Panasonic FZ1000 Introduction

Evening scene Sydney. FZ1000, tripod. I shot the same scene last year on GH3 with 35-100mm f2.8 lens mounted. On my assessment this is the best zoom lens for the M43 system. The FZ1000 image matches it for resolution of fine detail across most of the frame except the edges and corners but even there it is very close. In the original file on screen I can read all the words on the signs on the expressway overpasses.

 

Is this the best fixed zoom lens camera of all time ?

Is the FZ1000 the beginning of the end for the ILC ?

I started using cameras 60 years ago. For most of that time I have used  interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) because that has been the way to decent performance with a range of lens focal lengths. But the least appealing and least ergonomically satisfactory feature of an ILC is the process of changing lenses. I hate changing lenses. I hate having to buy and carry a bunch of lenses. The whole business is complicated, awkward and expensive. When a photo op. appears I invariably have the wrong lens mounted.

I really want  an "all in one" camera which has a fixed zoom lens providing a wide range of focal lengths together with good enough picture quality and performance.

Many users   want the same thing. Most DSLR buyers mount some kind of zoom lens, often a "travel zoom" type at purchase and leave it in place permanently. Camera makers have tried to meet the need for a more compact approach to the problem.  Thus we have fixed travel zoom lens cameras and fixed superzoom lens cameras in various configurations.

But there have been  problems with each of  these interpretations of  the ideal "do everything" camera.

Long zoom lenses on DSLRs are quite large, heavy and expensive. Similar zooms for the Micro Four Thirds system are smaller but still have limitations on focal length range if compact dimensions are to be maintained.  Long zoom lenses on compacts without an EVF look good on paper but are very difficult to hold steady at the long end of the zoom. Superzooms with an EVF have until now all had very small sensors which compromise picture quality.

Recent advances in technology  have allowed  the use of many high quality aspheric elements in lens design. This has enabled the development of smaller lenses with a high zoom range.  Small sensors are improving every year.

The Sony RX10  released last year utilised these new technologies to create an advanced, modern version of the "all purpose" camera with the picture quality, performance, lens focal length range and maximum aperture of a good quality ILC with two high performance interchangeable lenses.  All this came on the market in a package much smaller and less expensive than the equivalent ILC with twin f2.8 lens kit.

As is often the case Sony was first to market with this new style camera. Unfortunately as is also often the case Sony's ergonomic design was less than optimal so I passed on the RX10 and  waited for a more coherently realised version on the same theme. In due course this appeared in the form of the..... 

Lumix FZ1000,  the latest do everything wunderkamera from Panasonic.  This uses the same or very similar 15.86mm (diagonal dimension), back illuminated, 20Mpx sensor as the RX10, possibly the Sony IMX183CQ.

But the FZ1000 wraps a more appealing package around the sensor at a substantially lower initial price. The FZ1000 has almost double the zoom range, better ergonomics, faster performance and 4K video.

I found this irresistible so I bought one and am very pleased that I did so.

The FZ1000 comes close to the camera I have been wanting for the last 60 years.

It is the first  "one module" camera to make me think very hard about selling off all my ILC equipment, bodies and lenses. It's that good and I am fussy about picture quality and performance.

I think the FZ1000 really does represent the beginning of the end for the ILC as a camera genre. I believe it easily meets the requirements of most camera users, including expert/enthusiast types,  in most situations most of the time. I believe that for all but professional users it makes the ILC redundant.

Followers of this blog will be reading a lot about the FZ1000 in coming months.