Panasonic FZ1000 vs GH4 4K video comparison test (not a review)
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- QUICK TEST OF THE FZ-1000 in 4K video mode.
Panasonic has launched two very interesting cameras in 2014. First they introduced the GH4, nice for stills and fantastic for video. Then, as a surprise, they soon after launched the FZ-1000 (mirror-less fixed lens camera) which also supports interesting video functions, including 4K video at 100 Mbit/sec. A similar feature as offered on the GH4.
This video shows a quick and dirty comparison between the GH4 and FZ1000 regarding 4K video. This video highlights the level of detail and noise levels. It also demonstrates the quality of the Leica lens.
It turns out that in the lower ISO settings (200 ISO) the FZ-1000 is nearly as good as the GH4 (but at half the price) in terms of level of detail and noise. At higher ISO settings (ISO800 and up) the FZ-1000 does show higher noise levels than on the GH4. Both cameras were using the Cinelike-D video profile.
FZ-1000 Camera settings:
Cinelike-D video mode. -2 contrast, -2 sharpness, NR:0, Saturation:0. Luminance level 16-255. Highlight -2, Shadow +2. WB: 5000K.
Other things I noticed:
++ The Leica 25 mm to 400 mm lens does a very good job in terms of image detail and contrast. The power-zoom and image stabilization come in handy too.
++ The FZ-1000 4K video mode is very convincing at lower ISO levels (125 and 200 ISO) At 400 ISO it is still OK, at 800 ISO the noise starts to become a bit too visible and the GH4 is clearly better.
when filming moving objects I did not notice more rolling shutter on the FZ-1000 than on the GH4.
My two cents...
Anyway, this is not a review. There are plenty reviews on the FZ-1000 now. Google will find them for you. I think that Panasonic did a good job: this is currently the lowest cost camera for good quality 4K video.
If you are interested in low light results on the GH4 and FZ-1000, you may want to see this video: • Panasonic FZ1000 vs GH...
Notice that you can't compare the quality of the 4K video on a smartphone with the FZ-1000 quality. The superior Leica lens (25-400 mm) alone plus the high bitrate (100 Mbit/sec), position the FZ-1000 in a totally different 'league'.
Have fun and enjoy the new dimension of 4K video,
Erwin
Holy cow. FZ1K X4 crop is equivalent to 1600 mm. With that much detail it makes most super zoom cameras obsolete. Good comparison.
Thanks for the comparison! What is your opinion on the dynamic range of the FZ1000?
That zoom is super impressive!
Yeah, the FZ-1000 has 16x optical zoom, really practical, specially for video. Quite incredible that Panasonic was able to include such as powerful Leica lens with this camera.
Cinevideo-NL I love that zoom. How you like the camera so far? Pretty clean crisp picture?
Kaster Troy After using both cameras for over 1 month weeks now, I can say that I still really like that FZ-1000 (motorized) zoom lens.The image of the FZ-1000 is good (including for stills), it just has some more noise than the GH4 when you pixel-peep it. But yeah I can say the picture is crispy. Unfortunately, with 4K video on the FZ-1000 you lose the wide-angle because of the crop factor. The 25 mm turns into 37 mm. When you film 1080p, the 25 mm will remain 25 mm wide angle. So for professional work regarding 4K video I think most people will select the GH4, where the image has somewhat less noise and you choose from a wide ranges of lenses.
Cinevideo-NL Yeah thats too bad about the crop but from what I've read, a lot of cameras with 4k are doing that. Does the GH4?
Kaster Troy Yeah. The GH4 also uses a smaller portion of the sensor for 4K video, to avoid pixel binning. In 4K mode, the chip reads out 1 pixel on the chip for 1 pixel in the 4K video. Normally the crop mode for stills and 1080p video on the GH4 is 2x (versus full frame), so a 14 mm wide angle turns into 28 mm FF. For 4K the crop mode is around 2.3, so 14 mm becomes 32 MM. There are new 10 mm lenses out on the market that solve that problem, coz your 10 mm lens will end up being 23 mm in 4K. Thats wide enough an angle I think. And then you also use a speedbooster.
Thanks for the nice samples and kudos on the honest title :D
Which zoom where you using on the GH4?
