6-year-old Panasonic HC-WXF1 is Best New 4K Camcorder for 2024
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- Опубліковано 15 сер 2023
- @WaybackRewind Highlights of the 2018 Panasonic HC-WXF1 4K Camcorder that is somehow vintage and brand new at the same time. Still in production 5 years after it's introduction but has some very useful features over using a cellphone for video.
Although the even older HC-V180 Full HD Camcorder is still in production this camcorder feels like its successor, except with 4K
• Why a 8-year-old Panas...
#video #tv #camcorder
Index:
#00:04 Intro
#00:45 Unboxing
#02:29 comparison to HC-V180
#3:30 Box opening
#4:01 Instructions
#4:14 Camera reveal
#4:41 Same Battery
#5:11 Large 62 mm ring
#6:01 Power Cord
#7:09 USB Brick
#7:14 Power Cable
#7:25 HDMI Cable
#7:35 Battery
#8:03 USB Cable
#8:12 Unboxing complete
#8:32 Install Ring
#9:00 First Impressions
#9:10 power up
#9:25 Set Time
#10:30 Install Card
#10:52 New Camcorder Smell
#11:10 Menus
#12:02 Baby Calendar
#13:05 Cold Shoe
#13:32 Card too slow
#14:00 Recording
#14:08 Playback
#14:26 Initial Impressions complete
#15:01 The Good the Bad and the Ugly
#16:04 Programmable Buttons
#17:00 4K Photo
#17:34 HDR Button
#17:54 Pre-record
#18:28 Headphone jack/ Mic jack
#19:01 Audio Features
#19:23 HDMI Output
#19:40 USB to Computer
#20:31 Twin Camera
#20:37 Night mode
#22:15 Level Shot
#22:40 Face Framing
#22:18 programmable Ring
#24:46 What doesn't work
#25:57 Link to cellphone
#27:45 Photo Modes
#28:00 things don't work in 4k
#29:00 photo resolution
#29:45 Why I bought this
#31:50 Summary and Closing
Really tried to watch through all this enerving background music, quit after 8 minutes. Maybe it's just me but I can't listen to videos with too much background music. Less is more in that case.
Sorry you didn't like the background music. I reduce the volume by at least 18db. I think its better than just listening to my voice the whole time. But you can mute it and turn on captions.
Thanks for watching.
I liked the background music 👍
Thank you.
After this video I toned down the background music. Party due to this comment and mostly because I’m running out of cuts that I like in the UA-cam library. 😀
But you are the first to chime and say you like it, so thanks for watching.
I struggled with the background music, but the video could have had more info if it hadn't been for repeated info three times or more.
Sorry.
Sorry it seemed repetitive to you.
I'll try and do better next time.
Thanks for watching
That 4k camera sure is one hell of a 1080P camera!
I think 6 years ago people were primarily distributing on 1080p so the limitations I mentioned were not as impactful. I only upload in 4K so it is a serious limitation. I guess we won’t have full featured 4K cameras until we have limited 8K cameras☺️
❤
Thank you for taking the time on making this video regarding this Camcorder. I have been on the fence on getting this model. Question for you, do you know if they make or if you have been able to get A wide-angle lens for this camcorder?
I do not have a wide angle lens, but it is a 62mm diameter lens and any standard wide angle lens of that size should work. I have added a link in the description of a fish eye lens. A standard .43x wide angle is not that noticeable, I would go for the .35x fish-eye. Thanks for watching.
I made several videos and then edited them with my VXF1, what do you think? I believe that this camera has great potential
Nice Review, can you use this camcorder connected over USB and use it as a web cam ?
Out of the box I do not believe so.
But with the addition of an HDMI to USB adapter and OBS software it should be possible. Or put another way you need an HDMI capture card. Since I have one I should demonstrate this in a video.
Thanks for watching.
For this device: Anyone know of a remote whether it is wired or wireless that can be used for zoom? For example this being placed on a highpod, without reach of the zoom on the camcorder itself?
It's not terribly responsive but you can your your cellphone as a remote, at at least to do zoom. I demonstrate that in this video.
Thanks for watching.
Great content! Shame about the bg music though, very distracting/annoying.
Sorry the BG music didn’t suit you. We all learn from our experiences. Thanks for watching.
Have you tried using powerbank to powerup the camcorder for continous recording?
