Complements GH5s, GH6, Varicam LT/HS/35 & others but cannot replace them completely. Lacks true optical sharpness at extreme wide and tele.
For the $3.7K total price, no complaint here. Has incredible features for a 1-piece camcorder. Love the IR, optical stabilization, iZoom, 59.94p, small-form factor, smooth servo zoom..) With that in mind, don't expect this cam to perform like a AJ-CX4000 w/ a $40K UHD 2/3" lens. The extreme wide end and close-up (before iZoom) are just plain soft. I clearly see the focus assist is in red, but it just couldn't resolve the image well. Has to be the economy lens here. This is why a real UHD lens costs about $35-45K. I'd shoot z100-200 and max out at z750. Anything beyond that won't look good due to optical performance limitations. The autofocus is pretty slow (latest July 2022 firmware). Utterly useless in many cases because it can't track the subject fast enough. ... MoreFor the $3.7K total price, no complaint here. Has incredible features for a 1-piece camcorder. Love the IR, optical stabilization, iZoom, 59.94p, small-form factor, smooth servo zoom..) With that in mind, don't expect this cam to perform like a AJ-CX4000 w/ a $40K UHD 2/3" lens. The extreme wide end and close-up (before iZoom) are just plain soft. I clearly see the focus assist is in red, but it just couldn't resolve the image well. Has to be the economy lens here. This is why a real UHD lens costs about $35-45K. I'd shoot z100-200 and max out at z750. Anything beyond that won't look good due to optical performance limitations. The autofocus is pretty slow (latest July 2022 firmware). Utterly useless in many cases because it can't track the subject fast enough. Manual focus is adequate. Just doesn't have that fine detail or tactile feel as on a 2/3" UHD or HD Fujinon or Canon lenses. Most of the time I'm able to track the moving subject during the parade during a MCU and zoom out. But there is also many focus misses due to the ultra-fine focus ring. It'll take a while to get used to coming from a 2/3" broadcast lenses. Servo zoom in/out is actually pretty decent. It can do a slow creep and accelerate to a fast zoom just like the on the 2/3". 3rd party controller, such as the Varizoom VZ Rock can mimic the CX350's zoom rocker. The parafocal ability on the lens is decent. I can zoom in/out on the subject and it remains in focus. The only thing the CX-350 can't do is a super fast 1s servo zoom in/out that a super wide angle 2/3" can do. That itself is an artistic shooting style. Can't shoot super wide at certain tight locations. 24mm is wide but there are numerous situations where a super wide rectilinear 16-18mm is needed to get the entire building in the frame. Low-light with and without LOW SENS function is adequate. It simply doesn't have super low-light performance found on the GH5s series. VLog mode is decent. Has similar look to GH5, GH6, Varicam 35/LT/HS. The GH5 and GH6 is a little too sharp even sharpness is set to 0. But this looks very close. The Super Slow or HFR from 61-120 fps@1080p is very decent. Doesn't suffer the aliasing artifacts like the GH5s. This cam is a perfect addition to my GH5s but cannot replace it during low-light and super wide angle shots. There are scenarios where I can't do servo tracking shot on the GH5s. This fills that gap but doesn't replace my GH5s w/ Leica 10-25mm, 25-50mm, 8-16... Mobility and transporting cam from location to location are also very good. The camera is very light for me to carry the entire cam and tripod w/ out sweating too much. On a 2/3" setup, it's much heavier but the reward is its no-compromise optical and overall picture performance in all focal ranges and zoom. Handheld stabilization is quite good. Was taking a 2-mile hike with a very steep incline. Taking a tripod is too heavy. The Hybrid OIS and different stabilization modes enabled many useable handheld shots w/ no tripod. The shakiness is smoothened drastically! Impressive here. In-cam CX350 stabilization is far superior to using NLE apps method. Lack of genlock on the cam is not a deal-breaker. I can live with being 1 frame off when syncing with other equipment. Can't give it a 5-star due to lackluster optical performance at 4K. Everything else is great though.... Show more
Trung
originally posted on adorama.com
Excellent
Excellent overall camcorder. 10-bit color, lens that does almost everything. I love the macro on this thing, shockingly awesome and a huge asset in the field. Macro doesn’t go all the way at every zoom mm but it’s jaw-dropping where it does. Shadows a bit noisey but the interface and LANC are great.... Show more
Neil
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
Excellent quality rental at a good price
For last weekend, I rented 3 AG-CX350 camcorders to use with the 3 I already own to film a series of dance recitals. The equipment was in excellent shape and the cases were very good quality. I was very happy with the experience, with 2 minor exceptions:1) 2 of the cameras came in a single case, which was an inconvenience because I wanted to use them on 2 separate jobs.2) 2 of the cameras came via UPS and 1 via FedEx. When I was ready to return them and realized this, it cost me extra driving on a very hot day.... Show more
Jacqueline G.
