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Review Summary
2012-07-06T21:00:00
The AG-AC160 is just a tremendously versatile conventional HD video camera. Relatively lightweight, ridiculously long zoom range, and records to convenient SDXC memory cards. The menu system is a bit clumsy; a touchscreen would be a welcome feature. Audio via the onboard mic is great. Video quality is really good for 1/3" chip camera. There is a free firmware update to unlock 1080/60p recording which is super useful for overcranking. Probably one of the only camera in this price point aside from the Sony NEX to offer 1080/60p. Autofocus is a little slow at times, especially when zoomed in. However, it should be expected when your zoom range is 22x! With all of the outputs on this guy, it makes a perfect run-and-gun, documentary, or reality show camera. Overall, I'm just really happy with this camera and highly recommend it!
Dan G.
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3x 1/3-type progressive 2.2 Mp CMOS
Prism color separation
22x optical zoom
2x, 5x, 10x digital zoom
3.9-86mm (28-616mm 35mm equivalent)
f/1.6-3.2
18 elements in 12 groups
Approx. 3.3' (1 m)
72mm
0.4 lux (f/1.6, gain +30 dB, shutter speed 1/30 second)
NTSC, PAL
ND filter: OFF, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64
3.45" (87.63mm) color LCD monitor with approx. 921K dots (16:9)
0.45" (11.43mm) color LCoS monitor with approx. 1226K dots (16:9)
2x SD/SDHC/SDXC slots
60i mode: 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 second
30p mode: 1/30, 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 second
24p mode: 1/24, 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 second
50i/50p modes: 50i/50p: 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 second
25p: 1/25, 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 second
60i mode: 1/8, 1/15, 1/30 second
30p mode: 1/8, 1/15 second
24p mode: 1/6, 1/12 second
50i/50p mode: 1/6, 1/12, 1/25 second
25p mode: 1/6, 1/12 second
60i mode: 1/60.0 to 1/249.8 second
30p mode: 1/30.0 to 1/249.8 second
24p mode: 1/24.0 to 1/249.8 second
50i/50p mode: 1/50.0 to 1/250.0 second
25p mode: 1/25.0 to 1/250.0 second
3-359.5 Deg. in 0.5 Deg. increments
24, 30, 60 fps
Variable Frame Rates:
1080/24p, 1080/30p: 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 44, 48, 54, 60 fps
1080/25p: 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 37, 42, 45, 48, 50 fps
0/+3/+6/+9/+12/+15/+18/+24/+30 dB (+24 dB, +30 dB: USER button S.GAIN only)
SD memory card (FAT12, FAT16 formats supported): 512 MB, 1 GB, up to 2 GB
SDHC memory card (FAT32 format supported): 4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB, 12 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB
SDXC memory card (exFAT format supported): 48 GB, 64 GB (up to 2 TB)
AVCHD standard (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264), DV standard (AVI Type2)
With 2x 64 GB SDXC cards: Approx. 12 hours in PH (highest-quality AVCHD); 48 hours in HE mode (lowest-quality AVCHD); 8.5 hours in DV mode
PH mode: 1080/59.94i, 1080/50i, 1080/29.97p, 1080/25p, 1080/23.98pN, 720/59.94p, 720/50p, 720/29.97p, 720/25p, 720/23.98pN
PM mode: 720/59.94p, 720/50p
HA/HE mode: 1080/59.94i, 1080/50i
DV mode: 576/50i, 576/25p, 480/59.94i, 480/29.97p, 480/23.98p
4:2:0 (AVCHD)
4:1:1 (DV)
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (AVCHD)
DV (DV)
PH mode: Approx. 21 Mb/s (VBR)
PM mode: Approx. 8 Mb/s (VBR)
HA mode: Approx. 17 Mb/s (VBR)
HE mode: Approx. 6 Mb/s (VBR)
