Panasonic AG-CX10 Camera Review with Bob Kovacs

This is a review of the Panasonic AG-CX10 video camera. In this video, Bob covers the important features of the camera, then runs it though its paces. Is it the right camera for you? Take a look and see if the AG-CX10 has what you need.
When video from the AG-CX10 is shown in this review, it is identified on-screen. Otherwise, this video was shot with a Panasonic GH5 camera... and one quick shot from a Panasonic GX8 camera. This video was edited using Adobe Premiere.
For more about me and what I do, please visit www.bobkovacs.com.

[@Baldcafe]

This is the best review of this camera on KZbin by far. The important stuff with demonstration. You are a hero!

[@BobKovacs]

Wow... thanks for the kind words!

[@rodolfonetto118]

The sensors, in video cameras, suffer from heat - and heat creates noise. One of the reasons small sensors are used in video cameras is the ability to cool them. A hot large sensor might produce more noise than a small cool sensor.

[@BobKovacs]

True... but Panasonic seems to have figured out how to do large sensors and keep them cool enough to record indefinitely.

[@varietyyachtsvessels6769]

Very Informative Video. Well Done.

[@BobKovacs]

Thanks!

[@manilamartin1001]

Great camera.

[@LoSpettro]

With respect Bob Kovacs, I have been following your descriptions for Panasonic cameras: 1.) Panasonic ''AG-UX180AG'' 2.) Panasonic ''AG-CX350'' 3.) Panasonic ''AG-CX10'' So, my question is: which one of these three cameras has the best quality of photos as a camera and the quality of videos? Please, your decision will be integral to my buy. Regards. Vladan Savić

[@BobKovacs]

Just so people know that I answered Vladan's question, he and I discussed camera choices in a series of e-mails. Since he is interested in good photos and good video, I recommended the Panasonic GH5 (or GH5 MkII) with a decent lens.

[@LoSpettro]

Thank you Bob Kovacs for your thorough answers, they have been a tremendous help. Cheers!

[@emptyplanet]

your presentation is simple and best ... Love from India

[@LetsGoOutdoors]

I would have to disagree with you about this camera not meeting KZbin standards. I have been filming with the CX-10 since it first came out for my KZbin channel, as a run and gun single person camera it's fantastic.

[@BobKovacs]

I didn't exactly say that the camera doesn't meet KZbin standards. My comment was that the CX-10 is not the most desirable camera for filmmaking, including using it predominantly for KZbin videos. Sure, it will work great for many KZbin applications, but it won't have the depth-of-field that filmmakers want. It is a nice camera... I'd love to have one for certain kinds of work.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

I agree, the Panasonic CX-10 and the price tag it comes with I don't quite know what it can be used for other than a nice display on your shelf :-)) I also have the previous version of this model and was hoping the upgrade will be better, the only difference is the streaming option and smaller housing.

[@seandoherty9820]

Great review! I'm looking to buy one of these for live production/streaming work, but I have a question. Do you think a shotgun mic like the Sennheiser mke 600 would get in the shot if attached to the mic holder on this camera? I've had this problem with other small cameras that have the mic holder too far out front.

[@BobKovacs]

I think the Sennheiser shotgun will be fine. The mic I use on the camera in this video is an Azden SGM-250, which is 250mm long -- the Sennheiser mke 600 is 256mm long. So as long as you don't "cheat" the mic too far forward, it will be fine.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

@@BobKovacs Hi Bob, does the shotgun Mic work better than the internal microphones? I currently use a Sennheiser MD-42 with Sennheiser Bluetooth connection or direct XLR cable connection. When recording Church services I use a feed directly from the Soundesk. The audio recorded from the soundesk is and Mic is good but yesterday I managed to learn how to remove background noise with Adobe Audition and that made a huge difference. The internal camera mic's, unless I'm doing something wrong pics up much of background noise which i haven't tried rectifying with Adobe Audition. Ultimate it will be nice to obtain good quality audio recording when out and about without using the internal mic's and I was wondering if a shotgun mic will provide such quality. Your advice on this will be appreciated please?

[@BobKovacs]

@@christoffelbotha2087 A shotgun mic will definitely pick up someone in front of the camera MUCH better than the camera's internal mic. I have an Azden AGM250 shotgun, and I use it both on top of the camera and as an interview mic when I'm in front of the camera interviewing someone. (Here's a video of me doing that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4m8ZoSAlLiLbNE) If you want to get clear sound from the pulpit, I recommend using a wireless transmitter on the pulpit (tape the lav mic to the gooseneck on the pulpit) and record that sound on your camera. It will be MUCH better than trying to record the ambient sound in the church. Another idea is to use a lav mic taped to the plupit's gooseneck mic and record that sound on an external recorder. Then sync that sound during editing. It is easy to do, and again... MUCH better sound. Just a couple ideas.

[@parsifool1]

Nice review!

[@BobKovacs]

Thanks!

[@fuglbird]

Thank you for the unboxing. What about a full review? You need a larger sensor for low quality KZbin productions?? Why? Because of the blurry background?

[@BobKovacs]

This is a full review. In fact, I don't do an unboxing in this video. Are you referring to a different video? As for the small sensor/big sensor comments, I prefer a larger sensor for its lower noise/grain and better depth of field. That said, the CX10 had a pleasing depth of field for a small sensor camera. And it did okay in night shooting. But if you compare it side-by-side with a Panasonic camera with a larger sensor, you'll see the difference.

