Video Camera 4K HD Auto Focus Camcorder

First things first. I’m a Chem. Eng. and Professional Still Photographer highly experienced in Industrial and Product Photography. Recently I’ve been contemplating doing High Quality Instructional Videos for You Tube, since I’ve been disappointed in so many that were of poor video and audio quality. An affordable camcorder touted as 4K UHD, with a multitude of extra features and capabilities seemed like the perfect tool. Before embarking on any projects, I needed to determine the limits of my beautiful new equipment: Please note. The videos played back on the 3” screen all looked great. Viewed on a 24” monitor or 32” UHD TV produced totally different results, mostly unacceptable, low resolution quality. 1. Parameters: All video was shot as 4K/60FPS, in order to get the best possible image quality. 2. Tripod: I used a sturdy tripod to eliminate any variables, such as shaking, that could negatively impact image quality. 3. Panning: This test was conducted indoors and out, fast pan and very slow pan. a) The indoor panning under soft lighting was acceptable. b) The outdoor panning, both slow and fast, produced unacceptable images, where the components all jiggled. Images such as gravel, rocks, leaves, etc. all became animated. Straight horizontal lines that were slightly diagonal became saw toothed and jiggly. Horrible. Conclusion. No way could this camera be 4K and produce poor images, which I evaluated as Low Resolution, not UHD! 4. Zoom: This feature is advertised as being 30X and producing excellent images. Not so. Above 10X the image degrades ever more quickly and ultimately becomes pure useless noise. Also, the transitions from W to T and back are a bit erratic and annoying. 5. Auto Focus: The AF feature isn’t really auto or reliable. Shooting closer than 3.3 feet requires holding down the AF/Pause button to stay in focus. This feature also has a nasty side effect, a loud clickity clack that gets picked up by audio. Ugh! Also, for no apparent reason, the focus periodically will go out during the routine. 6. Matrix Metering: This feature can be a life saver when dealing with multiple high contrast subjects/lights. In this particular case, I couldn’t detect any benefit whatsoever, compared to my still camera. In high contrast scenarios, the results were awful! 7. Format Required: This should only be required once, but on my camera it was requested numerous times at random, thereby destroying any data preceding the formatting……unacceptable!!! 8. Comparisons: My smart phone produces videos far superior to this camera. Sad but true. 9. Conclusion: Great looking camera, augmented by what appear to be great additional features, and promoted by great ads, but the REALITY is a low-quality end product that may be acceptable for documenting family activities, but little else. 10. Finis: I packed up the camera & components and returned to Amazon. Thank God for Amazon Prime!