Panasonic Lumix FZ200 1080p AVCHD video samples

Some sample video from the new Lumix FZ200 camera using 50 fps progressive AVCHD format.
The camera has a respectable 28Mbps data rate in this format.
It is worthy of note that even at 600mm the depth of field is still quite large due to the small sensor size and optics required to complete the image size on the sensor. You still have to move close too the subject to get the shallowest DOF from the lens at longer focal lengths. Image stabilisation is good at this focal length however hand held shows the typical AVCHD motion artifacts and resolution drop if you pan the camera but this is the codec and not the camera. It seems to suffer from highlight blow out in bright sunshine and you can partly rescue this by manual exposure and underexposing slightly albeit at the expense of shadow detail. Remember we are talking consumer grade cameras here and at this price point considering the features available on this model I think it is a real attempt by Panasonic to introduce a very useful bridge camera. If you want better image quality then m4/3 is the next alternative to big and heavy DSLR offerings. In the next Video I show some 1080i 17Mbps video for those who want to record more data on a sdhc memory card.