use. The zoom lens is very good and with the automatic stability feature you don't get a shaky image when at 25x optical magnification. I also like that playback is organized by the scene so you can quickly review what you just taped or completely delete a scene later (something you couldn't do with older tape units). It is also convenient that my TV's remote control will operate the camera in playback since a separate remote is not included. It has the ability to use your cellphone as a secondary camera and superimpose that video in the corner of the main video image (i.e., focus on someone's facial expressions while capturing the event they are watching). A shoulder strap is not included so I plan on getting one as I don't want to lug around a big camera bag or hold the unit in my hand all the time. The unit is very light, so I could carry it, and it fits well in my hand but again I'll buy a simple strap. I have a 64 GB card in it now and will eventually transfer the video to my external hard drive but haven't tried that yet. One minor item to note is the paper manual it comes with is truncated and only gives the basic information so you have to go online to get the full manual. Again, not a big issue for me as I downloaded it to my cellphone and can now refer to it anytime. So far the battery life is good (90 min on 4K) even when using the zoom lens. The camera does take still pictures at different resolutions with one at over 25 MB per image but I haven't done much with that yet. To date, I am very satisfied with the unit and look forward to exploring and using some of the other features it offers.

I checked out a couple entry level camcorders before purchasing the Panasonic HC-VX870K and was not impressed. I was using a borrowed Panasonic HDC-TM90 that I was somewhat satisfied with and then initially bought the Panasonic HC-V270. Everything about the HC-V270 sucked. It was too small for my hand, had a manual lens cover, and video quality was terrible. The entry level camcorders on the market today are just plain cheap and stripped of most features, making a cell phone a better choice. I still wanted a traditional camcorder to capture some family videos and am very happy with the features of the HC-VX870K. I especially like the fact that the colors are much more vibrant than other camcorders I tested and there is a light that automatically comes on in low light conditions. I wish I did not have to spend so much money to get a decent camcorder, but the quality is worth the extra money to get better video than the $199 camcorders. I just hope I get enough use out of it in the next 5 years to justify the purchase. If you buy this camcorder, just be aware that the video sizes are very large when you shoot in higher quality. Even if you use a lower quality setting, the video is still better than the cheaper camcorders.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS CAMERA, I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT I BOUGHT THIS PRODUCT. I AM A YOUTUBE TECH REVIEWER, SO I DO TECH REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS LIKE THIS QUITE FREQUENTLY. THE ONLY THING THAT I AM NOT 100% SOLD ON WITH THIS CAMCORDER IS THE REMOVABLE HOT SHOE MOUNT OR COLD SHOE MOUNT DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO. IT'S A NICE FEATURE BUT I AM JUST NOT SOLD ON IT. THE TOUCH SCREEN CAN BE A LITTLE TRICKY TOO, YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT A NICE FIRM TOUCH MOST TIMES IN ORDER FOR IT TO REGISTER YOUR TOUCH. THE BUILD QUALITY IS GREAT, THE SOUND QUALITY IS EXCELLENT ALSO. THE VIDEO QUALITY IS RIDICULOUS, 4K LOOKS LIKE MOVIE THEATRE QUALITY. I USE THIS CAMCORDER TO RECORD ALL OF MY YOUTUBE REVIEWS AND IT JUST DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. NIGHT VISION MODE IS AWESOME AS WELL, I DON'T USE THAT MODE TO OFTEN BUT I DID TRY IT OUT AND IT LOOKS STUNNING. MANY RECORDING OPTIONS & LITTLE FEATURES IN THIS CAMCORDER JUST MAKE THIS CAM STICK OUT. THE LIGHT THAT YOU CAN USE DURING RECORDING ISN'T THAT GREAT, IT'S NOT GONNA BRIGHTEN UP ACROSS THE ROOM BUT YOU COULD GET 2 TO 3 FT. IN FRONT OF YOU. THE MENU IS EASY TO NAVIGATE THROUGH MINUS THE TOUCH SCREEN NOT BEING SENSITIVE ENOUGH. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO HAVE AN OPTION TO INCREASE & DECREASE THE SCREEN SENSITIVITY.

I bought this camcorder especially for my Granddaughter's wedding, and it performed well. I am also a real estate agent, and this will be a good addition to my work cameras, as it takes very good still pictures as well as video. It is light weight and easy to hold. Unlike my other cameras and note 4 phone, I have no problem seeing the screen in daylight. This was a big issue with me when taking outdoor pictures of homes with my other devices, because I could not see the screen and had to guess. I first thought the speaker didn't work well, but when I connected to computer and tv, the sound was fine. Nice additions would be a view finder and louder on board speaker. But these would cost more, and I got a very good deal ordering open box on Best Buy. Shipment was fast, and I received lower price match when they lowered the open box price. 12 months interest free. Thank you Best Buy.

I bought this camera to do field interviews and like the size and weight quite a bit. The video quality (4k or standard HD) is superb, but not good enough for my purposes. The image is very grainy once you boost the gain beyond 9ev and the dynamic range is fairly low in high constrast situations. I wanted to love and keep this camera - it has an amazing "all auto" mode, easy-to-access manual controls, a high data rate, and images look nice with good light - but the limitations forced me to use my DSLR to shoot any indoor or mixed lighting interviews. In the end, I returned this camera. For the right person in good light it is a stellar and compact performer.

I wanted to use a camcorder with remote control app so that I can control the exposure and the Panasonic HC-VX870 does the job. I previously tried the Sony AX53 and it defaults to full auto while in remote mode and messes up the video including the white balance switching to auto. The VX870 retains all my settings. Very useful. I had ignored Panasonic since a few bad experiences decades ago and has been a Sony user ever since. Now I am discovering Panny again :)

This camera does everything well. Movies and stills both produce very good pictures. The camera also lets you take still pics while recording video. Its size makes it convenient to use but battery life is average. A second battery is highly recommended. A separate battery charger is not part of the package. The camera doubles as the charger when not in use. This might become inconvenient. For the price point, this is a very satisfying unit. The software and apps that support it are downloaded from the Internet, and perform as advertised.