Panasonic Lumix GH3 Hands-On Preview

The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is Panasonic's flagship Micro Four Thirds camera, and with weather sealing and an SLR like styling, Panasonic are keen to emphasis this is a new DSLM (Digital - Single - Lens - Mirrorless) Camera, rather than just a "Mirrorless" camera. They will even sell you a £250 vertical battery grip with the camera that also includes weather sealing to match the body. 



The camera features a new battery for extended shooting, and the use of the vertical grip will enable up to 1100 shots. 



Development of the Panasonic Lumix GH3 involved it's key product planning manager, Mr Michiharu Uematsu spending a year visiting over 100 people asking for feedback from using the Panasonic Lumix GH2 on what improvements they would like to see. A number of these have been included in the Panasonic Lumix GH3. 



The Panasonic Lumix GH3 has a vast array of video shooting options, including Full HD 60p / 50p / 25p / 24p, 50MBps data rate, MOV (Quicktime), MP4, AVCHD 1.0p / 1.1i recording, HDMI out to another device, Microphone socket, Headphone socket and time-coding to name a few. 



The GH3 features a completely new sensor, as well as a new 1.7 million dot electronic OLED viewfinder, that uses an RGBG array for better performance as well as a 1000:1 contrast ratio. The new 3 inch touch screen is also an OLED unit, and has greatly improved viewing angles. 



Built in Wi-Fi enables quick sharing of images, and when tethered to a smartphone it's possible to Geotag the images. The body of the camera features 5 function buttons, as well as a further 2 function buttons that can be customised on the touch-screen, giving a total of 7 customisable function buttons. 



The handling is improved with a comfortable rubber grip for your right hand, and the left side of the body also features a rubber coating for added grip. There are now three control dials, with one at the front, one at the back, and the wheel surrounding the Menu/OK button counting as the third. The camera features a new quieter shutter, as well as a selectable electronic shutter and the camera will shoot at 6fps.



The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is expected to be available in November, priced at £999 body only, £1700 with 14-140mm lens, or £2000 with the 12-35mm X f/2.8 lens, although these are Panasonic e-Shop prices, so other retailers may offer the camera for less. The battery grip will be £250, while the 35-100mm lens will be roughly £1000-£1100. 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Hands-On Photos of Equipment

Panasonic were also keen to point out the size and weight difference between the new "DSLM" and traditional Digital SLRs. Another display showed the large number of lenses available from a number of manufacturers including Panasonic, Olympus, Sigma, Tokina, and others. We look forward to testing the camera fully when it becomes available.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Specifications

Manufacturer	Panasonic
Image Sensor
	CCD pixels	16.05Mp (Megapixels)
	Pixels (W)	4608
	Pixels (H)	3456
	Sensor Type	Live MOS Sensor
	Sensor Size	Micro / Four Thirds
	Sensor Size (width)	17.3mm
	Sensor Size (height)	13mm
	Aspect Ratio	4:3 3:2 16:9 1:1
LCD Monitor
	LCD Monitor	3in
	Screen resolution	614,000 dots
	Touch Screen	Yes
Focusing
	Focusing modes	Autofocus Manual Face Detection AF Tracking Multi Spot Touch AF
Exposure Control
	Shutter speeds shortest	1/4000sec
	Shutter speeds longest	60sec
	Exp modes	Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Scene modes
	Metering	Multi Pattern Spot Centre-weighted - Average
	ISO sensitivity	125 - 25600
	White balance	Auto Manual Bracket Outdoors/Daylight Incandescent Flash Cloudy Shade
	Exposure Comp	+/-5
Viewfinder
	Viewfinder Resolution	1,744K dots OLED
Shooting Options
	Continuous shooting	6fps
Video
	Movie mode	Yes
	Video Resolution	1920x1080 1280x720 720p 640x480 VGA
	Video FPS	60p, 50p, 50i, 25p, 24p
	Stereo Sound	Yes
	Optical Zoom with Video	Yes
Other Features
	Image Stabilisation	No
Interface
	HDMI	Yes
	USB	USB 2
Storage
	Card Type	SD SDHC SDXC
	File Type	RAW JPG RAW + JPG
Power Source
	Battery Type	Li-ion Battery Pack
	CIPA Rating	540
Box Contents
	Box Contents	Body, / Body Cap, / LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm / F2.8 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S. (H-HS12035), / Lens Cap, / Lens Hood, / Lens Rear Cap, / Battery Charger (AC Cable included), / Battery Pack, / USB Connection Cable, / Shoulder Strap, / CD-ROM
Dimensions
	Weight	550g
	Width	132.9mm
	Height	93.4mm
	Depth	82mm

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