Panasonic AG-CX10

If I were to be absolutely honest, my original thoughts about the Panasonic AG-CX10 4K Camcorder were, “Okay, a decent UHD camcorder.” But, and it is a big but, this admission percolated within my gray matter before the world went to shit. Now we Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, and whatever social distancing video conferencing app du jour you need to use. Our world has changed and what we need in a camera has changed too. 

Let us head down to the goodness within the little camcorder, the Panasonic AG-CX10. First and foremost, the CX-10 includes IP Networking features, with Wi-Fi support for HD live streaming. See, suddenly, the little camcorder from Panasonic may have your attention. You can stream to Youtube, Facebook, and just about any website with video sharing, like say, Zoom. Just so you know, the CX-10 HD live streaming works via RTMP/RTMPS/RTSP protocols, or so I am told. 

One may also use the Ethernet connection for streaming with the AG-CX10. These two features alone should, and now are, much sought after. With the AG-CX10, your Zoom can look professional. Your LiveStreaming on YouTube can look professional. Are you anchoring the news from home? Just plug in the Panasonic AG-CX10 to an Ethernet connection, and you are ready to go. 

I’ll be frank with you for a moment. The Panasonic AG-CX10 looks a whole lot better than the built-in camera on your laptop, desktop, and, maybe, even your phone. I have vanity and ego as I guess you do too. My ego wants my Zoom video to be better than everyone else’s. My pride wants me to look great, whereas everyone else’s Zoom looks like a laptop camera shot it, which it did.

The Panasonic AG-CX10 is small but includes two professional XLR audio inputs. The top handle, well, handles all the audio. From inputs to dials, all your audio needs are in the top handle. The placement of the two XLR inputs is in a pretty standard spot for a camcorder. The addition of manual controls on the left side of the top handle helps to access what you need when you need it. See, professional XLR audio inputs and manual audio controls. The audio alone is way better than your internal laptop mic for that upcoming Zoom call.

AG-CX10 Recording Options

The Panasonic AG-CX10 can record 4:2:2 10-bit UHD at 29.97 internally. To shoot 59.94p, you will need to drop the resolution down to FHD. I shot a ton of footage in UHD and FHD. You have a few different options for recording. I choose mp4 for some of my videos and HEVC( (LongGOP/10-bit 4:2:0/MOV) for 59.94p for others.

I did not have a microP2 card on hand for the specific P2 recording options, some of the settings required. I think some consumers who pick up the AG-CX10 will typically use a standard SD card, like I did, rather than a dedicated and more expensive microP2 card. If a business, like a local TV station, has the AG-CX10 on hand, then I expect the use of a microP2 in those cases. There are a lot of options for whatever you need.

I shot a bunch of UHD footage. Here I have a little sample of my daughter playing in the snow. The color profile setting used was Cine V which pushed some of the colors into an area of too much saturation. In DaVinci Resolve I was able to pull the over-saturated colors back into a legal range. I suggest to operators to choose either the Still color setting or Cine D for best color rendition. The UHD looks sharp and the image overall looks very close the original scene.