Panasonic announces a 4K-recording superzoom camera | The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/12/5802214/panasonic-lumix-fz1000-4k-superzoom-camera-announced)

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/12/panasonic-lumix-fz1000/

Sounds like it will not have a C4K mode, only a 16x9 4K mode. It uses a 1'' type sensor and is a fixed lens system.

With an expected price of 900 euro here compared to other offerings (2k for the ax100 and 1500 for the gh4) it will be an interesting camera to get your feet wet when having to deal with 4k without having to break the bank.

Wow!
Would love to see how their sensor stacks up to Sony's. Anyone know if this is their first camera with it?

Panasonic FZ1000 Superzoom officially announced

Official specifications
• 20.1Mp 1" CMOS sensor
• 16x zoom 25-400mm F2.8-4.0 lens
• 15 lenses in 11 groups. 5 aspherical lenses
• 5 axis stabilizer
• 4K MP4 high bitrate video, 25fps PAL, 30fps NTSC, 30 minutes limit
• 1/4000s mechanical shutter / 1/16000s electronic shutter
• 0.09sec AF speed
• 0.66sec start-up time
• Depth from defocus AF
• 2.36 million dot-inch OLED EVF
• 3" 920k screen
• 12fps
• Dual-axis electronic level
• Time-lapse video creation
• Stop motion animation
• Wi-Fi and NFC
• Focus peaking like GH4
• $899 price

the sample video from panasonic does show some very contrasty scenes with almost no details in the shadows, wonder if that can be altered through some presets.

[NEW] Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000 with Colin Witherill in 4K - YouTube

It supposedly does have CineV and CineD settings, peaking, but no ND.

I'm hoping the 1080p120fps is decent.

I dunno folks! While that footage isn't what I would consider a good sample for showing low light capabilities, the detail in the parts that are lit up is pretty damn nice. And this is a $900 camera with what appears to be a decent lens? I'll take three!!!

A lot of that sample footage was shot on Cali's Central Coast including Pfeiffer Beach which is world renown for having purple sand. The sand is visible in the video @ 1:45 also the scenes from 1:33 on are from Pfeiffer beach as well. Beautiful place that I'll probably shoot in 4K this summer myself.

Cam looks very promosing at the price point, 40 Mbs more bitrate than the AX100 and as long as the lens is up to task it seems very formidable.

At this price-point this is now the consumer camcorder to beat! There's still room for improvement and SDXC U3 cards are still pretty expensive, so I will wait for Sony's answer (or for the initial price drop for the Panasonic). When Sony released RX10 and A7S, I was convinced that (good) 4K at consumer prices would be 2 years off, but now it seems that the race is truly on.

The samples I found online (the 4K one above, and another that was posted at 1080) struck me as a bit odd in the way they were exposed.... at first I thought it was trying to avoid blown highlights (and maybe that was a small part of it - there was one other clip that said it was the FZ1000 that was really blown out, I'm not sure that was legitimately this camera), but what about the darker areas?

I wasn't able to see much if any detail in the shadowy/dark areas... decided to push the brightness and contrast on my monitor to rather absurd levels to bring those shadow areas into view... ouch...

Even though the highs were "hot", they weren't particularly "blown", the darker areas were now visible, and in most cases, macroblocking, banding, blotching and a ton of artifacting noise were quite painfully visible. There were a few clips that seemed to be better, so maybe there's room for adjustments?

It was not a surprise (this is a $900 camera after all!) but if that is how this camera performs in high contrast &/or low light... it would be rather disappointing, and also somewhat typical of what I've seen with other "consumer" Panasonics like the FZ200 I tried. Great specs, decent looking results, but upon closer inspection...

I'm sure they will sell a shedload of these, and it looks like it does OK in "the right" light, but I'm presuming this was the best production they could post... I'd rather go for an HD camera with better dynamic and low light performance/handling over the 4K output I'm seeing in these promo videos.

