Photography

Panasonic's DMC-GH4 is first interchangeable lens mirrorless camera to shoot 4K video

Panasonic's DMC-GH4 is first interchangeable lens mirrorless camera to shoot 4K video
The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4 digital single lens mirrorless camera
The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4 digital single lens mirrorless camera
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The GH4's 49-point Contrast AF includes something called Depth From Defocus technology to help achieve accurate autofocus in just 0.07 seconds
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The GH4's 49-point Contrast AF includes something called Depth From Defocus technology to help achieve accurate autofocus in just 0.07 seconds
To the rear, there's a 2,359K-dot resolution OLED live viewfinder and a free-angle 3-inch, 1,036K-dot OLED display panel
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To the rear, there's a 2,359K-dot resolution OLED live viewfinder and a free-angle 3-inch, 1,036K-dot OLED display panel
The GH4 features a new 16.05 MP (17.3 x 13 mm) Digital Live MOS sensor and a new Venus Engine IX image processor
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The GH4 features a new 16.05 MP (17.3 x 13 mm) Digital Live MOS sensor and a new Venus Engine IX image processor
The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4 digital single lens mirrorless camera
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The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4 digital single lens mirrorless camera
The camera works with over 20 LUMIX G interchangeable lenses, as well as 46 MFT lenses
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The camera works with over 20 LUMIX G interchangeable lenses, as well as 46 MFT lenses
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Panasonic has announced a LUMIX G Series successor to the DMC-GH3 digital single lens mirrorless (DSLM) camera. The 16 megapixel DMC-GH4 is not just a capable stills shooter, but is also capable of recording video at four times the resolution of Full HD.

Aimed at professional photographers and, naturally, movie-makers, the LUMIX DMC-GH4 is capable of recording 4096 x 2160 video footage at a cinema-like 24 frames per second (fps) and QFHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at up to 30 fps. The camera benefits from selectable system frequency for flexibility when recording footage for overseas markets, and boasts support for IPB and ALL-Intra codecs, for the promise of 100 Mbps bitrate at 4K or 200 Mbps at 2K. It also offers slow or fast motion shooting of up to 96 fps at 1080p resolution thanks to Variable Frame Rate functionality.

Zebra Pattern, Cinelike Gamma and Master Pedestal adjustment are among the features of likely appeal to pro movie-makers. The camera comes with a built-in stereo microphone and mono speaker (and a 3.5 mm headphone jack for less public monitoring, too). A new high performance optional interface unit has been developed for the GH4, catering for 4:2:2/10-bit 4K output with time code, and which features two-channel XLR inputs for line or condenser microphones.

Panasonic has accompanied the camera launch with a new UHS Speed Class 3-compatible Gold Series SDUC media card that's suitable for 4K video recording and boasts a minimum write speed of 30 MB/s (240 Mbps). It comes field-ready, offering protection from the damaging influences of water, shock, magnets, temperature, and electrostatic, and packs a built-in fuse.

The new LUMIX G is no slouch in the stills department either. The DSLM has been treated to a new 16.05 MP (17.3 x 13 mm) Digital Live MOS sensor and a new Venus Engine IX image processor, which work together to deliver full resolution burst shooting of up to 12 frames per second (AFS) for up 40 shots including RAW format, or 100 excluding RAW, up to ISO25600 sensitivity, and a shutter speed maxes that out at 1/8000 sec.

The GH4's 49-point Contrast AF includes something called Depth From Defocus technology to help achieve accurate autofocus in just 0.07 seconds
The GH4's 49-point Contrast AF includes something called Depth From Defocus technology to help achieve accurate autofocus in just 0.07 seconds

The GH4's 49-point Contrast AF includes something called Depth From Defocus technology, described as a "spatial perception technology that instantaneously detects distance according to the level of lens blur" and claimed to help achieve accurate autofocus in just 0.07 seconds.

There's a choice of a 2,359K-dot resolution OLED live viewfinder with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, or a free-angle 3-inch, 1,036K-dot OLED display panel to frame up stills or video. The device is capable of in-camera processing of RAW images, with adjustment of parameters like white balance, exposure compensation, contrast, saturation and sharpness or hue possible prior to conversion to JPEG for sharing.

The GH4 sports a weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, a durable shutter that's been designed for a lifespan of up to 200,000 releases, USB 2.0 and mini-HDMI interfaces, and a Li-ion battery that should be good for about 500 stills. The camera works with over 20 LUMIX G interchangeable lenses, as well as 46 MFT lenses.

Built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity and enhanced NFC capabilities offer wireless connectivity with a smartphone or tablet, and non-NFC smart devices can also get in on the action courtesy of QR code scanning.

Panasonic is due to launch the new DSLM at CP+ 2014 at Pacifico Yokohama in Japan next week, ahead of global release in the coming months for an, as yet, undisclosed price.

The promo video below outlines much of what to expect.

Source: Panasonic

Panasonic LUMIX GH4 | PHOTOS TO IMPRESS, 4K VIDEOS TO INSPIRE

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6 comments
6 comments
ivan4
Maybe someone can help me because I fail to see the reason for using what is essentially a still camera as a video camera.
For a start the shape is wrong for holding while taking videos. There is a reason for the shape and the way you hold a video camera. In fact it would make more sense for a video camera to be able to take still shots than the other way round.
The 'because we can' attitude of some manufacturers likewise does not make it right.
In the end we see a camera that is neither a still camera or a video camera but some strange mix of both. Single lens reflex cameras without a mirror require them to be drawing power unless they are in the camera case which, in turn, requires either larger batteries or more of them or both.
Utomo Prawiro
panasonic need to use new sensor which work much better on low light. One of the biggest user complain about panasonic cameras is the noise on low light. I hope panasonic fix this problems soon by using new sensor developed with Fuji
DarkSymphony
@ivan4 It's actually becoming relatively common for DSLRs and CSCs to be used in filming owing to the smaller size and high image quality compared to high end video cameras. I suspect part of the thinking is also that in professional settings (going off the GH-3, the GH-4 will definitely be priced at the pro end of the market,) it's standard practice to use a camera rig, tripod, dollies etc so the less than ideal ergonomics for handheld shooting don't matter quite as much as for casual shooting.
Desmond FLechner
I contemplate much between purchasing a Nikon and a Canon DSLR thinking its the video features with high MPs to attain quality caption but after holding them and realising.... to view qik snappy shots with some 60fps and esp under low lighting like 0,1 Lux.... its lightning auto focus with wider than F1:2 that determines the WINNER of them all but not before considering too, smallish in the palm, discrete and superb On/Off and zooming locations of command tabs that should be the outright design as winner.
My current compacts are Sony HDR-PJ260VE which I select over the Panasonic HC-X920 due to its cumbersome size and soon, it will be the next purchase on the Canon Vixia HF-R42 for its size & superior video captions esp. in low lighting & WiFi remote handling for specific usage. (Its being ordered as I respond to this and am still prepared to see an upgrade with same size-weight dimensions and with 4x the Full HD of course to go with it.)
This camera design simply proves.... they ARE NOT thinking sensibly "out of the box" by a mile's length, if you ask me!!!
Rafael Kireyev
Yes. It's the time to shoot micro horrors.
Rafael Kireyev
It's the time to shoot macro horrors.