I wouldn't argue about differing notions of beauty, but I have made a very close comparison between pix from the FZ1000 and the K-3 (with 5 lenses, including 2 primes and a DA* zoom). I posted the FZ1000 temple shot in my gallery because I've never gotten a handheld no-flash indoor shot at 1/15 of a second ISO 1600 that looked that good from my K-3. Nor have I gotten a better or sharper 400mm equiv shot than the dragonfly pic I also posted, not even with the 60-250 I used to have, which is also 400mm equiv max (in part, perhaps, because I don't use a tripod, and would typically need a much faster shutter speed and hence higher ISO to offset camera shake with the much heavier K-3/60-250 combo). And even the bokeh is impressive in that dragonfly shot. Plus note that I took both within moments of each other, with no change of lens needed. If you're interested in a more rigorous comparision, though (and I only use RAW to compare), try downloading the ISO 80 RAW still life file for the FZ1000 from
Panasonic FZ1000 Review - Samples, as well as the companion file for the K-3 (taken with a super sharp 70mm Sigma macro lens, by the way), sharpen and adjust the files in a program like Lightroom, and see if you can then detect any significant difference, even at 1:1. You'll see why Andrew Smallman does not refer to the FZ1000 as a "bridge camera" any more, but rather as a Fixed Zoom Lens Camera (FZLC), and why he also sold all his DSLR equipment after he got the FZ1000, and considers it to truly be a "game changer." It's certainly not perfect, and it doesn't do every conceivable thing, but it's good enough so that even most very picky photo enthusiasts and semi-pros would probably find it all they need. And contrary to the post above, the RAW files DO handle whatever I throw at them in DxO and Lr 5 without a problem (completely unlike any of the "bridge cameras" I've had in the past), and I've found I can adjust things like color depth however I like. Personally, I get far more good shots, and far fewer missed shots these days, so I am indeed happy. Mighty happy.