skiphunt

Hi,

I read all the posts and reviews about the SD card speed needed for 4k video using the FZ1000, so I bought a couple 64GB UHS-1 90MB/ps cards... However, I've been trying out all of my regular 8-32GB standard SD cards and all of them seem to work fine recording 4k/30fps and 1080 120fps.

All of the cards are class 10 except for one old 8GB card is class 2. The only card that gives me the message on the screen saying the media isn't fast enough to record 4k is the old class 2 card.

What am I missing? Why did I need to buy a couple 64GB UHS-1 90MB/ps cards? Seems plain ole bargain class 10 cards work just fine. Would they start failing with longer record times? I only recorded a few seconds but it seems to work fine for everything other than the class 2 card.

@Cinegain, My FZ1000 arrived this afternoon. There was a little charge in the battery so I messed around with it a bit. Didn't shoot anything, but just pretended and played with the various controls. So, my first initial impression is that... I'm in love.

I may be disappointed a little with it's actual output, or not... but the size, weight, ergonomics, etc. so far has me saying "Hey Gorgeous, where ya been all my life?"

If it meets my expectations during the Yucatan and possibly Cuba trip, I may sell off all my Nikon stuff and get a GH4 AND LX100.

Cinegain, yeah... I sort of already came to that conclusion. For my specific needs this camera I believe will more than suffice. I was trying to get more info from a community who's interests are different than mine. 

I don't make any buying decisions based solely on what Andrew says about anything. But, if I'm already looking at a specific camera and see that he's done a solid assessment of a product, that does help sway me somewhat. 

I'd planned on going the LX100 route for the larger sensor and more compact. But a friend has that camera and there were a few things he didn't like. I was still interested in it, but then someone mentioned the FZ1000. I didn't even know that camera existed until about 2 weeks ago I think. I'm not the sort that looks at every new camera that comes out and reads all the reviews, and compares a bunch of test footage, etc. I don't drool for every little add-on rig gadget that comes on the market like some seem to, ie. those who're all about the gear and have in the back of their mind that they just have to buy just one more thing to make their "vision" happen. That's not me. 

The only reason I was looking at the LX100 for travel is because I wanted to get short 4k clips while I'm shooting decent stills. The stock video market is getting nearly as saturated as the still market has, but there's still room in the 4k markets (somewhat). I was completely ready to buy the LX100 until I searche the FZ1000, saw that it had a flip lcd, external mic port, stabilized long lens, etc. Everything I felt like I'd miss with the LX100. So I did a search and saw Andrew's write-up. Boom. What he wrote pretty much confirmed what it looked like on paper. And his sample footage looks good, but I'm not wild about the grading. I've since found other samples that prove the FZ1000 is indeed capable of meeting my needs for the price I'm willing to pay, and without having to carry loads of gear. 

That's why I edited my last comment to "abandoned". I'm done "shopping" and will go shoot now. Will check back at some point when/if I'm curious about what the new flavor of the month is.

So thanks for your 2 cents.

Cheers,

Skip

abandoned.

I've read a lot of posts and talk regarding the HDMI being "clean" out of the FZ1000, but most of the posts I've read are that the current firmware doesn't really allow for progressive 4k external recording and monitoring, with something like the Atmos. At least, from what I've read so far it doesn't seem possible to do with any of the current available recorders. 

Somewhere I read someone was able to record interlaced to a Ninja, but the AF doesn't work (and I'm assuming the electronic manual focus either) when you're recording externally. 

I wonder if this might be doable later via firmware update? Or, is that completely unlikely possibility?

Not that it matters much to me at this point. I bought it as a cheap all in one for travel, but it if could... that'd be incredible. 

I've never even heard of a "Fashion Film" Very cool concept and exceptionally beautiful work. 

Matt, I sort of came to a similar conclusion. But I'm more of a stills person than I'm guessing you are. So, for stills... with the right lens, it's a great lightweight cam that can make some decent 1080p. I was happy with the look of what little I shot with it, but found myself not enjoying all the little hassles like no focus peaking, etc. 

That's basically why I just pulled the trigger on an FZ1000. It looks more like what I was after to begin with... although I'm a bit nervous about it's weight and that little 1in sensor. A GH4 or Sony A7s is likely more what I'd want at home, but for carrying a backpack or motorbike travel... I'm liking the idea of the FZ1000. Keeping the D5300 for now... at least for stills. I haven't completely given up on Nikon yet, but I'm getting close. ;)

Not seeing that much chit-chat on this site about this cam, but it's not really a fiddly, raw, rigged up, etc. cam. Appears to be a no-nonsense, good grab-n-go all-in-one.. pretty much what Andrew concludes. So, I just ordered one. Taking it to the Yucatan of Mexico again to play. That long lens and stabilization will be fun on the street, and the stills look decent too. :)

Ordered a fast  64GB UHS-1 card, a Neutral density filter, and will pick up a couple extra batteries too.

