Panasonic FZ1000

[Clive McLaughlin]

Haven't had much of a chance to look at it yet, but certainly, its noteworthy!

4K for $899 with the Panasonic FZ1000 – but beware the quirks! | EOSHD.com

[Phil Goetz]

Already a thread on this forum here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-...recording.html

:)

[Jeff Harper]

Very interesting, Clive. Possible excellent b cam. 1" sensor! I have a feeling that the trickle of 4K products will become a flood in the near future!

If anyone reads info on whether the camera has touch screen focusing please post. I rather doubt that it does because the price is SO low for this camera.

While it's premature to begin judging, based on the preview footage from Panasonic the cam's dynamic range appears to be somewhat less than one would hope. I didn't care for the looks of the video, almost too contrasty or something.

Will be very interested to see more.

[David Dixon]

No touch screen focus, but it does have a CineD mode.

[Jeff Harper]

Thanks David and Phil.

[Dave Blackhurst]

It's certainly "interesting", I found several video samples online, some look good, others not so much. Somehow dynamic range looked a bit "off" and not so hot in low light conditions, and some rather nasty artifacting I've seen myself a few times with Panasonic cameras...

It's definitely pushing the price of 4K admission down, and hopefully will push Sony to either release 4K firmware for the RX series or (more likely) stop farting around and add it in the next releases (RX20).

Having tried the FZ200, I found there were enough things that didn't feel quite right to me, even though the price was good, and the results "not bad". I have shot Panasonic cams in the past, the specs are usually very "promising", and I see others getting good results, but somehow I don't seem to "click" with them the way I would like to...

Still, competition is a GREAT thing, and the more 4K cameras hit the market, the better the prices will be!

[Arthur Gannis]

I can just see it now, Canon 4K superzoom $599.95
Then Nikon retaliates with $449
Gee, then all the cinematographer wannabes will be offering 4K weddings for $899
Wow, do 1 wedding and pay for two 4K cameras.
Sweet !

[Noa Put]

I can just see it now, Canon 4K superzoom $599.95

If canon would release a 4k camera it would be 5599,95, anything less might hurt their c100 sales :)

[Dave Blackhurst]

Neither Nikon or Canon have any real reason to enter the 4K "at consumer prices" fray soon... they could easily sit and wait while Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung blaze the trail - as evidenced here, there are plenty of "why would anyone need more than HD" customers out there... and they market to photographers, if you know what I mean...

Although the 1" class sensor niche has got to be tempting since Sony has been doing well in that previously nonexistent market. But I don't know that that has had a noticeable effect on CaNikon...

It IS pretty impressive that the price of entry for 4K just dropped 50%+ (in a couple months no less!), even if the FZ1000 is horrible for 4K (and it doesn't seem to be), it's an obvious sign that 4K is going to be an expected "feature" in fairly short order. It would be rather foolhardy to introduce "new" cameras without it when cell phones and tablets include it...

I also think it points to a terrible miscalculation by Sony when the thunder was theirs to steal with the RX10 and RX100M3 - I would hope that SOMEONE at Sony would argue for a firmware release with 4K for both those cameras ASAP, but it will likely be model refreshes, which would put them another several months "behind" (up to almost a year since the RX100M3 JUST announced and is shipping shortly...).

I'm willing to guess that there will be a lot more people tempted to experiment with a $900 4K camera than at the $2K price point...

[Paul Mailath]

I use the FZ200 regularly as a backup cam for weddings, I'll certainly have a close look at this new one.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

I would hope that SOMEONE at Sony would argue for a firmware release with 4K for both those cameras ASAP

I checked the last years and there is nobody with the name "someone" working at Sony, Sony will never give such a feature with a firmware upgrade if they could, their might be version II for the rx10 or version 4 for the rx100 doing 4K at a higher price point so they again came make loads of money on new orders. Sony only updates existing models if they sell well, like the rx100, if they don't they disappear (like the vg900) and get replaced by something completely different.

[Arthur Gannis]

No headphone jack ? I guess it was an impossible feat for them to just squeeze one teeny weenie jack in there. Well, just the lack of that feature alone will deter purchasing it. Then again they will say to purchase the GH4 that has it. Intentionally left out, I say. If Sony was smart, they would just have that RX10 with 4K on their upgraded model. And have an interchangeable lens mount while they are at it, and leave the price alone. And then they will say to buy the A7s.

[Jeff Harper]

The tiny $500 FZ200 has a headphone jack, 28X zoom, contstant F/2.8 lens. Pity. Just imagine what the FZ1000 could have been.

[Dave Blackhurst]

It has the distinction of being the first "sub $1K" 4K camera... though the 4K is not nearly as impressive as the recent $2K offerings based on the marketing promo samples. I suppose if it's "half as impressive" or better, it's a "winner"? Sometimes things are relative...

While the specs look impressive at first, I see all the reasons I resold the FZ200 I bought to test, in the clips from the FZ1000... it wouldn't replace any of the cameras I've got. But not bad bang for the buck at the price I suppose, so I'm sure they'll sell a lot!