Panasonic AG HMC70

Panasonic AG HMC70
alaScore 77

36 reviews

May, 2013

  • No negative mentions yet

alaTest has collected and analyzed 36 reviews from magazines and websites. Reviewers really like the usability and memory. The image quality and portability also get good opinions, whereas reviews about the build quality and finish are mixed.

value for money, portability, image quality, memory, usability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Camcorders the Panasonic AG HMC70 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 77/100 = Good quality.

See all Panasonic Camcorders

Review analysis

(Based on 36 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (40% of reviews)
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Features

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Showing 35 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews
Showing 1 - 10 of 35 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (2)

Expert review by:

Camcorder Review: Panasonic AG-HMC70 AVCHD PRO CAMCORDER

 

A big camcorder is a professional camcorder. The layman often assumes this, and a large form factor camcorder can be useful, especially for making an impression on a client. Manufacturers are often caught up in miniaturizing, making their camcorders...

Outstanding audio and video connectivity ; Superb image quality

No manual focus on lens, menu only ; Lackluster viewfinder

The AG-HMC70's great image qualities and robust audio system make it a suitable solution for event video.

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Consumer review by:

Best In It's Class

 

I have read the past reviews posted about the audio and they did scare me but I went ahead and got the HMC70 anyway and I must say for me the audio quality is incredible. Simply put you need to know how to operate audio correctly in order to avoid...

SD Card Records Incredible Video Quality For Longer Than Time Then Tape, Audio Is Good Quality, Lightweight and easy to use

It is pictured as a high end plastic covering when in fact it feels like a toy

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Consumer review by:

Audio Not Disappointing, Great Image Quality

 

If you are on a budget like I am, this is a great camera. I am not a big fan of the smaller compact cameras because the bigger over-the-shoulder cameras offer more stability without the use of an extra shoulder rest. The quality of the image can not be...

Great image quality, looks professional, light weight, over-the-shoulder stability, built in audio adjustments, extra mic channels, uses SD cards and not an internal hard drive

Looks professional but there is too much plastic. This is why I did not give it more than 3 1/2 stars. It feels cheap but looks great. If they were going for light weight when they designed this camera, they succeeded. It is light as a feather

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Consumer review by:

audio is disappointing even with external mic.

 

If you intend to use this unit for audition DVDs of acoustic instrument musicians, as I do, the audio, even with top notch microphones, even with high quality line in level signals, is extremely disappointing (audible hiss, pumping, audible flutter,...

great video, easy to use

poor audio, poor audio, poor audio

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Consumer review by:

Panasonic AG-HMC70.... Dissapointed Videographer Here

 

I am very disappointed with Panasonic in the design of this camcorder. For a full size, supposed professional, camcorder it lacks 2 major functions that most videographers require. A manual focus ring, and a remote lens controller jack. I am not sure...

Low cost High-Def camcorder. Records to low cost SD cards. No more tapes. Very light camera. Very diverse A/V - in/out jacks

No remote receptical for a lense controller. No manual focus ring. Menu driven focus adjustments by pushing 2 buttons. Very "consumer" feeling features

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Consumer review by:

Amazon review summary for the Panasonic AG HMC70

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 23 user reviews of the Panasonic AG HMC70 from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.5/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products on Amazon.com.

value for money, memory, image quality, battery, portability

83% of reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

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Consumer review by:

A fine camera, with a few quibbles

 

I shot a music festival using this camcorder, and was impressed. It is well designed, and has a familiar layout to the older Panasonics that used the miniDV tape transport. The HMC70 uses high-speed SD cards, and gives a fairly good quality image, even...

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Consumer review by:

A fine camera, with a few quibbles

 

I shot a music festival using this camcorder, and was impressed. It is well designed, and has a familiar layout to the older Panasonics that used the miniDV tape transport. The HMC70 uses high-speed SD cards, and gives a fairly good quality image, even...

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Consumer review by:

Great camera, but don't skimp on the accessories.

 

This is an excellent camera for the money with acceptable quality in low-light conditions, but I would recommend purchasing a long-life battery, a solid microphone, and plenty of storage (two 32 GB SDHC cards or four 16 GB for standard def recording)....

This is an excellent camera for the money with acceptable quality in low-light conditions, but I would recommend purchasing a long-life battery, a solid microphone, and plenty of storage (two 32 GB SDHC cards or four 16 GB for standard def recording)....

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Consumer review by:

Great camera, but don't skimp on the accessories.

 

This is an excellent camera for the money with acceptable quality in low-light conditions, but I would recommend purchasing a long-life battery, a solid microphone, and plenty of storage (two 32 GB SDHC cards or four 16 GB for standard def recording)....

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Product Specifications

The AG-HMC70 provides entry-level professionals with an easy-to-use, high-quality, solid-state HD recording solution at an affordable price. As the first shoulder-mount camcorder in Panasonic's professional AVCHD line-up, the HMC70 utilizes the AVCHD high profile video codec, which offers similar image quality to HDV 1080i at about half the bandwidth. This second-generation, affordable HD format offers longer recording times and half the storage requirement of older systems. As easy to use as a digital camera, the HMC70 records onto standard SD/SDHC cards to assure a fast tapeless production workflow. It gives you fast access to content without fast forward or rewinding, and footage is immediately available to editing systems without the ingest delay and additional cost of a playback deck. Using just one 16GB SDHC memory card, the HMC70 can record over 2.6 hours at 13Mbps, the HMC70's highest quality mode, or up to 6 hours at 6Mbps, the camera's extended recording mode.

Audio Input

Microphone Operation Mode:Stereo
Microphone Technology:Electret condenser
Type:Microphone

Battery

Battery Form Factor:Manufacturer specific

Camcorder Features

High Definition Video Support:1080i
Low Lux / Night Mode: Yes
Widescreen Video Capture: Yes

Camera Flash

Type: None

Digital Camera

Supported Flash Memory:SD Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card

Dimensions & Weight

Depth:17.1in
Height:9.2in
Weight:6lbs
Width:9.2in

Display (Projector)

Diagonal Size:3in
Diagonal Size (metric):7.6cm
Display Form Factor:Rotating
Technology:TFT active matrix
Type:LCD display

Exposure Parameters

Shooting Programs:Low light / Portrait mode / Sports mode / Spotlight / Surf & snow

Flash Memory

Form Factor:SD Memory Card
Storage Capacity:2GB

Header

Manufacturer:Panasonic
Model:HMC70
Packaged Quantity:1
Product Line:Panasonic AG

Lens System

Lens Aperture:F/1.8-2.8
Max Focal Length:48mm
Min Focal Length:4mm
Optical Zoom:12
Type:Zoom lens

Optical Sensor

Camcorder Effective Video Resolution:520Kpix
Camcorder Sensor Resolution:560Kpix
Optical Sensor Size:1/4"
Optical Sensor Size (metric):6.4 mm ( 1/4 ) / 6.4 mm ( 1/4" )
Optical Sensor Type:3CCD
Sensor Qty:3CCD

Optical System

Built-in Optical Image Stabilizer: Yes
Image Stabilizer:Optical

Pro Camcorder Features

Professional:Professional

Video Input

Digital Scene Transition:Black fader / White fader
Digital Video Format:AVCHD
Digital Zoom:700
Media Type:Flash card
Shooting Modes:Digital photo mode
Still Image Format:JPEG
Type:Camcorder

Viewfinder

Viewfinder Color Support:Color
Viewfinder Type:Electronic
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