Panasonic officially reveals mirrorless Lumix GH3
updated 10:05 am EDT, Mon September 17, 2012
Announcement confirms GH3 leak specifications
Panasonic has finally revealed the Lumix GH3 mirrorless micro four thirds camera. The official announcement ahead of Photokina effectively confirms the specifications leak that took place two weeks ago, and follows another leak of the camera's promotional video by the company's own YouTube account late last week.
Housed in a protective splash-proof and dust-proof magnesium alloy casing, the 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor has a minimum and maximum ISO of 200 and 12,800, which can extend to 125 and 25,600 in extended mode. The Venus Engine combines 3D noise reduction and multi-process noise reduction on both bright and dark areas, lowering the image noise overall. An HDR mode, options for multiple exposures, and time-lapse photography are also built-in. Burst fire shooting can hit 6fps in full resolution for up to a maximum of 18 shots in both RAW and JPEG formats, or 20fps at a resolution of four megapixels and using the electronic shutter.
For video recording, it can use AVCHD, AVCHD Progressive, MP4 and MOV formats, with a range of framerates from 24fps to 60fps. For the MOV and AVCHD formats, it can generate multiple seamless files, with SMPTE-compliant time-coding. It is also capable of recording high bitrate video at 72Mbps, and in NTSC regions can record for an unlimited amount of time. PAL regions will be restricted to 29 minutes, 59 seconds. Two 3.5mm headphone and microphone sockets join the built-in stereo microphone for sound recording, which uses Dolby Digital audio processing.
On the rear is a 3-inch 614k-dot free-angle OLED touchscreen monitor, which flips out to the side and tilts 270-degrees up and down. The live view finder is also an OLED display, at a far higher 1,744k-dot equivalent with 1.34x magnification and a 100% field of view. A HDMI-out gives another option for a live camera output, and included Wi-Fi connectivity lets the camera be controlled by a smartphone or tablet.
At the same time as the camera, the Lumix G X VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 Power OIS lens has also been announced. Comprising of 18 lenses in 13 groups, it uses an UED lens and two ED lenses to minimise chromatic aberration and distortion. Just like the GH3, it too touts protection from splashes and dust, using a rubber ring on the lens mount.
It has been suggested that the Lumix GH3 will be released later this year for around $2000, but no official pricing or release dates have been issued.
