Opinions on HC-X2000?

[Battle Vaughan]

Has anyone used the new HC-X2000 yet? Appears to have a lot of nice features, at the likely expense of using a very small sensor...

[Rainer Listing]

Really depends on your needs. Different ball game, still, I do notice the HC-VX1 has the same lens and sensor at 1/4 the price.

[Battle Vaughan]

Thank you for pointing that out. I think the consumer form-factor leaves out a number of useful features -- xlr audio controls, separate zoom and focus, led light, nd filters, eyepiece viewfinder and sdi output that some may find important, but interesting to see the "innards" are available at a much lower price. Thanks again.

[Ron Evans]

HC-VX1 does not do UHD at 60P and has a lot less control of image. I think the control chip is very different even if the sensor and lens are the same. Though looking at spec numbers may not mean the same thing. I have seen references that the control chip is either like the GH5 or S1 rather than from the consumer line. The VX1 is like a Panasonic version of the Sony AX53 which likely uses the same sensor.

[Syd Hutchinson]

I have just bought the X1500 which is identical to the X2000 but no handle and no SDI, which I don't require. I have bought the handle separately and saved around £200. Total cost was £1608.
I am still finding my way with it and have only filmed around 1 hour. The image quality is excellent using MP4 UHD 3840 x 2160 and sent to a 65" TV.
Slow motion and time lapse are only available in MOV. Not MP4 or AVCHD.
The battery is underslung so you cannot use larger batteries. Spare battery £150. Cannot find a generic copy. I saw someone bought a Cellonic but it didn't fit. Probably too big and extended below.
The OIS is excellent even at maximum zooms.
MIC is only 3.5mm socket so handle a must if like me you need XLR.
VF is small but adequate. LCD is good but still prefer to use large monitor through HDMI when on tripod.
Before this I had the HC-X1 and image seems the same. Haven't tried this one yet in low light but I imagine the X1 is better with the large sensor. I bought this as it is smaller, lighter and more mobile. The removable handle gives you a choice if rucksack is tight.

[Battle Vaughan]

Good information, thank you!

[Ian Chapman]

Where did you buy from please?

Originally Posted by Syd Hutchinson

I have just bought the X1500 which is identical to the X2000 but no handle and no SDI, which I don't require. I have bought the handle separately and saved around £200. Total cost was £1608.
I am still finding my way with it and have only filmed around 1 hour. The image quality is excellent using MP4 UHD 3840 x 2160 and sent to a 65" TV.
Slow motion and time lapse are only available in MOV. Not MP4 or AVCHD.
The battery is underslung so you cannot use larger batteries. Spare battery £150. Cannot find a generic copy. I saw someone bought a Cellonic but it didn't fit. Probably too big and extended below.
The OIS is excellent even at maximum zooms.
MIC is only 3.5mm socket so handle a must if like me you need XLR.
VF is small but adequate. LCD is good but still prefer to use large monitor through HDMI when on tripod.
Before this I had the HC-X1 and image seems the same. Haven't tried this one yet in low light but I imagine the X1 is better with the large sensor. I bought this as it is smaller, lighter and more mobile. The removable handle gives you a choice if rucksack is tight.

[Graham Laws]

I have the X1500, which I bought from Panasonic's store on Amazon. I will probably buy the handle unit when it comes down in price a little - it's currently about £240, but I expect to see it at more like £200 later. At the moment there are no third-party batteries, but the supplied battery lasts over four hours so for me there is no pressing need to have a spare.

So far I'm getting great results from this camcorder using automatic features with just a few easy manual adjustments. My other camera is a GH5, which produces slightly better results but at the expense of lots of fiddly setup time and relatively poor automatic features.

Best Regards

[Matt Faw]

I bought the 1500 (+ handle) because I liked the online footage I saw of it. In particular, it showed less judder than many 4K camcorders, particularly when panning or zooming.

The out-of-the-box all auto looks really good, but there's no room to do any color correction. The image falls apart quickly, showing artifacts when manipulated. So, at the very least, I recommend using Cine-D, so there's a little room for post manipulation.

The 4K 60p looks great, and plays back beautifully at 60fps or below. I've only played with the 120p HD a little, but what I've seen looks good.

The long lens is great; I love the stabilization so I can shoot distant objects handheld, and move quickly. It's a great gun-and-go camera. The autofocus works very well.

I haven't used the handle yet.

Cons: the autofocus only works in the center of the frame, at least as far as I can figure out so far. There is very little documentation or support. Most of the tech details I've learned were from reading forums for other cameras. Adobe Premiere cannot work with the camera codec (it crashes, just trying to look into the camera folder), so all my footage has to be transcoded before I can cut it. I do like the camera, but it definitely has its drawbacks.

[Graham Laws]

Hi Matt,
On the subject of Autofocus, I have set one of my function buttons to switch to Area mode, and have area mode set to Focus in my settings. (P109-110 in manual). With this on, I can touch any area of the screen and the autofocus will be centred on that area. You can do focus transitions this way too with a bit of practice.

I have modified my F1's Matrix setting to NORMAL2 which has slightly more saturated colour which means have to mess about less in post. Like you, I also use CINE-D but I agree this needs more adjustment in post.

It's also worth checking out the other Gamma modes, particularly the three FILMLIKE settings. Matrix and Gamma settings are saved within Scene files, so it is also worth getting to know how to save and load these.

Best Regards
Graham