Close-up shots required switching the lens to macro mode and getting incredibly close to my subject, rather than flipping the zoom toggle and maintaining a safe distance.
Dedicated lens rings allow for fingertip control of focus and aperture, while a DSLR-style Focus mode dial on the front of the camera enables easy switching between focus modes.
Switching to software rendering mode in the editing program shows a night-and-day difference: video playback is extremely choppy, and processing moves at a crawl.