FZ1000 vs the VXF990 at DVinfo.net

J.T. Price · July 20th, 2016, 01:09 PM

I am happy with the Lumix FZ1000 except for the IS in UHD mode. As I am mostly videoing wildlife a tripod is often not an option (and I use it when I can). So, I have been wondering how long it would be until a video cam version came out.

The VXF990 has a smaller chip but has most of the other video settings of the FZ1000 (HD at 60 fps), digital zoom doubling the focal length with HD rather than UHD, plus it has a 5 way OIS. However, the IS on HD on the FZ1000 is fine, it is just not as good at UHD - so I wonder if the same thing is true with the VXF990. Have any of you been able to compare the two for video?

The AG-UX180 looks fantastic (with a price to match) but is arriving too late to be considered at this time (and costs too much).

Chris Harding · July 21st, 2016, 12:24 AM

The 990 seems to have nice specs but even 5 axis OIS can only do so much ..It's really a tiny little camcorder so at a decent zoom for wildlife you will struggle to hold it steady enough for the OIS to be effective I think.

I have a twin handle grip on my FZ1000 that I used handheld and having a two hand grip on the camera makes a huge difference to stability!! I think I posted some shots here of the rig ... I can almost get away without OIS in most cases shooting handheld ... I would also think that the intelligent zoom on the FZ would be awesome for really long shots even if there is a tiny bit of wobble. I doubt whether you would gain very much changing cameras especially shooting wildlife! Seriously a simple rig for the FZ will help a LOT!!

July 20th, 2016, 01:09 PM	#1
J.T. Price Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Saxlingham Nethergate UK Posts: 37	FZ1000 vs the VXF990 I am happy with the Lumix FZ1000 except for the IS in UHD mode. As I am mostly videoing wildlife a tripod is often not an option (and I use it when I can). So, I have been wondering how long it would be until a video cam version came out. The VXF990 has a smaller chip but has most of the other video settings of the FZ1000 (HD at 60 fps), digital zoom doubling the focal length with HD rather than UHD, plus it has a 5 way OIS. However, the IS on HD on the FZ1000 is fine, it is just not as good at UHD - so I wonder if the same thing is true with the VXF990. Have any of you been able to compare the two for video? The AG-UX180 looks fantastic (with a price to match) but is arriving too late to be considered at this time (and costs too much).

July 21st, 2016, 12:24 AM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 vs the VXF990 The 990 seems to have nice specs but even 5 axis OIS can only do so much ..It's really a tiny little camcorder so at a decent zoom for wildlife you will struggle to hold it steady enough for the OIS to be effective I think. I have a twin handle grip on my FZ1000 that I used handheld and having a two hand grip on the camera makes a huge difference to stability!! I think I posted some shots here of the rig ... I can almost get away without OIS in most cases shooting handheld ... I would also think that the intelligent zoom on the FZ would be awesome for really long shots even if there is a tiny bit of wobble. I doubt whether you would gain very much changing cameras especially shooting wildlife! Seriously a simple rig for the FZ will help a LOT!!