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.
