Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

Have now owned this for 6 months, and it's taken most of that time to get my head round it, but I conclude it is exceptional, the best camera I have ever owned ( including low end film slrs and dslrs) and amazing value.

It has introduced me to RAW stills and 4K video which I now shoot most of the time.

Best features:

Zoom lens is long, and fast for its length (f2 at wide, f4 at long end.)

4K video stunning ( and you can take an 8mpixel still from any frame , in the camera, and save it in the camera.)

Raw or Raw+jpg mode beautfiful, and you can tweak a Raw still in the camera, and save it in the camera.

Viewfinder, fabulous, big and rich

Fold out screen is big and twists every which way.

Flexibility of a long long zoom in 1 fixed lens....it might look huge or feel bulky but it is nothing compared to a big dslr with a bag of lens you would otherwise be lugging around. But ergonomically perfect for big hands like mine.

Many many modes and software options, I love the dedicated mode bezel on the top, and the quick menu changes make most adjustments easy.

Idiot proof full-auto modes.

Price and value for money are exceptional.

Room for improvement?:

Needs a dedicated aperture ring on the barrel. ( juggling aperture & exposure time on the back bezel is not cool.)

You will probably need a spare battery.

Needs a headphone socket for monitoring video sound. ( though there is a visual bar indicator for audio on the screens.)

Instruction manual can be confusing but can't they all?

If you can afford it, buy it's new version, the FZ2500, as it remedies most of the deficiencies, and adds even more features, but if not, you will adore the FZ1000.

Needing to upgrade my camera, I very nearly bought a DSLR. However this camera caught my attention because of its 1 inch CMOS. Initially I missed the 42x zoom of my previous camera, but tight cropping is usually very successful. Manual focusing is great and the response speed is impressive. I take a lot of photos while my husband drives. I can see something 50 metres ahead, turn the camera on, and shoot the object with no focus lag - or startup lag. Impressive. And all with one lens.

Now owning this camera for a couple of months, i had a huge shoot on the weekend (4-5/10/14) at the Adelaide International Raceway, Spring Nationals. I shot over 2,200 photos using different modes from manual to AI mode.
With high speed of the drag cars the results are great. Image quality for this type of camera (Bridge) are faultless.
The only drawback is the battery life. with lots of on and off's playing with settings, life of the battery is not good. Lucky i had 4 batteries. Though the weight is a bit over 800 grams and the camera is the size of a DSLR it was no problem. I recommend this camera for semi Professional work...10/10 well done Panasonic