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4K for $899 - a look at the Panasonic FZ1000


Andrew Reid
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In 2010 when EOSHD started and the 5D Mark II was all the rage, if anyone had predicted that 4 years later we'd be shooting 4K through a Leica 25-400mm lens for $899 I'd have told them to put their tin hat back on and return to planet lala to play with the moon bunnies. Alas here we are in 2014 shooting 4K through a Leica 24-400mm lens for $899.

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Yeah, this appears to be a good camera and I'm sure it could be used really creatively. Especially with that zoom, and being able to shoot in 4k. I'll check what they sell for here in Australia, as I've got a friend who was looking at buying an AX100.

 

And Andrew, it sounds like you have a few too many cameras! It might be time to let some of them go. Having too many options can sometimes limit your creativity. It can also mean never really getting to know a camera or other bit of gear inside out. Especially if you just use it once, shoot a video with it, review it and then move onto the next camera.

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Latest rumors say that the upcoming LX100 will be around that same price!

 

It will share the same sensor as the GH4 but with a bit of crop for the 10.9-34mm f/1.7-2.8 lens (24-75mm FF equivalent). This camera won't have the reach of the FZ1000, of course, but it should be as good as the GH4 in terms of video quality - but with some time limitation for video due to heat issue -, and it still has a good enough reach and a pretty good aperture.

 

If you asked how did Panasonic manage to put that lens on the FZ1000 - while Nikon asks much more just for the les - and still charge $899, I wonder how did they do with this 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 on the LX100 and - if rumors are correct - also charge the same as the FZ1000.

 

Panasonic has been pretty aggressive, I'm looking forward for more details on the announcement day. I'm excited for all the recent development for videographers, more options - and better options.

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Guest Ebrahim Saadawi

30p is such a bizzare omission from a company that isn't known for intentionally-crippling their products. I think this one just slipped away?! It doesn't make any sense. Just offering that lower frame rate would sell tons as B-cameras for the GH4.

Really bizzare. Did someone talk to Panasonic about this?

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Shot with the FZ1000 today and can say I am very impressed with it. If you can see it, this thing can shoot it and the quality of the images especially in 4K are extremely good!

 

I can go in seconds from a 35mm wide-ish establishing shot, to a close up of a jet in the sky taking off from a Berlin airport miles away. Astonishing versatility and speed of use. Also, the most usable lock-on AF for video I've ever had. Really fast and reliable. Didn't ever need to have it in manual focus so I was shooting lighting quick because of that and no dodgy focus shifts during a clip.

 

The quality of the 120fps is very good too, more so at the long end of the lens on a human subject than at the wide angle with inanimate objects because there's some moire & aliasing like the GH4's slow-mo but again this is also better than I had expected. Attached a frame of the 120fps 1080p.

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Andrew - are you not bothered by the fact that in the 120fps mode you cannot zoom or refocus? It also doesn't record any audio, although that is fairly common with higher frame rates. It also locks in the exposure. I just can't decide if that's too much a limitation, even at this price point.

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I don't normally zoom, refocus or set the exposure during a shot, it usually looks shit if you do this. You're supposed to frame, focus and set exposure before rolling. So no it isn't a limitation. More a problem for me is that in 120fps the image stabilisation system turns off. It would be nice if it didn't, but 120fps played back at 30fps slows down the shake too so it's acceptable most of the time.

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wow this does sound a bit of a winner Andrew -

does the fact it stops down to f4 at the long end cause you any problems if you have a wide at f2.8 on a clip then your next clip is long at f4 , I would imagine its not a huge amount darker as its only 1 stop down??

 

any thoughts on this - Im just a constant apperture geek...

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Any  chance the firmware will address the 24p shortcoming? Anyone has some info or rumors? That's the only thing holding me back.

In the B&H first look video, Panasonic's Matt Frazer says it shoots at 24p. Could have been a slip of the tongue, but if not, remember that the FZ1000 is getting a 24p bump in the next couple months, and the same could (is likely to?) happen with this camera.



Looks to be a phenomenal stills camera as well.
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