Panasonic AG CX350 Pros and Cons 6 Months on.

Summary

After six months of extensive use, Andy Nichols provides a balanced review of the Panasonic AG CX350 camcorder. Andy shares his insights on both the negatives and positives aspects of this camcorder, helping potential buyers make informed decisions. Some downsides include issues with the LAN controller, lack of MP4 recording, tedious URL entry for streaming, subpar autofocus, and slow servo zoom. However, the camcorder also boasts impressive features like a versatile lens, excellent image quality, and solid streaming capabilities, making it suitable for various filming scenarios.

Highlights

• LAN controller issues could be resolved with a firmware update. 🛠️
• The AG CX350 doesn't support MP4 recording, complicating editing tasks. 🖥️
• Streaming requires annoying URL inputs via the touch keyboard. 😤
• Autofocus is a weak point, demanding manual focusing skills. 📏
• Pros appreciate the powerful lens zoom and crystal-clear image quality. 🔍
• Single-camera live streaming is feasible and surprisingly in-demand. 🖥️
• Excellent software design contributes to efficient usage on the go. 🚀

Key Takeaways

• The Panasonic AG CX350's LAN controller needs a firmware update for smoother performance. 📸
• Recording in MP4 is not supported, which complicates file management on Windows. 💾
• Entering stream URLs on the camera is a hassle, but software solutions exist. 🌐
• Autofocus on the AG CX350 is suboptimal, but old-school manual techniques can compensate. 📷
• Both the lens zoom and image quality are standout features of the camcorder. 🌟
• Streaming directly from the camcorder is a convenient feature that is being increasingly utilized. 📡
• The camera's software and menu design are user-friendly and efficient under field conditions. 🌈

Overview

Six months into using the Panasonic AG CX350, Andy Nichols shares an in-depth review covering both the quirks and perks of the camera. While Andy is impressed with many aspects, such as the camcorder’s lens versatility and image quality, he finds the LAN controller a bit of a headache, owing to its imprecise zooming capabilities that might be resolved with an upcoming firmware update.

While the camera's inability to record in MP4 format might bother some Windows users due to cumbersome file handling, Andy suggests that upcoming software updates might alleviate these minor nuisances. Autofocus remains a notable flaw, requiring manual adjustments to achieve professional-grade video, which might be more cumbersome for some users.

