Professional 4K camcorders under $3000/£3000

by Tom Barrance

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Professional camcorders give you a lot more creative control than basic or prosumer camcorders. Most will let you plug in pro XLR microphones and use dials and buttons rather than menus. This lets you work faster once you’re used to the camera. This page features cameras with fixed, zoom lenses: you could also consider digital cinema cameras which take interchangeable lenses.

The cameras here all have fairly large one-inch sensors and can shoot 4K Ultra HD and slow motion HD.

Canon’s unusual XC10 and XC15 don’t have power zoom lenses, but they’re the only cameras here that can shoot ‘broadcast quality’ HD (see below).

Sony PXW-Z90 camcorder

The Sony PXW-Z90 is an affordable pro camcorder with a detachable top handle and a long 29-348mm zoom range. Features include ‘super slow motion’, 120fps filming in 1080p HD, and an ‘S-log’ option for contrasty scenes and easier colour correction. It has HDMI and SDI outputs and wi-fi. It’s a ‘world camera’ which can record in both NTSC and PAL formats.

There are also two lower priced variants. The HR-NX80 looks similar, but lacks SDI and records in the XAVC-S format rather than XAVC-L.

The AX-700 (below) omits the top handle and comes in separate PAL and NTSC versions.

What is ‘broadcast quality’? 

There’s no single definition, but many broadcasters want HD footage shot at a bit rate of at least 50Mb/s, with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling (that’s twice as much colour information as the 4:2:0 you get with many camcorders and SLRs). They also specify a minimum sensor size: 1 inch for a single chip, or 1/2 inch for three-chip cameras. 

Pros

  • Good image and sound quality
  • Lots of creative control
  • Quick to use once you know what you’re doing

Cons

  • Can be big
  • Fairly expensive
  • Take time to learn
  • Images may not be as pleasing or ‘film-like’ as those from cheaper SLRs or mirrorless cameras

Best for

  • News, documentaries, and events such as weddings where you need to be able to set up and make adjustments quickly

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