We review the premium Panasonic Lumix GH3, the high-end Micro Four Thirds camera from Panasonic with a weather sealed body and multitude of video settings.
| Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 in Mirrorless Cameras
Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is Panasonic's flagship Micro Four Thirds camera, updating the Panasonic Lumix GH2, 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 Panasonic Lumix GH3 has had a number of upgrades compared to the predecessor, with a new sensor, weather sealed body, and greatly improved video features. The Panasonic Lumix GH2 has been popular with videographers, and the GH3 aims to expand on that with a wide variety of options and shooting modes, as well as microphone socket, headphone socket, and full uncompressed HDMI out. The camera also features a number of photo-centric upgrades, including HDR, multi-exposure, flash sync cable socket, expanded ISO range and more.
Handling - The Panasonic Lumix GH3 feels like a substantial upgrade over the GH2 with a larger weather sealed body, it feels even more like a mini-Digital SLR than previous models. The camera controls are neatly designed with the WB/ISO/EV buttons just behind the shutter release, making it easy to change these settings.
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.
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 GH3 features a completely new 16 megapixel sensor, as well as a new 1.744 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.
The EVF on the GH3 has a high contrast level, and is slightly wider than 4:3 aspect ratio - looking more like 16:9, meaning that the photo doesn't fill the full frame, unless you switch to 16:9 aspect ratio. The screen on the back is a 3:2 aspect ratio, so again 4:3 (standard) photos don't fill the whole screen unless you shoot 3:2 photos.
Menus – The Panasonic menus are clearly laid out into separate areas, including record, video, custom, setup and playback. With the touchscreen it's possible to control the menus as well as the control panel on the back of the screen, making it very easy to change settings if needed. There are a large number of external controls so a lot of the time you simply don't need to enter the menus. Built in help can be switched on and off to help guide you through the menu options.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 540 shots according to Leica / CIPA test results, we were able to take over 500 shots before the battery went flat. The camera features a new battery for extended shooting, and the use of the vertical grip will enable up to 1100 shots. The battery cover is lockable, providing extra protection to the battery so it's unlikely to accidentally fall out.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
Shutter response is very good, and focus speed is excellent at both the wide and telephoto ends of the lens. The camera has a quick switch on time, and shot to shot is very good. It will also shoot at 6fps for up to 25 shots before slowdown, and at 5fps when shooting RAW for up to 18 shots before slowdown.
Sample Photos - Flash performance is good with very little to no red-eye visible in our flash photos. The camera has saturated colours, although has a slight tendency to under-expose images, so occasionally better results are possible with +0.3 or +0.7 exposure compensation.
Lens Performance - The camera adds an HDR mode, this combines three shots into one in the camera, and a clever feature is that it will allow you to continue shooting while it is still processing the HDR merge, although unfortunately it doesn't save the RAW images when you shoot HDR photos. The camera has built in chromatic aberration correction so purple fringing is very well controlled. Another option is called shading compensation and this will automatically correct vignetting to remove dark corners. Macro performance is good with the 14-140mm lens, or alternatively a dedicated macro lens can provide excellent results as shown.
ISO Noise Performance - ISO125, ISO200, ISO400, and ISO800, show low noise, with excellent detail (there is a hint of chroma noise as the ISO setting increases), but colour remains quite clean and noise free. ISO1600, noise starts to appear in blocks of colour, but detail remains good, and even at ISO3200 and ISO6400 there is detail showing in the image. In comparison, the G5, and GH2 show noticeably worse noise levels at ISO3200 and ISO6400 with much less detail retained at these high ISO settings.
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) - under tungsten light the results were noticeably warm, and using the tungsten preset did little to improve this. AWB performs extremely well under fluorescent lighting, and the camera doesn't have a fluorescent preset, so instead we've used manual white balance for the last shot.
Digital Filters - The camera has a number of new digital filters and colour effects - including Low-key, High-key, Sepia, Dynamic Mono, Impressive Art, High Dynamic, Cross Process, Toy, Expressive, Soft, Retro, Star, Colour select and Miniature. There are a number of colour styles available, these can be customised, letting you set the contrast, sharpness, saturation, and noise reduction level. The GH3 doesn't feature a panoramic mode.