@MBFrancis, Oh yes... that does look sweet! Perhaps a touch over-sharpened, but some very nice color and good snap. Thanks!

@Cinegain, yeah.. though it's not exactly cheap.. it's not that pricey either. I don't want to have to carry a bunch of lenses with me since I'm carrying everything on my back for these trips. I think all I'd need would be a load of SC cards, a couple spare batteries, my compact tripod, and the external portable audio I'd be taking anyway. 

I like Andrews shooting for the most part, just wasn't crazy about the "look" on this one. Wasn't sure if he hit the limitations of the camera frequently, or if these were aesthetic choices I wasn't crazy about.

+1 Nightcrawler +1 Grand Budapest

Also, I'm curious about Andrew's footage with this camera. The promo footage by Panasonic looks incredible, as does the slow-mo stuff with the guy and his mountain bike. But most of the sample clips out there look like standard family video camera footage and hard to get a handle on what the camera could do. 

I was ready to buy this camera based on the Panasonic footage and the slo-mo bike stuff... but Andrew's footage gives me a little pause. The shooting is fine, but the look is sort of dingy looking. Sort of an antiquated look that looks coffee-stained, contrasty, blown highlights, not much shadow detail. Same for his sample clips comparing it to the NX1.

Not bad, but doesn't look anywhere near as great as the Pana footage or slo-mo bike footage... or a couple other samples on YouTube. Is this just because of the way Andrew has his set up? Or his own aesthetic grading choices? Or, does the FZ1000 really look like that?

Anyone have any other sample clips that they're impressed with?

I've had pretty decent luck in the past with most of the budget cards, ie. Kingston, Transcend, PNY, etc. And $30 for 64GB isn't nearly as expensive as I thought it'd be. 

Looks like I'll need at least one spare battery. Looks like there's a plethora of spare batteries that'll work for the FZ1000. Is there one that's the most bang for the buck? Or, are most of them very similar with regard to max capacity?

​Also, I recall downloading some of Andrew's initial GH4 4k video samples and my current system was able to handle editing them just fine. At long as it's short I imagine. If I can handle those first sample GH4k clips Andrew posted, would it stand to reason I could also handle the FZ1000's mp4 and AVCHD clips as well?

Keeping mine for stills, but I think I'm gonna pick up a FZ1000 for travel video. Still love the D5300 as a light stills cam though.

I think I've found my next budget all-n-one for backpacking & motorcycle travel. Wanted something with decent zoom, 4k video, decent stills, good stabilization, flip out screen, focus peaking, external mic jack, in one package. For under $1k I think for me this one is a no brainer.

Do you have to have the fastest, most expensive SD cards for 4k?

To be clear, for 1080p... my Nikon D5300 performs perfectly well for everything I want it to. It also is capable of amazing stills with an articulated screen and reasonably small footprint, great low-light performance and no moire. Good 60p performance too. (Some of the main reasons I bought it, despite Andrew's complete dismissal of it)

The ONLY reason I'd personally consider a GH4 is for affordable entry-level 4k that I can sell as stock. Period. 

If my personal needs were 1080p only, I'd still be very content with my Nikon D5300 or I'd be looking at one of those new Sony's.

Well, I can say that after downloading Andrew's GH4 clips, my basic MacBook Pro 13in (non-retina) handled them just fine. I didn't see any artifact at all & they looked good. The files weren't ginormous & the short time I spent playing with grading, cutting, adding effects, etc. never caused my system to even stutter. I wasn't even using the fastest drive. Just a Thunder bolt connected 2.5in 7200rpm mobile drive. 16GB ram.

Granted, they were just a few very short clips, but it was as snappy (if not snappier) than my d5300 clips.

I don't personally have any need for a 4k camera quite yet, but the stock agencies aren't flooded with 4k stuff yet.

Of the current 4k options, I want the one that requires the least overall investment, yet delivers acceptable results at that resolution. So far, it appears the GH4 is the only camera that meets those requirements. From what I've read so far, it doesn't appear that the GH4 even needs the fastest media available. Is this true?

Interesting to read someone's take on the camera from the broadcast perspective, but quite limited as a complete 'overview' of the camera I'd say.

