Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II Camera Review - Verdict

Value For Money

The Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II is available (or will be available) for £769, this makes it good value for money, being cheaper than much of the competition. Alternatives with a larger (1inch) sensor, and bridge camera styling include the following:

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000, 16x optical zoom lens, 12fps shooting, 4K video, £519
Panasonic Lumix FZ2000, 20x optical zoom lens, 12fps shooting, CINE 4K video, £849
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV, 25x optical zoom lens, 24fps shooting, 4K video, £1729

Have a look at more ultra-zoom / bridge cameras in the Top 10 Best Ultra Zoom Cameras Round-up, or have a look at the Best Pocket Zoom Cameras if you're looking for something smaller. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II Verdict

The Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II isn't particularly ground-breaking, in that it takes the original FZ1000 and updates it with the latest connectivity, including Bluetooth, and refreshes a number of other features, including improving the screen, with a higher resolution 3inch touch-screen, as well as improving the electronic viewfinder, giving you a higher magnification of 0.74x. The functions and controls have been updated, to give you more function buttons, as well as an additional control dial. This makes the camera easier to use, as well as easier to customise to how you'd like it. You'll also find a "MyMenu" screen where you can add your favourite settings.

For users of the FZ1000, there may not be enough reason for them to rush out and upgrade to this camera. However, if you're looking for an all-in-one bridge camera with a high-quality lens, then the FZ1000 II has it all. Image quality is good, with good noise performance, and the camera offers rapid focus, as well as a responsive experience. 4K video recording quality is excellent, and you can use 4K photo to get 8mp shots at 30fps.

The price remains competitive, and when it's available, we expect it to be popular as a bridge camera that gives better noise performance and image quality when compared to ultra zoom cameras with smaller sensors.

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II Pros

Leica 16x optical zoom lens
3inch Touch-screen adds to usability
Improved electronic viewfinder
Customisable function buttons
Improved battery life
3cm macro focus
USB charging

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II Cons

Purple fringing can be an issue
Not USB-C - MicroUSB instead

Features5/5

Handling4.5/5

Performance4.5/5

Value4/5

Overall Verdict

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Photographs taken using the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II

Comments

pablophotographer 11 2.1k 440

6 Mar 2019 5:13PM

Like 1

All bells and whistles.
But at double the price of the 24 zoom DCM-FZ45 when new, I will hold on my old girl.
pablophotographer

geekaytee 10 1

13 Mar 2019 12:07PM

Like 0

Does this retain the digital zoom of the original FZ1000?
The various reviews make no mention of it.

BobEH 17 17

13 Mar 2019 12:38PM

Like 1

I have the older version and find it great for almost everything. You don't need to use high ISO as the stabilisation and wide aperture help enormously. The long zoom allows you to frame the shot precisely therefore no deterioration of image quality results from having to crop. What's more you don't need lots of heavy lenses.

joshwa Plus

12 927 1

13 Mar 2019 12:49PM

Like 1

Quote: Does this retain the digital zoom of the original FZ1000?
The various reviews make no mention of it.

Hi,

Yes there are options for i.Zoom and Digital Zoom in the menus on the camera.

Thanks
Josh

Last modified by joshwa on 13 Mar 2019 12:49PM

User_Removed 9 76

13 Mar 2019 2:23PM

Like 2

For the Josh:

There are some infos on web, that FZ1000 MkII uses different sensor to the original Year 2014 one. Most notable mention was published in Digital Trends. Now, have you heard anything relevant to this matter, be it from Panasonic or elsewhere?

Or the Panasonic claims on better low-light ability for the MkII are based only on improved Venus image processor.

Cheers.

joshwa Plus

12 927 1

13 Mar 2019 2:36PM

Like 2

Hi Natureale, I'll check with Panasonic and get back to you. Thanks, Josh

User_Removed 9 76

23 Mar 2019 11:26AM

Like 1

Looks like the Panasonic people aren't prone to give real info in normal time. Wink

One just doesn't get why hiding info on the MkII sensor (and some other things too). Wink

joshwa Plus

12 927 1

25 Mar 2019 8:28AM

Like 0

Hi Natureale, I'll contact them again, thanks Josh

joshwa Plus

12 927 1

26 Mar 2019 8:59AM

Like 2

Hi Natureale,

Panasonic has confirmed that it is the same sensor in the FZ1000 II, as used in the FZ1000.

Thanks,
Josh

User_Removed 9 76

26 Mar 2019 8:59PM

Like 0

HI Josh,

Thank you for your feedback.

However, I'm just wondering why Hillary Grigonis of Sigital Trends wrote about different sensor in MkII. https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/panasonic-lumiz-fz1000-ii-zs80/

Either Grigonis got and published untrue spec or Panasonic is hiding something. Blush

Last modified by User_Removed on 26 Mar 2019 9:00PM

clogman 3

24 Jan 2020 4:48PM

Like 0

Thanks for the review. I don't find any mention of the OIS noises of the new model compared to the original. My FZ1000 makes that constant soft grinding noise which is picked up by the mics on video. Could you tell if Panasonic had addressed this on the new model during your reveiw?