Panasonic 4K Cinema-Like Camcorder, 24x Leica Lens

I’m a huge Panasonic fan, and have two of their awesome HDC-HS900K camera’s, one of which I purchased way back in 2012 and still use it every work day.

That said, I was extremely disappointed that this $1,000 4K camera has less features than the 1080p one I bought for the same price six years ago.

First Problem: The camera will not output video to a monitor while it is recording in 4k or in WiFi mode.

This is a HUGE issue for anyone who has a home studio and needs to be sure “from the stage” that the camera is aligned correctly. This is not an issue with any other Camcorder I’ve even owned going back DECADES.

Second problem: The camera has no remote control.

For some this may not be an issue, but not even offering a remote accessory like other cameras is depressing. Oh, they do offer a free app – to enable it you want press a little button on the camera, then choose to enable it from the camera’s touchscreen, and then if you’ll be recording for a long time be sure you have a plug for your phone or tablet. The app also gives you a preview but it’s a couple of seconds behind so it can’t be used as a preview monitor, plus not many people have tablets big enough that they could see them from a stage several feet away.

Dear Panasonic engineers – if you can build in wifi control with a live view, how hard could it have been to enable live video output. Oh, and add in a $.02 receiver for a remote?

NOTE: I did contact Panasonic Tech Support the day I received the camera to see if there was any workarounds to either issue but they NEVER responded.

In the end I wish I would have returned this camera for a refund, and just purchased two used 1080p HDC-HS900K. Not only do they come with remotes and output preview video when recording in 1080p, they also have built-in HDDs which store many hours of video.

Epic Fail Panasonic: You lost a loyal customer and fan.

This shoots very high quality, sharp video. Menus are intuitive and pretty easy to figure out. Fantastic zoom capability however zoomed way out, hand held, the image stabilization is a bit laggy. Low light performance is quite good. Battery life is ok if you shoot less than 1 hour.

Shoots in a variety of common formats. I prefer the 1080 60 FPS MP4 format for my vids. Still shot quality is quite decent as well and you can get some amazing detail with that zoom capability.

Has a proper viewfinder so you can see what you’re framing with bright sunlight behind you- very important IMO and so few cams in this size have one.

Panasonic engineers did a good job on the design here. A lot of useful features in a small, light package.

Es muy buen producto, todo en orden, completa, compacta, cumple con mis expectativas.

The features this unit has (HC-WXF1) are impressive. It’s a nice piece for everyday people who want something small and feature packed. Pretty easy to use with a decent picture quality. Ultimately I swapped it for something more prosumer as that is what I am used to. I like the more durable casing and better overall quality of commercial grade stuff but I am going to miss some of the features this thing has but didn’t get a chance to use like wi-fi and phone remote control.

I previously owned the WXF991 and was less than satisfied with the image stabilization at long focal lengths. I waited for the price on the WXF1 to come down for months and was hoping to see a wealth of reviews and user experiences. But apparently people aren’t buying camcorders anymore, and only 10 of these have been sold in North America gauging by the scarcity of Amazon reviews. So I feel obligated to write something…

I’m not writing this review from the stand point of someone seeking absolute image quality and recording studio performance from this singular device. I don’t think it was designed for that honestly. Hence the audio delay mentioned in another review, which is very annoying and will preclude you from using this to record yourself speaking while monitoring the audio. No, I’m writing this as someone who uses this camcorder with its main design goals in mind, ease of use and the ability to quickly record anything in your field of view. In that vein, this camcorder is the best prosumer model I’ve used to date, better than its predecessor, the WXF-991, and far better than the Sony FDR AX-53 (which does everything it can to prevent you from nailing the critical shot with incredibly annoying pop-ups on the screen).

Now, the image quality of 4k footage is good, better than decent, and it performs great in daylight. Low light is another story, and you probably know the drill. However, you can use the various night modes to obtain usable footage. The IR mode in particular is exceptionally useful for me, and you can even screw an IR filter onto the front threads to get IR footage in daylight.

The main strength of this camera is its incredible stabilization. I don’t mean that you can run with the camera and the footage looks like you’re on a Segway. No, the stabilization works best when you’re stationary. You can literally handhold the camcorder, and with enough practice, get stable footage all the way out to the limits of the digital zoom, 1500x. Now, all you’re doing is looking at pixels at that point, but this means that using the camera at 125x or 300x is relatively simple. Its much better than any of its competitors in this regard.

This stability is great when you’re seated observing distant activities. This combined with the very smooth zoom lever makes for a fun day at the park or sporting event capturing great footage of your kids. Or, if you’re a private investigator, its very useful to have at the ready in a vehicle combined with a small monopod.

Another useful tidbit if you’re using it professionally is that the power cable attaches to a usb port, making it relatively simple to keep charged while in a vehicle. The larger round 62mm diameter (roughly the size of a soda can) combined with the automatically retracting lens cover, means you can keep this in your vehicle’s cupholder for easy access.

Finally, I wouldn’t find any use for a camcorder without a viewfinder, as they are to integral to the user experience, esp. when recording in direct sunlight. Plus, holding it to your eye gives extra stability. This model also has the focus ring, which works well in manual mode, if you need to focus on something obscured by tree branches. For my purposes, this is the best camcorder on the market, which is why I’m giving it 5 stars.