originally posted on lensrentals.com
Good camera, non functional remote control, bad support
Great zoom, great image quality, user-unfriendly networking and poor support. First, the HC app for remote control won't reliably connect. It worked once and now I cannot get it to connect even after resetting and going through the EXACT same procedure as before. Worse, the basic setup info supplied by panasonic (hard to find) instructs me to connect thru a network access point (router) using DHCP... and by that method, every time I restart the camera, it assigns a new IP address which means I must re-enter that IP into the app in order to connect... an annoying waste of time. And it's not even working now. Q to Panasonic: Why not provide a setup that, once paired, remembers the settings and allows the app finds the camera? Sure, it's supposedly possible to create a ... MoreGreat zoom, great image quality, user-unfriendly networking and poor support. First, the HC app for remote control won't reliably connect. It worked once and now I cannot get it to connect even after resetting and going through the EXACT same procedure as before. Worse, the basic setup info supplied by panasonic (hard to find) instructs me to connect thru a network access point (router) using DHCP... and by that method, every time I restart the camera, it assigns a new IP address which means I must re-enter that IP into the app in order to connect... an annoying waste of time. And it's not even working now. Q to Panasonic: Why not provide a setup that, once paired, remembers the settings and allows the app finds the camera? Sure, it's supposedly possible to create a static IP, but I'm not an IT genius so it's beyond me, and Panasonic won't explain this. Can I do a "Direct connection"? Looks like it in the camera menu, but ZERO explanation of what the terms mean and no walk thru for this anywhere. FAIL! Contacted panasonic support they just gave me the basic set of instructions again. Major fail. I bought a wired remote. Only basic functionality, can't navigate menus, etc. Sure this will meet basic needs, but even my old Canon XA10 came with a nice wireless remote that would allow me to delete outtakes, etc. Very dissapointed.... Show more
troy1283
originally posted on ebay.com
[Rewarded Review] An Amazing Camcorder
I use the CX350 to film high school and collegiate sports and film and livestream church services. The camera is amazing, well balanced, easy to use, extremely versatile, videos are clear, crisp, excellent color , autofocus works great for fast sports and has good audio. I opted for ProGrade V90 cards and reader ( super fast). In my opinion and experience the negative reviews are not warranted. I use FCPX for post production. A heads up for post production, copy only the video files from your card to an external drive. Import the entire clip and check leave in place because you can’t set clip ranges on import. You can set the clip ranges in the FCPX browser. A few firmware upgrades would be nice to have, a bit larger and different color histogram to make it easier ... MoreI use the CX350 to film high school and collegiate sports and film and livestream church services. The camera is amazing, well balanced, easy to use, extremely versatile, videos are clear, crisp, excellent color , autofocus works great for fast sports and has good audio. I opted for ProGrade V90 cards and reader ( super fast). In my opinion and experience the negative reviews are not warranted. I use FCPX for post production. A heads up for post production, copy only the video files from your card to an external drive. Import the entire clip and check leave in place because you can’t set clip ranges on import. You can set the clip ranges in the FCPX browser. A few firmware upgrades would be nice to have, a bit larger and different color histogram to make it easier to see, a change in the card structure so you can import clip ranges and a percent remaining battery life.For church services I use a Nikon 850, Z6, Canon XF200 and CX350 and have no issues matching color.I am very happy with my CX350 and recommend that you consider it for your application.... Show more
Jerry M
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
[Rewarded Review] I Have 3
I own three of these. Some things you just can't do efficiently with a DSLR, the Panasonic CX350 is my go-to. It's a work horse for professionals. We use these cameras for sports, training videos, informational messages from the president, promotional/marketing and also for feeding into a switcher for streaming and recording a 3-camera shoot like commencement. I've used this family of cameras for more than 20 years and transitioned from the DVX100 using mini-DV to the HMC150 using SD cards, and then the AC160, the UX180 and now I'm replacing my DVX200s with CX350s. All of the previously mentioned cameras (11-total) still work just fine, I've never had a problem, never had to send one away for repair.... Show more
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
[Rewarded Review] Superb Image Quality
