Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

Noise Reduction (5.60)

It’s worth noting that while higher levels of noise reduction did cut down on the details in photos we shot at ISO 1600 (see the Sample Photos section), the effect was not dramatic, and the trade-off between boosting noise reduction and losing a bit of fine line is worth making in most cases.

Image noise starts out fairly high, even at ISO 100 There’s no major jump through ISO 400,though, which means the most frequently used ISO settings don’t suffer from major noise problems. Trying to eke out a shot at ISO 3200 is not recommended, though we did pull off a nice handheld shot at ISO 1600 in a dark train station (see the Sample Photos section). More on how we test noise.

We expect image noise to be higher on a Micro Four Thirds or Four Thirds format camera, since they share a smaller sensor size than the typical digital SLR, and this held true for the GH1, though we found noise much better controlled than in the two Olympus Four Thirds-format SLRS we tested recently (the E-30 and E-620). We test noise by shooting a brightly illuminated X-Rite ColorChecker chart at all ISO settings and each level of noise reduction provided. Ordinarily we turn noise reduction off entirely for one set of photos, since this is the mode that has the least impact on fine detail, but the GH1 has no Off setting. Instead we shot in Standard film mode and set the noise reduction to each available option, which range from -2 (the lowest level of noise reduction permitted) through +2, the highest. The default setting is 0.

ISO Options

The Lumix GH1 offers an ISO range from 100-3200, along with two different auto ISO systems. Standard Auto ISO adjusts based strictly on brightness, while Intelligent ISO takes the movement of the subject into account as well (since higher ISOs enable higher shutter speeds). There is an option to limit the maximum ISO available to the auto systems.

Focus Performance

The autofocus system that made the G1 a breakthrough camera is alive and well in the GH1. Like the Live View mode provided with many SLRs today, Panasonic uses a contrast detect autofocus system, as opposed to the speedy phase detect system used when shooting through an SLR’s optical viewfinder. Unlike the SLRs we’ve tested, though, the Panasonic system is fast and reliable, able to keep up with fast action which would completely flummox other Live View focus systems. You can actually take the GH1 to a soccer game and shoot the action in Live View, something we’d never consider with an SLR Live View implementation.

The autofocus system offers four modes: 23-Area, Single-Area, Face Detection, and AF Tracking.

Focus can be set to single (acquires focus when the shutter button is pressed halfway and maintains that setting), continuous (attempts to adjust focus as long as the shutter button is halfway down) and manual, using a small dial at the top left. If you’re particularly worried about catching a shot,you can turn on the Pre AF setting in the Custom menu. With Pre AF set the camera doesn’t wait until you have the shutter button held down, but goes ahead and focuses whenever the camera is held still (in Quick AF mode) or at all times (Continuous AF). As you’d imagine, you take a battery life hit when this feature is turned on.

A small red aufocus assist lamp sits at the top right of the camera front. It proved more effective than we expected, given its small size. Panasonic gives the range as about 3.28 to 9.84 feet (1.0m to 3.0m) when using the kit lens at its widest setting.

Long Exposure (5.31)

Our long exposure test combines color accuracy and image noise, neither of which is a strength of this camera even under normal shooting conditions, producing a result here that trails the competition by a substantial margin. We shoot the ColorChecker chart under low lighting (20 lux and below) with exposure times of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 seconds, with long exposure noise reduction turned off and turned on. The good news here is that, unlike most cameras we test, the long exposure noise reduction system did prove highly effective. However, since it takes a toll on timing (doubling the time it takes to shoot a photo) and image quality, our testing combines the scores under both shooting conditions. More on how we test long exposure.

Color error was at least consistent across shutter speeds, but it was very high throughout — roughly double what we found with the Nikon D5000, for example.

Even at one second the noise level is above 1% and, without long exposure noise reduction, reaches nearly 10% at 30 seconds. The moral of the story is simple: by all means make sure you have NR set to On when taking night shots.

Video: Low Light Sensitivity (2.77)

The Panasonic GH1 didn’t have very good low light sensitivity, although its results were better than the Canon T1i. The camera needed 17 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—an amount that’s nearly double what the Panasonic HDC-HS300 needed. In the camera’s 60p record mode (720/60p) it needed even more light, 36 lux, to reach 50 IRE. Testing the 720/30p record mode, which uses the MJPEG codec instead of AVCHD, 31 lux of light was needed. All of these scores aren’t very good, although the 17 lux performance at 24p isn’t awful.

We expected a better low light sensitivity performance coming from the GH1, mainly because the HS300 did so well with this test, but also because it is a DSLR with a huge CMOS sensor. Still, we’ve noticed a number DSLR cameras struggling with low light sensitivity. The Canon T1i had a pitiful 26 lux performance in both its 20p and 30p record modes. The Nikon D5000 is the best video-capable DSLR we’ve tested so far when it comes to low light sensitivity. It required only 11 lux (shooting at 24p) to produce 50 IRE. Unfortunately, we have yet to see a DSLR camera that really blows the consumer camcorder competition out of the water on this test.