8 Best Camcorders And Video Cameras With Optical Zoom
Earlier, only film cameras had an optical zoom facility; however, these days, we have camcorders also having an optical zoom apart from just digital zoom.
I'm Stefan, a photographic fanatic who has been working in cinematography for the last 10 years. And with my experience with the different cameras, I've always found the picture quality of optical zoom to be better than digital zoom.
With that said, I've come up with a list of the best camcorders with optical zoom. Go through the list and select the one as per your choice.
In a hurry?!, here are my top picks of best video cameras with optical zoom
REVIEWS OF THE BEST OPTICAL ZOOM CAMCORDERS AND VIDEO CAMERAS
1. SONY FDRAX53/B - BEST ZOOM VIDEO CAMERA
PRODUCT DETAILS:
If you want a perfect camcorder that you can use in professional photo/video shoots, then The Sony FDRAX53 is the right choice. With an optical zoom of 20x, you can get ultra-sharp magnified images and videos without getting close to the subject.
Not only is the optical zoom range large, but even all the other features of this camcorder are also top-notch, which include: a 4K video capture resolution, 5-axis vibration reduction, Infrared Night shots facility and an in-built viewfinder.
If you’re a self-vlogger, you will love using this video cam as the touch screen is user-interactive. Even the resolution of this 3” touch screen is good - 921,600 dots with White pixels screen.
Lastly, even if you’re in a remote location and want to instantly share your files with your video editor, you can use the NFC-enabled wifi connectivity in this camcorder.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
2. CANON VIXIA HF G60 - BEST VIDEO CAMERA WITH OPTICAL ZOOM
PRODUCT DETAILS:
If you’re into professional filmmaking and want a good optical reach in low-light, then I have an option for you—the Canon Vixia HF G60 video cam.
The in-built telephoto lens with 25.5 to 382.5mm Wide Angle View can be zoomed up to 15x to get better quality shots in all lighting situations.
The large 1” inch sensor, 4K UHD video quality, image-stabilization, tiltable electronic viewfinder, 9-bladed circular aperture, 8.29 MP image resolution are other reasons for it being used for professional videography.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
3. PANASONIC X1500 - CAMCORDER WITH HIGHEST OPTICAL ZOOM
PRODUCT DETAILS:
If the maximum optical zoom range of the above two camcorders didn’t satisfy you, this Panasonic X1500 video camera will probably.
Yeah, this camcorder is equipped with a built-in 25mm wide-angle lens that can zoom upto 24x optically. With the Intelligent zoom, you can achieve 32x at 4K and 48x at FHD.
I like this camera the most because of the 4K High-Precision AF. I’ve used this camcorder, and trust me, the camcorder has the best quality sharpness and color reproduction.
Apart from that, the hybrid optical image stabilization mechanism behind the lens, 4K Ultra HD 60FPS Video Capturing Ability, also convinced me.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
4. CANON XA40
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Professional videographers should look for the best zoom camcorder that will not compromise video quality even when tightly zoomed-in, and this Canon XA40 video recorder camera exactly does that.
Yes, this 20x High Definition optical zoom camcorder has a 5 axis image stabilization to give that tack sharp footage without any distortions.
It also has built-in gradation filters to give you beautiful color saturation and color grading.
The other best features of this video recorder include: up to 4K recording at 30p, down to 0.4x slow-mo effect, time-lapse features, electronic viewfinder, and a lot more. Check the product features listed above!!
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
5. SONY HXR-NX80
PRODUCT DETAILS:
This HXR-NX80 camcorder from Sony doesn’t have a large optical zoom range like the above-listed products. The optical zoom is only up to 12x, but the digital zoom is up to 4K: 18X, HD: 24X.
Other features like video recording up to 4K up to 120 fps, a 273 point phase-detection AF system, a large sensor to give an amazing low light performance, and an HDR viewing experience.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
6. PANASONIC HC-VX981K
PRODUCT DETAILS:
This Panasonic HC-VX981K 4K Ultra HD Video Camera Camcorder is last on my list of best camcorder with optical zoom. Unlike its elder brother HC-VX991K, this doesn’t have a second flip-out screen and a viewfinder.
But the reason why I’ve included this in my list is that it is the only camcorder under 1000$ that I feel is the best for optical zoom quality.
It has a 20x optical zoom lens that shows a 30.8mm wide-angle field of view. With the intelligent zoom, you can zoom up to 40x (Full HD) and 25x at 4K.
Kindly check the features and highlights to know more about the camcorder.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS CAMCORDER:
OPTICAL ZOOM VS DIGITAL ZOOM
Most digital camcorders today support both optical and digital zoom. However, which is better between both? Is that your question? I’ll explain in detail.
An optical zoom camcorder works similarly to a magnifying glass. Yeah, do you remember using a giant magnifying glass that you used to show the small letters big when moving from the subject?
This is how an optical zoom camcorder works. The glasses inside the camcorder perform the magnification. This means there is a physical camera lens movement, which brings the image closer to you.
So when you move away from the subject (as focal length increases), the subject looks magnified and closer to you.
There is no physical movement of glasses inside a lens in digital zoom. It just works on this principle - Cropping the frame to make it look magnified.
Optical zoom, of course. Because there is no compromise on the image quality, however, in digital zooming due to cropping and expansion of the frame, the overall image quality isn’t appreciable!!.
CONCLUSION
That was all about my list of the best optical zoom camcorders. If your shooting requires a long room range, go for camcorders with at least a 25x optical zoom. However, most digital camcorders also have a built-in intelligent zoom facility that will help you zoom in even better.
Well, I hope to see you in my next article. Great day!
