Originally posted by iamwhoiam I've had the K-3 as well as the Panasonic GX7 in carts at both Adorama and B & H and then keep deleting. Maybe it's been for the best. Had to replace the torsion spring on my garage door as well as the capacitor in the opener yesterday and there went part of my camera money. However the deals on both cameras are still very tempting. I also started looking at the ultrazoom Panasonic bridge cameras such as the FZ200 or the FZ70 just for the reach, the ease and the excellent pricing (although the price of the 200 back up at B & H and Adorama although still low at Amazon). I had an FZ20 which took excellent photos, IMHO. Probably my best fixed lens digital camera. I also have $300 in Sony gift cards and have been browsing through the Sony website but I would have to invest in a new system and don't think I want to go in that direction.
Well, you get extra credit for considering three totally different cameras that have virtually nothing in common (they all produce digital images, I guess). The FZ200/FZ70 are slow consumer sensor cams that aren't competitive. If considering a Panasonic bridge camera, the discussion starts and ends with the FZ1000. You can crop to get the "reach" and the photos will be far superior to the two also-rans you're considering. Go with Fuji if you want a cheap bridge camera with reach.
Even the GX7 isn't remotely competitive in IQ, AF, features compared with the K-3 for anything other than video - and even then it lacks mic-in and headphone-in, so not really capable in that regard either. It is small, but you can find better m4/3rds at good prices in the Olympus line.
Think about what you most need. Also, think about the cost of investing in lenses. If a camera with lots of reach is a real priority, the FZ1000 is ultimately a very good value. Not only do you get a relatively long lens that brings in decent light, but you get all those other focal lengths in the bargain - in a small, highly responsive camera that sets a new standard. In many ways, the FZ1000 is a threat to 4/3rds - because the image quality is really quite close. Not terribly close to the K-3, though. That's a considerably higher level compared to the GX7.