I know my 4K monitor is a cheap repurposed TV, and the display isn't "perfect", but stills from the RX10 look phenomenal, and video from the AX100 is also quite acceptable with tests I've shot thus far, so I don't think my "stock" settings are THAT far off.

+ Dave, not impressed with the footage, I don't actually care for the look of it. Dynamic range seems poor, it's too contrasty for my taste.

The footage has a look that reminds me of the FZ200, which I'm generally not crazy about (though I do use the FZ200 as a backup).

Actually, upon thinking about it., would be a great replacement for my FZ200!

I wonder how long one could film 4K with a 32GB card on this camera?

roughly 40 minutes

Thank you Emmanuel.

I corrected myself

100mbit/sec= 12,5MB/sec so 32GB holds roughly 2560 sec or 40+min.

I say roughly because 1 GB is 1024 bytes so the calculations are a bit of

Ouch! 64GB card won't cut it!

It's certainly intriguing, if it's performance is up to the average panny standards it'll be a very strong rx10 competitor.

for what it's worth, i've written up my initial thoughts: First Look: $899 4K Panasonic FZ1000 - The RX10 finally has some competition, and it's serious. (http://www.mediahalo.com/articles/fz1000/)

You say 30p is a limitation in 4k but the gh4 or the ax100 also only have 25p or 30p in 4K or do you mean something else?
Also the 28mbs is not exactly a limit in 1080p, panasonic most probably wanted to make a separation between this model and the gh4, just like they did with the g6 and gh3 and considering the pricedifference you can't expect too much, 28mbs has been the max bitrate for all camera's shooting 50p avchd.

i'm not clear on what you mean, Noa, both the gh4 and ax100 do 4k at 24p, the fz1000 at least for the moment only claims to do 30p or 25p in PAL

as for bitrates i did mention in the write-up about market separation, but there still are exceptions, such as the rx100m3 which will have 50mbps

Ah, ok, I thought you where expecting 50p, but why is 24p so important for this camera? 30p should give you a little bit more fluid motion and for pal I don't see a reason to use 24p if you can have 25p?

That 50mbs codec for the rx100 is a new codec, probably better in preventing artifacts in faster motion and high detailed shots, but eventhough the fz1000 could have had other codecs implemented I"m sure Panasonic didn't do it to protect the gh4 which, considering the price difference I see as normal, you can't have it all for that prize.

About that that swivel screen on the fz1000, I do miss that on my rx10 but if I had to choose between a build in ND or a swivelscreen I"d take the nd filter.

Over here, clients usually expect 24p these days, only recently did i get one who asked for 30, so if you're handing off footage directly, if your camera doesn't shoot the framerate they want, you'd need to go get a different camera. This of course only applies for client gigs, for which i'd likely use this as a B cam only.

Bitrate wise, i'm sure it'll be plenty good as is, but despite 24mbps looking very good, if there's one thing that manufactureres have had a strangehold on, it is bitrates. We can all assume it's for market separation, but it's a bit silly that 24mbps has now been held onto for more than 3 years with very few exceptions. Looks great for sure, but even 35mbps wouldn't encroach on their higher end cameras.

i don't know i'd trade swivel screen for ND filter. i'd use both, but given a choice, i think i'd still lean to swivel screen since i can add an ND filter, but can't add a swivel screen without adding an external monitor.

Looks very promising indeed! To be able to get to 400mm at F4 is pretty nice. Thinking primarily as a wedding video shooter.

I already damages 2 expensive variable nd filters, when I had the rx10 I was happy to finally have a camera that had this build in like it should, I absolutely hate having to screw on filters, such a hassle during a wedding.

Over here, clients usually expect 24p these days

While having extra framerate and codec options is a big plus, if you are shooting for a client then you should use camera's that are up to the task, if a client would request footage shot in raw then the fz1000 not having this would not be a negative point because this camera has a other targetaudience, of which soccermoms could be a part of as well and they don't care about codecs. I think Panasonic is saying, if you want to have it done right, get the gh4. :)

The articulating screen is a huge plus to me, the lack of ND filters a negative.