That is a great question. I need to try it. I will try it and post my results. Thanks for watching
Now that i think about it, this is my studio camera and I use it plugged in all the time. I have recorded indefinitely over a half hour with no issues.
Great!
What specs of SD card would you recommend for filming 4k30 video for extended periods of time on this?
This is what I use with great success:www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GXXKY6P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for watching.
This may be the only camcorder with a rubber eyepiece viewfinder available under $1000. This is crazy important when you want to capture sports action or public performance video with just a camera and no other accoutrements.
Exactly. The rubber eyepiece viewfinder used to everywhere but are now very scarce. After buying a mirrorless camera I found I like this camcorder even more than before. I don't understand why camcorders are not more popular.
Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind nobody wants a camcorder 'cuz most people today just want to record their own face. Chilling.
@@davefink2326pero con esta cámara también puedes grabarte tu mismo y sirve mejor para vlogging por su buena estabilidad
Question does this model have the option to post edit videos on the camcorder as the Panasonic HC-WXF991K 4K?
Yes this camera has the option to post edit videos on the camcorder, but the resulting video can only be saved as a 1920x1080/60i or 30p. This is the same limitation as the WXF991K.
Thanks for watching.
Heya guys, I have this cam. I’m tying to use a opteka 62mm fisheye, but I can’t get it focused. Any ideas?
First thing i woukd try is to put it in full manual and manually adjust focus and iris and see if youncan get an acceptable focus? Thanks for watching
I have been interested in this one for a while. Is this one a fave?
Visually the picture is nice. As others have reported, I am struggling with the audio. I haven't found any settings to make the built in mike sound really good. And I haven't gotten any plug in Mike to work at all. Not sure what I'm doing wrong but I need to figure it out. I didn't get it to be cinematic, so as a casual shooter it's great. Thanks for watching.
Yes, I have seen some nice footage from it here on UA-cam. Thanks. Hope you get the mic thing figured out. I would think if a mic is plugged in it should use that mic but maybe there is something in the settings. Would love to see some various footage from some of your camcorders.@@WaybackRewind
@@CharestStudios - there are a lot of audio settings in this one. I did find a voice setting that gave me the sound I was looking for and I did get it to work with my balanced external mike. The problem with the external mike is there is no universal standard for tip ring ring sleeve (TRRS) so many headset mikes are not going to work out of the box. A standalone mike has a better chance of working.
Bardzo fajna recenzja i trafna...
Hi, I like your review of the WXF1, that is why I bought this from Amazon,Black Friday sale. Would you care to know how I can show the Date and Time during Playback?
I hope you like this camera. There is a bit of a learning curve and I am still figuring things out. I took it all the way to Florida and realized I forgot my SD card as I was boarding a bus to see a launch. Bummer.
You asked a very good question and it's not answered in the owner's manual. Took me a minute to figure it out. Date or Date/Time or Off are in the playback menu but even when selected neither are displayed what's the deal? Turns out if you have display set to "on" versus "5 sec" the date or date/time won't display during playback. Kind of annoying. After 5 sec the date or date/time will appear.
Either way the information is stored in the meta data but if you want it displayed you have to turn display to "5 sec" not "on". Kind of counter intuitive.
Thanks for watching.
Hello, tell me for the 2 cameras you show, 1080 and 4k... what type of batteries do you use so that they last a LONG
(something like 2 or 3 hours)
The good news is that both of these cameras use the same battery. I have put a link in the description for the oversized battery for these cameras. You should be able to get 2 or 3 hours out of them.
And thank you for watching.
I wonder if a Firmware update will fix a few issues? In any case for the most part I bought this camera in 2019 & it's been great if you don't count the features that don't work in 4K. I don't normally use the 4K res anyway because the file sizes are too big & many computers can't play them it's too data intensive for them. I mostly got it for the manual controls in so many areas & massive image sensor which makes it very light sensitive also the viewfinder which is really good at not distracting others behind the camera. Great camera for what I do
Panasonic has not been too generous with firmware updates. Here we are 6 years later and there hasn't been one.
I shoot exclusively in 4k so I am limited in what I can do.
Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind when you put it that way yes that is quite disappointing,There should be a lot of them out there by now.
I am a mom, who likes to film my son performing in his concerts. Is this videocam good in shooting such situations, where the center scene is flooded with bright lights but dark around the audience? Any suggestions regarding settings? How about the sound quality?