Video - The Panasonic Lumix GH3 has a vast array of video shooting options, including Full HD 60p / 50p / 25p / 24p, 50MBps / 72MBps 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. Video quality is very good, and the camera lets you manually select ISO125 to ISO6400 for videos. The microphone has 19 levels of adjustment, as well as wind cut settings of: Auto, Low, Standard, High, and Off.
We've recorded a number of videos with the GH3, they can be viewed on the ePHOTOzine YouTube channel: Low Light Video, Low Light Handheld, EX-Tele-Convertor, Panning outdoors.
Lenses available: The Micro Four Thirds system has the widest range of lenses available out of all of the compact system cameras available with a number of lenses available from Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, Tokina, Voigtlander, Samyang and other thirds party manufacturers such as Yasuhara, SLR-Magic, and others. Further details of the lenses available can be found on the Micro Four Thirds site.
Alternative premium mirrorless cameras include the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (9fps, around £999 body only), Sony NEX-7 (10fps, 24.3mp, around £839 body only), Samsung NX20 (20.3mp, 8fps, with Wi-Fi, around £799 with kit lens), and Fujifilm X-Pro1 (around £1179 body only).
You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Image quality is very good with better noise performance than any other Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras, with detail visible in photos taken at ISO settings as high as ISO6400. Focus speed, shutter response and shot to shot times are all excellent, and the camera shoots at 6fps in continuous shooting mode, although it's a shame it's not as quick as the OM-D E-M5 and Sony NEX-7.
Where the GH3 really excels in video recording... with all the options under the sun, with AVCHD, MOV or MP4 recording up to 50 and 72mbps full HD, with stereo sound, mic and headphone sockets as well as HDMI out for continuous recording on an external device. The optional battery grip is a first for Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras, as extends battery life and gives better handling for portrait shooting.
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 with an RRP of £1549 body only in the UK feels a little expensive in comparison to the previous model, which was around £1000 with the 14-140mm lens. For the GH3 with the 14-140mm lens you're looking at £2099 (RRP), which is double the price of the GH2 with the same lens. Although we expect the price to drop over time, we can't help feeling that the price will be a barrier to some. If you want the best video recording Micro Four Thirds camera available then the Panasonic Lumix GH3 is highly recommended, particularly if you want to be able to shoot in all weather conditions.
Excellent range of lenses
Excellent handling
Excellent image quality
Large strap
Weather sealed body
Long battery life
A massive amount of customisation available
6fps continuous shooting
Battery grip available
Wi-Fi built in
High price
AWB under tungsten lighting
Lacks auto-ISO in manual mode
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is Panasonic's flagship Micro Four Thirds camera, updating the Panasonic Lumix GH2, 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.
Panasonic Lumix GH3 Features
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 has had a number of upgrades compared to the predecessor, with a new sensor, weather sealed body, and greatly improved video features. The Panasonic Lumix GH2 has been popular with videographers, and the GH3 aims to expand on that with a wide variety of options and shooting modes, as well as microphone socket, headphone socket, and full uncompressed HDMI out. The camera also features a number of photo-centric upgrades, including HDR, multi-exposure, flash sync cable socket, expanded ISO range and more.
Key Features
- 16 megapixel Live MOS Sensor
- 3 inch OLED 614k dot touch screen
- Swivelling / Rotating to face front
- 6fps continuous shooting
- Full HD, 72/50mbps, AVCHD, MOV, MP4
- Stereo mics, mic socket, headphone socket
- ISO200-25600 (extended to 125)
- 1.744 million dot EVF
- HDR shooting, Multi-exposure
- Wi-Fi built in
Panasonic Lumix GH3 Handling
Handling - The Panasonic Lumix GH3 feels like a substantial upgrade over the GH2 with a larger weather sealed body, it feels even more like a mini-Digital SLR than previous models. The camera controls are neatly designed with the WB/ISO/EV buttons just behind the shutter release, making it easy to change these settings.
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.
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 GH3 features a completely new 16 megapixel sensor, as well as a new 1.744 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.
