Why PANASONIC HC-X1500 is a Camera For a Serious Film Maker in 2020 

Do you use dedicated video camera (camcorder) already or would you consider one after using run of the mill DSLR/Mirrorless cameras?

This camera is quite intended for Broadcast, that’s why the equivalent of ISO is labeled Gain and measured in dB. Also note the User 1 and User 2 buttons, also quite common in broadcast environments.

Great video. Been looking at this camera as an option for awhile. I shoot Sony A7iii , a6500 and rx100va for small events, an occasional real estate and for-fun videos. At work I am issued an FS5ii and rx0ii. I have no shortages of cameras but a camcorder just appeals to me. All the tools in one body. Learned on a GL1/2 XL1 years ago and can't get that bug out of my head. Not enough info on this camera out there. Appreciate it 👍

I was wondering about this camera! Glad I came across this! Thanks for the breakdown!

Camcorders are video cameras. DSLR/Mirrorless bodies are photography cameras. There's a reason why shooting video with a camcorder for the overwhelming majorities of RU-vid videos is superior; They get the job done with practically instant constant focus, insanely good image stabilization and everything you could possibly need fits in the palm of your hand (multiple lenses, body, battery pack, mic, etc...). The clips aren't interrupted, they don't overheat and they could run for HOURS on one battery. I could see the specifics of photography cameras coming in handy for macro shots and product reviews, but generally speaking, a camcorder is just a point & shoot camera on steroids. It was so liberating for me to transition from a DSLR to a my Panasonic VX1 for what I do. I don't need cinematic slow motion. I don't need bokeh. I don't need super low light performance. And the imagery is difficult to distinguish between DSLR/Mirrorless on a computer or smartphone screen (where almost all RU-vid content is viewed) and in a lot of cases (especially with Canons), it's just an overall more natural and fluid experience to watch. There's an Aussie saying, "Some lures are made to catch more fishermen than fish." and that's how I see cameras for content creators. 90% of us just "need" a camcorder, but the community is constantly battered with gear pitches and some incessant need to be able to produce 8K video footage for screens that rarely produce 1080p quality in the real world.

As a Luthier studying video, I was happy to see you feature your guitar re-string sequence. Great video, Cheers.

I purchased this yesterday because of you for my channel. Thanks

Great video, mate! Well done and very informative :-)

Sir. You are the only reviewer of many, to tell me this camera cannot utilise other lenses. Thank you so much. Great camera, great review; but not suitable for my use. Subbed. 😊😊

Good review...I think this camera will be perfect for my needs. Great manual control and an incredible zoom for wildlife. Thanks.

I just found your channel and I really am enjoying your content. Really refreshing from other RU-vid creators.

Subscribed as soon as I realised you were metal, best start to any camera youtube video i have ever seen

Great walk through. Thanks :)

Great review, thanks. I'm liking this camera.

You have shined a light on a camera I didn't know about...thanks

Wow. This video has blown up. Awesome man!!!

I am shooting with Fuji Xt3 and is very satisfied. The video you showed has a very nice color system and smooth footage. I like what i saw. Its like a satisfying fuji color system. How you graded the color in your channel is awesome and also outstanding. This camera makes me kind of bending to it especially when it has unlimited shooting time though it might be a little flat. Great channel i subbed it.

The riff on the sample footage.....hot! \m/ \m/ Awesome review and video. Thanks!

Panasonic has produced a real game changer here in both form and function. I have the X2000 with the additional handle with light and XLR inputs etc, etc. It’s new to me but I’m enjoying learning what this camcorder is capable of 👍 I’m also a GH5 user and the addition of CineV & D is really useful. All in all I’m pleased...as far.

