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Panasonic 4K Ultra HD Video Camera Camcorder HC-VX981K, 20X Optical Zoom, 1/2.3-Inch BSI Sensor, HDR Capture, Wi-Fi Smartphone Multi Scene Video Capture (Black)

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727 ratings

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Style: 4K

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Brand	Panasonic
Model Name	HC-VX981K
Special Feature	Night Vision, Anti-Shake, Time Lapse, Low Light
Video Capture Resolution	4K
Connectivity Technology	Wi-Fi
Has Image Stabilization	Yes
Image Capture Speed	60 fps
Image Stabilization	Optical
Optical Zoom	20 x
Maximum Focal Length	81.6 Millimeters

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Get in Close and Detail: 18.91 Megapixel MOS sensor plus 20x Zoom LEICA Decomar Lens (4.08-81.6 millimeter), plus 5-axis Hybrid O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)
1/2.3-Inch BSI Sensor: The Back Side Illumination Sensor has a large effective area with 8.29M effective pixels, suppressing noise even when shooting in dimly lit conditions
4K Recording and In-Camera Editing: Ultra-sharp 4K Ultra HD recording, plus in-camera editing for 1080p displays; Total Pixels 18.91 megapixels, still image 7.00 megapixels [3:2], 8.29 megapixels [16:9], 6.22 megapixels [4:3]
HDR Movie Feature: Exclusive high-dynamic range feature suppresses blown highlights and blocked shadows for crisper and clearer videos
Wireless Twin Camera: Wirelessly connect your smartphone's video camera as a sub-camera for a picture-in-picture video effect.Recording Format:JPEG (DCF/Exif2.2)

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From the manufacturer

Panasonic 4K HD Camcorder

With 20X LEICA DICOMAR Stabilized Lens and Wi-Fi Twin Video Camera - HC-VX981K

4K Ultra HD recording, plus in-camera editing for 1080p displays.
LEICA Dicomar Lens optical 20x zoom, 5-axis Hybrid Optical Image Stabilization.
4K in-camera post cropping, panning, zooming and subject tracking stabilization features.
Wi-Fi connected mobile device 'Twin Camera' adds multi-camera scene picture in recording.
4K Photo captures high-quality photos from 4K video frames.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode reduces high-contrast look created by overexposed and underexposed shooting conditions.

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Customer Rating	(727)	(113)	(416)	(3014)	(285)	(43)
Price	From $999.99	$948.00	$1,098.00	$63.99	$1,099.00	$259.99
Shipping	—	FREE Shipping. Details	FREE Shipping. Details	FREE Shipping. Details	FREE Shipping. Details	FREE Shipping. Details
Sold By	Available from these sellers	Amazon.com	Amazon.com	Woerni	Amazon.com	funshion trade
Color	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black	black
Screen Size	3 inches	3 inches	3 inches	3.0 inches	3 inches	3.0 inches
Optical Sensor Technology	CMOS	CMOS	CMOS	CMOS	CMOS	CMOS
Optical Zoom	20.0x	20	20x	0.01x	20x	—
Video Capture Resolution	other	1080p, 720p	4K	1080p; FHD 1920x1080(15fps), HD 1280x720(30fps),640x480(30fps)	4K, 1080p	4K

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Product description

Style:4K

Equipped with a 20x Optical Zoom LEICA Dicomar lens and 5-axis Hybrid Optical Image Stabilization function, the Panasonic 4K Ultra HD Camcorder HC-VX981K brings simplicity to the 4K recording experience. It adds in-camera editing solutions such as cropping, panning, zooming and subject tracking stabilization that can enable anyone to capture and produce content without the need for complex software. An innovative HDR mode captures clear shots with excellent detail in both bright and dark areas. The Wi-Fi functions make the camcorder competent in a variety of tasks: remote shooting and view via the Panasonic smartphone app, picture-in-picture style video recording with your smartphone as a sub camera. For those without a 4K display option, the HC-VX981K offers in-camera down sampling to 1080p displays for convenient playback. Connectivity technology: USB: 2.0 Hi-Speed, HDMI: Micro, Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n. Motion Image 4K: 8.29 megapixels [16:9], Full-HD: 6.10 megapixels [16:9] (Level Shot Function OFF or Normal).