On the lighter side, the camera offers exceptional streaming capabilities that are surprisingly popular among professionals needing a single-camera setup for live events. The overall software and menu intuitiveness make it a joy to use under diverse conditions, proving once again that the Panasonic AG CX350 holds its own for both enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview In this chapter, Andy Nichols introduces himself and revisits his review of the Panasonic CX 350 camcorder from six months ago. Having gained extensive experience with the camera, he intends to share ten things he finds problematic and ten things he appreciates about it. This information aims to assist potential buyers in making informed decisions, particularly in conference filming work.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Lank Controller Issues This chapter discusses the importance of having a good LANC (Local Application Network Control) controller system. It mentions that Panasonic used to have its own proprietary LANC controller but has since switched to the more standard system used by Sony, Canon, and other manufacturers. The speaker notes the difficulty in finding a smooth and effective controller for this system.
• 02:00 - 03:00: File Format and Recording Challenges The chapter titled 'File Format and Recording Challenges' discusses ongoing issues with camera firmware that affect performance. The speaker initially suspected that the Liebeck controller was problematic but later zeroed in on a firmware issue with the camera itself. A new firmware update has been released, but it remains untested by the speaker. The speaker plans to test the update and report back on its effectiveness. Challenges with using the LAN controller are also mentioned.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Streaming Difficulties The chapter 'Streaming Difficulties' discusses the challenges faced with achieving a smooth zoom functionality on a camera. The zoom tends to be erratic, stopping and starting in a jittery, unprofessional manner. The narrator encourages readers who have experience with link controllers on this camera and have found a successful solution to share their insights in the comments, as many are seeking an effective resolution to this problem.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Autofocus and Zoom Concerns The chapter titled 'Autofocus and Zoom Concerns' discusses issues related to recording formats and their impact on usability, specifically on Windows computers. A new firmware update aims to address some of these concerns. One significant issue is the loss of MP4 recording capability, which affects the ability to view thumbnails on SD cards. The chapter hints at providing further updates after testing the new firmware.
• 10:00 - 12:00: Frame Rate and Genlock Limitations This chapter discusses the issues with frame rate and genlock limitations when working with video files. The speaker mentions difficulties with certain codecs and formats not displaying properly in Windows, potentially due to driver issues. They express frustration when trying to quickly check and record over SD cards without the compatible codecs.
• 12:00 - 15:00: Dual Recording Mode Disadvantages The chapter discusses the disadvantages of dual recording mode, particularly focusing on the inconvenience and time-consumption involved in having to repeatedly open nonlinear editing software to view card contents. The narrator expresses frustration with the lack of mp4 file recording capability, which previously offered a more seamless and efficient workflow.
• 15:00 - 16:30: Positives - Lens and Zoom Features The chapter discusses the features and challenges associated with using the streaming capability of a camcorder. It highlights that while streaming is a beneficial feature, the process of entering URLs and stream keys through the touch keyboard on the viewfinder can be cumbersome. The manual entry of these details, with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and characters, is mentioned as a significant inconvenience. Additionally, there is a brief mention of those interested in the progress of the CX ray 50 model.
• 16:30 - 18:00: Image Quality and Codec Versatility The chapter discusses a set of tutorials released by Barry Green from Panasonic, which are recommended for viewers interested in improving their use of Panasonic cameras. One key point highlighted is the availability of a free utility from Panasonic called the P2 Network Settings Software Utility. This tool enables users to easily cut and paste stream keys and URLs directly into the software and save the configuration onto an SD card, facilitating ease of use. A test of this functionality has been conducted successfully.
• 18:00 - 18:30: Mounting and Screen Features The chapter explores mounting and screen features, focusing on the practical advantages of integrating a stream key directly into a camera. The integration alleviates the hassle of manual entry during on-site operations, facilitating seamless live streaming. Though the manual input is a minor inconvenience, the feature generally offers significant convenience by preparing the data beforehand, thus enhancing the live streaming experience directly from the camera.
• 18:30 - 19:30: Low-Light Performance and Streaming Use The chapter discusses the limitations on streaming and recording video quality on a certain camera model. It mentions that the maximum stream size is 1080p, meaning you can only record in 1080p while streaming. Although it's possible to stream to platforms like Facebook in 720p and simultaneously record in 1080p, it's not feasible to provide a client with a 4k recording after streaming in 720p. The camera does not support recording in 4k while streaming, which is viewed as a disappointment.
• 19:30 - 21:00: Overall Camera Performance and Menu When dealing with conference recordings, clients often don't require 4K quality, preferring 1080p delivery. It's important to communicate with clients about these capabilities based on their needs.
• 21:00 - 21:30: Conclusion The narrator had to edit a URL using the on-screen keyboard to successfully connect to a stream by adding an 'S' to the URL. However, they were unable to save the RTMPS stream key to an SD card due to limitations in the firmware.