The EVF on the GH3 has a high contrast level, and is slightly wider than 4:3 aspect ratio - looking more like 16:9, meaning that the photo doesn't fill the full frame, unless you switch to 16:9 aspect ratio. The screen on the back is a 3:2 aspect ratio, so again 4:3 (standard) photos don't fill the whole screen unless you shoot 3:2 photos.
Menus – The Panasonic menus are clearly laid out into separate areas, including record, video, custom, setup and playback. With the touchscreen it's possible to control the menus as well as the control panel on the back of the screen, making it very easy to change settings if needed. There are a large number of external controls so a lot of the time you simply don't need to enter the menus. Built in help can be switched on and off to help guide you through the menu options.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 540 shots according to Leica / CIPA test results, we were able to take over 500 shots before the battery went flat. The camera features a new battery for extended shooting, and the use of the vertical grip will enable up to 1100 shots. The battery cover is lockable, providing extra protection to the battery so it's unlikely to accidentally fall out.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Panasonic Lumix GH3 |
Sony RX100 |
|
| Shutter Response |
0.05 | 0.0 |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.2-0.25 | 0.3 |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response |
0.2-0.25 | 0.3 |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 0.9 | 2.2 |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Continuous Shooting (shots before slow down) |
6fps (25 shots) | 7fps (speed priority mode, 15 shots) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | N/A | 1.6s |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW | 5fps (18 shots) | 4fps (13 shots) |
Shutter response is very good, and focus speed is excellent at both the wide and telephoto ends of the lens. The camera has a quick switch on time, and shot to shot is very good. It will also shoot at 6fps for up to 25 shots before slowdown, and at 5fps when shooting RAW for up to 18 shots before slowdown.
Panasonic Lumix GH3 Performance
Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Sample Photos
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Sample Photos - Flash performance is good with very little to no red-eye visible in our flash photos. The camera has saturated colours, although has a slight tendency to under-expose images, so occasionally better results are possible with +0.3 or +0.7 exposure compensation.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Lens test images
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Lens Performance - The camera adds an HDR mode, this combines three shots into one in the camera, and a clever feature is that it will allow you to continue shooting while it is still processing the HDR merge, although unfortunately it doesn't save the RAW images when you shoot HDR photos. The camera has built in chromatic aberration correction so purple fringing is very well controlled. Another option is called shading compensation and this will automatically correct vignetting to remove dark corners. Macro performance is good with the 14-140mm lens, or alternatively a dedicated macro lens can provide excellent results as shown.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 ISO test images
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Next
ISO Noise Performance - ISO125, ISO200, ISO400, and ISO800, show low noise, with excellent detail (there is a hint of chroma noise as the ISO setting increases), but colour remains quite clean and noise free. ISO1600, noise starts to appear in blocks of colour, but detail remains good, and even at ISO3200 and ISO6400 there is detail showing in the image. In comparison, the G5, and GH2 show noticeably worse noise levels at ISO3200 and ISO6400 with much less detail retained at these high ISO settings.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 White-balance test images
Previous
Next
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) - under tungsten light the results were noticeably warm, and using the tungsten preset did little to improve this. AWB performs extremely well under fluorescent lighting, and the camera doesn't have a fluorescent preset, so instead we've used manual white balance for the last shot.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Digital filters
Previous
Next
Digital Filters - The camera has a number of new digital filters and colour effects - including Low-key, High-key, Sepia, Dynamic Mono, Impressive Art, High Dynamic, Cross Process, Toy, Expressive, Soft, Retro, Star, Colour select and Miniature. There are a number of colour styles available, these can be customised, letting you set the contrast, sharpness, saturation, and noise reduction level. The GH3 doesn't feature a panoramic mode.
Video - The Panasonic Lumix GH3 has a vast array of video shooting options, including Full HD 60p / 50p / 25p / 24p, 50MBps / 72MBps 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. Video quality is very good, and the camera lets you manually select ISO125 to ISO6400 for videos. The microphone has 19 levels of adjustment, as well as wind cut settings of: Auto, Low, Standard, High, and Off.
We've recorded a number of videos with the GH3, they can be viewed on the ePHOTOzine YouTube channel: Low Light Video, Low Light Handheld, EX-Tele-Convertor, Panning outdoors.