This looks like a great camera for run and gun and documentary use. It's small and has all of the video camcorder controls. I started with a DVX-100B, then an HVX200A which I still have and a GH-3. GH-3 takes great video but is a pain to use when shooting a family gathering or other non-planned setup. The HVX200A is great at everything for my needs but it is BIG and heavy. This HC-X1500 looks like the perfect camera for me. I don't need 4K and I'm not a pro (although I did get one doc film on national PBS). Great review, Thanks!

awesome review! thanks a lot

Wow! This camera is amazing! I can’t wait to buy this camera for my four-year-old so he can start playing with it and begin his career as a filmmaker!

The camera has really good quality. Great review!

Very nice review. I have the Panasonic HC-X1000 but I've been wanting something a little more portable.

Thank you!!! watching from Central, Texas

I'm not even into cameras or video production, just clicked on this video for kind of an informative value, was pleasantly surprised to hear those riffs at the beginning.

Thanks very much for the review, I enjoyed it and was helpful for making my decision on the purchase :)

great video i really like the first Impression of the camera

3:07 is underrated. "Shitter speed." I was crying on the floor

The Music. YES SIR!!!

Good afternoon friend I think the same people want to use cameras as cameras and they are not I like Camcorders and this one that is presenting is excellent Congratulations on the video

Glad I found this review (LIKED) 👍 My Lumix Video lineup since 2014 has included: FZ200, FZ300, FZ1000, FZ2500, GX8 up till very recently. Last month I upgraded to GH5, G9 and S5 for my Video Work, for the 10bit 4:2:2 workflow. The FZ2500 has been the A Camera for long lens work, Sport, Nature. Now I am thinking of returning to the Camcorder form factor for that workflow, and trading in the wonderful FZ2500, FZ300 - with it's amazing optics. Thanks for broadening my options 👍🍺

This is amazing cam, tks for the review video👍👍👍👍

love the heavy background music while cleaning the guitar!

I am planing to buy 4K videocamera in a near future, which shoots 4K with full specs, 60P/HDR, and good enough sound quality with build in microphone. It should be such all in one baggage without too many external accessories, so in that perspective the solid objective with a long zoom is actually a very good thing. At the moment, i'm considering this Panasonic HC-X1500 as a very considerable choice and alternative for Fujifilm XT-3, or XT-4...

👍🏾👍🏾 Excellent Review, sir, many thanks!! 😎

The footage of you cleaning the guitar looks awesome. ONe of the reasons I just bought this camera. I consider that low light, works great

It's a cute camcorder.

Camcorders like these have a lot of features that I would greatly enjoy, particularly for run-and-gun work. But I'm lot liking the image quality, there is a softness to the highlights that throws me off. Anyway, thanks for the video! It was thorough and well thought out!

Great video thanks for uploading. Camcorders will never die because there is no recording time limit, don't overheat, stay in focus as you zoom and have no focus breathing ether. They are also anatomically better to hold than a dslr or mirrorless camera and therefore not clunky in the hands, meaning that they are made for video rather than a stills camera with video being an add-on function. I used to work in the industry back in the 80's at a television broadcasting company that produced pop videos and adverts. But back then it was broadcast standard definition on umatic tape and occasionally one inch tape.

Hi, my first view of your videos, you're a nice man and like how you explain things . subscribed 🧸 🇬🇧

I lost it when I heard "Shitter speed" 😂 Great video!! Thank you.

Nice video .. that would be a great camera to have in your kit all the time. I'm a daily shooter and can see a really good use for that camera ...Cheers

I actually watched this video after I placed an order for this camcorder. And my very first video was shooting some trains at 10pm on the street. As a trainspotter I'd say this camera is pretty useful for its 4k60p and long-range zoom even though more and more railfans are using their cellphone to get the job done. Since trainspotting is basically one type of documentary, I would say its low light performance is acceptable and the footages are useable as long as the autofocus works. Even though there is a lot of noise, those noise spots are actually much smaller than a cell phone or a GoPro footage (I did some comparisons), and the objects are still very clear even at 600mm focal length. Also as a hobbyist photographer and videographer at the same time I found that a lot of people are so obsessed with 10-bit 422 so that they forgot this is a camcorder instead of a DSLR/mirrorless camera that does a good job in cinematic movies while overheating much faster.