This camera is very good with everything set to auto and of course you can vary all the settings individually. One of the scene modes is “spotlight” to address the situation you describe.
The sound has an equal number of options in addition to the default settings. I’m sure you could find something that works.
Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind Is Panasonic HC WXF1 the same model as the HC VXF1?
@@fedejesusm No there were three separate models of this camera and there are slight differences:
HC-VX1 - No View finder no secondary camera
HC-VXF1 - Viewfinder no secondary camera
HC-WXF1 - Viewfinder and secondary camera
I think the HC-VXF1 is discontinued because I don't see it for sale anywhere.
Thanks for watching.
The only model available here in Denmark is the HC VXF1 and few HC VX1.
Thank you for your replies. Made me wiser 😀.
@@fedejesusm Interesting. I would prefer the HC VXF1 but not sold here in North America apparently.
I got a Panasonic VX989 and I‘m a father since four weeks. I thought I had a baby monitor… 🤣
Sorry to tell you that baby monitor no longer works as advertised.
The unit does not work hdr in 4K?
No it does not do HDR in 4K. There is a long list of things it cannot do in 4K and that is one of them.
Thanks for watching.
What does installing the ring do
The lens hood reduces stray light coming in at an angle that causes lens flare. Lens flare is generally considered undesireable but some directors think it's cool. Also the ring protects the lens a little bit.
This ring is pretty small. I replaced it with a larger one for even more protection, and it looks cooler.
Thanks for watching.
Got this cam a few weeks ago. I better test an external mic. I do thinik it has to be selected in settings. I thought the internal mic works well. I have shot a couple of love bands just the internal mic and thought it is very good, better than smartphones IMO. It is too bad it can't take a photo while shooting 4k. As for the other things on your list that it can't do, most of those can all be done in post in any NLE and that is the better way to do it, vs being stuck with those options permanently part of the video if done in cam. Also, this cam does have enough to do cinematic if one wants. A versatile lens, 24FPS, manual control, and 30FPS can slowed down in editing for a subtle film/dream like effect.
I'm happy to report got it to work with my balanced mike. It wasn't happy with the pre-amp set to line input so I have some more research but it is working. There is still a bit of a learning curve due to all the audio settings.
Thanks for watching.
Also the delay in the headphone output makes it almost impossible to monitor talking in real time. Maybe pros can do it but I find it nearly impossible.
I agree that its nearly always better to do things in post versus in camera. But there are some neat things that would be nice to try like time lapse and stop motion. Which would be far easier to do in the camera. I mean who wants to take days of video and then speed it up? 🤷
@@WaybackRewindvery true about timelapse. I forgot to mention I learned things from your video too.
which model is more recent this one or the Panasonic HC-VXF1
They are exactly the same age along with the HC- VX1. The only difference is whether or not it has a viewfinder or secondary camera.
Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind i wish it had vivid mode plus it wont let me choose hdr on the 4k video setting
@@russeljohnson9616 unfortunately, the 4K feels like an afterthought on these cameras. If you shoot only in 4K, like I do, you might be a bit disappointed.
Hi good and helpful video. I Would put timestamps in the video! :)
Good idea, I can add timestamps, thanks for watching.
Done.
Nice video but the music is too loud and kind of cruel
Sorry for the loud music. In my more recent videos I have turned down and or elliminated the music based on comments. So thanks for watching.
Does it do night vision in 4k?
I am not 100% sure, let me test it and I'll get back to you and thanks for watching.
Yes it shoots 4k infrared
Thank you, but why do you have to try out the patience of us viewers with the maddening music noise? Why music at all, do you think it transports any information about the cam corder? I am not an American so I don't know, what kind of music are American teachers playing during classes to improve their teaching? I am just curious. Again, thank you.
Well to me it adds interest to have background music compared to hearing nothing but my voice continuously the whole time.
My latest upload I dialed it back a little. You can always mute and just read the captions.
Thanks for watching.