Panasonic AG CX350 Pros and Cons 6 Months on. Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hi my name's Andy Nichols and it was nearly six months ago now that I did my first review of the new CX 350 camcorder from Panasonic I've used the camera a lot since then and learnt a lot about it and in this video I want to give you the 10 things that really bug me about this camera and ten things that are really great to help you if you're looking to buy the camera for yourself firstly I do a lot of filming work in conferences and
• 00:30 - 01:00 events so it's very important for me to have a good rank controller system now for those of you that don't know Panasonic used to have their own proprietary lank controller and on this model of camera they've changed that to the more standard lank system as used by Sony and Canon and other manufacturers I found it very difficult to find a good controller that works smoothly on this
• 01:00 - 01:30 camera now I've tried a very zoom and I'm currently using a Liebeck controller and I came to the conclusion that the problem was actually win the firmware of the camera rather than the actual controller's themselves now I will quantify that by saying that there is a new firmware update which has just recently come out I haven't had the chance to load that onto the camera yet or to test it and I will be doing so and will let you know but the the problem I have with the LAN controller on this at
• 01:30 - 02:00 the moment is that it's just not smooth enough to get that good smooth zoom all the way through the range tailing off either end it tends to stop start and be juddery in a very unprofessional way now if you've had any experience with link controllers yourselves on this camera and the found one that works really well then please do let us know in the comments below because it's not just me there are a number of other people that are really interested in finding a good solution to that but hopefully it's been
• 02:00 - 02:30 addressed with a new firmware update and we'll be giving that a try very shortly and coming back to you with an update on that engine course one of the things we lost on this camera was the ability to be able to record mp4 files it it records more files and I know that's only the rapper but where that really hits me on a Windows computer is not always being able to see the thumbnails on a SD card that you've recorded it's not that
• 02:30 - 03:00 simple some work fine and some just won't display I haven't pinned down exactly which codecs in which formats do work on don't work at this stage and it's possible that there may be drivers out there that will get over that and allow Windows to display them all if you've had any experience that again please do let me know but where it's a real pain is when I want to quickly check an SD card if I wanna find an SD card to record over or
• 03:00 - 03:30 I'm just going through catalog in the cards it means that many times I have to open up my nonlinear editing software load the contents of the card in just to see what's on the card and that is really time-consuming and a real pain in the butt so please why did you do away with mp4 files that just worked seamlessly that I don't know but I would really like to have that ability to record mp4 files or
• 03:30 - 04:00 get this resolved some other way streaming a really nice facility on this camcorder however you have to enter the URL and string key using the touch keyboard on the viewfinder using upper lower case letters and numbers and characters to form these great long stream keys and URL and that's a real headache anyone that's been following the progress of the CX ray 50 may also
• 04:00 - 04:30 well have seen that Barry green from panasonic has just released his set of tutorials for this camera which are well worth watching and actually one of the things he pointed out on there is that you can get a free utility from Panasonic called the P to network settings software utility and that allows you to cut and paste an end to the stream key in url directly into that software and then save it to an SD card and I've just done a test
• 04:30 - 05:00 with that and that does actually work and allows me to load the stream key directly into the camera so that's going to save a real headache so although that's a real pain having to edit or enter those details directly on the camera probably in most cases we will be able to take care of that before we actually go out in sight and get that information so that's going to be a real bonus so that may well be one that comes off the list it's great being able to do a live stream directly from the camera
• 05:00 - 05:30 but the maximum stream size you can send out is 1080 and that means that the maximum size you can record on while you're streaming is 1080 now I can send out a stream to Facebook in 720 and record at 1080 in camera but I cannot do a live stream for a client at 720 and then present them with a fork a copy at the end of the day you can't record in 4k on this camera while you're streaming and that's a bit disappointing in most
• 05:30 - 06:00 cases if it's a conference or something like that the client doesn't usually want a 4k recording but clearly there are going to be times when I'm going to have to explain to the client yes I can do that but I can only deliver you a 1080 file at the end of it so that's just one to be aware of if that's important to you another issue with streaming I recently had to do a stream to Facebook and I discovered that the rtmp URL had changed to an rtmp s
• 06:00 - 06:30 URL and I had to go through the process using the on-screen keyboard to edit the URL that was in there and work my way back through and add an S in the good news is that worked and I was able to connect to that stream however what I wasn't able to do was to save the rtmp s stream key to an SD card through the menu system that seems to be just something that's lacking in the firmware
• 06:30 - 07:00 and hopefully summoners the updatable when you try and save the RTMP s key it just gives an error message the other good news is gain having tried the p2 network software I am able to load that with an rtmp S key straight into the camera so that does work hopefully these are niggly little things that will be able to be sorted out through future