Lack of headphone jack (as Arthur mentions) will be a dealbreaker for many.

Wow very nice, I'm currently using an AX100 which I love but I need a backup 4k camera in case it fails during a shoot. I thought about getting another AX100, but at just $899 I'll spring for one of these as pure insurance against failure or breakdown of my AX100.

Also, 4K is recorded in crop mode (you loose the wide angle reach):
4K for $899 with the Panasonic FZ1000 – but beware the quirks! | EOSHD.com (http://www.eoshd.com/content/12956/4k-899-panasonic-fz1000-beware-quirks)

Also, 4K is recorded in crop mode (you loose the wide angle reach):
4K for $899 with the Panasonic FZ1000 – but beware the quirks! | EOSHD.com (http://www.eoshd.com/content/12956/4k-899-panasonic-fz1000-beware-quirks)

Oh man thanks for that, of note:

A place where any cropping is not welcome is in 4K video mode – here the lens unfortunately loses the wide end altogether and becomes a 37-592mm. 20MP down to 8MP is quite a hefty crop.

37mm in 4k mode is a no go for me alas.

I already damages 2 expensive variable nd filters, when I had the rx10 I was happy to finally have a camera that had this build in like it should, I absolutely hate having to screw on filters, such a hassle during a wedding.

Yup. The failure to include ND filters is a big minus for the new Panny. Of course the GH4 doesn't have that either, so Panasonic was kind of boxed in on that.

Unlike the RX10, there is also no constant aperture with the Panny lens. It remains to be seen, given the almost legendary status of the RX10's lens, how good the Panasonic lens actually is. The significantly lesser wide angle as the result of the crop mode is not a plus.

Having looked at the demo for this new camera, in 4K, I could immediately see there was less detail than the AX100 provides. Of course this is a lot cheaper.

I also don't think we can compare bitrates at this point. There's nothing new about the Panasonic's codec AFAIK, but the XAVC-S code seems to do well with less bits than the older codecs.

This is kind of a 'you get what you pay for' deal. But probably still very nice for the price.

+ what Ken says. Truly this is a case of you get what you pay for, kind of. The newness of 4k makes the price point of this camera exciting, but it will not be long before there will be many many other options that will make more sense for a pro.

This cam, to me, would be nothing more than a "c" cam, if even that. The lack of ND filters is diappointing but if the cam was only to be used as indoor backup, it wouldn't matter.

The lack of a mic input kills it for me.

The nice articulating screen makes me angrier at my RX10, that screen, with a LCD hood on it is just an awful pain to open and adjust when cam has a base plate attached.

Based on what I saw when I pulled the shadows up, it's awfully generous to say "4K". I know that all cameras tend to degrade in resolution and clarity in low light, but some degrade "gracefully", not collapse to bad SD quality...

Having tried the FX200, yep, the fully articulating LCD is far nicer than the approach Sony uses. But as far as the lens range goes, I got better results out of the HX300, and the lens on the RX10 with CIZ produces good results that "pop". The stills from the demos looked pretty flat to me, and not sure they were holding up out to the corners - seemed to me that the corners were falling apart a bit too.

While not a camera that I'll be standing in line for (or even looking for "used"), I'm glad to see the competition! Looks like 4K WILL be a market expectation sooner rather than later, and for a first "under $1K" effort, not bad.


Still say Sony needs to stop fooling around and release ASAP a firmware update to the RX10 and RX100M3 to unleash the BionzX to do 4K, and in the RX10 XAVC S 1080 at higher bitrate (the difference over AVCHD.28Mbps IS noticeable). I hope this bold move by Panasonic will be the prod to get them thinking a little more progressive!

