The Panasonic DMC-FZ10004K
Panasonic’s Latest Offering, a very user-friendly Bridge Camera
This is Panasonic’s major launch since the FZ50. This is their new replacement model, intended for stills and video shooting.
This camera confirms Panasonic’s belief that there is a niche for a camera that can do stills and video photography in one neat package at an affordable price.
The larger sensor, longer zoom, and the articulated screen all go back to the FZ50, which offered a similar zoom and aperture range despite having a much smaller 1/1.8″- type sensor.
The FZ1000 is similar in size to the FZ50, however, eight years of development in their camera technology has permitted Panasonic to offer a higher resolution viewfinder, rear screen, pixel count, and video output.
The Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 has often been compared to Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-RX10. While both cameras have similar features, the big difference is the price.
The FZ1000 was launched at almost 1/3 lower than when Sony first offered its RX10. The FZ1000’s only real competition is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10.
Its main Features:
- 20.1 megapixel 1″-type MOS sensor
- 25-400mm equivalent F2.8-4 Leica lens
- 4K (3840×2160) video at 30p, 100 Mbps MP4
- XGA OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.36 M dots
- 120fps quarter-speed 1080p
- 5-axis Power Optical Image Stabilization
- 3-inch fully articulated LCD with 920K dots
- 1080p at up to 60p 28Mbps MP4
- 3.5mm microphone socket
The Camera’s Outstanding Qualities
- the large grip makes it very easy to hold
- a high-resolution viewfinder
- 1″-type sensor producing superior image quality
- zoom/focus ring around the lens
- future-proof 4K video recording with 100 Mbps
- 8MP high-quality stills can be extracted from 4K video
- 12fps continuous shooting
- bright F2.8-4 lens covers the 25-400 equivalent range
- in-camera Raw conversion
- electronic shutter allows for quiet shooting
- very responsive
- easy and pleasant to operate
This Camera’s Drawbacks
- rear dial use can be picked up by the microphone during video recording
- no auto ISO in video mode
- no built-in ND filter
- easy to accidentally rotate zoom/focus ring
My Experience using this Camera
I have been studying Photography and shooting with this camera for almost 2 years now.
With no formal training in photography prior to my purchasing this camera, it would be accurate to say that I have been through a very intensive learning curve.
This camera is very forgiving and has enabled me to take many excellent shots.
You can view many of these at my Google + collection, https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/wE7ANB My Panasonic DMC-FZ1000.
Final Thoughts
This Panasonic FZ1000 hit the market with a quiet shutter click, however, it was quickly praised, in high fashion, by seasoned professional photographers, as an excellent bridge camera.
This camera takes superior quality still photos and great video in 4K. It is very user-friendly and if you are new to Photography or your only experience is with smart- phones and point and shoot cameras, give this model a try. You won’t regret it, and you will soon be quite impressed with the quality of your shots.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about this excellent camera, do not hesitate to leave them below.