Lenses available: The Micro Four Thirds system has the widest range of lenses available out of all of the compact system cameras available with a number of lenses available from Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, Tokina, Voigtlander, Samyang and other thirds party manufacturers such as Yasuhara, SLR-Magic, and others. Further details of the lenses available can be found on the Micro Four Thirds site.
Value For Money
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is due to be available in November, priced at £1549 body only, £2099 with 14-140mm lens, or £2299 with the 12-35mm X VARIO f/2.8 lens, although these are Panasonic e-Shop prices, so the price may change when it becomes available. The battery grip will be £250, while the 35-100mm X VARIO lens will be roughly £1000-£1100.Alternative premium mirrorless cameras include the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (9fps, around £999 body only), Sony NEX-7 (10fps, 24.3mp, around £839 body only), Samsung NX20 (20.3mp, 8fps, with Wi-Fi, around £799 with kit lens), and Fujifilm X-Pro1 (around £1179 body only).
You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Panasonic Lumix GH3 Verdict
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 with a rugged weather sealed body and Digital SLR styling and controls, is one of the most advanced Micro Four Thirds cameras available, and has an extensive range of useful photographic and video upgrades in comparison to previous Panasonic cameras. In fact, it's one of the most advanced Full HD video recording cameras available at the moment.Image quality is very good with better noise performance than any other Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras, with detail visible in photos taken at ISO settings as high as ISO6400. Focus speed, shutter response and shot to shot times are all excellent, and the camera shoots at 6fps in continuous shooting mode, although it's a shame it's not as quick as the OM-D E-M5 and Sony NEX-7.
Where the GH3 really excels in video recording... with all the options under the sun, with AVCHD, MOV or MP4 recording up to 50 and 72mbps full HD, with stereo sound, mic and headphone sockets as well as HDMI out for continuous recording on an external device. The optional battery grip is a first for Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras, as extends battery life and gives better handling for portrait shooting.
The Panasonic Lumix GH3 with an RRP of £1549 body only in the UK feels a little expensive in comparison to the previous model, which was around £1000 with the 14-140mm lens. For the GH3 with the 14-140mm lens you're looking at £2099 (RRP), which is double the price of the GH2 with the same lens. Although we expect the price to drop over time, we can't help feeling that the price will be a barrier to some. If you want the best video recording Micro Four Thirds camera available then the Panasonic Lumix GH3 is highly recommended, particularly if you want to be able to shoot in all weather conditions.
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| The Panasonic Lumix GH3 is one of the most advanced cameras available with high image quality and particularly impressive video. |
Panasonic Lumix GH3 Pros
Excellent range of lensesExcellent handlingExcellent image qualityLarge strapWeather sealed bodyLong battery lifeA massive amount of customisation available6fps continuous shootingBattery grip availableWi-Fi built inPanasonic Lumix GH3 Cons
High priceAWB under tungsten lightingLacks auto-ISO in manual mode| FEATURES |  |
|
| HANDLING | |
|
| PERFORMANCE | |
|
| VALUE FOR MONEY |  |
|
| VERDICT |  |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Specifications
| Manufacturer | Panasonic | |
| Image Sensor | ||
| 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 |
| |
| LCD Monitor | ||
| LCD Monitor | 3in | |
| Screen resolution | 614,000 dots | |
| Touch Screen | Yes | |
| Focusing | ||
| Focusing modes |
| |
| Exposure Control | ||
| Shutter speeds shortest | 1/4000sec | |
| Shutter speeds longest | 60sec | |
| Bulb mode | Yes | |
| Exp modes |
| |
| Metering |
| |
| ISO sensitivity | 125 - 25600 | |
| White balance |
| |
| Exposure Comp | +/-5 | |
| Viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder Resolution | 1,744K dots OLED | |
| Shooting Options | ||
| Continuous shooting | 6fps | |
| Video | ||
| Movie mode | Yes | |
| Video Resolution |
| |
| 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 | |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | |
| Storage | ||
| Card Type |
| |
| File Type |
| |
| Power Source | ||
| Battery Type | Li-ion Battery Pack | |
| Battery Life (CIPA rating) | 540shots | |
| 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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Photographs taken using the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3
Comments
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19 Oct 2012 4:24PMJoin ePHOTOzine for free and remove these adverts.
