Panasonic HC-VX980 Full HD Camcorder (Black)

Panasonic HC-VX980 Full HD Camcorder Black has a fraction lighter than the HC-WX970, weighing 350g. It’s nicely weighted and balanced, too, ensuring your arms don’t get fatigued from shooting for long periods of time, and it can be easily supported for stable footage. Otherwise, it looks very similar to its predecessor.

• 18.9 megapixel 
• 1/2.3in BSI MOS
• 4K-capable sensor

Slow-motion footage

Changing settings can be done from the LCD fold-out display. It hasn't changed much from last year’s model, and the display's resolution still looks a little grainy. It's fine for framing shots and changing settings, but the on-screen menu can be a bit fiddly and unintuitive at times, especially when using some of the new 4K cropping modes. As a result, you'll probably have to spend a little bit of time getting used to how everything works, but it's easy enough to pick up after you've used each setting a couple of times.

Battery Life

Thankfully, battery life is top-notch. Shooting 1080p at 28Mbit/s, the camcorder managed 1 hour 55 minutes, dropping to 1 hour 38 minutes at 50Mbit/s. The HC-VX980 charges through a USB to DC cable with a wall adaptor, so you can feasibly use your tablet charger adaptor to save carrying excess equipment on your next trip.

Conclusion

In the end, the HC-VX980 is a worthy update to last year’s model, cutting both an unecessary feature and the price. It may not be a massive departure from the HC-WX970 and some of the new 4K cropping functions are a bit hit and miss, but the addition of more fully-fledged slow-motion effects makes the HC-VX980 an excellent 4K camcorder to suit every occasion.