Yet another prosumer 4K camcorder will be hitting the market soon. This time from Panasonic, who has just launched the HC-X1000, which is capable of 4K 60p/50p video on an SD card.

Panasonic’s marketing is lauding it as the “World’s First” camcorder that can shoot 4K on an SD card. Yea, we’re not that impressed, mobile phones have been doing the same for a year or so now, but we concede this (may be) the first 4K camcorder to SD.

The 4K procession of products has started to take hold and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, despite shooter’s needing mega-storage to record on. Added to that is the fact there just isn’t a big call for 4K media currently, as most cinemas and broadcasters have yet to make the switch.

Currently, where 4K comes into its own is in postproduction. Even with its mass storage needs, 4K opens up a huge amount of options to stabilise, crop, zoom, pan and compose your 1080p frame. Consumers want the latest and greatest and manufacturers are more than happy to provide it for them.

Enough about 4K, on to the X100. The fact that this camcorder is capable of UHD at 60p for 150Mbs is pretty nice for its price point (US$3500), the bad part of that is your recording in MP4. If you prefer to record in MOV or AVCHD, then you’ll need to switch to Full-HD, but it’s a good 200Mbs at 60p. You could always use an external recorder for your 4K (via the HDMI port). Also, phantom power would have been a nice addition to go with its two XLR ports, but that might be a tad too much to ask for. We like the addition of the ND filters, it’s a simple but nice touch.

Features:

4K Video Recording – With four times the resolution of Full-HD, the HC-X1000 records in 4K (3,840 x 2,160) and 4K Cinema (4,096 x 2,160) formats.

4K 60p/50p Video Recording

20x Zoom with 4-Drive Leica Dicomar Lens System

1/2.3” BSI Sensor – Increasing the readout speed makes handling large-volume 4K data at faster rates, suppressing rolling shutter distortion.

Crystal Engine Pro 4K (a fancy-pants name for the processor).

High-Bit-Rate Recording for Both 4K and Full-HD

AVCHD, MOV and MP4 Recording Formats. Full-HD recording employs ALL-Intra compression for a maximum bit rate of 200 Mbps.

2-Channel XLR Audio Input Terminals

ND Filters

0 Lux Night Mode

WiFi with NFC

Dual SD Card Slots with Auto-Switching

Other features include, in-camera 4K editing, illuminating LED ring, Triple Manual Focus Rings, tiltable viewfinder (with cup), 3.5 slide-retractable LCD with touch operation, Power O.I.S for 4K (image stabilisation) and 5-axis hybrid O.I.S+ for Full-HD.

Full specs can be seen further down the page, along with the introduction video from Panasonic.

Price and Availability

Panasonic have the X1000 available to buy on pre-order for US$3,499. There’s no word as yet on Australian prices, but we’re expecting it will be around the $4500-$5K range.

B&H managed to nab an early version of the camera for a ‘first look’, which you can watch below. The website also has the camcorder available for pre-sale, with a bonus Panasonic 64GB Gold Series UHS-I SDXC Memory Card (U3) (link).

Specs:

Image Sensor 1/2.3-type MOS Sensor (For Europe)

1/2.3″ MOS Sensor (For North America / Asia) Total Pixels 18.47 megapixels Effective Pixles 8.85 megapixels [17:9], 8.29 megapixels [16:9] F Value F1.8 ¿ F3.6 Optical Zoom 20x Focal Length 4.08 ¿ 81.6 mm 35 mm Film Camera Equivalent (Motion Image/Still Image) 29.5 ¿ 600 mm [17:9], 30.8 ¿ 626 mm [16:9] Filter Diameter 49 mm Lens Brand Leica Dicomar Lens Standard Illumination 1400 lx Minimum Illumination 4 lx (Super Gain 30dB, Shutter 1/30) Focus Auto / Manual Zoom Intelligent Zoom OFF 20x Intelligent Zoom ON 40x* Digital Zoom 2x / 5x / 10x ND Filter 1/4, 1/16, 1/64, OFF White Balance Auto / 3200K / 5600K / VAR (2400K—9900K) / Ach Fixed / Bch Fixed Shutter Speed 60p / 60i / 30p: 1/8 — 1/8000

50p / 50i : 1/6 — 1/8000

25p: 1/6 — 1/8000

24p: 1/6 — 1/8000 Iris Auto / Manual Image Stabilizer C4K/4K: POWER O.I.S.

