science and technology news: Hands-on review: Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Introduction and features

Thanks in no small part to their lens zoom range, bridge cameras are still a buoyant section of the fixed lens camera market. In fact, according to Panasonic's research the most important feature for prospective bridge camera buyers is their lens zoom ratio, followed by the lens quality and then image quality.

Our full review is now underway and we have shared our lab results in this hands on review in advance of publishing our full review.

Consequently, Panasonic has given the FZ1000, its top-end bridge camera, a 16x zoom range with a focal length equivalent to 25-400mm. What's more, this is a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at the widest point and f/4 at the narrowest.

As well as allowing the shutter speed to be kept at safe hand-holdable levels in low light, having a large maximum aperture gives the photographer the ability to restrict depth of field to blur backgrounds when they want to.

Image blur is also reduced by the Lumix DMC-FZ1000's Hybrid 5-axis Optical Image Stabilisation.

To ensure better image quality than the average bridge camera, the FZ1000 has a 1-inch sensor (significantly larger than the 1/2.3-inch devices in most models), with 20.1 million pixels. The larger size sensor means that the photo receptors (pixels) are larger and this should have a positive impact upon noise control, dynamic range and image quality as a whole.

Panasonic has coupled the sensor with a new Venus Engine the manufacturer claims will dramatically improve the resolution, gradation, colour reproduction and noise control compared to Panasonic's existing bridge cameras.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

In a first for a compact or bridge camera, the FZ1000 is capable of recording 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixel) video footage at up to 25fps (PAL) in MP4 format. This comes with the advantage of being able to take 8Mp still images for a better viewing experience on 4K televisions.

Naturally, it's also possible to record video at Full HD and VGA resolution. The FZ1000 can record in a variety of formats, including MP4 and AVCHD to allow easy transfer, editing and sharing of movies. Those interested in slow motion playback will appreciate the ability to record Full HD footage at 100fps.

We first saw the company's Depth from Defocus technology in the Panasonic GH4, Panasonic's flagship compact system camera. It has been used again in the FZ1000 to achieve focus speeds that are said to be 275% faster than those achieved by the Panasonic FZ200. Panasonic claims a focus speed of 0.09 second at the widest point of the lens and 0.17 second at the telephoto end when the viewfinder is used to compose images.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

There are a total of 49 AF points available for selection either by the photographer or automatically by the camera. In addition to 49-Area and 1-Area AF, there's also the Custom Multi AF mode, first seen in the GH4. This allows the user to select blocks, rows or columns of AF points for use.

Panasonic has also added Pinpoint AF, in which the camera automatically magnifies the focus area to ensure the correct section is in focus, and Focus Peaking to show the areas of highest contrast (focus) the focus position in manual focus (MF) and AF+MF modes.

In addition to Face Detection AF, Eye Detection AF mode is available to automatically set the focus directly on a human eye and starts focusing as soon as the viewfinder is used.

Being a bridge camera, the FZ1000 has an electronic viewfinder. This is a 2,359,000-dot OLED device. There's also a 3-inch 921,000-dot LCD screen mounted on a vari-angle hinge to allow the monitor to be seen from a wide range of angles. One surprise with this screen, however, is that it is not touch-sensitive.

Like Panasonic's recent compact system cameras, the FZ1000 has Wi-Fi connectivity built-in and an NFC chip to allow a connection to be made quickly to an NFC enabled smartphone or tablet. As well as wireless image transfer, this means the camera can be controlled remotely.

Other features brought with the FZ1000 include zebra display to indicate the brightest areas of a scene, timelapse shooting and stop-motion recording.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Build and handling

Given that it has a larger sensor than Panasonic's other recent bridge cameras, it's not a surprise that the FZ1000 is also a little larger bodied.

The camera feels well built and solid enough in the hand, without being too heavy.

Like other bridge cameras, the new camera has SLR-like styling with a chunky finger-grip and a liberal helping of dials and buttons giving a direct route to key features.

On the top of the camera there's a mode dial to set the camera to shoot in aperture priority, shutter priority or manual exposure mode, or one of the automatic modes, such as Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, designed to help novice photographers.

Panasonic's Creative Control options are also accessed via the mode dial, and comprise 22 digital filter effects including Sepia, High Dynamic, Toy Pop, Rough Monochrome, Soft Focus and Miniature Effect.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

With 2,359,000 dots at its disposal, the OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) gives a good, clear view and changes made to the exposure or colour settings are quickly reflected in the image it displays. The 921,000-dot LCD also gives a clear, detailed view and its articulating joint means it is useful for composing images at above or below head-height. It's disappointing that the screen is not touch-sensitive though as this would allow speedier selection of AF point and more convenient shutter tripping in some instances.

Performance and verdict

So far we have only been able to use a pre-production sample of the Panasonic FZ1000 so we can't comment fully on the quality of the images that it produces. However, we are able to share a few images here, although we have had to downsize them and are told that they should not be taken as representative of final image quality.

Nevertheless we there are a few conclusions that we can draw from the images that we have shot. For a start, the FZ1000 continues Panasonic's trend for making cameras that are able to produce good exposures in a range of conditions. When faced with a bright overcast sky above a subject, for example, the FZ1000 managed to correctly expose the subject.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Colours also look natural yet vibrant direct from the camera, and the automatic exposure system copes well with bright sunlight, shade and cloudy conditions.

The native sensitivity range runs from ISO 125-12,800, but there are extension settings to push the range to ISO 80-25,600.

Images taken at the lower sensitivity settings have plenty of sharp detail, while those taken at ISO 25,600 look rather soft at fairly small viewing sizes and have some coloured speckling visible. It will be interesting to see what images look like from a full-production sample.

Panasonic has made great strides with its AF systems over recent years and the FZ1000 appears to benefit from this as it focuses quickly on the subject even in fairly low light conditions. When we get a full production sample in for testing we will look at this in more depth to see if it performs to the same standard across its entire focal length range.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Early verdict

While there are cameras available with a much wider zoom range than 16x, a focal length equivalent of 25-400mm is a good working range that many SLR photographers would be happy with, although they would expect to carry several lenses to achieve it. Some cameras with small sensors offer more at the longer end of the focal length, but in many cases this is overkill and users can often achieve the same framing by moving closer to their subject.

Panasonic hasn't skimped at the wide-angle end and 25mm is a good starting point for many applications, including landscapes and documentary photography as well as shooting cramped interiors.

The ability to record 4K video may not seem especially enticing at the moment, but as 4K televisions become more widely available it will have greater value. One of the key benefits is that it turns the video mode into a high-speed continuous shooting mode, as 8Mp still images can be extracted. That will be attractive to parents wanting to photograph their children at play as well as keen nature and wildlife lovers.

Combining a comparatively large sensor with a wide maximum aperture also gives photographers creative control over depth of field.

The FZ1000 marks the start of a new line for Panasonic and the early signs are good. It has plenty of features to allow those who want to take control over their images to do so, while providing automatic options for less experienced users. It's also appears to be very capable, delivering well exposed images with plenty of detail and good, natural colour.

Image quality and resolution

As part of our image quality testing for the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000, we've shot our resolution chart. These images were captured using a full-production sample of the camera.

For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them, check out our full explanation of our camera testing resolution charts.

Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

Raw

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

ISO 80. Score: 28

Hands-on review: Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Introduction and features

Build and handling

Performance and verdict

Early verdict

Image quality and resolution

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JPEG

Noise and dynamic range

JPEG signal to noise ratio

Raw signal to noise ratio

JPEG dynamic range

Raw dynamic range

Sensitivity and noise images

Raw

JPEG

Sample images