The Panasonic GH6 is here, and it brings with it some significant upgrades and new features over the GH5. Check out what you can expect in this great video review.
Coming to you from Gordon Laing, this great video review takes a look at the new Panasonic Lumix GH6 mirrorless camera. The GH6 comes with a variety of improvements and new features, including:
- 25-megapixel sensor with over 13 stops of dynamic range, no low-pass filter, and intelligent moiré elimination
- Internal 5.7K 30p Apple Pro Res 422 HQ
- DCI 4K at 60p with 4:2:2 10-bit
- Unlimited recording time
- 100-megapixel high-resolution mode
- 75 fps continuous shooting with electronic shutter and AFS
- 14 fps continuous shooting with mechanical shutter and AFS
- 8 fps continuous shooting with electronic shutter and AFC
- 7 fps continuous shooting with mechanical shutter and AFC
- 300 fps slow-motion footage in 10-bit Full HD, up to 120 fps in 4K
- 5-axis in-body image stabilization with up to 7.5 stops of compensation
- Triple the autofocus processing speed of the GH5
- 315-area contrast-detection depth-from-defocus autofocus system
- Face, eye, head, body, and animal recognition
- Over 12 stops of dynamic range in V-Log, increasable to over 13 stops using Dynamic Range Boost Mode
- Wide range of anamorphic lens features, including storage for up to 10 lenses for ready-to-view footage
- 48 kHz 24-bit with built-in mic, 96 kHz 24-bit using external mic
- 4 channels of audio output over HDMI
- Wave Form Monitor, Vector Scope, and Luminance Spot Meter
- Time-lapse mode
- Focus transition, frame indicator, and frame markers
- Safety zone marker, vertical position information, center marker options, and enlarged live display
- 3.0-inch 1.84m-dot tilting LCD screen
- 3.68m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder with 0.76x-equivalent magnification
- Dual CFexpress Type B/SD card slot
- 360-shot battery life
- Weatherproof design
- 5 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0
- USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C
- HDMI Type-A
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Further capabilities coming via firmware updates
Check out the video above for Laing's full thoughts on the new cameras.
I can't believe it still doesn't have competitive autofocus
No mention of the bit-depth - The classic limitation of the G9.
Ok, so the (normal) dynamic range of 12 stops, but that can't be directly converted to bit depth as the two measures are (whilst related) fundamentally different.
Dynamic range reflects how much contrast the sensor can register. The bit depth reflects how many distinct colors the camera can divide the range into. Is it 12-bit (as implied) or 14+ bits like almost all their competition?
Also, how much of the non-linear region of the response curve did they use to get their numbers and how much computation is going on to massage the files?
This sounds like an SLR-form factor video camera posing as an outdated stills camera... Well, except for the image stabilisation. That's actually pretty juicy! I loved the stabilisation I got on the G9, 2 seconds hand held when shooting fairly wide (although you sometimes got a strange ghosting on the edges of the frame).
I believe this will be a great option for those who are deeply vested in the micro 4/3 ecosystem & those who are budget conscious cinematographers. However, Panasonic should have never even released the GH6 (to testers, YouTubers and reviewers) without getting the autofocus worked out. That could destroy its target audience before it ever hits store shelves. As it stands, Panasonic already has fierce competition. Even the slightest negative review or camera quirk will give people plenty of reasons to select another brand.