Used as a live camera for image magnification rather than recording, I'll only speak to that capability.First of all, we did an A/B test with the JVC-GYHC500U and this camera was far superior. No horrible rolling shutter, real colors, better low-light response. It just looked like a real image right out of the box. We are connecting to our video system via SDI and there is very little latency by the time it gets to our projectors. The dynamic range is impressive with details preserved in the shadows. Even when used in High Sensitivity mode for improved low-light response, there is no noticeable noise at +12dB gain, which is how we operate. There is a very slight rolling shutter effect when panning quickly, but we don't pan quickly so it's not an issue. All the ... MoreUsed as a live camera for image magnification rather than recording, I'll only speak to that capability.First of all, we did an A/B test with the JVC-GYHC500U and this camera was far superior. No horrible rolling shutter, real colors, better low-light response. It just looked like a real image right out of the box. We are connecting to our video system via SDI and there is very little latency by the time it gets to our projectors. The dynamic range is impressive with details preserved in the shadows. Even when used in High Sensitivity mode for improved low-light response, there is no noticeable noise at +12dB gain, which is how we operate. There is a very slight rolling shutter effect when panning quickly, but we don't pan quickly so it's not an issue. All the shooting features you need to be successful are in built-in and fully adjustable. It's a professionally designed camera. The camera itself is quite light weight, so you don't need a massive tripod rig, though a good fluid head will be worth the investment. With the iZoom feature on, you get plenty of reach and there is no noticeable signal degradation when zooming past the purely optical range. We are shooting at around 45' from the stage and we're able to get decent close-ups. We're using an external zoom controller and are finding the response smooth and usable. Auto-focus is pretty decent, but it does hunt a little if the subject moves out of your focus area.If there are any drawbacks, one is screen size. I recommend an external monitor. The 1 sensor at a higher zoom levels means the aperture narrows to 4.5, which makes your depth of field gets quite deep. There isn't much separation from the background we're able to achieve in our setup, but that doesn't mean it's not possible in a different scenario.Overall, we liked the results enough to outfit our multi-camera setup with this product. Would recommend it.... Show more
Geoff
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
[Rewarded Review] Very disappointing camera
I had been waiting to buy this camera, and once the price dropped (usually a strong indicator it's about to be discontinued), I bit. Upon first inspection, I'm very disappointed that it is all plastic, has a cheap lens and only has a 2.8 max Iris opening. And while offering many record options, none of them actually look good. Image quality is underwhelming to say the least. The camera also makes an audible humming sound! And worst of all, having purchased this camera in November of 2022, I am shocked that I had to download the most recent firmware update, which was from 2019! Has this camera been sitting in a warehouse for 3 years?! Panasonic doesn't update the firmware during manufacturing? Finally, as I mentioned, the image quality of the CX350 is very, very ... MoreI had been waiting to buy this camera, and once the price dropped (usually a strong indicator it's about to be discontinued), I bit. Upon first inspection, I'm very disappointed that it is all plastic, has a cheap lens and only has a 2.8 max Iris opening. And while offering many record options, none of them actually look good. Image quality is underwhelming to say the least. The camera also makes an audible humming sound! And worst of all, having purchased this camera in November of 2022, I am shocked that I had to download the most recent firmware update, which was from 2019! Has this camera been sitting in a warehouse for 3 years?! Panasonic doesn't update the firmware during manufacturing? Finally, as I mentioned, the image quality of the CX350 is very, very disappointing. My 11 year old Panasonic AC160 has better saturation and overall better look. I have been a Panasonic video fan for a long time, but between this awful camera and their apparent lack of interest in making good prosumer cameras anymore, I will have to find something better.... Show more
S Stone
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
[Rewarded Review] Very versatile and potent for the price
I'm NOT a professional videographer, but I am a serious geek and tech nerd. I bought this to replace a six-year-old Sony 1 sensor 4k camcorder--something that was a very early version of that resolution and sensor size. I use this for live-streaming or recording community events, school events, etc. I also use it for various real estate projects (which is my actual day job). Key selling points are the exceptionally wide short end of the zoom range, the substantially more light sensitive and low noise image sensor, and the dramatically superior options for codecs, frame rates, and simultaneous internal 4k recording WITH 4k output (something the old Sony lacked the processing power to do). Image quality and noise are dramatically superior under marginal light than the ... MoreI'm NOT a professional videographer, but I am a serious geek and tech nerd. I bought this to replace a six-year-old Sony 1 sensor 4k camcorder--something that was a very early version of that resolution and sensor size. I use this for live-streaming or recording community events, school events, etc. I also use it for various real estate projects (which is my actual day job). Key selling points are the exceptionally wide short end of the zoom range, the substantially more light sensitive and low noise image sensor, and the dramatically superior options for codecs, frame rates, and simultaneous internal 4k recording WITH 4k output (something the old Sony lacked the processing power to do). Image quality and noise are dramatically superior under marginal light than the much older Sony.I shoot with Nikon mirrorless cameras, plus the Sony camcorder. I'm still adapting to the