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19 Oct 2012 4:29PMdesirable !!!
The down-side being the ridiculous price !!!!!.......half that £1550 for the body would
be somewhere near 'value for money' ??......but that money will almost buy a new
Nikon D600 or Canon 6D, so I know where my cash would be 'splashed'...if I'd got
that sort of 'ready' available.........
Ah well, back to the daydreams !!!!!!!!.
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19 Oct 2012 4:31PMSilly amount to pay in austerity times.
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19 Oct 2012 6:32PM-
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19 Oct 2012 7:46PM-
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19 Oct 2012 8:59PM-
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19 Oct 2012 9:18PMQuote:Where are the pics of the castle???? Great camera but way too expensive, and yes K 5 seems like a super deal...
We will be adding / taking these photos when the weather improves
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20 Oct 2012 7:56AMIn Sweden I can pre order the body only for £ 975 (SEK 10.900) inc vat
and the GH3 with 12-35/2,8 for £ 1780 (SEK 19.900) inc vat
And yes - I have pre ordered
/Anders
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20 Oct 2012 9:56AMOddly, the German site would not accept my British credit card but I have French bank account and paid in Euros from that.
Not for nothing did the car makers call us Treasure Island
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20 Oct 2012 5:25PM-
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20 Oct 2012 5:38PM-
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20 Oct 2012 11:33PM-
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21 Oct 2012 12:50AMQuote:I don't get it...
Obviously not. I use my cameras to make money. I live in France and London and do much of my photography while travelling around on a bicycle from my bases in these two countries.
A GH3 (GH2 at the moment) and lenses from (35mm equiv) 14mm to 600mm weigh in at less than 4kg on my back. Because of the video capabilities of these cameras, I am now making money from Youtube too.
Take a full frame camera with lenses from 14mm to 600mm. Could you then do what I do?
The GH3 I have ordered can be controlled with live video feed, out in the Pyrenees, from a wifi connection to my iPad. I have plans on wild life photography using this facility and with the extra grip on the GH3 can expect a battery life of over 1000 pictures.
The only reason I have held off from an OM-D is that without the backward swivelling screen, many things I want to video cannot be easily done and also that the OM-D is smaller than my GH2. I want something slightly bigger so that I have more immediately available settings.
I understand that someone does not need a camera's attributes themselves but I find it hard to see why they don't understand why someone else would.
Also, since I have a Euro account in France, I can buy the GH3 for much the same price I can an OM-D.
I find it easy to get.
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21 Oct 2012 12:09PMWith no mirror to flip up I would have expected a more compact camera. This, The OM-D and the Sony SLTs should perhaps be grouped as "Interchangeable Lens Bridge Cameras".
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21 Oct 2012 1:14PMQuote:I am a little confused by the price of the GH3 which is much too high
I'm paying £956 which seems OK to me. The size is ideal for me. I wanted something a little bigger than an OM-D or my GH2 so that the camera body had space for physical controls.
it's nearly an half-inch wider, .16 of an inch taller, and an inch and a half deeper than the OM-D. Most of the extra depth is the hand grip. Fit a grip to the OM-D and it's nearly the same.
Since the OM-D is tiny, the GH3 remains a small camera. But that is to miss the point. Take a look at the size of the lenses - that where the important weight and size is saved with M43.
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22 Oct 2012 9:40AM-
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22 Oct 2012 3:58PM-
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23 Oct 2012 11:03AMOne thing I very much like about GH2 is the extra zoom function when taking video. I don't remember what panasonic calls it, but I mean the function where only the needed pixels from the center of the sensor are used when takin a video.
Is there same kind of function in GH3? I like it so much, that it could even be a deal braker for me.
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23 Oct 2012 11:51AM(and please note it's a v0.5 firmware pre-production model)
http://www.workstation.nl/gh3eng.html
http://vimeo.com/51928527
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23 Oct 2012 11:52AMQuote:
One thing I very much like about GH2 is the extra zoom function when taking video. I don't remember what panasonic calls it, but I mean the function where only the needed pixels from the center of the sensor are used when takin a video.
Is there same kind of function in GH3? I like it so much, that it could even be a deal braker for me.
