Panasonic GH5 Hybrid Raises The Mirrorless Bar

The business of video making is a mystery to many of us but clear gospel to others. For the latter, a camera like the new Panasonic Lumix GH5 must come as something of a mirror-less miracle. We have watched the inclusion of video capability into what were originally thought of as digital still cameras for some time with the view that the thing was just an extra - a program treat rather like the myriad of "art" filters and programs that bemuse the Japanese market. Yet all the time the technical refinement of the video portion was being increased - first with the addition of more resolution and then with new formats. It seemed to reach a plateau with the addition of 1900 x 1080 HD recording and then sprinted forward with the introduction of the 4K systems. Then some manufacturers realised that these advances would put the cameras into new fields of endeavour and added different video formats and applications to match the output of the littler cameras to the needs of other media - the cinema and television industries in particular. The menu needed and the different components of a professional video and sound recording are truly frightening in their complexity. They give rise to a new-found respect for the technicians that we see scrolling by as names when we leave the cinema - it is not just slinging a mic from a tree and turning on a tape recorder anymore. Perhaps it never was... Well, philosophy aside, the new Panasonic camera does do the 4K ( with 10-bit 4:2:2 25/30p video into an SD card ), the myriad of different formats, and the type of still resolution that seems to be referred to as " 6K ". It's got 20.3 m and can pump out 9-12 fps in multiple bursts.megapixels on a micro 4/3 sensor. The auto-focus is stated to be ultra fast at .05 second. This is a camera that deserves the best of the maker's lenses - accordingly, four different ones are seen on the Panasonic website associated with it - three Panasonic Lumix G Vario and one Leica DG Vario. I should favour the 12-32mm or 12-60mm types myself, but there are wider versions as well. The micro 4/3 mount spread in the lens industry is an extensive one. In keeping with a camera that will be given a rotten time of it out in the wilds, it has a magnesium frame and is splash/dust/ freeze-proof. The nature of modern videography practice means that it will probably be buried deep in a rig with external monitors, microphone controls, matte boxes and controls feeding into it - at least it will not be the chief culprit when it comes to heavy weight that you have to lug. Almost makes you want to go out and shoot home movies again, doesn't it? Okay, family - do something... Click here to see more specs on the camera or here to see Lumix G Vario lenses.