• 07:00 - 07:30 firmware updates autofocus yep it sucks it's just one thing Panasonic do not seem to be able to do very well where everybody else now can so I really wish they would get their act together on that one that said I'm not the sort of person that uses autofocus very much I come from the old school maybe where I will zoom in get focus and zoom back out that it's not so easy on this camera with the servo zoom and there are occasions of course maybe a conference
• 07:30 - 08:00 or an event where things are changing on stage and you change your shot you can't stop recording or can't stop giving output so you need to be able to refocus and there are some nice focusing tools you can punch in you can you have got peaking and in fairness they haven't let me down this yet but having autofocus can some a good reliable autofocus system can sometimes be a real bonus what I do use is the push auto
• 08:00 - 08:30 focus button which just grabs focus and in most cases that works okay but it hunts around and you just get that shimmering on the image which again just looks very unprofessional so it's not ideal I'm sure like many users we would all just wish that Panasonic would come out with a really good and reliable autofocus system in this day and age coming back to this servo zoom I mentioned that for
• 08:30 - 09:00 focusing I want to get in get out focus up on my px 270 I've just had a lever on the on the lens I could crank that in do my focus pull it back out always good on this I'm having to rely on the whoa mechanism within the lens to zoom right in focus and then zoom right back out again on a running gun scenario it just takes way too long now there are some speed adjustments and on the latest
• 09:00 - 09:30 firmware that I've still yet to install that some of that should be addressed and that the zoom speed should be much more controllable and faster I've yet to put that to the test I will do so and I will give you an update in due course but for a run-and-gun work at the moment the servo zoom it just doesn't cut it in terms of being able to get in and out quickly just a fairly slow zoom and it is just not accurate
• 09:30 - 10:00 enough in my book it's one of the big areas that kind of lets this camera down a little like an you think it all depends whether that's a key important factor for you it's certainly not something that's a showstopper for me but it really could be that bit better another one of the things that kind of caught me out that I didn't look up in the specs before about the camera or even saw that it was something that was that important to me was the ability to be able to record at 24 frames a second
• 10:00 - 10:30 now I could record at 24 frames a second on my DV X 200 and where that catches me out here it's a little bit specialized but again it might be something that's important to you I film a lot in cinemas and very often we're filming a Q&A session with people sitting up on the stage and there will be a big logo or screen up behind them projected on the screen about the film that we're talking
• 10:30 - 11:00 about and that will be flickery at because it's being projected at 24 frames a second I'm recording at 25 I'm in the UK so we're using 50 Hertz now and no if I switch that to 60 Hertz I could set that to 23 97 but then I'm recording at 60 Hertz and my lighting is going to call me calls me a flicker because that's running at 50 Hertz so I've yet to find a good way around that I can't know that
• 11:00 - 11:30 with a shutter speed and in some cases I've had to actually use my G H 5 which records at 24 to get around that problem I do a lot of events work and one of the things that nearly caught me out recently was on an event where we tried to sync all the cameras together and it was the first time I'd realized that when I looked at all the inputs on the camera but there's no actual genlock input so you can't sync this camera to other cameras you can sync timecode and you've got SDI out but there was no way
• 11:30 - 12:00 to sync the cameras together going into the vision mixer it wasn't a major problem for us in this case but ever the first time that I actually spotted that and again if that's something that's important for your workflow that's something just to be aware of number 10 and I'll stress this is not something specific to the CX 350 I think it's the same on any of the Panasonic cameras but there's some it that really bugs me I'm used to working with p2 cameras which
• 12:00 - 12:30 use very robust cards and one of the things that's really nice with these new camcorders is the ability to be able to record on to SD cards simultaneously that's a fantastic feature I mean I have had SD cards fail on me in the past never on an important job touchwood but I have seen them fail so when there's a big event on and I'm really nervous about recording to SD
• 12:30 - 13:00 cards at least I can record to 2 SD cards at once however I also like to make use of the review last clip feature which is the single button which incidentally you can't reassign so I can't use that button for anything else but when you're in dual recording mode in similar recording mode you can't check what you've just recorded so give you that confidence that you're recording ok to the card now I kind of
• 13:00 - 13:30 get that you're according to two cards at once but you know it can't be that difficult just play back what's on card one card two is only a copy of that anyway and at least it will show you that you're recording something to the card why can't we have that it's we just makes that feature completely useless to me and it's a really important feature that I really like to use so please Panasonic I'd really like you to do something with that and just
• 13:30 - 14:00 be able to play back maybe card one the last few seconds just to show the age recording something on the card that would be really useful to me well that's the negatives but there's also plenty of positives so let's now look at the ten things that are really nice with this camera one thing that's great on this camera is the fixed lens and having the ability to go from somewhere around twenty four and a half mil and the twenty times zoom on that all the way in it's a really really nice throw on that