[@fuglbird]

@@BobKovacs It was a very short review, more like a presentation of the camera - therefore "unboxing". I would like to see a long term review. There are not many in depth reviews of the X1500, X2000 and CX10; but I have studied the ratings on B&H and Amazon. Some have complained about problems getting used to the small buttons. Others have complained about noisy XLR and mini jack connections and about shake when used on tripods. Do you have any comments on these issues?

[@BobKovacs]

I thought the audio features on the CX10 were excellent -- I did not hear any noise in the audio. And the stabilization is very good for handheld work. If you have the image wide, you can hand hold the camera and it looks like you're using a gimbal. I mostly used the camera's automatic features, occasionally pushing buttons. I didn't consider the buttons to be too small. One thing I can say is that the standard video AGC is pretty aggressive. A couple times, it adjusted the image from light to dark so quickly that it was distracting. You can see the aggressive AGC at work at about 1:15 in this video, where I bring my hand into the shot to remove the connector: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6mwZpWHr6l5f5Y

[@fuglbird]

@@BobKovacs I'm glad to hear this. Thank's a lot. I appreciate your time.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

@@BobKovacs Hi Rob, what size image sensor / video camera would you recommend for an improved depth of field?

[@dodgierogie68]

i have the 1500 i love it

[@TbnStudio]

Good reviews good camcorder!

[@BobKovacs]

Thanks!

[@epsilonvideo]

What mic are you using on this camera?

[@BobKovacs]

I usually say in the comments, but don't say about the mic in this video for some reason. I probably used a cheap wireless lav from Kimafun, which I reviewed in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYK1k6h8drt_bpo

[@SteveBurk]

What software do you need to up load videos to computer? Half of the formats don't work like MOV, Hevc etc... or anything in 40 hertz

[@BobKovacs]

I shoot and edit almost all of my videos in 4K at 29.97fps. I render them as MPEG4 (H.264) files, and have no problem playing and editing those files on my computer. They also upload to KZbin with no problem. I shoot a video, take the SD card out of the camera and pop it into the computer's slot, then move the files into the folder I want. I edit using Adobe Premiere, using the video files in the folder I just filled. Then I use Premiere to render the files into the format I want to upload (4K/29.97 MP4). Good luck!

[@SteveBurk]

@@BobKovacs Yes, I was able to do that too, but how can you use all the other options if computer doesn't read it? weird like MOV, HEVC. And when and why would you use 50HZ comparted to 59hz? I don't get that. Computer doesn't read anything done at 50hz either. Nightmare. So noone can actually record at 60p for computers can't read it? There must be software you need? Manual is useless, tells you nothing about this stupid. Just says the formats

[@BobKovacs]

Some people have computers and software that will read HEVC, MOV, AVI and other standards. The editing software I use (Adobe Premiere) has no trouble editing those formats -- I once shot an entire video in HEVC just to try it out and was able to edit it no problem. As for 50Hz, that is the standard in much of the world. While the US, Canada, Mexico and a few other countries use 60 and 30 as our standard frame rates, most of the world uses 50/25 Hz. That's why you have all those different formats.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

When using Adobe Premier Pro you can import and edit just about any file format.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

No disrespect to Bob and his efforts but I have had this camera for two years and it is not worth half the price tag. When using a mic and trying to adjust the audio settings other than what it was set at as per factory standards the outcome is exponentially worse, just use the out of box audio settings. Other custom settings and futures on this camera also don't live up to expectation. Shooting in Auto mode is about all you need. This camera is nothing than camera housing with lots of worthless setting and futures. As said Bob, no disrespect towards your channel or your efforts but this camera is not worth it. It looks good but that's about it.

[@BobKovacs]

Thanks for your thoughts on this... I appreciate you taking the time.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

Any suggestions you may have that I cannot try will be greatly appreciated. I am very inrerested to discover the full capacity of what this camera is capable of doing. I paid 56 000 Zar for it in South Africa, making it $3200 US. I am sure that fir thR price there must be a WoW factor somewhere. Such as, if this camera is nit goo for KZbin shoots or cinematic that which type if shoots is it meant for. I recorder my footage on 4k 59rps MOV format, import the assets in premier pro, do my editing and the export in The setting KZbin FHD. Angour Church service, the end dole is quite large Roun 6 to 9 gig. But it lòks good. More depth of field when zoomin in from a distance of about 40meters will be of great vallue to. This way i hope to blur out the backround from the subject / mostly a presit i am recording for the serrvicr to be uploaded to their KZbin channel ppst production. Do you possibly have any adive on this Rob?

[@BobKovacs]

@@christoffelbotha2087 I thought it was a decent low-end broadcast camera. Perhaps some of the features in your camera need repair, such as your complaint about the audio. Zooming in (on a pulpit, perhaps?) from 40 meters away should give you a nice soft background. You should be able to manually adjust the settings so that the aperture is as wide as possible, which will help give you depth of field. Good luck!

[@christoffelbotha2087]

@@BobKovacs Hi Bob, I recently had the camera serviced, firmware updated and all else by Panasonic and their feedback was that the camera is in perfect order and as new.

[@christoffelbotha2087]

Hi Bob, thank for all your feedback it is appreciated. I was wondering if my expectations of the camera is maybe a bit high. I will really appreciate it if you could take a look at the below two links of the two most recent sermons I recorded. I the first link was shot fro 5m away and the second one from the upper room where i do all my production from which is 40m away. Most of my footage is taken from the upper room. kzbin.info/www/bejne/foLHiIN8r6iEa8U kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWnHpJJ6as-JoM0 I'm looking at purchasing a second camera to place down stairs to have another angle of the sermon recording but am somewhat hesitant on which camera to invest in. Sorry for asking all the questions but you are one a few who shows an interest to share your knowledge.