A Year With My FZ1000

by Skip Cohen

I get that one camera and one lens can't do it all, but on the other hand, here's one that simply never disappoints.

​Remember, I'm not a working pro although I know more than I let on. After so many years in this industry and hanging out with people like Tony Corbell, Roberto Valenzuela, Denis Reggie, Jerry Ghionis and Michele Celentano, just to name a few and then co-authoring books with Don Blair, Bambi Cantrell, Joe Buissink and Scott Bourne I had to learn something.

For the last year I've been shooting with a LUMIX FZ1000 and I simply love it. It makes me look far better than I deserve. I thought it would be a fun post to share a little of what I'm talking about.

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​This little church outside Helen, Georgia is a favorite of our daughter-in-law's. She asked me to get a shot and I had some fun playing with one of the in-camera presets, called "Sunshine". We later printed it through Marathon on canvas with a walnut frame for a Christmas present for her - it was beautiful.

​One more from Helen, Ga. I love how easy it is to take the camera everywhere - we were fly-fishing for the day in this little stream. I had fun with another preset.  It was nothing to have the camera with me all day long.

At the Luminary meeting last summer I had some fun watching Giulio Scorio ham it up during a recording of a spoof video. The camera has a high-speed continuous shooting setting at 12 fps.

It's another in-camera preset called "Impressive Art". You either love it or you hate it, but the camera gives me so many choices to play with. Remember, I wasn't shooting for any other purpose than just for the fun of it!

From a shot on the trade show floor at IUSA to good friends Tom Curley and Joseph Linaschke in the booth, the camera does an outstanding job in low light and uneven lighting situations. All I wanted was to get a few shots of things going on in the new booth design, which by the way is spectacular.

This homeless man in Key West was just sitting and feeding the pigeons and roosters. The camera's 25-400mm zoom gave me the opportunity to capture the moment without interruption. Although I like it much more with most of the color removed. 

I needed a quick shot to make a point with a blog post while at WPPI. The post took a shot at the MGM gouging on their $5.00 price for a very small bottle of water. All of their pools below gave me a little more help with the post as I wrote:

"I know we're in the desert. I know that water is tough to come by except to fill your pools. I get that you deliver the water in a stunning plastic bottle with a classic label...but what makes it worth $5.00?"

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When I started this I honestly didn't mean for it to look like an infomercial for Panasonic. I simply love the camera and looking back over the last year of images, it's fun to share them as a blog post. I've shared a lot of posts from the members of the Luminary team over the last couple of years. Each post has demonstrated a little more about the features and benefits of mirrorless technology.  

For me there are two big things that over and over again come through - the quality of the images and the ease of travel with lighter more compact gear. I'll leave the discovery of the hundreds of other benefits to you guys, the professionals!

​However, while anybody can shoot a sunset, here's one last favorite from this past year! It was from the balcony of the Marriott in Marco Island, Florida. I was easily 400 yards from the beach, but could still pick up a few sunset walkers on their way by, one of them fishing.

I'm not suggesting for a second I shoot like a pro, but I had a great conversation with past PPA President, Ann Monteith, while we were both at the Marathon Getaway last summer. She was on her way into a concert when security stopped her and told her cameras with interchangeable lenses weren't allowed. She smiled and said, "It's not!" and then continued to her seat. So, there's one more fun little benefit!  

This camera has become Ann's number one choice for all the stunning work she's been shooting for over a year.
So, don't take our word for it, check out the LUMIX Lounge, then wander into a LUMIX dealer and check out the entire line for yourself.