Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000, reviewed by CameraMan

Reviewer background: First camera in 1959 (Canonflex) USN Photographer '60-'64, photographer till retirement in 2006. Used Canons throughout with exception of year or so with a Mamiya ProTL medium format.

I've owned this camera for about a year and a half and am thrilled with it.

Pros:

Shoots RAW (I only shoot RAW so a camera that doesn't shoot raw is useless to me)
Small & lightweight (easy to carry)
fixed lens 9.1-146mm (25-400mm 35mm equiv) (no need to constantly be changing lens, much less chance of dust inside unit)
fast lens f2.8-40 (great low light camera)
high image quality (given the quality of this camera and lens it would take a magnifying glass to see any difference between the average image taken with this camera and an identical image shot (at same time, same lighting, same position, etc.) with a Canon or Nikon using L quality lens. See my comparison in this flickr post (www.flickr.com/groups/​lumix-fz1000/discuss/7215766​6807437723)
Extensive filter/feature menu (many creative and photo style auto settings, the 'the in-camera panorama feature is just plain awesome)
Well built even though it doesn't have the metal body like many so-called 'pro' cameras. (However; I've dropped my FZ1k twice from waist level and no noticeable damage other than a scrape on the lens hood.)
Shoots 4k Video

And the list goes on. In short, this camera will do everything the amateur, advanced hobbyist or pro photog needs it to do.

But alas, there are some

Cons: I'll list these in order of their importance (to me)

1. Cannot shoot RAW for almost all of the built in shooting modes. (since I normally shoot only in the manual, aperture, shutter or program mode this is not a biggie but I would like the pano mode to shoot raw and maybe a few others.)
2. The card and battery slot is UNDER the camera: This requires the removal from tripod to change cards/batteries. A royal pain.
3. Panasonic's JPEG conversion leaves a lot to be desired. Only under ideal conditions can you get decent JPEGs that are print worthy. For screen viewing, they are definitely acceptable.
4. Image quality is soft at the 400mm end.

And a few more nits but nothing bad enough that I wouldn't recommend this camera to anyone. I convinced my son to dump his 70D and get the FZ1000 and he is loving it.

Agree; great little camera. Really flexible to most conditions. Also quite robust. I have taken it on offroad motorcycle rides (dust, bangs, falls, etc) and it is doing fine.
My favourite pictures with this camera are street portraits in daylight using the long zoom.
I find the battery does not last that long but I carry two charged spares and all good.
I highly recommend it.

LOL...we think alike (four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul). My camera in a cheap ($10) camera case, sits on my passenger seat whenever I go out on the bike. The case has two loops to run your belt through but I use those for a bunge cord to hold the camer tight to the sissy bar. Works for me and the camera is always at the ready. So much better than taking 5-10 minutes to strap on the tamrac bag with extra lens, accessories etc. And it's easy to undo if I want to stop for lunch.

It can't outdo the 70-200 2.8 but will hold it's own with the 70-200 4.0. (I miss my 200mm 2.8 shots though)