Some samples from the Panasonic HC-vx870 and hc wx970 which are identical hardware sans the extra selfie camera on the pull out rotating screen have surfaced.
As expected the cameras perform fantastically well and are at this time still the best camcorder value for regular and slow motion video for your money. Either for slow motion or 4k, the value is hard to beat. We have selected a few samples from the net so you can check out and judge the quality for yourself:
Last year’s CES star camcorder marvels were the W850 and the V750 from Panasonic. Both cameras were capable of 1080p at 120fps progressive with a 240p interpolation mode that looked pretty good with low motion and high shutter speed.
This year we get the replacements in the line the HC-VX870 retails for $899US and the HC-VX970 will be $999US. Both shoot 4k video yes… let me say that again… both shoot 4k! They are carbon copies of themselves with one differentiating feature. The VX970 has an integrated selfie picture in picture camera attached to the flip screen. This is the same feature the W850 introduced last year. The VX870 has no selfie camera but allows a phone to connect and feed the secondary image to record in tandem. It is kind of gimmicky but for filming parents wanting to film their reaction when their toddlers take their first steps it can be a pretty priceless feature.
Next week January 6-9, in Las Vegas Nevada the 2015 CES show will take place. Usually the show doesn’t show much in the way of hi speed but a few gems have come out of the show in the past like the Panasonic W850 & V750 which a year later still hold their own as the best slow motion general purpose camcorders in quality with the 9th and 10th place in our slow-mo camera guide. These have recently come down in price considerably!
Back in 2012 it seemed that with the advent of the Lumix LX7 with its 720p 120fps video mode it was only a matter of time for even stronger high resolutions in semi professional compact cameras. For some reason or another the LX8 has not come out to replace the LX7 and it is probably still the best 720p 120fps camera for the price available. It is very high quality for a compact camera image with a 1/1.7″ sensor; even with mild aliasing it is still one of the more professional images out there.
The LX7 will become two years old this July and it is already becoming really scarce on availability. That it still retains the 6th spot in our slow motion affordable camera guide would give you some indication of its quality. It wont give you the large sensor look but it will let you have a very good camera with a slow motion function that seems just too good for a camera with these specs. It wont do higher frame rates at lower resolutions but it will also do 1080p at 60fps with very good quality.
The newest line of Panasonic camcorders announced at CES are a step forward in the codec department with up to 50mbps at 60p but the feature that caught our attention is that both the HC-W850 and HC-V750 can record 120 frames at 1080p plus interpolate to 240p by using pixel motion algorithms.
Main Specs: