Setting up the FZ1000 Part 1 Basics

The FZ1000 is very suitable for documentary style photography. It acquires focus quickly and accurately.  It operates quickly and makes good pictures in a variety of settings including this underground shopping mall.  I held the camera at mid chest height looking down at the swung out monitor.

The FZ1000  is a very versatile and capable camera. It is highly configurable.  This means each individual  can decide how it will operate to suit personal preference.  This is a wonderful thing but it does present the user with the task of understanding how to make best use of  all  the  many options available.

Those coming from a recent Panasonic micro four thirds camera will feel quite at home with the FZ1000 interface but users coming from a bridge camera or other brand might find themselves facing a steep learning curve. 

In this little series of posts I will try to help the new FZ1000 user set up the camera to their own preference.

Throughout I will indicate my settings and the reasons for them. Your requirements will be different and unknown to me. So my settings are not prescriptive but suggestions to stimulate your thinking process.

This post is about still photo not video. There are other sources available for hints about setting up for video. I will not deal here with Wi-Fi either as it is covered fully in the Owners Manual.

Download and read  the Owners manual from any Panasonic website. It is well written and very useful. It is also jam packed with information which will take most people quite a while to digest.

Buy spare BLC-12E batteries  I have two spares, one would be the absolute minimum. I find genuine Panasonic ones last longer than any of the generics which I have used and they also take more recharge cycles. The FZ1000 uses power zoom, power focus and requires power for the EVF,  monitor and operating system so battery drain is substantial.

Get a 62mm clear protect or uv filter  Some users report they don't use a protective filter fearing image degradation.  I use a  B+W  007 Clear MRC Nano XS-Pro digital filter and have no problems at all. I much prefer to clean the filter than risk damaging the front element of the lens.

FZ1000 in Lowe Pro Apex 110 AW bag. A perfect fit with two spare batteries, several SD cards and microfiber cloth under the lens. Note wrist strap from a compact camera. I find the full neck strap just a nuisance because I carry the camera in the bag on in my right hand which is very easy with the full handle.

Locate a carry bag. I use a Lowe Pro Apex 110 AW bag as shown in the photo. The FZ1000 fits in this perfectly with room for two spare batteries, a microfiber cloth and several spare memory cards. I cut away the memory card pouch which sits above the camera handle to ensure the camera fits easily into the bag without strain.

Leave the neck strapin the box. Buy or steal from a compact camera a lightweight wrist strap. Even the smallest ones can easily hold the camera's weight. I attach this to the lug on the handle side and loop the strap around my wrist when I am carrying the camera, just to ensure it won't fall to the ground if my grip is disrupted.

Lens Cap   The inner flat surfaces are smooth, providing inadequate grip for the fingers. Roughen these with  coarse sandpaper. Now the fingers can grip properly.

Now we come to camera settings 

Menu Resume  This is found on Page 3 of the Setup Menu. Set this ON so that the camera will recall the last menu item you accessed in any submenu. So in the event you do need to access a main menu item you can get there quickly without having to scroll through the entire menu. I use this frequently for the Format function which is the last item on the Setup Menu.

Direct Focus Area,  On or Off ?    Custom Menu Page 3.   This is an important decision as it affects the way the camera operates. If Direct Focus Area is ON the AF box can be moved directly by pressing any cursor key. There is no need to press another button to activate the AF box. The benefit of Direct Focus Area is fast, efficient access to changing position and size of the AF box.

 The downside is you have to locate access to ISO, WB, AF Macro and Autofocus Mode elsewhere, generally on a Fn button or in the Q Menu. This is not really a problem as there are plenty of options available.

I set Direct Focus Area ON as it streamlines camera operation in the Capture Phase.

Those users who in the past have become familiar with the "focus (with the center AF area) and recompose" style of use might find that Direct Focus Area brings new speed and efficiency to the AF process.

I allocate ISO to Fn1, AF Macro to Fn5 and WB and AF Mode to the Q Menu which I allocate to Fn2. I will discuss Fn button function allocations in another post.

Zoom to Manual (lens)  ring or (shutter button) zoom lever ?  Custom Menu Page 7. This is another important decision as your fingers need to learn where they should go in order to operate key camera functions by memory, without having to think about which fingers go where and do what. Like driving a car.

People coming from a superzoom camera might at first feel more comfortable about zooming with the lever. Those coming from an ILC will likely find their left hand wanting to turn the ring on the lens.

I set the Manual (lens) ring to stepless zoom and the Zoom lever to [+/-].  I do this because zooming via the lens ring seems more natural to me but also because this frees up the Zoom Lever around the shutter button for direct control of exposure compensation. This is very quick and convenient and I have never had the lever move unintentionally. It is stiff enough to prevent that.

 Stepped zoom also works fine.

Some reviewers have suggested that zoom works faster via the lever but I have not found this. Lens ring zoom works well if light but steady rotational torque is applied to the ring. I can zoom from widest to longest settings in about 3 seconds.  Twisting the ring with more vigour is counterproductive.

Switching from monitor to EVF view  Custom Menu page 8 > Eye Sensor.  There are several options and  possible combinations.  

I set Eye Sensor > LVF/Monitor Switch to Monitor. Now the camera works like an FZ200 for readers who are familiar with this camera.  The eye sensor has been rendered inactive.

When the monitor is turned to face out it is active. When the monitor is turned  face in, viewing goes to the EVF (LVF). This suits the way I use the camera. When I want to view via the EVF I turn the monitor in so it does not get covered in sunburn cream or makeup if a lady  is using the camera.

When I want to hold the camera close to my chest or close in at my waist with the monitor swung out to the side, viewing by looking down at the monitor, the eye sensor does not switch the monitor off.   If the eye sensor is active it will not let you hold the camera in close  but forces you to hold it away from the body which is less secure and stable.

If you want to have the monitor facing out and the ability to switch directly from monitor view to EVF view then you will have to set the >LVF/Monitor switch in the custom Menu to Auto.

AF/AE Lock button function  Custom Menu Page 1. Setting for this button will depend very much on the user's previous use and expectations. You get plenty of choice, including AE Lock, AF Lock, AF/AE Lock and AF ON.

I set AF ON which causes the button to function like the back focus button on a mid to high range DSLR.  This allows AF and AE/Capture to be separated, which can be very useful in several situations.

In particular this allows quick AF with the back button when the Focus Mode lever is set to Manual and the Focus/Zoom switch on the lens is set to Focus. So in manual focus you can quickly AF to the in focus position then fine tune with MF and peaking. This is very handy.

Scene Mode/Panorama  The only setting I find useful in the Scene Mode on the Main Mode Dial is Panorama, which this camera does very well. So I turn the Mode Dial to {Scn}, then press Menu/Set to bring up the Menu screen, navigate up to the Scn Menu > Scene Switch > Scroll to number 25, Panorama.   Now go to the Rec Menu Page 4 > Panorama Settings > Direction > Select the bottom one of the four choices available. Note the indicated arrow directions.  

Now at last after all that:  when you turn the Mode Dial to {Scn} the Panorama function will be active and the Direction setting ready to go.

The setting I have suggested allows you to hold the camera in portrait orientation and sweep the camera from left to right horizontally. This is often the best option for  panoramas as it gives more height to the final image than holding the camera in landscape orientation.

LVF Display Style and Monitor Display Style  In the Custom Menu, Page 6 you get the option to set both the monitor and LVF to "Viewfinder"  style with key camera data on a black background beneath the preview image  or "Monitor" style, with the data superimposed on the lower part of the preview image.

I strongly recommend the viewfinder style for both because:

I have found that the auto exposure algorithms used by the FZ1000 quite often lead to a shutter speed or ISO setting which differ from that which I regard as ideal. I therefore want  to constantly monitor these exposure parameters and shift Exposure Mode and/or shutter speed as desired. In order to do this the data needs to be easily visible at all times.

I make both the viewfinder and monitor the same for a seamless segue from one to the other.

Next in the FZ1000 setup series  I will cover Q Menu, Function button  allocations and Custom Modes.