Check Out The Panasonic Lumix GH1!
Remember the Panasonic Lumix G1 that I wrote about several weeks back, the landmark digital camera that uses the Micro Four Thirds technology? Well, the company has released another camera that is similar and also extraordinarily different at the same time called the Lumix GH1.
The Panasonic Lumix GH1, which is the next-generation Micro Four Thirds camera offered by the company, doubles as a camcorder, it also shoots crisp high-definition video at full resolution alongside taking marvelous still photos. Yet unlike new DSLR cameras coming out these days that can also record video, with the Lumix GH1 you can actually autofocus and zoom in or out while shooting, like you can with a camcorder.
The Lumix GH1–which will be the new flagship model of all Panasonic DMC cameras–captures images with a total resolution of 14 megapixels with its brand-new sensor. It can shoot in four aspect ratios– 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and the odd 1:1 size, which means you can take perfectly square photos if you need to.
And what will be focusing on all the magic you will be shooting is the newly released, highly versatile Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 optical zoom lens (with a 35mm camera focal length of 28-280mm). Even though you can change lenses with this camera, you may not need to with this standard kit lens. Like its younger brother, the GH1 utilizes a pivoting, tilting high-resolution LCD screen that has 460,000 pixels and a field view of 100 percent.
Video is recorded in the AVCHD format, which is used to compress the video as much as possible with little to insignificant sacrifice in image quality. And the video is true, full high-definition (1920 x 1080, 60i). There’s even a built-in microphone that can record very good stereo sound. With the built-in HDMI port you can connect the GH1 to your high-definition TV for instant playback.
Supported photo file formats include RAW and JPEG. The camera has an ISO range of 100-3200. And everything, stills and videos, are stored on SD, SDHC memory card or MultiMediaCard memory cards. An 8GB card can hold up to an hour’s worth of video.
This Panasonic Lumix digital camera has one other thing going for it – true face detection software. Not only does it detect a face in frame, it can also determine exactly whose face it is pointing at. David Pogue of the New York Times has more about Panasonic:
What the marketing materials don’t say is that you first have to register each person you want it to recognize. The camera displays a little on-screen template, basically a box with two eyeholes; you’re supposed to take a snapshot of the person, facing front and positioned to match the template. You can even name the person, using an onscreen keyboard; if you register more than one person, you can rank them by priority.
The Panasonic Lumix GH1 is already proving to be a revolutionary, wholly unique camera based on the buzz and pre-release reviews I’ve read. Expect the Lumix GH1 in stores this June fetching $1499. It has a rather high price tag, but remember you’re essentially getting both an excellent high definition camcorder and SLR-like digital camera with interchangeable lenses in one neat package. So you actually can’t go wrong at all.
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