Seriously considering this camera for future film projects for sure, especially after this review. I suppose my only concerns/questions would be if the manual focus ring is focus by wire (which it likely is because of the very robust auto focus) and, despite the nature of measuring sensor exposure in dB, what the base iso rating is before turning up the gain. 200?

Finally...a video camera for recording video.

very cool video, Sir :)

Very nice review

beautiful camcorder, i’m moving from gh3 to this bad boy and really looking forward to it. sure if i do need more i can still get a gh52 or gh6 but for the price and hardware of the x1500 is amazing

Good video sharing!!!

I love it, we use the Sony equivalent for recording content that will add to a sport broadcast, looks fantastic and has almost everything that our 20k studio camera has, they are awesome

Top video ! Merci bien.

Great video, I have just subscribed. :)

Hi Bro! I love your review. Great camera. I subbed! 😊

Good! I may buy one!

Shittah speed matey! Shittah speed! 👍

im feeling like this camera could be a must for documentary filmaking on a budget

Wow this camera looks awesome. I actually would like a deeper depth of field because I shoot a lot of close-up shots of products for my RU-vid channel and I don't want the back half of a product to be out of focus. I really just want everything in focus. Anyway I might have to pick one of these up. Subscribed.

Hey! Nice review! I just bought the HC-1500 I have a hard time making the 4k clips running smoothly in Premiere v22.0, any trouble your side? any tip?

What a pretty camera. Would love to see panasonic make a camera in this form factor with an interchangeable mount

Great video mate! Exceptional high quality content! You’ll be hitting a few 100K subscribers in a few years time if you continue creating content like this. With regards to the camera, the only drawback I see with it is the image sensor size. It’s smaller. How would you compare this to Canon’s offering of the XF55?

hi there. I commented on the follow up video you did for this camera....but now I'm here...I have a Canon C100mk2/90D/Canon XF300 etc etc All tools for different jobs. For concerts and dance recitals I prefer camcorders so that I can plug in XLR audio, provide video signals to giant screens and 20x zoom at least. So Camcorders are great and needed. I know the sensor is small and some comments say that the video looks very "noisy" etc. I see some of that but I would never go over +9db gain on any camcorder really -not for paid gigs! I want the cleanest signal I can get. I watched your short video "London in lockdown" in low light and the low light performance was disappointing. Wow...I was expecting better. Not DSLR of course but better. But for adequately lit situations it would be cleaner. I considered gettting a couple of Canon XF400 with their 1inch sensor, but after reading some reviews I found that many Canon users don't seem to like it very much...have you ever seen it and tried it?? would a camcorder with a 1inch sensor be much better? (Just talking about video quality). I don't want to be struggling with a shallow depth of field during a dance show or a concert...I need the camcorder to focus well and capture video with deep depth of field. For artistic shots (interviews etc) I would use the canon 90D and the C100 mk2 with sigma f1.8 lenses....I need a good camcorder that is MUCH MUCH better than my vintage Canon XF300. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated! Cheers from Canada

Just a note - dB / decibels (@ 3.23), which the gain will presumably be using too, isn't specific to audio - though it's how most people are familiar with it. It's just a logarithmic type of measurement/scale: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel

Great review ,camcorders rules, there designed for video and dslr are designed for photos, made the mistake myself a couple of years ago buying a dslr listening to all the hype how good they are for professional filmmaking . Ended up being very expensive with the extra good quality lenses, even then was not happy ,too bulky carrying various lenses and overheating issues and short video records ,the list goes on. Back to the camcorder ,makes life so much easier

Nice Sertraline t-shirt. They're friends of ours and have toured with my band a few times 😊🤟

u the best thank u

Have you experienced any hissing issues with the external mic input? I have just received the camera and I noticed when I plugged any mic or any 3.5 cable into the external audio input, there is a constant hissing sound that isn't coming from the mic or cable. It looks like a camera issue and isn't fixable with gain settings.

