New 4K Panasonic FZ1000 - Sony RX10 Killer?

Last night, Panasonic announced the first UHD ("4K") camera below $1000 - the $897.99 Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 (available for pre-order at Amazon and Adorama). This camera has a list of great video features in addition to UHD - such as a 1" sensor, focus peaking and zebras, 5-axis stabilization and cine gammas. Here's a nicely shot UHD video from Panasonic (please watch at your monitor's highest resolution):





Aimed squarely at Sony's $1298 DSC-RX10, this camera has a very similar 1" 20MP sensor - but it tries to 'improve' on the RX10's terrific 8.3X constant aperture f2.8 lens by doubling the zoom range.  It's not much of an improvement, however, because the longer zoom range is offset by the loss of constant aperture (the new lens' aperture is a not very impressive f2.8-4.0).

It also fails to match the RX10 in other ways that matter to video shooters - it has no metal weather-sealed body, no ND filter, and no headphone jack.

In addition, when recording UHD, the US model is limited to 30fps and 30 minutes of recording time (25fps for the PAL model).  No 24fps.

Given the lack of serious video features, the addition of focus peaking, 5-axis stabilization, cine gammas, UHD "4K" and the 1" sensor may not be sufficient to compensate for this camera's shortcomings.

Bottom line - Reports of the RX10's demise are greatly exaggerated. At $897.99, the FZ1000 may sell well, but I don't recommend it for serious video shooters. If you want a compact superzoom with serious video chops, I recommend saving up an extra $400 for the RX10 - it's a great 1080p video camera with a headphone jack and a metal body that can stand up to a little weather.

If you want the flexibility and creativity of interchangeable lenses, you can get an all-metal GH3 body with a headphone jack for about $100 more than the FZ.

And for shooters who really want to upgrade to 4K - I recommend saving up for a camera that records to real 4K and 24fps - and without a 30 minute limit - the GH4.

Open Box Sony RX10 - $937 from Adorama!

You can save about $360 off the street price of a new RX10 at Amazon if you buy an open box camera for $937 from Adorama.

This is a great deal for one of the hottest still/video cameras on the market this Christmas season.

These are brand new cameras with a 1 year Sony warranty  - I don't think they'll last long at this price!

Sony RX10 with Atomos ProRes Recorder - Pocket Cinema Camera Killer?

The biggest challenge with the new Sony DSC-RX10 still/video hybrid camera for serious video projects has been its relatively low bitrate AVCHD codec. Despite this limitation, with a good grade, this camera can produce decent results (see Andrew Reid's RX10 test video, Run and Gun).

But what if you could combine the RX10's downscaling algorithms with a decent codec?  Last night, Atomos posted this tutorial on how to use their Ninja 2 external monitor/recorder with the RX10:



The Atomos Ninja 2 gives the RX10 the ability to record 233mbps ProRes 422, the same codec available on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera when it was first released.

This codec takes up less space on cards and drives than RAW, and some shooters prefer it as a good compromise between the limitations of 8 bit and the complexity of dealing with RAW.

If you're planning to buy the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera for ProRes only, don't need a lens faster than f2.8 or longer than 200mm, and don't want to deal with RAW, you might want to look at the $1298 RX10 plus a $675 Ninja 2 instead (and don't forget the $6.99 micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable).

Add the fact that the RX10 is a 20.2MP still camera; has a bright OLED viewfinder; a great de-clicked Zeiss constant f2.8, an 8x power zoom; a built-in ND filter; 1080/60p; usable onboard sound plus audio level meters (not to mention little niceties such as a recording time remaining indicator, the ability to delete files in camera and a battery that lasts more than a few minutes) - all features the Blackmagic lacks - and buying a finicky $995 BMPCC plus some kind of viewfinder or LCD shade, an expensive constant f2.8 lens, a superfast SanDisk Extreme Pro card, extra batteries and a screw on ND filter just to shoot gradeable ProRes 422 doesn't make a lot of sense.

If you're a low budget RAW shooter (or want to be), the BMPCC continues to be the absolute best straight out-of-the-box solution.

ProRes shooters, however, now have another, very usable, option.  I'll say it again, it's a great time to be a hybrid photographer/filmmaker!

As usual, if anything here has helped you reach a buying decision, please click on one of the links above or the display ads below to order your RX10, Ninja 2 or BMPCC.

If you don't need a camera or external recorder right now, please shop with our other sponsors, Adorama, Amazon, BorrowLenses, CoolLCD, DigitalRev, uBid, Vimeo, the the Warner Brothers Shop and others whose display ads you see in the margins.  It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming.  Thanks so much!