It's called ETC, and it is featured on the GH3
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23 Oct 2012 1:07PMQuote:It's called ETC, and it is featured on the GH3
ETC = extended tele converter. For those who don't do video, the max pixel width needed for video is 1920 whereas you have a sensor more than 4600px across.
So if you just use the centre 1920px from the 4000 you have a roughly 2.5 times tele-converterr for video without quality loss (in principle).
So when I put my 100-300 zoom on the GH2 and bring in the ETC you have a tele lens which on FF would be a 1500mm tele. It can give spectacular effects but you need a solid tripod!
I've done a little demo of ETC.
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29 Oct 2012 7:42PM-
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1 Nov 2012 2:34PMAnn
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1 Nov 2012 4:00PMQuote:something a bit more and the GH3 would be the sort of thing
Probably ideal considering the much smaller and lighter lenses too. The Olympus OM-D would be worth a look too.
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1 Nov 2012 5:47PM-
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16 Mar 2013 5:51PMflash.
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16 Mar 2013 6:21PMQuote:.Scary... When the "electronic shutter" is "on", no
flash.
Why scary? You only have to read the menu. I use the electronic shutter all the time, just not for things it can't do.
Your post is very long and a bit hard to understand. All I can suggest is that you read the manual. It's all in there if you look for it. This is a versatile. complex and capable camera like all the top of the line M34s and you have to invest time and trouble in learning how to exploit it.
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16 Mar 2013 11:49PM-
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17 Mar 2013 11:01AMQuote:t's scary because Panasonic didn't know turning on the electronic shutter turned off the flash
Under Electronic Shutter: p167 of the manual
•Flash is fixed to {Flash Off symbol} ([Forced Flash Off]).
I don't know why your computer can't 'handel' those movie files. I have a five year old machine using a 4 year old £30 video program that works just fine with them. Yes, I have tried all the movie modes on the GH3, they just work, even on my old stuff, as I said.
I am trying to be helpful but it does seem to me that you have a long learning curve in front of you. You seem to be really angry about your problems but they are all soluble if you will just sit down for a bit and try to learn. You are have bought a highly sophisticated camera and computer to do things that until recently were the province of highly trained professionals. It is going to be complicated.
No-one would buy guitar and expect to sit down and play it without a lot of learning, yet folk expect to buy complex equipment and just work it. The fun of all this technology is learning how to use it and what it can do.
If I were you, instead of trying to dive straight in on the highly sophisticated uses of the camera, I'd learn the simpler bits first. MP4s are pretty straightforward, as is the focal plane shutter.
As a suggestion, the next time you have a flash problem, rather than ask Panasonic, just open up the advanced manual pdf and search for all instances of flash. Look at them one by one. Then you would have found that the flash doesn't work with the ES. That's how I found out.
I envy you that new Dell, I must say. The GH3 and the zooms cleaned me out
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17 Mar 2013 6:01PMAnyway I was about ready to return the camera today, as I have tried every possible video mode with the same results. I called B&H and asked specifically to speak with someone who had experience with the Panasonic gh3 video camera. In that conversation I learned that I am not the only one experiencing playback problems. The gh3 was marketed to consumers when it is a professional camera that needs professional soft ware. He recommended Sony Vegas. which I will check out. I have until April 1 to make a decision. I hate investing any more money.
Also, regarding the flash . There needs to be an important "note" emphasized at the top of the "FLASH" page where the program modes that can be used are located. THE REP. AT PANASONIC WANTED ME TO RETURN THE CAMERA BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT "GREYED OUT" THE FLASH.
I SPENT ONE-HALF AN HOUR ON THE PHONE WITH THEM. They also told me to use Windows Movie Maker to view and edit. Windows Movie Maker wouldn't even allow import of the video files.
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17 Mar 2013 7:00PMWho is B&H? They sound utterly useless. Are they Panasonic owned? I haven't heard of anyone else with your problem. Most people are thrilled with the camera's video performance from all I read - which is a lot. The GH3 is a top line camera, though and not really much use to anyone inexperienced.
If I were you I'd just send the camera back.
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17 Mar 2013 7:10PM-
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17 Mar 2013 7:35PMSign In
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