Yeah, my use of the word "overview" wasn't the best. However, it was great to read the honest opinion of a user who obviously isn't a Panasonic shill or sycophant. His seemingly honest impressions made me more interested in the camera actually. 

There's another good commentary on the cost of 4k here: http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/the-cost-of-4k.html

So far, one of the best no-nonsense and non-over-hyped overviews of the GH4 is over on Newshooter in case you missed it: http://www.newsshooter.com/2014/05/08/would-you-recommend-the-panasonic-lumix-gh4-sky-news-cameraman-andy-portch-gives-his-perspective/

Still not sure how I feel about that film. It was interesting and held my attention, but at the end I felt like it didn't quite pay off for me. The look was mostly ok, but I think those modular cameras basically looked a bit video-ish. Not bad, but I'm not sure they couldn't have got as decent a look with GoPros.

What glass was used on these clips? Compared to the Sony A7S stuff, this converted GH4 footage looks soft to me.

deleted

I'm getting confused... does this mean I DON'T want a GH4 now? ;)

I don't get paid to promote anything.

 

I do believe I was first to sing the praises of the D5200. When the D5300 came out it was way too small a step to be considered "golden", especially after all the revolutions of the previous year such as raw on the Canon DSLRs and Blackmagic Pocket ProRes.

 

Now the GH4 is here and all that nice Nikon glass you have can go on the Speed Booster. You could shoot 4K with the same effective sensor size as the Nikon D5300, with an extra stop of low light performance, for under $2000.

 

Look to where the ball is headed not to where it has been if you wanna catch it.

 

If you don't want to catch it then stick to whatever works for you, just don't bother us with it :) It's boring.

Never said you get paid to promote, or that you get free gear to test and keep, or any kickbacks or favors or any kind, did I? I said none of us actually know what the real motivation of any person running any site that tests and promotes gear. So, unless it's a user telling us about gear they bought for themselves and want to report how the gear is performing for them in real life situations, then we really don't know much about the gear until it is out in the wild. 

Andrew, you have a way of turning a perfectly reasonable response into something offensive. Are you aware of that? If so, is it intentional? If so, what is it exactly that you gain from it?

Anyhow, if I didn't value your reports and tests, I wouldn't bother with frequenting your site. I appreciate the time you take, but I take all "review/promo" site opinions with a healthy grain of salt until I've read data from users who've spent their own cash and are using the gear in their livelihood. Until then, it's very nice to have previews from folks like yourself who're blessed to have early access to all the gear and evidently don't have to keep forking over their own hard earned moo-lah.

Cheers, and thanks for the advance on the GH4. It is looking like what I'll eventually end up with after all the actual user data is in and the other competitors have played their hands.

I am sure this is something we all struggle with to some degree. Evolving technology seems to strengthen a sort of compulsion in me to wait for that perfect camera. It becomes more and more difficult to feel good about using the gear I currently have, as my mind wonders about the gear I could have tomorrow...and what that could bring to my creative process. 

 

Cinema, like any art form, requires a specific set of tools. As a woodworker, it's obvious that the quality of my tools has a huge impact on the final quality of my work. The same is true with video work. 

 

I think, for those of us who are perfectionists in our work, that there is a valid reason to put off shooting a certain project, until we are confident that our tools will be able to produce the quality of work that we envision. 

 

The frustration stems from the fact that our art form is relatively new, and the tools are still rapidly evolving. Analog film has shown us what is possible when we are able to capture the real world as we see it, without losing much in translation... Digital is slowly allowing that quality to be widely accessible. 

 

This is a very exciting time for reasonably priced digital video. And it is also a bit of a pain in the ass, as we all ride the line between waiting and creating. 

 This is pretty much why I went with the Nikon D5300 despite Andrew basically taking a huge crap all over it. It got me what I needed now so I can go shoot while I wait for something that exceeds or meets my needs later. Plus, it's an awesome lightweight stills camera for when I get a better video/cinema camera it will still be useful to me as a stills photographer who owns Nikon glass. I would have been really pissed had I heeded the suggestions to spend the extra money on a GH3 or Pocket Cinema with all the required extras now that I know what the GH4 can do and what the A6000 "might" do once it's released. 

You just can't fall for all the prerelease excitement on ANY site. Some site admins get paid to promote, other's get paid for ads, some get free gear and pre-production gear they ultimately get the keep, etc. Point being... if a manufacturer was giving ME free gear, or giving ME sneak peaks on what's coming, or paying me outright via online ads, etc. I'd be hard pressed to say anything negative about their line. 

Truth is, I have no idea how folks who run any of these sites keep the gears greased. But, find it hard to believe they're investing the time and hosting bills as a hobby alone. ;)