Panasonic DMC-GH1 Digital Camera Review

Panasonic DMC-GH1

Digital Camera Review

Mar 08, 2009 - By Steve Morgenstern
4.5 Panasonic launched its second Micro Four Thirds camera at PMA with the introduction of the Lumix DMC-GH1, which provides the video recording feature notably missing in the original DMC-G1 camera released last year. 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 in our First Impressions review. We didn't learn two crucial bits of information, though: when it will ship, and how much it will cost.
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Panasonic DMC-GH1
Panasonic DMC-GH1 Specs
Type Digital Interchangeable Lens Camera  
Length 4.88  
Width 1.78  
Height 3.29  
Weight 0.85  
Mega Pixels 14.00  
Effective Pixels 12.10  
Sensor Type 17.3 x 13.0mm Live MOS Sensor  
Aspect Ratio 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1  
IR Cut Low Pass Filter Unknown  
Media SD/SDHC  
Image Format JPEG, RAW  
File Size 4000 x 3000  
Compression Fine / Standard / RAW / RAW+Standard JPEG / RAW+Fine JPEG  
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds mount  
Viewfinder Live View Finder  
Diopter Adjustment -4.0 ~ +4.0 [m-1]  
Frame Coverage 100  
Magnification 1.4x/0.7x (35mm film camera equiv) w/50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1  
LCD Free-angle 3.0 inch  
Auto Focus Type Contrast AF system  
Focusing Modes AFs/AFc/MF  
Focusing Points 23 areas  
Detecting Range EV 0-18 (f/3.5 lens, ISO100)  
AF Assist Illuminator yes  
Metering Modes Intelligent Multiple / Center-weighted / Spot  
Metering Range EV 0-18 (f/2.0 lens, ISO 100)  
Shutter Type Focal-plane shutter  
Shutter Speed 1/4000 - 60 and Bulb  
Modes Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait  
Speed Unknown  
Burst Yes  
Automatic Modes Intelligent Auto (iA) Mode  
Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV Step, ± 3 EV  
Bracketing 3,5,7 frame, in 1/3 or 2/3 EV Step, ±2 EV  
Built in Flash TTL Built-in-Flash, GN11 (ISO100,m), Built-in Pop-up  
Sync Contact Less than 1/160 second  
Resolution 4000 x 3000  
ISO Sensitivity Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / Intelligent ISO  
White Balance Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / Flash / White Set 1,2 / Color temperature setting  
Playback Options normal, 12- and 30-thumbnail display, calendar, zoomed (16x maqx), slideshow, playback mode (normal/picture/AVCHD/Motion JPEG/face recognition/favorite), title edit, text stamp, resize, trimming, aspect conversion, rotate, rotate display, print set, prote  
Direct Printing Yes  
Video Output Yes  
Battery Power Source Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1250mAh)  
LCD Pixels 460000  
Resolution Maximum 4000 x 3000  
Resolution Minimum 1920 x 1080  
Ratings Raw Weight 
Color 10.78   9 
Color Modes 5.00   1 
Long Exposure 5.31   4 
Color Other Features 0.00   0.5 
Noise 5.60   9 
ISO Features 5.50   1.5 
Noise Other Features 0.00   0.5 
Sharpness 9.21   6 
Chromatic Abberation 8.58   3 
Picture Options 10.50   0.5 
Dynamic Range 7.76   6 
Image Stabilization 4.60   5 
Resolution Other Features 0.00   0.5 
Auto White Balance 8.39   4 
Custom White Balance 7.92   2 
White Balance Features 9.25   0.5 
Playback Mode 10.75   1.5 
In-camera Editing 3.00   0.5 
Software 3.50   0.5 
Direct Print Features 3.75   0.5 
Playback Other Features 0.00   0.5 
Sensor 2.00   1 
Viewfinder 7.00   1.5 
LCD 6.30   2.5 
Flash 7.50   1 
Lens Mount 8.00   1.5 
Battery 7.00   1 
Memory 3.00   1 
Jacks, Ports, and Plugs 2.00   1 
Hardware Other Features 1.00   0.5 
Shooting Modes 13.00   1 
Live View 4.25   2 
Scene Modes 7.50   0.5 
Picture Effects 4.50   0.5 
Focus 18.25   1.5 
Exposure 5.50   1 
DOF Preview 2.00   0.5 
Metering 8.50   1 
Shutter Speed 10.00   1 
Self Timer 3.50   1 
Handling 8.00   2.5 
Controls 9.00   2.5 
Menu 7.50   2 
Manual 4.50   1 
Design & Handling Other 0.00   0.5 
Shot to Shot 3.16   3 
Drive and Burst Modes 6.50   1 
Controls Other Features 0.00   0.5 
Video Handling 5.00   0.73 
Video Color 8.43   1.25 
Video Sharpness 10.97   1.25 
Video Motion 8.80   0.63 
Video Noise 12.30   0.63 
Video Controls 8.75   1.2 
Video Sensitivity 2.77   0.95 
Video Low Light Color 7.81   0.78 
Video Low Light Noise 12.49   0.78 
Video Compression 11.00   0.95 
Video Audio 3.00   0.3 
Total (weighted)   716.11
Conclusion Page 8 of 8
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