Panasonic’s new FZ1000 bridge camera shoots 4K video

Panasonic has unveiled a new bridge camera with the ability to shoot 4K video on its large 20.1MP 1in sensor.

The company claims it’s the first time 4K (3840×2160@25fps) video recording has featured in a ‘compact’ camera.

And while we wouldn’t exactly agree with them on the compact part, the Lumix DMC-FZ1000 is an impressive looking camera nonetheless.

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Panasonic is also keen to point out that with all that extra resolution, you can pull 8MP stills from the video, enabling you to pick the perfect moment from fast-paced action. You also get standard 1080p HD video recording too, natch, and all that excess capacity means it can achieve 100fps for lovely slow-mo action shots. Meanwhile, time-lapse and stop-motion modes allow you to get even more creative.

Further treats for movie makers include focus peaking and zebra stripe indicators, both of which can be used on the swivelling 3in 921,000-dot LCD display to let you know what’s in focus and get your exposure right on screen. There’s also a 2,359,000-dot OLED Live View Finder to put your eye up to in sunny conditions.

Being a bridge cam, the lens is fixed in place, but given that it’s a Leica 16x optical zoom lens (25-400mm, 35mm equivalent) with F2.8-4.0 aperture range, it’s pretty versatile anyway. Meanwhile, its Hybrid 5-axis Optical Image Stabilisation helps you get a steady shot, even at full zoom.

The FZ1000 promises faster autofocus than its predecessors, using Panasonic’s Depth from Defocus tech that supposedly makes it 275% faster than its predecessors. That doesn’t tell us an awful lot, but the fact it can apparently achieve focus in as little as 0.09 seconds is undoubtedly impressive. Finally, its electronic shutter mode allows shutter speeds up to 1/16,000 of a second and is completely silent, and there’s Wi-Fi and NFC on hand too – so you can easily upload your snaps or take full remote control of the camera using Panasonic’s smartphone and tablet apps.

The Panasonic FZ1000 will be available from July for £750.

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Tech journalism's answer to The Littlest Hobo, I've written for a host of titles and lived in three different countries in my 15 years-plus as a freelancer. But I've always come back home to Stuff eventually, where I specialise in writing about cameras, streaming services and being tragically addicted to Destiny.