On the GH4 I used the standard 14-42 mm Panasonic lens, set at around 20 mm, so that it would match the field of view of the FZ-1000. (thats about 46 mm FF) The cameras don't have the same crop factor (compared to full frame/FF) because of the different sensor size. The Leica lens on the FZ-1000 is in fact 9.1 to 146 mm, which works out as 25-400mm (FF) for photos and 1080p video. 1080p video is good too, on the FZ. For 4K it will work out as 37mm - 592 mm. (different crop). This means that on the FZ-1000 in 4K your widest angle is 37 mm (FF) which is only very moderate wide angle.
Cinevideo-NL Thanks for your reply! I was wondering because in 4K we evaluate the quality of the lens just as much as the sensor ;)
And yeah that's a awful lot of conversion as both cameras have additional and different crop ratios when recording in 4K
supercurioTube Yep, the crop factors are confusing to many. The golden standard in DLSR land, is to use full frame (FF) as the reference. Because the 4K video uses a smaller portion of the imaging chip, the crop is smaller, so therefore the 25 mm (FF equivalent wide-angle) turns into a 37 mm. On 1080p video you will in fact get 25 mm, F2.8. The quality of 1080p video on the FZ-1000 is better than for instance on the Canon 5D mark III. All in all, the FZ-1000 offers very good value for money.
supercurioTube By the way: I will publish a new short video this week on the low-light capabilities of the FZ-1000. They are not at all that bad, though the GH4 is better, it has less noise. (bigger sensor)
Cinevideo-NL Yes 37mm as equivalent at its widest in 4K.
It also means the 35mm equivalent for the aperture in terms of DoF is 11.2-16, and Panasonic happily forgets to mention that.
This lens bokeh appear to be really nice but the additional crop rebuts me to buy it as I'm looking for a solution that's able to provide some background separation in 4K portrait videos.
Also, 25p only 4K on the PAL camera :/
Your sample shows how impressive this lens sharpness is which will no doubt make happy those who like the long zoom!
Please do one in a month for FZ2500 vs FZ1000!
Thanks for the review, it is true that the 5-axis stabilizer does not work for 4k video?
I don't know, I will test it. for normal video (1080p) the stabilizer works very well. I see no reason why it would not work for 4K, as the stabilizer is optical (mechanical)
Thanks. Mine is on order. When did you order it and from where ?
I ordered it from a German shop (Foto Hamer in Bochum). For some reason Panasonic ships camera's earlier to Germany than to Holland, where I'm located.
thanks. why is fz1000's footage so shaky at 400% crop compaed to GH4? there is no stabilization in 4k mode, but you did use the tripod, so why is it still shaky? was your tripod not very secure and maybe wind was shaking it a little?
I had the OIS on, while it was on a tripod. That causes the wobble, sorry. I should have turned it off. Check here: digital-photography-school.com/image-stabilization-on-tripods/
On new footage, after turning it off, the image was completely stable!
Thanks...
I love my Fz1000. Great quality - and it´s affordable for me.
Hi everyone, Sony has just introduced a very interesting new bridge camera, the RX10 mark II. It is better than the FZ1000 re: certain aspects like slow motion features, s-log2 and constant aperture. (video zoom-in/out) The Sony currently (August 2015) costs some 500 USD more than the FZ1000 however. So it is quite expensive. See a very nice comparison list here:
www.imaging-resource.com/cameras/panasonic/fz1000/vs/sony/rx10-ii/
Cinevideo-NL So for people who are on a budget and want to spend less than a 1000 USD, I would still recommened to get the FZ1000...
Nice!
Great
OMG imagine capturing videos of UFOs!
Check this video on the LOW-LIGHT capabilities of the GH4 and FZ-1000... ruclips.net/video/2Ppd39JbtYc/видео.html
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nice try with the Panasonic FZ1000 but this camera is still a crap... when zooming you dont get that smooth transition from aperture f/2.8-4, is totally garbage... beside its still noisy at ISO 800 even with the “BIG 1” SENSOR...” yeah, right
@gotDesign: Gee man, are you a hater? I guess you haven't actually used this camera. Show me ANY camera that can do 4K video at this level of quality for under 900 Euro and we'll discuss it.