Product information

Style:4K

Product Dimensions

5.5 x 2.6 x 2.9 inches

Item Weight

12.3 ounces

ASIN

B01A60SYRE

Item model number

HC-VX981K

Batteries

1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)

Customer Reviews

727 ratings

4.4 out of 5 stars

Best Sellers Rank

#39,762 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
#243 in Camcorders

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer

Date First Available

January 5, 2016

Manufacturer

Panasonic

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Product Documentation (PDF)

User Manual (PDF)

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Customer reviews

5 star		71%
4 star		14%
3 star		8%
2 star		1%
1 star		6%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

I've researched it.. just buy this one already

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2017

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

I'm not going to lie I probably spent more hours researching for my first family video camera than I'll ever spend shooting movies on this one, but it's exactly what I had hoped for. We first used it for our wedding and reception(low light and loud music) and it blew away my expectations for what a home movie camera could look and sound like. HD quality on this completely surpasses memories I've converted to digital format about 30 S-VHS tapes my parents recorded our home movies (with another 50 to go.) I've spent quite a bit of time converting and compressing raw video-which is why I went with the HD format and not 4K; files are too big and take a lot of power to process. I'm not an expert but I learned a lot from my research. If you want some assurance from someone who has already spent the time to make sure you're getting your money's worth, I recommend you hit buy now and save the time.
Zoom-Good but stabilization and quality is great!
Low Light Scenes- better than you will ever care about as long as you capture the moment and this camera will.
-Microphone is good and can handle a wide range and good at blocking winds.
Con
wish it had a place for a neck strap loop, buts lightweight and fits in your hand well.

268 people found this helpful

Helpful

Andrew D. Esquivel

Shockingly subpar

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2018

Style: 4K + ViewfinderVerified Purchase

The media could not be loaded.

I have attached video footage testing it in various light conditions. There is a proper 4K video of the same footage on YT.

The bitrate is 72Mbps at 4K 30FPS - this is meh compared to its competition.

But WOW the image quality even in studio lighting is sub-par as best.

1) Grainy visual noise - even with proper dual 3500 Lumen defused lights on a backdrop, you STILL get noticeable grainy footage. what would be normal everyday lighting is so bad, that my 2 year old cell phone is comparable!

2) Choppy! even at 30 frames per second, in BROAD DAYLIGHT OUTSIDE, if you pan at normal speed, its choppy!

3) Image stabilization is not nearly as good as it should be.

4) Battery life is less than 1 hour of filming at full charge.

5) Have you seen Panasonic's support website??? its the most Janky thing I've seen in a while.

I was really thinking this would be a major upgrade for me. What a big letdown. For an $800 device dedicated to filming, i would expect better. Much better. I will be returning this and getting something different.

143 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tom McNeil

Very good for recording sports and action. Slow motion is exactly what I wanted.

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2017

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

I purchased this camera specifically to film high school lacrosse games and use the high frame rates for slow mo highlights and game film breakdown. Once I found the full manual online(included is abbreviated) I was able to get consistently great slow motion video.
Several points to make.
#1 The Picture quality is fantastic at 60 FPS and using Adobe Premiere Elements I was able to slow down the 60fps to 12.5% speed and the picture still looks awesome.
#2 When capturing slow mo at 120 fps, what actually happens is the camera creates a file that is twice as long as what you just filmed , shown at 60fps. So the file you download off the card is already playing at half speed. Premiere properties shows 59.95 fps . It is a little confusing, but take a ten second video, then look at what is output, it is 20 seconds long , playing at half speed.
#3 The 120fps video is still at 1080p and looks fantastic. I then can slow it down even more in Premiere (Right Click-Clip-Time Stretch) and the quality is outstanding. Again I got great results stretching the clips out to 8x their original 1/2 speed duration, effectively 480 fps using Adobe Premiere, the 1080p image still looked great.
#4 To get 240 fps, the camera does a post processing operation on the 120fps clip . You do this by going into the Playback Mode, then go into the menu and select the Slw Motion effect and then you are prompted to select the clip on the memory card you wish to post process. It won't let you post process a clip that was not taken in slow mo. You then get a file twice as long as the previous. It does take a reasonable amount of time for the camera to do the post processing.
#5 Slo Mo mode does use memory like crazy, so expect to get a big SD card. Battery capacity(duration) decreases also, so I ordered two additional batteries right away. I can imagine having to swap batteries at half time.
#6 After playing with the 120fps and generated 240fps files, I was so impressed by picture quality of 120fps slowed down using Adobe Premiere that I don't imagine using the 240fps post processing very often. I am sure I will occasionally, but for my needs as a coach, I doubt it will be necessary to get great quality highlight images.
#7 There is a setting in the menu for Recording Setup --Slow Motion Setup. You can choose interval or always. If you use interval, while you are recording the camera will only start recording slow motion when you touch the screen(and keep your finger on the screen) If you use always, then while the camera is recording it will record at 120fps. I switched to always because I kept forgetting to touch the screen.

Very impressed so far and happy with the purchase. It may not allow you to record a water ballon breaking or an arrow slicing through an apple, but it also doesn't cost 10k .

130 people found this helpful

Helpful

Antonio Buehler

All of a sudden it fuzzed out.

