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.

This camcorder has been a fantastic purchase for me. I do professional video and I sometimes use this camcorder on pro shoots. Its smaller sensor relative to stills-style cameras does result in worse low-light performance, but that’s about the only complaint I have. When I need a long zoom or a relatively wide shot, it handles both nicely, and getting an extra angle has saved several of my paid shoots from unpredictable errors like the performers on stage moving out of view of the wide A-camera. It has been invaluable for live streaming where I couldn’t get close to the subject(s) and I needed a long zoom but would never be able to afford the crazy cannon-sized lenses needed for larger cameras to reach long distances. This camcorder is worth every cent. Warning: it doesn’t shoot at 24 fps, so die-hard filmmakers that can’t accept shooting in 30/60 fps and decimating to 24 fps in post will not be happy. I’ll gladly take more frames per second any day, so this camcorder is a great fit for me.

This camcorder is easy to use. It has sharp crisp colors, with some unique features that stands out. Like NFC for easy phone connections, Wi-Fi screen in screen and more. Absolutely love it and recommend it.

I love this camera, it’s very simple to operate and records fantastic 4K footage….the zoom is absolutely amazing on it. It has a WiFi flip screen option , I highly suggest purchasing this camera . Worth every penny. I added a microphone & tripod for my hunting excursions!