CAMERA

Panasonic Lumix GH3 - Bigger Micro (Part 2)

9/14/2013 11:47:28 AM

In the Field

We’ve been fans of Panasonic’s DSLR-style ILCs since their inception, and the GH3 is its most impressive body yet. The level of customization – and integration of hard buttons and touch screen capability – is unrivaled in the camera world. Even if you disdain touch controls to the point of never using them, you’ll still be able to achieve a level of control that will match what you can expect in a DSLR. You can make extremely quick work of changing a focusing point, switching ISO, and capturing a shot in just a few moments.

If you’re looking for wonderful stills and video capture, the GH3 may be for you.

Our biggest gripe? Panasonic eliminated the click toggle from the command wheel at the top right of the camera back. On the GH2, it provided a quick way to move between setting aperture (or shutter speed) and exposure compensation. Now you’ll have to press a button, move your finger to the front command wheel, and press the button again when you’re done.

Autofocus proved quite fast, among the speediest we’ve seen in an ILC. Tracking performed well on the subjects we shot, such as cyclists and cars moving through New York City streets.

Through the default setting for the magnifying manual-focus assist activates when you turn the focus ring on a coupled Micro Four Thirds, lens we set it to be activated by the Fn3 button.

Through the default setting for the magnifying manual-focus assist activates when you turn the focus ring on a coupled Micro Four Thirds, lens we set it to be activated by the Fn3 button.

Video from the GH3 was about as good as you can get in a non-dedicated video camera at this price. If you opt for one of the high-bit-rate options, be forewarned that you’ll fill memory cards quite quickly. Persnickety videographers looking to use the GH3 in place of a much more expensive video camera will likely begrudge this camera the minor moiré or other artifacts that occasionally show up. But for non-pro shooters, or serious shooters on a budget, the video form the GH3 should more than suffice.

If you’re looking for the best video quality you can get out of it, the GH3 does offer uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:0 color-space video through the camera’s HDMI jack. There are built-in stereo mics, and you can also add an external stereo mic through a mini-jack input. For more advanced shooters, the GH3 includes support for time-code recording. So, if you plan to use multiple cameras, syncing them up after the fact can be simplified somewhat.

Serious burst shooters will like that the GH3 can shoot at 6 fps with continuous metering and autofocusing. If you can manage with metering and focus on the first frame only, you can capture up to 20 fps. RAW shooters will have to accept a mere 18 frames when shooting in bursts, but the number of JPEGs is limited only by the capacity of the memory card.

Speaking of memory cards, the camera has only one slot. One the plus side, this has a dedicated hatch, which is something you can’t always take for granted in the ILC world. If Panasonic really wants to entice pro photographers to its cameras, it should add a second slot on the next GH camera, especially given the level of video capture this series has achieved.

Through the default setting for the magnifying manual-focus assist activates when you turn the focus ring on a coupled Micro Four Thirds, lens we set it to be activated by the Fn3 button.

The Wi-Fi functions in the GH3 worked well when transferring images to a smartphone. We installed the Lumix Link app on a Samsung Galaxy S3, and had the devices paired and an image on the phone all within 10 minutes. You can also use the app as a remote to shoot stills or video.

The Wi-Fi functions in the GH3 worked well when transferring images to a smartphone

The Wi-Fi functions in the GH3 worked well when transferring images to a smartphone

Strangely, though, you can start, but stop, video. To stop video recording after it has been started with the app, you must press the video-recording button on the camera. Hopefully this will be fixed soon with a firmware update, app update, or both.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for the Micro Four Thirds body with the best possible video and wonderful still capture, the GH3 is the camera for you. Its obvious competition, Olympus’s OM-D, doesn’t offer the same level of video capture. Even without this advantage, we’d still be inclined to opt for the GH3 simply because you’d have to add the OM-D’s $250 optional grip to get the solid handhold ability that you get with the GH3’s built-in grip. But the OM-D’s retro style has won the hearts of many, many shooters. And while we like to champion practicality over style, in this case it may be too close to call.

If you’re looking for wonderful stills and video capture, the GH3 may be for you

If you’re looking for wonderful stills and video capture, the GH3 may be for you

Panasonic Lumix GH3

·         16MP Four Thirds-sized

·         LiveMOS sensor

·         1920x1080p60 video capture

·         OLED EVF

·         6-fps burst shooting

·         $1,298 street, body only

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

·         What’s hot?

·         Rugged body, Excellent image quality

·         What’s not?

·         Large body size rivals DSLRs.

·         Who it’s for

·         Shooters who value video as much as stills and want a tough Micro Four Thirds body

Test results

·         Image quality: ISO 125-400 (Excellent)

·         Resolution: ISO 125 (2530: Excellent)

·         Color accuracy (Excellent 6.5)

·         Noise: At ISO

·         Extremely low 1.0: 100

·         Very low 1.1: 200

·         Very low 1.5: 400

·         Moderately low 2.2: 800

·         Unacceptable 3.8: 1600

·         Unacceptable 6.5: 3200

·         Unacceptable 9.6: 6400

·         Unacceptable 12.7: 12800

·         Unacceptable 17.9: 25600

·         Highlight/shadow detail: very high

·         Contrast: very high

Specifications

·         Imaging: 16MP effective, Four Thirds-sized LiveMOS sensor captures images at 4912x 3264 pixels with 12 bits/color in RAW mode

·         Storage: SD, SDHC, SDXC slot stores JPEG, RW2 RAW, RAW + JPEG, and MPO (with optional 3D lens) files

·         Burst rate: Full-sized JPEGs (Fine mode), up to memory card capacity at 6fps; RAW (12-bit), up to 18 shots at 6fps

·         AF system: TTL contrast detection with 23 focus areas; single-shot and continuous AF with face detection and subject tracking

·         Shutter speeds: 1/4000 to 60 sec, plus B (1/3-EV increments); shutter life not rated.

·         Metering: TTL metering with 144-zone Multi-pattern (evaluative), center weighted, spot (size of spot not specified). EV 0-18 (ISO 100)

·         ISO range: Standard, ISO 200-12,800 (in 1/3-EV increments); Expanded, ISO 125-25,600

·         Video: Records at 1920x1080p at up to 60 fps in AVCHD v. 2.0 (28Mbps); at 1920x1080p at 30 fps in ALL-I (72Mbps) or IPB (50Mbps) MOV format; built-in stereo microphone; stereo mini-jack mic input. Maximum clip length 120 min, or 29 min. 59 sec. for units purchased in Europe

·         Flash: Built-in pop-up; GN 40 (feet); covers 14mm (28mm equiv.) field of view; flash sync to 1/160 sec

·         Viewfinder: Fixed eye-level OLED with 1,744,000-dot resolution

·         Monitor: 3-inch articulated OLED touchscreen with 614,000-dot resolution; 7-step brightness adjustment

·         Output: USB 2.0, mini HDMI video, composite video, mini-jack stereo headphone, and Wi-Fi

·         Battery: Rechargeable DMW-BLF19PP Li-ion, CIPA rating 540 shots with Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 lens

·         Size/weight: 5.2x3.7x3.2 in., 1.2lb with a card and battery

·         Street price: $1,298, body only

·         Info: www.panasonic.com

 

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