Thanks! What camera and lens do you use to shoot your videos ?

Great review,Some questions.1. How well compare this to the Sony FDR-AX700E specially regarding the stabiliser 2.Are there some adaptors to make the lens wider?

Thanks for the review Pav, I found it very helpful. You mentioned that this isn't a camera to pull out once a year. Was that because there is a learning curve to use it effectively, or because it's missing features that a consumer-level camera would have? I'm looking for something to capture family outings (5-10 times a year), and the 4K @ 60fps sounded very attractive at this price point. Is there another "prosumer" camera that you would recommend? I plan on dabbling with the recordings with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.

Hope one day get this cam coder. It about RM8k here.

How did I miss this model? Two months ago I bought the Sony FDR-AX700. It's very similar and within about $100 (less) than this Panasonic in the 1500 model. The Panasonic betters it in having 4:2:2 and 60p at 4K for a start, not that I knew enough back then to know if I wanted or needed those features. Very interesting to know and I'll look into it with more depth later. I don't regret the AX700 but it shows how RU-vid, Google and websites can still let us down with lack of diversity.

just stopping in to try to learn my camera a little better. On my last video I did run my camera for 8 hours none stop in the highest settings. it worked like a charm. I do have a question that you might be able to help with. I ran the camera all night while I slept. Each of the files were about 6 hours long. it was a bit difficult for my computer to work with the large files. do you know if I can change the settings so the files are like 30 minutes each? thanks for the video it is very helpful

I'm still using a hc-x920, a 3mos panasonic camera. Given the specs, and seeing the test footage I can tell that a camcorder like the x1500 realy needs good light to get decent images. The sensor in the x1500 is a bit smaller than in my camera, and an important difference is the x920 has three of them, one for each primary color, and uses a color splitter instead of a color filter which bayer sensors use. The lens on the x1500 is also a bit slower than on the x920. So the x1500 will have to produce a image with substantially less light then the x920. Furthermore the sensor of the x1500 has effectively about 8MP of resolution but these are bayer pixels, where each pixel is only red, green or blue. To produce a good 4k image with 4:2:0 color sampling you would need at least 12 Mp on your bayer sensor. So don't expect glorious crisp 4K from this camera. And finally the pixels on the x1500 must be even tinier than on the x920 which makes it hard to get a decent dynamic range. The dynamic range on the x920 is already quite limited. Furthermore, the range over which you can vary your aperture without suffering from diffraction diffusion is already quite limited on the x920 so it will be even worse on the x1500. You will really need to ride that built in ND filter as the light varies. Occasionally I use the x920 in it's auto everything mode and then, to be quite honest, the footage doesn't look much better than that of a modern smartphone, except for the ability to zoom in ofcourse. Some skill and manual settings are required to get the most out of these camera's. I think one needs at least a one-inch sensor to get a workable 4k image. If your interested in a camera like the x1500 because of the convenience and versatility of it's lens, the fz-2000 might be the better choice (only 4k@30p8bit though). It's also a lot cheaper than the x1500 and it can give you decent stills aswell. I like these camcorders for their convenience, but I think it is my last camcorder. As ILC's have gotten better, the only real advantage camcorders still offer is the motorized, long range zoom lens. But if you don't need that, ILC's have many more advantages. The 14-140 lens on a MFT camera gives you a good (non-motorized) 10x zoom range if you need it and it's quality is plenty good for 4K (8MP) video. Replace it with a fast prime and you can shoot great images under low light, etc.

Thanks for the great review!! Still relevant 2 years later, which is great as I just got this fabulous little video camera for vlogging my upcoming RU-vid channel and our new boat experience. And... I LOVE YOUR SHIRT!

One note i have to make anyway. Even Panasonic HC-X1500 have a small censor, only half inch, and if compared for example to Fujifilm XT-3 which have aprox. 1 inch censor (23.5x15.6mm), but in Panasonic HC-X effective pixels have aprox. 9MP and in Fujifilm XT-3 26MP, so therefore, in Panasonic's smaller censor have actually slightly bigger individual pixels than in XT-3 censor.