Where is the 4k sample footage?
ua-cam.com/video/4K5NulTZKRo/v-deo.html
This camera has a 2x bigger sensor, so you need bigger optics. That said, I've compared the picture quality between this and the V180 extensively. This camera adds a LOT of mpeg artifacts, and the dither pattern uses long, wide dots that are more noticeable than the more natural grain on the V180. It also adds a weird, unnatural smeared texture look to tree leaves etc and, desaturates colors. With the lower optical zoom (24x vs 59x on the V180, and the fact that most of the features don't even work in 4k (no scene mode or surround? really?) while the HD quality is pretty much unusable, I consider this a downgrade from the V180. Maybe it's better for shooting macro, but the picture in less detailed shots is meh. You can get a DSLR that will shoot film quality 4k video for the price of this, plus amazing stills. Hell, my 2 year old phone shoots awesome HDR 4k 60p or 8k 30p video with Dolby Atmos for the same price! All it needs is a better optical zoom...
Thank you for the insightful comments.
They didn't teach us decimal fractions in engineering school so it didn't jump out at me that 1/2.5 was twice as big as 1/5.8. 😃
I debated for a long time about buying this camcorder. I didn't mention it in the video but I actually bought it used a couple of years ago but it was defective and I sent it back.
Yes an entry level DSLR is probably better in most ways. But the autofocus for video suffers on many of them until you are way above the price point of this camera. And a DSLR requires a host of lenses to be as useful as this.
I have a Lumix FZ300 4k bridge camera that costs half as much as this with a similar sensor and zoom range probably out performs it.
So in the end the 15% reduction in price and 5 payments no interest option from Amazon, pushed me over the edge to fill this gap in my camera inventory. And also allowed me to share the experience with my viewers. I find myself buying gear just to make a video about it.😁
I also didn't buy this to be cinematic but just to shoot family videos in a somewhst more compact format. For that it seems adequate. I can't bring my FZ300 with me without feeling like a tourist.
Thanks for watching.
How does it compare to the SD900?
The Panasonic SD900 is a full HD camcorder from 2011 no longer in production, so they are not in the same class. The SD900 has a 12x lens. This is a 4k camcorder with a 24x lens. The WXF1 is going to be better in every way.
@@WaybackRewind Have you owned or used a SD900? - I Use both it and DJI Pocket 2. SD900 much more pleasing image...
@@WaybackRewind Of the test you did why did you not post 4k footage from WXF1? So we could have genuine comparisons...
I posted the sample footage in a separate video
ua-cam.com/video/4K5NulTZKRo/v-deo.html
I have never owned or used a Panasonic SD900, but if we are talking about the same camera it is a 1080p camera from 2011. No way it's better than a 4K camera from 2018. Unless you are referring to a different camera?
@@WaybackRewind No I refer to the SD900 2011. A 3CCD 1080 50P camcorder. Amazing footage for a full hd cam. As said before, I'm comparing it to the DJI pocket 2 4K footage. Same lens Leica Dicomar (optics) as current Panasonic camcorders. And if you want a cheap version to play with, there is the SD600 a no frills version, which I use as a BCam, you can pick one up for less that $100 I'm sure...
can you do live streaming using your phone wifi to Panasonic HC-WXF1?
The ability to connect the camera to the phone still works but the ability to natively live stream is no longer supported by Panasonic. They ended their deal with Ustream in 2022. There may be third party applications that work but I didnt try that. If you figure it out let me know.
Thanks for watching.
you can not use the internet of your phone to do live stream in youtube?@@WaybackRewind
@Dan-no1oq The way the wi-fi works the camera only communicates with the Panasonic app on the phone. The Panasonic app was designed only to work with Ustream which is no longer supported. There is no connectivity directly to UA-cam or any other social media app.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would take someone to figure out how to do it. I don't know a way to do it.
okay thanks@@WaybackRewind
@@Dan-no1oq Hows that done, I haven't tried it with mine
No incluyeron el parasol Leíca. 😢
pfff i dude if buy this camera or a panasonic vx 980 second handed for 420 €
The VX 980 has the older 1/2.3" sensor and has no viewfinder. It can still be purchased new.
Obviously anything can also be purchased used but without warranty perhaps. I bought a used WXF1 and had to return it because it was defective. I'm here talking about new cameras for that reason.
Thanks for watching.
repeats things to exhaustion. viewers want information...not tiresome redundancy...
lord...
Sorry you found it too repetitive. I dont work from a script and prefer you hear my honest and real-time thoughts and observations. I have taken more care since this video was made in the editing to remove repetition. Thank you for your input and thanks for watching.