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2017

Style: 4K + ViewfinderVerified Purchase

We have bought over a half dozen Panasonic camcorders. I actually LOVED this camcorder minus the screen in screen thing sometimes popping on. I treated it with extreme care since I bought it. But the last time I used it I was filming, and all of a sudden the screen started to fuzz out. At first I thought this was just a problem with the screen, but even the video on the SD card was fuzzed out. I have no idea why it all of a sudden died on me. I had this camcorder for only about a year. We have multiple older model versions such as the HC-V770 and they all still work. Just the newest, most expensive one stopped working ...

UPDATE: Panasonic's customer service SUCKS!!!

You'd think when they were charging you nearly a thousand dollars for a camcorder that has plenty of competition in the space that they might want to help you out with their own product failures.

83 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Lu à Toulouse

Keep searching

Reviewed in Canada on May 30, 2018

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

I bought this to replace a far better video camera that was so good (and about the same price) that the movers decided to keep it.

First, it feels so plastic. So terribly plastic. The camera it replaced felt solid, and I don't just mean weight. It had a solid feel to it in the hands. This one feels like eggshells. If ever I was to, god forbid, drop it, I'm sure it would explode into a thousand pieces.

Second, I tried it out a few times but the first time I used it to make a video I was going to share, I discovered that my phone (Samsung S7) has a far better wide-angle lens than this camera. I was trying to make a video tour of my new apartment and was appalled at how little was actually showing up; it was like looking through a keyhole. I reshot the entire thing with my phone and the quality was far, far better.

This camera is completely inadequate for indoor shots. Use it only outside, for distance shots.

6 people found this helpful

Daniel S. Harmer

Great camera!

Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2016

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

My first impression was the great video this camera produces - it really is excellent. Now, after using it in several different situations, all I can say is, it is amazing! It manages lighting variations really well in automatic mode, e.g. it does a great job managing back lit subjects. It records in a wide range of lighting conditions, from well lit subjects down to almost no light.
The camera does not have a viewfinder, however, the screen is still easily visible when in sunlight. The image stabilisation works really well and hand holding the camera produces perfectly acceptable results, even at high zoom ranges.
This camera does not seem to need any extras, with the possible exception of an external microphone if audio is really critical. It is also noted that the camera will run from the DC input jack, making an external power bank a possibility for extended video productions.
In conclusion, this is an fantastic, well made, camera for the price.

11 people found this helpful

Jason Fournier

A $600 disposable camcorder

Reviewed in Canada on July 22, 2021

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

I bought this camcorder at the beginning of the pandemic for two purposes: 1/ To shoot video for auditions and productions and 2/ For a good quality webcam for Zoom presentations, as it could output HDMI monitoring into an Elgato Cam Link (and webcams were scarce at the beginning). It seemed to do the job quite well on both and I was happy. One day the camera displayed "ERROR OCCURRED. PLEASE TURN UNIT OFF, THEN TURN ON AGAIN." I did that, and it seemed to work, so I did not think much of it. It happened another day a couple of times, then more and more frequently. Now it does it always and is unusable.

I googled to see if I could solve it and discovered two things: 1/ There is no user fix - it must be sent back for repairs and 2/ Loads of Panasonic customers have had this happen.

This occurred barely out of warranty, i.e., just over a year. As you can see from the pictures, it was never abused - only two professional actor adults ever used it.

My 20-year-old Sony DCR PC100 camcorder still works as well as it did on Day 1. It is now my webcam device, connected to 10-year-old firewire technology. My cell phone now has become my camcorder.

Avoid this device - it is simply a very expensive, disposable camera/camcorder.

Doug Bouey

Doesn’t work in the clinches

Reviewed in Canada on October 1, 2018

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

We wanted to use this camera to record interviews. It has an external mic feature which was wanted. But when we went to use it it looked easy but was very difficult. Particularly, if you used the photo function, it started recording and we couldn’t stop it. It ended up recording a bunch of garbage and not recording what we needed. So it was opposite to our needs. And we lost invaluable footage that we will never recapture. After that, and we couldn’t figure out what had happened, we refused to trust the camera. I feel the the default settings do not work for the operator. We were extremely glad we had bought a much cheaper Sony as a backup and it was faultless

One person found this helpful

jljr

Great Camera!!!

Reviewed in Canada on March 27, 2017

Style: Full HDVerified Purchase

Recorded my daughter's cheer leading routine and the pictures are great. Had no problem handling the dynamic lightening and video/audio are crystal clear.

We have used this camera to record many events with no problems at all. The menus are easy to use to setup the camera to your liking.

The zoom is smooth and crisp at all times, unless some other cameras we tried.

The audio recording is once again crisp and clear with no noise from the zoom or anything else being captured.

Would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a HD camera and not wanting/needing to make the leap in the the 4K level.