[QUOTE=
Still say Sony needs to stop fooling around and release ASAP a firmware update to the RX10 and RX100M3 ![/QUOTE]

Dave if you are holding your breath on this one,,, better not

I haven't seen this mentioned previously. It's the same enhancing feature for contrast-detection autofocus that's used on newer Panasonic M4/3 cameras. I'm wondering if anyone has tried using telextenders on any of the M4/3 cameras with DFD? Does it work with an added lens on the main lens?

Regarding the request for firmware upgrades on the Sony RX10 and RX100 III: It seems that Sony's idea of firmware upgrades for Cybershot cameras, is next year's model.

Does this camera hold focus throughout the zoom?

I had a Pentax K1000 which I loved and the model numbers on the "lumixFZ1000 4K" are similar enough.so
I think I'll get one !!
Good a reason as any lol
I'm a Sony fanboy and silly as it sounds, their now called Playmemories home is such a good organizer that I've been reluctant to use files that don't show up in PMB but mayby these mp4 files from the fz1000 will

Who will be next with a 4K offering? JVC is usually good for a twist on the status Quo

I have no experience at all with panny-cams.
Do you suppose that the fz1000 will have some-sort of wired zoom controller as 100% of my shooting is on a tripod with panhandle?

Got an email today from Panasonic promoting pre-ordering for the FZ1000.

Things I don't think I had read elsewhere:

When shooting in the 1080p120fps mode (which frankly is of more interest to me than 4K) it said "The recording format is 30p." I'm not sure what that means - it will show up and play back as 30p in an NLE, but those extra frames are available if speed reduction is selected?

4K recording requires a UHS Class 3 card and has a 29 minute 59 second limit.

4k is .mp4 format.

The Hybrid OIS and level shot function do not work in 4K.

I would think 120p stored as 30p would just mean 4x the duration of the clip (1s clip is stored as 4s clip).

Bad news for Video shooters who's work is done from a tripod.
This to and from Panasonic :
--------------------
""Hello
>Does the new fz1000 have wired lanc control or similar for zooming in video mode?
>thanks you

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your inquiry. Regrettably this unit does not have a wired LAN control option ""
---------------------

Although there is apparently some kind of wireless controller I'm not sure how a smartphone or other device could be incorporated onto a tripod panhandle and used as a typical thumb operated lanc controller to follow fast sports like figureskating where zoom is pretty much constant as they are either moving towards you at 40mph or going away at similar speeds

Wait a minute Their answer sez "LAN" wtf are they idiot green-horns who might not know the difference between LAN and Lanc?

Bad news for Video shooters who's work is done from a tripod.
This to and from Panasonic :
--------------------
""Hello
>Does the new fz1000 have wired lanc control or similar for zooming in video mode?
>thanks you

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your inquiry. Regrettably this unit does not have a wired LAN control option ""
---------------------

Although there is apparently some kind of wireless controller I'm not sure how a smartphone or other device could be incorporated onto a tripod panhandle and used as a typical thumb operated lanc controller to follow fast sports like figureskating where zoom is pretty much constant as they are either moving towards you at 40mph or going away at similar speeds

Wait a minute Their answer sez "LAN" wtf are they idiot green-horns who might not know the difference between LAN and Lanc?

bruce that's strange because it has the same remote port (2.5mm) like the GH4 , and the GH4 will accept a libec 3DV with the power-zoom lenses so I'm going to test it myself when I'll get it but I'm confident that there is a remote option (in panasonic protocol of course which means probably only zoom control and maybe start/stop)
Maybe the question was a bit vague and so the answer. anyway Panasonic video cameras (any) don't have "lanc" protocol, but a panasonic protocol . 2 ports (2.5mm and 3.5mm for zoom/start-stop (2.5mm) and iris/focus(3.5mm)). The answer may be correct (no lanc which only works for sony and canon. what they did was just missing a "c" in there.. again.. maybe). Or most likely they misunderstood, thinking that vthe question was about some LAN connection over IP or something. What's clear for now is that they didn't know much about the camera, and that's obvious.

