subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 8 June 2019 45
TheFZ1000IImaynotlookhugelydifferent,but
there’sstillplentyonoffertogetexcitedaboutFocal points
Battery
TheDMW-BLC12Li-ion
batteryholds1200mAhof
chargeandis ratedfor
around 350 images.The
tripodmountis positioned
veryclosetothebattery
compartmentopening.Bluetooth/Wi-Fi
connectivity
TheFZ1000II is equipped
withbuilt-inBluetoothand
Wi-Ficonnectivitythat
allowyoutopairit witha
smartphoneortabletusing
Panasonic’sImageApp,
whichis freetodownloadvia
GooglePlayandtheApple
AppStore.In-camera
processing
TheFZ1000II is designedto
bea one-stopsolutionfor
allyourphotographyneeds,
andthisincludestheability
toprocessrawfiles
in-camera.16xopticalzoom
Withoutdoubtoneof
thestarattractionsof
theFZ1000II is its16x
opticalzoom.While
25-400mmis byno
meansthelargestzoom
rangein thesuperzoom
market,it’sa generous
range.Maximum
apertureis a usefully
fastf/2.8at25mm,
droppingtof/2.9by
26mm,f/3by30mm,
f/3.2by45mm,f/3.5
by55mmandf/4
by170mm.9 7. 2 m m
131.5
mm
Opticalimage
stabilisation
TheFZ1000II is
equippedwith5-axis
HybridOISimage
stabilisation
technology,whichcan
bereliedupontokeep
imagessharpwhen
shootinghandheldat
longfocallengths.operating the zoom and selecting
one of the Fn buttons.
Above the rear display sits
a 2.36-million-dot electronic
viewfi nder that’s clear, bright and
easy to use. A built-in eye-sensor
is located directly above this that,
when activated, will automatically
switch from the rear display to the
viewfi nder when the camera is
held at eye level. You can, of
course, disable the eye-sensor if
you wish, and instead force the
camera to use only the rear
display or the EVF. Furthermore
it’s also possible to customise
what information is displayed on
either of the screens, adding
things such as a histogram,
composition grids or even a level
horizon guide if you wish. The rear
display and the EVF can be set to
a 60fps refresh rate or a more
battery-effi cient 30fps.
Autofocus
Autofocus options include
automatic Face/Eye Detection,
49-Area automatic, custom
13-point Area AF, Single-point AF,
Pinpoint AF and Tracking. All of
these are worthy inclusions and
can be useful in specifi c situations.
The Face-Detection AF option
produces consistently accurate
results when photographing
people, while the Pinpoint mode
makes excellent use of the
electronic viewfi nder by presenting
you with an enlarged focus box in
the centre of the viewfi nder for
136.2 mm
CAMERA TEST Testbench
when you need your point of focus
to be as accurate as possible.
My experience of the Tracking
AF performance was broadly
positive, but one area in which I
did experience some frustration
was with Single-Area AF. Not
so much the performance or
accuracy of the mode, but rather
the convoluted button-pressing
sequence required to access the
Active AF point and then change
its location within the viewfi nder.
The issue here is that you need to
use a two-button combination on
the d-pad (Left, then Down) to get
to the point where you can move
the active AF point, which isn’t
particularly intuitive when you’re
shooting with the camera held
to your eye. Quite often while
attempting this sequence, I simply
ended up in the Macro menu, the
ISO settings menu or the White
Balance menu – all of which are
also accessed directly via their
own positions on the d-pad. In
the end I solved the problem by
assigning AF point control to the
Fn7 button located just below the
d-pad. This immediately made
eye-level operation of the camera
in Single-AF mode less frustrating.
Another thing I found slightly
jarring was how easy it was to
accidentally change the active AF
point with the tip of my nose while
shooting through the viewfi nder in
single-point AF mode. To be fair
the FZ1000 II is hardly alone
here, and it’s an issue thatSubjects are easy to isolate
from distracting backgrounds
at the long end of the zoom
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 II at 400mm,
1/320sec at f/4, ISO 125Macro
While the big sell of
the FZ1000 II is its
extended telephoto
range, it provides
some useful macro
abilities, including
a minimum focus
distance of 3cm at
25mm. This distance
increases as you
extend the zoom.