VIDEO. The Panasonic HC-V770 takes very good video, higher quality than most high-definition camcorders. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see most details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations, the video was very good: fairly bright, only slightly soft and grainy. It captures full HD video of 1920x1080 at 60i frames per second.
AUDIO. It captures good audio in stereo and surround. But it will pick up the sound of the zoom in the audio.
PHOTO QUALITY. In Photo mode it captures at best 18-megapixel stills with excellent quality, which is unusual for a camcorder.
LENS. It has a moderately long 20x zoom lens that can be helpful when you need to zoom in to capture your subjects. The lens also has a wide-angle (29.5mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance. The lens has a bright f/1.8 aperture (at its maximum), which gives you a shallower depth of field for producing more professional looking portraits and images.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature with a long zoom lens; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to slight movement of your hands. Shooting in well-lit scenes, this model did a very good job of minimizing the effects of camcorder shake.
SPEED. Its readiness when switching to Video mode is fast, better than most models. It is moderate waking up from standby, typical of many models.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It has a wireless communication feature. Like most models, this camcorder does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD monitor to compose your video or photo. It has a typical 3-inch touchscreen LCD, which has excellent quality that lets you very easily compose your shots and has superb playback of photos and video. It has a hot shoe for attaching an external lamp, flash or directional microphone (generally sold separately).