Hey Anthony
They did resend Thank you for your inquiry. Regrettably this unit cannot operate with a wired LANC. Ican't say that the call centre folks understand the intent of my question or whether they are just a farmed out outfit with cookie cutter only responses (seems so)
I'm standing in line down at B&H for one of these as we speak and really have my fingers crossed that Panny has thought of this and made some provision for zoom control other than duct-taping an iphone to the pan handle.
Some recent Sonys utilize miniusb for zoom control so there's that ..(I have emailed them again asking for a list of functions available via av/usb ports
It would make no sense to have a fixed zoom lens camera with significant video empowerment that is not usable in what is a normal video shooting manner

Hey Anthony
I'm standing in line down at B&H for one of these and really have my fingers crossed that they have thought of this and made some provision for zoom control other than duct-taping an iphone to the pan handle.
Some recent Sonys utilize miniusb for zoom control so there's that ..(I have emailed them again asking for a list of functions available via av/usb ports
It would make no sense to have a fixed zoom lens camera with significant video empowerment that is not usable in what is a normal video shooting manner

Bruce,
same here. If you go to DPReview check the preview of the camera, go to the third page and look at the picture of the ports, there is a micro HDMI, USB and remote -looks exactly like the one on the GH4, which is a 2.5mm). I am 98% confident that a libec 3DV will at least control the zoom.

tks I'd been hunting for pics of those ports without luck
main thing is zoom.
start/stop/photo bonus but not that big a deal

tks I'd been hunting for pics of those ports without luck
main thing is zoom.
start/stop/photo bonus but not that big a deal

absolutely bruce, I agree.

what we need is a good quality camcorder with a remote and a workable bokeh (too much bokeh can be a nightmare to get the focus right). a slow zoom that doesn't jerk like the ea50. and a solid 1080p (4K is a plus but it may be an investment for the future.

What this camera needs:
1. XLR to 3.5mm adapter with volume control and audio monitor
2. a mattebox with filters mainly ND

and that would be it.

Notice the usual marketing trick regarding the missing ND and audio out. LOL . They are all alike... a little bit of this and little bit of that and the important things included to win the competitors but still with ALWAYS something missing :)

Yeah
I have a little rolls cam mixer for audio before ingest to the cam which takes left and right xlr channels + aux in then outputs 3.5 and figure something can be rigged up for headphones using the a/v out off the cam
Been screwing nd filters on lenses so that's no sweat to get a set of those in 62mm so long as its with you when you need it
I'm really excited and the next month is going to be like a really really long christmas eve...

Yeah
I have a little rolls cam mixer for audio before ingest to the cam which takes left and right xlr channels + aux in then outputs 3.5 and figure something can be rigged up for headphones using the a/v out off the cam
Been screwing nd filters on lenses so that's no sweat to get a set of those in 62mm so long as its with you when you need it
I'm really excited and the next month is going to be like a really really long christmas eve...

that will do. I need phantom power as well (because I'm used to my old mic that I know exactly how will work under any scenario but in case I could also get a rode too ... whatever... let's get the camera first)

this one can be the camcorder we all been waiting for after the D90 put all the pro-sumer camcorders to shame. I have a good feeling about this fx1000 . it may be the one. Then if the camera is good and brings the work home I wouldn't mind spending on the necessary things. room to attach a light and the microphone on the flash shoe A mattebox with lee slots will be easier than screwing and unscrewing fast, Bruce... but again let's get the camera first, then we'll see

by the end of July.... almost there :)

I am confused by this discussion: all of the gripes about this camera are solved by the Sony AX100, which also has the 1" sensor. To wit:

wired and wireless remote controller; no 30-minute limit; built-in ND filters (three!); parfocal zooming (which the Panasonic surely will not have); variable-speed zoom, including quick zoom; mic in; audio out; XLR attachment possible. And if you do not want 4K, there is the CX900 for $1499, which I am sure will have better 1080 than the Panasonic. The AX100/CX900 have many buttons for controlling manually.

