My experience with the FZ1000 are now a good week old and based on approximately 1000 shots. My comparison and experience base is not exactly small: Nikon D800E, Nikon D5300, Sony RX100 I, Nikon P7700, Panasonic FZ150, Hasselblad and large format. My photographic focus: Landscape, Action, People, Macro. Video plays not matter to me, so I say nothing on this subject.
I am traveling a lot and am tired of lugging around the D800E with three prime lenses and a zoom with me. I think the following statement was made by Henri Cartier-Bresson: The best camera is always the one that has it. Oh, how true !! As such, the D800 for me is a bad camera, because I have it here on the road rarely!
You see me for the incomplete and quite very subjective evaluation. It's just my perception of FZ1000. To make the bottom line with a set of first: Panasonic has succeeded with this bridge camera a never before achieved compromise.
At least a few details:
Image Quality: The (recalculated) Leica Elmarit is in the best resolution. The sharpness of images with Nikon D5300 and 16-85 (which I think much) are clearly worse, the 400 mm focal length is a real working focal length that delivers flawless picture quality. (Unlike my Nikon 70- 300 on the D5300, which is unusable at the long end easy). The noise is practically imperceptible and to ISO 1600 low to ISO 400. CA also. The Zooming may either (as usual) to be activated manually via a lever below the shutter automatically or by a rotating ring on the lens. I use only the bezel variants: the mechanism runs very smooth and continuous: focal length jumps I could not tell. I have found in practice that I as otherwise fixing rather the desired cut-outs during recording (thanks to this Zooming -quality). Subsequent sections are thus rarely what the image quality can only be beneficial.
Autofocus: super-fast (as never seen) and the focus is located exactly. The effect surprised me: there is virtually no false images more focused. Even those in the foreground run into surprising and far in the image are focused properly.
Image Stabilization: just great! Even with 400mm focal length at 1/60 sec are the images.
The camera is securely and firmly in his hand. Processing true for me: the talk of cheap plastic case for I like not agree. The extent to which the camera is resistant to moisture and dust, remains to be seen. The rotatable and foldable monitor (very good picture) turns out in practice to be very useful. It creates images that otherwise would unerblieben regarding perspective and recording standpoint.
Conclusion: If you like the 100% mode examined with a magnifying glass in the peripheral region of pictures to super sharpness, which was recommended by Nikon D800E 1.8 / 85mm. Who the volume and weight of FZ1000 are too high, let him resort to Sony RX100 (and then please do not complain about the limited zoom range). Who the price is too high, let him be made for example to the Lumix FZ200 (and may then be make concessions in image quality).
Those looking for an all-round photo machine that simply enjoy and delivers high quality images, which I can recommend the FZ1000 highly enough.
Supplement on 8.8.14:
After eight days "Provence" for the first time with the FZ1000 images under Lightroom on a large monitor and high-performance printer. I must beware of all the enthusiasm here now to be pathetic. But I can not say other than this:
It blows me simply: Detailed sharpness, resolution, dynamics and low noise are for a camera in this category just amazing.
In the semidarkness of a pottery with ISO 1600 shot images are bring to A3 + in 1a quality.
The high-speed focusing, the reliable automatic exposure, the quick zooming to the large focal length range, the reliable assessment of the EVF image lead to a carefree, spontaneous pictures with a great yield of high-quality, very dynamic images.
Just as Roy Maihöfer (see comment "This camera solves my DSLR ...") for his Canon EOS7D sees no future, it will be similar to myself, at least for the Nikon D5300 I see no use - The Nikon 800E with its Fixed focal length for the time being I'll keep still for more static subjects, are where the results large format prints (A2) targeted. But who knows ..... ?????
