Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

Introduction

The first Micro Four Thirds camera, the Lumix G1 introduced by Panasonic at Photokina 2008, was an exciting development in many ways, but surprisingly lacked a movie mode, even though video recording is supported by the Micro Four Thirds spec. At PMA the company delivered the missing piece, in high-def style, with the Lumix GH1. We took a pre-production sample for a test drive to produce this First Impressions review.

The Micro Four Thirds standard, jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic, supports very compact camera designs with interchangeable lenses by eliminating the mirror mechanism found in traditional SLR designs and relying instead on Live View display for composing shots, and contrast detection autofocus based on data from the image sensor (as opposed to the dedicated autofocus sensor found in an SLR). As the first of this new breed, Panasonic's Lumix G1 had a lot to prove to the traditionalists, particularly when it comes to Live View autofocus. The Live View-based autofocus in SLR cameras has always been too slow to shoot fast-moving, or even moderately fast-moving subjects. The G1 succeeded where Nikon, Canon and the rest had failed: the G1 autofocus system can successfully handle not just still life shots but also kids running around the soccer field.

Notably missing from the G1, though, is any movie mode at all. Now, with the announcement of the GH1, that lapse is being addressed in style, with 1080i video at 24 frames per second, and 720p video at 60 frames per second. At PMA we got our hands on a pre-production sample of the GH1, reasonably feature-complete but not running final firmware. We learned a lot about the camera, as you'll see below. We didn't learn two crucial bits of information, though: when it will ship, and how much it will cost. Plans call for selling the GH1 with a new 14-140mm kit lens, not an inexpensive piece of gear in and of itself. And we're told there are no plans to lower the price of the G1, making the potential pricing of the GH1 seem even more intimidating. One Panasonic executive, when pressed, said he expected the target price to be 'under $1500.'

Whatever the magnitude of the chunk of change you'll be charged, here's what you'll be getting.