Professional 4K camcorders under

$3000 

 £3000

by Tom Barrance

This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

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).

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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.
Check PXW-Z90 price

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.
Check HR-NX80 price

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

Check AX700 price

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The innovative Canon XC10 (review) is the best value camera for starting with events, news and documentary. Costing under

, it can record broadcast-quality HD, 4K at 305Mb/s, and 12MP stills. Its zoom lens covers a useful 27.3-273mm range.  It has very good image stabilisation so it’s easy to handhold, it’s good in low light, and it’s fairly compact: it looks more like an SLR than a professional video camera. The controls are a little bit fiddly – it relies a lot on the touchscreen – but that’s partly down to its small size.
Check XC10 price

 Amazon

Amazon.co.uk | Wex Photo Video

The XC10 doesn’t have XLR sockets. But its more expensive replacement, the XC15, ships with an audio adapter. This adds an XLR input, plus physical switches and dials which allow quick, easy level adjustments.
Check XC15 price

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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. 

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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