Oh, and the AX100 has already had a firmware update to improve the zoom (quicker) and auto focus tracking. So much for gripes about updates from Sony...

The main lack: no customization of looks, no RAW photos.

I'm not confused Mark, just cheap !
the fz1000 is less than half the price
I'm an optimist.
Time was panny ruled this segment if memory serves
And As Anthony says, maybe this is the one.
And I'm a Sony fanboy so its not brand snobery

I am confused by this discussion: all of the gripes about this camera are solved by the Sony AX100, which also has the 1" sensor. To wit:

wired and wireless remote controller; no 30-minute limit; built-in ND filters (three!); parfocal zooming (which the Panasonic surely will not have); variable-speed zoom, including quick zoom; mic in; audio out; XLR attachment possible. And if you do not want 4K, there is the CX900 for $1499, which I am sure will have better 1080 than the Panasonic. The AX100/CX900 have many buttons for controlling manually.

Oh, and the AX100 has already had a firmware update to improve the zoom (quicker) and auto focus tracking. So much for gripes about updates from Sony...

The main lack: no customization of looks, no RAW photos.

Mark
3 reasons

1. you can't mount a light and shotgun (and I'm not going to play with that sony nonsense flash mount, I remember the sr11 with a similar useless mount) ( and that's the price to pay when the designers have to listen to the marketing people who want to sell absurd accessories, pushing proprietary mounts for it): see? people may decide to buy from the competition, just because of that greedy idiotic marketing push)
2. The AF is nowhere near to the panasonic , and even if it's 1inch is still demanding. MF on a camcorder of this kind is out of the question.
3. the price difference compared to the fz1000 that (on paper) gives everything better for a fraction of the cost

enough reasons?

to bruce : the remote of the sony gives zoom control, start/stop, focus, and 16 (I think) zoom speeds to be set on the remote. Panasonic (if it works) should give just zoom and maybe start-stop and that's it.
Another thing to consider (and verify before we buy it) is how noisy is the zoom, in case we should put the shotgun away, as far as possible. Other than that I don't see any intentional restrictions (beside the missing ND filters): it should be fine (it should but we don't know yet)

Hmm, I put together a three shoe mount and two singles for under $20 in parts, and a little time customizing the shoe to fit. NO problem mounting a light and a mic... you'd have to have something similar for any camera...

AF on the AX100 is quite good. The FZ1000 is currently an unknown. it's a wash...

And my only comment is that with Panasonic, my experience is that you get what you pay for... yes, they produce some great cameras on paper, but that's different from IMAGE QUALITY when the bits hit the fan!

I've already seen enough in the Panasonic samples to know I'd likely be very disappointed vs. the AX100 and the RX10 - yeah, both more expensive cameras, but again, you get what you pay for.

I tried the vaunted FZ200, hoping for a great "cheap" camera... the images were "cheap" too... I know some people love and use that camera, but the image quality was just not up to what I expect from ANY camera - even though "on paper" it "should have been" a great cam. I have cameras I paid less than $100 for that outperformed it in terms of general image quality.

Both the above Sonys were good "on paper", and despite some people not knowing how to use them, most are getting eye popping results, myself included. Image quality compromised for budget is not something I'm willing to accept.

Lest you think I'm being overly critical, let me say that I really hope the FZ1000 is better than the posted samples for 4K and stills... I think it will again be a great "budget" entry to 4K, it will push the market down, but I also worry that the 4K produced based on the samples posted will be less than exciting. I'd love it if it turned out that it's the perfect marriage of the RX10 and the AX100... but the samples (and I presume those were the "best" output) didn't even come close to impressing me. A nice budget entry, meaning more people "testing" 4K, and that's GOOD, but I'll wait to hear how it goes for "early adopters"... And even if it SUCKS (the 4K samples weren't THAT bad, just not as good as what the AX100 can produce), maybe it'll get Sony off the dime on putting 4K into the Cybershots!

GO PANASONIC!! <wink>