• 14:00 - 14:30 lens and I found that to be very useful if I'm filming indoors in a small room that wide-angle lens is a real bonus but also I've got that great throw for distance filming as well following on from that the eyes Ummah feature on this camera is also fantastic that allows you to crop into the sensor with no loss of resolution so it's not the same as a digital zoom but it just gives you that little extra even in 4k that you can
• 14:30 - 15:00 zoom in if you need to on a recent event I was able to use a CX 350 for the first time as a front of house camera which is fifty meters away from the stage normally a twenty times lens is just barely good enough to get a full height shot from there but in HD mode and we were outputting this di HD I was able to drop the camera down into HD mode get the maximum out of the eye zoom and that really allowed us to push in to a much
• 15:00 - 15:30 much nicer shot that feature works really well for me probably one of the best things about this camera for me is the size and the weight this is a kilo lighter than the DV X 200 and it fits in my rucksack I'm able to take this out on a job on a train or a bus or something like that when I'm traveling around where previously I might have chosen to take the gh 5 in my backpack now I can
• 15:30 - 16:00 work out which camera I prefer to have which is the better camera to take and I'm not worried about taking this one out with me on a long journey if I'm not in a vehicle it's just so much more manageable the image quality on this camera is pretty amazing and I'm not using it anywhere near its full capabilities of 400 mega links record X most of my work is look stunning even at 100 150 megabit and longer or the
• 16:00 - 16:30 various other codecs on here I'm very very pleased with the image quality on this camera the choice of codecs on this camera is amazing as well you can record right down from AVC HD codecs rather way up to 400 megabit all intra codecs in h.264 and h.265 and various various other flavors so very very flexible very versatile camera for a whole range of
• 16:30 - 17:00 projects another feature that's really nice on this camera is having this side mounting point now I've mounted a small rig hot shoe mount on there where I can mount a second mic pack and this is a configuration I use quite often where I'm using two separate mic packs at the same time and just being out to fit that on the camera like that is really handy I'm sure we've all been in that circumstance where you end up with mic packs just hanging off or dangling or
• 17:00 - 17:30 tape to the camera somehow just to fit them all on so that's a really welcome addition but if anybody knows anyone that's starting to make a little adapter brackets that will actually screw on there much a bit firmer and actually made for this camera that would be really good to know so just let us know in the comments below not specific to this camera I mean my px 270 was able to do this but it's certainly a feature I really missed on the DV X 200 was being
• 17:30 - 18:00 able to use both the LCD screen and the viewfinder at the same time on the DV X you had little sensor on the eyepiece that would switch it but switch the screen off and flick between the two which would always do at an inappropriate moment so just being able to have both of those on permanently is a real bonus for me that's a nice feature I like on the CX 350 low-light performance well this camera is definitely not the
• 18:00 - 18:30 best in terms of low-light performance but I'm really impressed and it's perfectly good enough for most of the work that I do when I bought the DV X 200 part my reasoning on that was to go for the Micro Four Thirds sensor which not only matched my gh 5 but had a bigger sensor that would gather more light and probably be better in low light but I think this outperforms the DV X in low light it's a newer generation of sensor even though it's
• 18:30 - 19:00 smaller at one inch it is performing really well so I've been very pleased with the low-light images that I've got from this camera so far when I first looked at the streaming capabilities of this camera I thought well that's nice but who's actually going to want to stream from a single camera I can understand having three cameras and cutting and doing a live stream but if you want to do a single camera stream why not just use your phone but of course you've got much better optics and
• 19:00 - 19:30 much better sound capability built into one of these cameras and I think one of the thing that surprised me want anything is I've had a stream of people now who wanted to use that facility I've got bookings coming up for conferences where they want me to stream I've been abroad streaming in various events so we've I've actually used it a reasonable amount so far and there seems to be no shortage of people that are keen to actually make use of that feature and do live streams even from a
• 19:30 - 20:00 single camera so having that has been really nice and finally there's the overall performance of the camera in terms of the firmware and software and menu structure they changed the menu structure slightly on this camera but everything is really accessible very easy to find and it tends to work very quickly on many older cameras switching between various modes and various different codecs may
• 20:00 - 20:30 require rebooting the camera whereas a lot of the time switching between any other functions on this camera are instantaneous there's no waiting no waiting for the lag in the menus or anything like that it seems to be very well powered and able to deal with everything that makes it just that much quicker to use out in the field in run-and-gun scenarios to suddenly change options from one thing to another that previously on some cameras I would have hesitated to him because I knew it would
• 20:30 - 21:00 just take too long and I may miss the shot so that's been a welcome feature on the 350 that's nowhere near an exhaustive update on the camera but I wanted to give you a few of my thoughts on what I like and don't like about the camera six months on especially if you're looking to buy one hopefully I'll be catching up with my colleague Matt in the not-too-distant future and getting his thoughts on how he's finding the camera after six months use as well and if you've got any questions that you'd like us to cover in that please do leave
• 21:00 - 21:30 them in the comments below and we'll try to address them in the next video in the meantime don't forget to subscribe and I'll catch up with you again soon you