1 sec / 10 sec / 30 sec / 1 min / 2 min interval, maximum 168 hours (1 week) recording (PH 1080/24p mode is fixed)
Dolby Digital 2-channel and 48 kHz/16-bit, Linear PCM 2-channel (switchable in PH mode of AVCHD)
Dolby Digital 2-channel (PM/HA/HE modes of AVCHD)
48 kHz/16-bit, Linear PCM 2-channel (DV)
PH mode: 384 kb/s
PM/HA/HE mode: 256 kb/s
1x 20mm diameter
SDI: 1x BNC, 0.8 V [p-p], 75 ohm, HD/SD switchable
HDMI: 1x HDMI Type A, VIERA Link not supported
Composite Video: 1x Pin jack, 1.0 V [p-p], 75 ohm
2x XLR 3-pin (input 1, input 2)
Line/Mic/+48V switchable
Line: 0 dBu
Mic: -40 dBu / -50 dBu / -60 dBu switching via menu
Built-in Mic In supports stereo microphones
2x pin jack (channel 1 / channel 2), 316mV, 600 ohm output
1x 3.5mm diameter stereo mini jack for headphones
Via HDMI: 2-channel (linear PCM) & 5.1-channel (Dolby Digital)
Time Code Preset In/Out: Via Composite Video Out dual-purpose (In: 1V [p-p] to 4V [p-p], 10 k-ohm; Out: Low-impedance, 2.0+/-0.5V [p-p])
Camera Remote: 1x 2.5mm diameter super mini jack (zoom, shutter speed); 1x 3.5mm diameter mini jack (focus, iris)
Index Remote: 1x 2.5mm diameter super mini jack
IEEE 1394: 1x 6-pin, digital output only
USB 2.0 (Device): 1x Type Mini B, 4-pin USB 2.0
7.2V DC via battery
7.3V DC via AC adapter
11.8W when recording
0 to 40 Deg.C (32 to 104 Deg.F)
10-80% (no condensation)
7 x 7.69 x 17.25" (180 x 195 x 438mm) excluding protrusions
5.3 lb (2.4 kg) excluding battery and accessories
AG-AC160 : one phenomenal camera
By Dan G.
The AG-AC160 is just a tremendously versatile conventional HD video camera. Relatively lightweight, ridiculously long zoom range, and records to convenient SDXC memory cards. The menu system is a bit clumsy; a touchscreen would be a welcome feature. Audio via the onboard mic is great. Video quality is really good for 1/3" chip camera. There is a free firmware update to unlock 1080/60p recording which is super useful for overcranking. Probably one of the only camera in this price po...
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The Panasonic AG-AC160 AVCCAM HD Handheld Camcorder that integrates seamlessly with a wide range of current broadcast video systems in place around the world. Featuring an integrated 22x zoom lens and a 1/3-type 3MOS three-element imager, the AVCCAM model captures AVCHD video to two SD/SDHC/SDxC card slots as 1080p30, 1080i60, filmic 1080p24 and 720p60. But that's not it for frame rates: for creative slow-/fast-motion effects, overcranking and undercranking are possible at a variety of rates between 2 and 60 frames per second. For worldwide compatibility, the AG-AC160 also captures a variety of 50 Hz video signals for easy integration with PAL projects and video systems.
For projects that require standard-def capture, the AC160 has you covered with DV recording, which can then be output via its 6-pin IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port. For high-def output, the HD-SDI terminal puts out HD signals including 1920 x 1080 at 24PsF. The AG-AC160 offers a bevy of other professional-level features, including dual xLRs with phantom power, SMPTE time-code generation, gamma settings for seven different scenarios and manual control rings for iris, zoom and focus. To monitor the status of all settings and to perform critical focusing functions, the AVCCAM camcorder features both a high-quality 3.45" LCD screen and a full-color LCoS 0.45" viewfinder with 1,226,000 dots (852 x 480 x 3 [RGB]) of resolution.