Panasonic Full HD Camcorder HC-V770, 20X Zoom

The sound quality is very good. I like the size, it is not too small making it difficult to operate. Works well in low light settings. Decent camera.

like the camera a lot. I think it is good value for the price. I Like the auto closing of the lens. I would relly recommend this camcorder.
I still haven’t figured out stopping the camera from breaking the hour video into two parts.

I bought this camcorder to upgrade from my GoPro Hero 3. I film my daughters volleyball games and the GoPro is great from the standpoint of not having to worry about it getting damaged from a stray ball, however the image quality isn’t that great and the zoom in and out for framing is extremely limited. I was considering getting the GoPro Hero 4 Black which is 4K UHD, but after comparing some sample video I settled on the Panasonic HC-V770. The main reason for this selection come down to the low light handling and the ability to record 1080P at 60 fps with a high data rate. The ability to easily zoom in and out to properly frame the court is great. Another great feature is the ability to charge this thing from a portable USB charger while recording. This is critical for all day tournaments. It’s also nice that the display can be flipped around and the hinge closed do that you can see the screen on the outside of the camera while recording yet keeping it tucked into the body so that it doesn’t get broken off from a stray ball. Speaking of getting hit by a ball, the camera took several direct and indirect (the tripod) hits throughout the season and the thing still works perfectly. It’s just a plastic body camera, but it is rugged to take a licking and keep on ticking…I mean recording. I filmed 52 games this year and everyone of them turned out great, even those in the poorly lit gyms. I am very happy with this camera and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Bonus Pro Tip – Use the manual settings and set the shutter speed to 1/350 (or less depending on light) and set the IRIS to wide open. This will help eliminate motion blur when filming indoor sports.

Drawback – The one drawback for me was that I had to buy a wide angle lens to get the whole court in the frame when filming court side. This degrades the video image just a little by making it soft in the corners. The Panasonic HC-V770 has one of the wider angle lenses of any of the Prosumer cameras I looked at, but it just isn’t wide enough. Hint, Hint Panasonic….we would love a wider angle lens to be standard on these cameras.

The Panasonic HC-V770 is a great little camera, but does have its faults.
I am only mentioning the things I feel are worthy of mention for this camera, do with that as you will.

Video Quality
Most cameras do great in bright sunlight, but what about at night? I will say this camera does indeed perform exceptionally well in low light situations. For her maiden voyage, I took the 770 to Halloween Horror Nights. I knew this would be brutal considering the absence of light, foggy effects, and flashy neon lights that are naturally accompanied with an event such as this. I shot most of the footage in iA (Intelligent Auto Mode) and found the footage to be pretty satisfying for the price paid and the size of the camera. I do have one caveat, I noticed the camera tends to struggle for a second when it is focused on something bright (like a neon sign for instance) then moved to a dark area. This can create a sudden “chop” in the video that is subtle and lasts maybe a second until the camera can adjust itself for the darker scene. This is something just about any camera is going to struggle with and the only way to get rid of it completely is to spend $2000 + on a professional grade camera. There IS a way to help remedy this. Use HDR (High Dynamic Range Mode). This feature is best utilized when the foreground is considerably darker than the background “like somebody being recorded with their back to the sun and their face being almost blacked out because of it.” This can help also help with bright – dark situations because it allows the camera to expose the background a bit more and also slows sensor adjustments making the transition a bit smoother. However there is a downside to this, The quality of the image will not be quite as good as if you were to shoot in iA. For me the difference in video quality was negligible though and worth the very slight “and i mean very slight” degradation in video quality.

Sound Quality

So far, I am impressed with the built-in microphone this camera has, it is able to pick up the tiniest of details and make them audible in the videos it produces. The mic was also thoroughly tested at HHN. All sorts of shenanigans going on at once, it was fantastic being able to pick up some of the smaller noises that you wouldn’t think would show up in the video. Chainsaws, the snarls and sneers of scare actors, and guest chatter were blended beautifully with the camera’s 5.1 surround sound.

Would the sound be better with a dedicated shotgun mic or other variant? Probably, just about any camera is better with a dedicated mic.
But I am talking about what’s included with the unit, and for its size, this thing does great.

Camera and UI (User Interface)

I bought this camera for $550, which is pretty much the cheapest price for any camera in its class.
After a lot of tinkering and testing, I concur with the other “more qualified” reviewers. This camera’s hardware far outshines it’s software, and I mean by a mile. The camera’s body does not feel quite as robust as some of the other big brands. Neither does the UI. In fact, the User Interface feels mildly retarded in my opinion, mostly due to the fact that it just looks and feels obsolete/dated. The touchscreen is a not a “class leader” either.
But once again, $550 vs. $800+ for another brand comparable with the ability of this one.

I feel something worthy of mention is that the zoom rocker on my camera has developed a slight “clicky” sound that is sometimes audible in videos.
This annoys the absolute dickens out of me and I am considering asking for a replacement before the time runs out in which I have the option to do so. Also, the WiFi camera option is crap, WAY too much lag for it to be a usable feature in my opinion. I can’t believe Panasonic has fueled this awesome little camera’s campaign on a gimmick.

Bottom Line.

All things considered, this camera is well worth the money and is light years ahead of any smartphone in terms of quality or capability. Trying to consider the camera of a smartphone to a dedicated camera is asinine in my humble opinion.