Wednesday February 4
 
15:58
 
Panasonic Lumix G1HD (DMC-GH1)

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One of the things missing from the G1 is video. To me it’s crazy that the G1 doesn’t even capture SD video. It has a live view feed and could easily capture video ala the D90 and the 5D mark II, so why doesn’t it?

From after reading this interview on dpreview, the answer is clear: Panasonic want to do video “right”. They want lenses which autofocus in video, unlike the D90 and 5D mark II which require manual focus adjustment when filming.

This is what’s known about the G1HD so far:

• The G1HD is the nickname given to Panasonic’s DMC-G HD prototype, as shown here on Imaging Resource. The final camera may have a different name. The prototype shown says only “G”, not “G1″.
• The G1HD requires special lenses which are capable of autofocus during filming. Since the lenses are designed for video, we would expect the zoom and focus to be silent, or compensated for by camera audio processing.
• The only lens known to work with video at the moment is the upcoming 14-140. It has “HD” in red on the lens barrel. The other lenses due to be released by Panasonic this year do not seem to have the same marking – it is unclear whether that is intentional or not. Lens photos are on Imaging Resource.
• Since the video lenses are special, it’s unknown whether existing Micro Four Thirds lenses or Four Thirds lenses will be able to be used at all for video or whether attaching those lenses will disable movie mode. Given that the G1 doesn’t support autofocus with all existing Four Thirds lenses, one can speculate that only then new lenses will work for video, and that existing G1 owners wont simply be able to buy a new body and get the full film experience from their existing lenses.
• It is not yet known whether the user will have manual focus, aperture, or exposure compensation control during filming. In the dpreview interview, Matsumoto-san from Panasonic marketing states that the aperture of the lens “has to be working continuously” during filming, which may imply that aperture is controlled automatically and is variable during filming, with the knock on effect that depth of field would also be variable.
• Panasonic are working to announce the G1HD at PMA in March 2009, though it’s unclear whether that wil happen and when the release date will be. Since the 14-140 lens is on Panasonic’s roadmap for 2009 and that lens supports HD, one would expect that at the latest the camera will be available publically by the end of 2009.
• The Imaging Resource news article about the DMC-G HD prototype states there are two hardware changes – a stereo microphone in the flash unit, and a movie record button on the rear of the camera. This leads me to wonder whether external microphones will be supported or not. The TZ7 has a “wind cut” function to remove wind noise – one would hope the DMC-G HD has similar.
• The ZS3 and TZ7 cameras use the AVCHD lite video codec, which is limited to 720p. It is unclear which codec the DMC-G HD will use and whether the camera will be limited to 720p or not.
• The G1HD will undoubtedly revive the B-movie, broadcast worldwide by You Tube.
• You can check whether the G1 HD (GH1) is on sale yet by clicking here: Panasonic DMC-GH1 (check availability).

Update 3rd March 2009

The DMC-GH1 has been announced by Panasonic. Dpreview has the press release and a brief hands-on, and Imaging Resource also has a DMC-GH1 preview. There is no full review of the DMC-GH1 yet, and judging by the limited information in the previews, that’s likely because the review sites have little information other than the press release and looking at the camera to base their hands on on!

While the spec looks good, there’s one thing that concerns me: Full-HD (1920 × 1080) movies are output by the image sensor at 24p (NTSC)/25p (PAL), and recorded at 60i (NTSC)/50i (PAL).

For PAL, that’s fine: 25 frames per second records well at 50i. But for NTSC, 24 frames per second is being converted into 60 interlace frames per second – that can’t be smooth. I can’t think for the life of me why Panasonic wouldn’t just record at the standard 24p.

ISO range is the same, peaking at ISO3200. But there’s confusion about the sensor from Panasonic in their press release. While they refer to the sensor as “newly developed 12.1-megapixel high-speed Live MOS sensor”, it’s reported in the specifications are being 14.0 megapixels which delivers 12.1 MP output for each aspect ratio – ie. only a maximum of 12.1 MP are active at any one time. Since Panasonic are squeezing more pixels into the 4/3 sensor and since most people buying this will be interested in video and not high ISO, it remains to be seen whether the high ISO will suffer.

What’s also interesting is that the photos in the the hands on page show the camera with the 14-45 lens. Does that mean that the G1 kit lens will work in movie mode? As Imaging Resource mention in their DMC-GH1 preview, that’s not publicly known at the moment.

I also don’t see any information on maximum recording length of a single movies. One of the things I really dislike about my new Sony P&S is the 10 minute limitation (my old Sony P&S didn’t have that limitation) – and there’s a similar limitation with the D90. If a file reaches maximum size supported by the file system, the camera should be intelligent enough to start a new file – let’s hope the new Lumix does just that.

Availability? According to DCResource, the camera will be available before summer. You can check whether the G1 HD (GH1) is on sale yet and the price by clicking here: Panasonic DMC-GH1 (check availability).

Update April 1st 2009

The DMC-GH1K (GH1 and LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm／F4.0-5.8 ASPH.／MEGA O.I.S) will be available from 24th April 2009 in Japan. The price is set at 149,800 yen. You can check the US price here.

In Japan the GH1 will be available in Black, Red, and very cool Gold!

The individual lens prices are:
14-400: 84,800yen, available in May.
14-45: 29,500yen, available April 24th.
7-14: 99,9600yen, available April 24th.

The release date of the 14-45 is interesting. I’m not sure whether this is the same lens that comes with the G1 or not.

GH1 samples and galleries:
Panasonic Japan – Stills
Panasonic Japan – Video

Update 25th April 2009 – I’ve bought a GH1!

View my first GH1 high ISO test, first outside samples, and DMC-GH1 video samples and tests.

Update 6th May 2009 – I returned my GH1 due to focus issues

Details here: Why I returned my GH1.

Update 19th May 2009

I’ve written a user review of the GH1 based on my experience with it.

Update 20th May 2009

I’ve posted two Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 RAW samples (RW2) at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200.

Update 21st May 2009

Interesting – just noticed Panasonic will soon sell the GH1 with the 14-45 lens in kit form in Japan. A note on the Bic Camera page indicates that the camera supports video – so maybe autofocus will work with the 14-45. Will be interesting to see whether it exhibits the focus problem I noticed in my blog.

Quite a big price difference. Is it worth it?

GH1 with 14-45 lens: 119,800 + 10% cashback
G1 with dual kit lens: 79,000 + 11% cashback. When I bought mine it was cheaper and I negotiated 18% cashback instore.

At the same time, the GH1 body only will go on sale for 99,800 + 10% cashback. If it does work with the G1 14-45 lens, it could be an interesting upgrade if they fix the focus problem – I have no interest in the 14-140 now that I know the OIS is terrible and it makes the camera heavy.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 – Main Page