Panasonic user interface, which is both new and more complex due to the huge number of options.Based on other reviews, I expected auto-focus to be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency feature, but it's very useful in practice. Certainly not on par with current-gen Sony, but rarely problematic.One design flaw is that the flip-out LCD doesn't quite position horizontally, making it very confusing to mentally adjust to the impression that the whole shot is out of level. The only other minor complaint is that, compared to my Sony experience, where I could have auto-exposure seamlessly adjust gain to maintain exposure across the variable aperture zoom range, the Panasonic appears to leave no choice but to stop down at the wider end of the zoom to have a constant f/4.5 across the range. Otherwise, if the goal is a wide-open aperture, I have to flip the gain switch (which is not a gradual adjustment) to a different setting at wide-angle f/2.8 versus telephoto f/4.5. The good news is that the sensor is sooooo good with less light that my results are still totally fine with a constant stopped down aperture and a little more gain. Images out of the camera are gorgeous.... Show more
Matt
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
[Rewarded Review] Wonderful Camera For It's Price Range
I purchased two of the CX350's to compliment the two GH5's I have, since all are 10 bit, 4:2:2 cams with log gammas and time code. Since they have similar gamma settings I use the same LUTs on each in POST. I can't stress how great this is, and how well 10 bit footage grades. I used to spend hours color grading 8 bit, not any more. You have so much more control over color accuracy and depth in 10 bit.The CX350 has a fair dynamic range with log gamma. When shooting under stage lighting with its wide dynamic range, log gamma settings keep faces from being blown out while shadow detail is still there . In post, colors render correctly and evenly from cam to cam over an entire, two-hour production and on one battery. The standard battery life is great, even at 200 mb/s ... MoreI purchased two of the CX350's to compliment the two GH5's I have, since all are 10 bit, 4:2:2 cams with log gammas and time code. Since they have similar gamma settings I use the same LUTs on each in POST. I can't stress how great this is, and how well 10 bit footage grades. I used to spend hours color grading 8 bit, not any more. You have so much more control over color accuracy and depth in 10 bit.The CX350 has a fair dynamic range with log gamma. When shooting under stage lighting with its wide dynamic range, log gamma settings keep faces from being blown out while shadow detail is still there . In post, colors render correctly and evenly from cam to cam over an entire, two-hour production and on one battery. The standard battery life is great, even at 200 mb/s in 1080. You will want the larger battery for shooting in 4K at higher bit rates.When shooting lit scenes or outdoors the Cine-gamma mode looks the best in my opinion with good shadow detail and a non-video look. The CX350 performs fairly well in dim light, such as wedding receptions when the dancing starts and the lights dim - but you willneed to up the gain to do it. Grain is minimal compared to HDV. The S/N ratio, while unpublished, is pretty good and comparable to my SONY EX-3 of 56dB. It can produce good blacks on a scope, similar to the GH5s.The CX350's integrated lens, while pretty good, doesn't have the same sharpness of the 4/3 Leica lenses on the GH5 cams, but its close enough. The videos are sharp, skin tones look great, and the color is honest. The 1, 4K MOS chip produces a pleasant bokeh at nearly any range.After using the two CX-350's for just over two years I would say forme, this camera has three issues but each can be dealt with. First and worst is the electronic kit lens with the lack of absolute focus and iris control, and the auto-focus breathability. Holding focus in auto-mode is impossible, so you will need to go manual.Second, the 3.2 display is not bright enough for outdoor focusing, even with the magnification setting. It's ok indoors but you'll wantto get an 7 external monitor especially since the FIZ rings are awkward on this camera and focus is challenging without one.Third, the CX350 can't be controlled remotely with the CX-ROP app with live visual monitoring while you make changes with your Apple or Android device. Remote changes to focus, iris and zoom aremade blindly. The reason I bought the two CX350's was so I could make changes while working other cameras. While the CX-ROP app is free, you'll need the AJ-WM50 wireless USB antennae ($159 ea) tobe able to transmit the wireless signal from the camera to your device. Don't waste money on 3rd-party USB antennas - they don't work. After installing and configuring the CX-ROP app and finding the CX350 wi-fi signal (tricky), you CAN control most of the camera'sfeatures, but you can't see what the results are live. I hope that is fixed some day as this is a great camera for the money.I also use the two CX-350's in a streaming mode, outputting a 720-30p signal via the SDI out to a controller which displays on a projector screen while recording.A typical setup is the two GH5s cameras on 12' lighting stands for clearance and side angles, the CX-350's on tripods for zoom shots or roving with one on an Axler VH-12 monopod. This rig fell once when I left it alone for a minute. The CX-350 didn't break a thing except the battery came out.In all fairness the AG-CX350 camera is 10 lbs of very high-tech in a 5lb. bag. If you are on the fence, get off of it and buy one. You won't be disappointed.... Show more
James
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