I tried the video capabilities on my Nikon D850 and wasn't impressed with the autofocus. I had already purchased the Ronin S gimbal stabilizer and wanted something that would give me a good intoduction to video. A friend suggested the Nikon Z6 as it is a full frame mirrorless with good raps regarding it's video capabilities. I also considered the the Black Magic's $k and 5K cameras, but decided on a camcorder for the simple reason I didn't want the hassle of changing lenses and rebalancing the gimbal. I settled on the Sony FDR AX-700 with it's 1 inch sensor - I know the sensor is smaller than the M3/4 and full frame cameras, also it has SD cards and is not capable of using C-Fast card and shooting raw, especially ProResRaw which could become a standard. But it does fit on the Ronin-S nicely, fast auto-focus, can shoot 4K and only one lens, ideal for on-the-go videoing.

How does the Panasonic X1500 compare to the Canon HF g60? I felt like the stabilization wasn't great on the G60 and it only records in 4K 30fps. It does have a bigger sensor but the low light footage looks really nice on the X1500. I also like the 24x optical zoom on the Panasonic compared to the Canon.

Dude, the simple fact that you put some heavy AF Metal in the start made me put a thumb up and subscribe ! Great job and loved your Lumix S5 review.

namaste, very informative video, compared to sony a7iii and this, which one will you suggest?

Amazing review, thank you!! I am looking for a camera that can do 4k/60 for up to 2 hours with no battery discharge nor turning off due to overheating. I want to do walking tours in summer for up to 2 hours. Would you recomend this camera for this? and also would you recomend a mic for this purpose and a gimbal? is this HDR? or only UHD?(or is the gimbal not necessary walking thru cities?) Thank you. Suscribed.

Great video! In the last day of 2022, I wonder why these fully integrated prosumer cameras aren't more popular in RU-vid-times. Maybe because the producers mirrorless / DSLR more as they can make more money from the accessories?

Can you put a time and date stamp on the video? I need to have it for my line of work. Thanks

Good morning Mr.Pav i have a question how is the auto focus especialy used in real life situation like a wedding..i was eyeing this but having second thoughtd since i was burn already with the g7 and fz2500

Amazing PAV SZ

Canon 1dx mk 3 is also savage ‘ not to even mention there huge array of lenses

Well done

I am trying to use my Panasonic HC-X1500 to do live streaming on Facebook. My question is how I copy streaming keys to SD cards from the computer and use it?

很高興你的示範影片，沒有因為色彩而犧牲了層次。

its nice !!

"dB, the same symbol as decibel" - that's because it is decibel! :D Decibels are not only for audio, they are for any kind of amplification. If you amplify the signal from the camera's image sensor by 3 dB, that's one stop. 6 dB is 2 stops, 9 dB is 3 stops, and so on.

I have to admit, I love shooting with Mirrorless and Cinema Cameras, but for some styles of shooting, a Pro Camcorder just feels like a better tool for the job. Also, hats off to Panasonic for adding 10 bit 422 colour sampling. Most camcorders this size will only give you 8 bit 420.

I am a Sony fan, but this 🎥 is not bad 👍🏻😉 a friend of mine has it and he is very confident with it 👌

very good camara i like video camara

Awesome guitar, dude! You get my subscription for that engaging b-roll too!

I think those camcorder with 1 inch sensor are better. I know canon has one with dual piexl auto focus. Forget the model.

Thank you for the good video. May I ask a question, sir? That is F4 and Sony AX700 has F2.8. With X1500, making a film inside of restaurants or filming street food at evening, the X1500 would make good quality of videos as much as day time?

Is the stabilization really good?

They're great cameras...but...where they fall apart in comparison to DSLRs and Cinema Cameras is the Sensor Size and Interchangeable lenses.

How heavy is it could it make a good vlogging or streaming camera