Full-HD or lower: 5-axis HYBRID O.I.S.+ with Active Mode Recording Media SDHC/SDXC Memory Card Recording Format MOV (LPCM) / MP4 (LPCM) / MP4

AVCHD: AVCHD Progressive Video Compression Method MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Audio Compression Method MOV: LPCM (2ch)

MP4: LPCM / AAC (2ch)

AVCHD: Dolby Digital (2ch) System Frequency 59.94Hz / 50.00Hz Recording / Playback Mode MP4 C4K 24p 100M: 4096×2160, Average 100Mbps (VBR), LPCM

4K 60p/50p 150M: 3840×2160, Average 150Mbps (VBR), LPCM

4K 30p/25p 100M: 3840×2160, Average 100Mbps (VBR), LPCM or AAC

4K 24p 100M: 3840×2160, Average 100Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 60p/50p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 60p/50p 100M: 1920×1080, Average 100Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 60p/50p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM or AAC

FHD 30p/25p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 30p/25p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 24p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 24p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM MOV FHD 60p/50p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 60p/50p 100M: 1920×1080, Average 100Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 60p/50p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 30p/25p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 30p/25p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 24p 200M (ALL-Intra): 1920×1080, Average 200Mbps (VBR), LPCM

FHD 24p 50M: 1920×1080, Average 50Mbps (VBR), LPCM AVCHD PS 1080 60p/50p: 1920×1080, Average 28Mbps (VBR)

PH 1080 60i/50i: 1920×1080, Average 24Mbps (VBR)

HA 1080 60i/50i: 1920×1080, Average 17Mbps (VBR)

HE 1080 60i/50i: 1440×1080, Average 5Mbps (VBR)

PM 720 60p/50p: 1280×720, Average 8Mbps (VBR) Thumbnail Display 20 thumbnails/page, 9 thumbnails/page, 1 thumbnail/page Microphone Stereo Microphone Speaker Dynamic type Recording Format JPEG (DCF/Exif2.2) Recording Image Size [17:9] 8.8megapixels (4096 x 2160)

[16:9] 8.3megapixels (3840 x 2160), 2.1 megapixels (1920 x 1080) Flash — Power Supply 7.2V (Battery) / 12V (AC Adaptor) Power Consumption 15.4W (LCD Monitor) / 14.3W (Viewfinder) Dimensions (W x H x D) Approx. 160 x 170 x 315 mm (6.3 x 6.69 x 12.4 inch) Weight (w/o Battery and SD Card) Approx. 1550g (3.42 lb) LCD Monitor 8.83 cm (3.5″) Wide LCD monitor (1,152,000 dots) (For Europe)

3.5″ Wide LCD monitor (1,152,000 dots) (For North America / Asia) Viewfinder 1.15 cm (0.45″) Wide EVF (1,226,880 dots) (For Europe)

0.45″ Wide EVF (1,226,880 dots) (For North America / Asia) Manual Ring Focus / Zoom / Iris Interface AV Yes HDMI Type A XLR Input XLR (3 pins) x 2

Line¿0dBu/+4dBu,¿Mic¿-40dBu/-50dBu/-60dBu Headphone Yes (3.5mm stereo mini) USB Micro-B: USB 3.0 SuperSpeed

Type A: USB 3.0 SuperSpeed, Host (for USB HDD**), Bus Power Supply Camera Remote 2.5mm super mini jack x 1 (ZOOM S/S)

3.5mm mini jack x 1 (FOCUS/IRIS) LED Video Light — Accessory Shoe Yes Standard IEEE 802.11b/g/n Frequency 2.4GHz band NFC Yes AC Adaptor Yes AC Cable Yes (2 Cables) Rechargeable Battery Pack Yes (5,800mAh) Battery Charger Yes IR Remote — HDMI Cable Yes (High Speed HDMI Cable) AV Multi Cable — AV Cable — Shoe adaptor — USB Cable Yes Microphone Holder Yes Microphone Holder Screws Yes (2 Screws) Input Terminal Cap Yes (2 Caps) Shoulder Strap Yes Eye Cap Yes Editing Software HD Writer XE2.0 (Downloadable) * For recording formats with 1920 x 1080 resolution or lower.

** USB hard disks with a capacity of 32 GB or less, or more than 2 TB, cannot be used.

Excerpts from Press Release