Panasonic DMC-GH1 Micro Four Thirds shooter with 1080p video landing April 24th
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Mar 27th 2009 6:29AM
posted Mar 27th 2009 6:29AM
[Via PC World],
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interesting color for an SLR
It's as if they said: "What colour do virtually all lenses come in? Black you say? You know what goes well with black? Strawberry Red!"
I do like that color scheme. But it's not something I'd ever shoot with. Unless I was shooting kids. I could put one of those fake flowers that squirt water on the side of it and it'd make a nice clown camera to keep them smiling.
Strictly speaking this is not an SLR.
front heavy. like a skinny girl with D-cup boob job.
,,,in other words, perfect?
+1
sony
your turn please
i have never wanted something i have absolutely no need for so much
I hope there's another bundle with a smaller lens (eg 14-75mm). The 14-140mm lens is a huge beast for such a small camera.
18-150 mm, surely.
Ah, crap. I meant to say 28-150mm. Damn you, keyboard!
You know what, I'm clearly an idiot that can't read properly this morning. I'm going to vote down my own nonsense rambling. Yes, the lens in the picture is 14-140mm and I misunderstood the comment. A smaller lens probably would be more practical but I guess it depends on the design and weight of the 14-140mm, which is almost a do-it-all lens and therefore probably would be popular. This, however, does tie into my later comment - what is the point of buying a camera with the option of interchangeable lenses if you aren't actually going to take advantage of this feature?
There are many micro-four-thirds lenses coming out, including a 20mm f1.4 pancake lens (~50mm 35mm equivalent)
Traveling with the pancake lens would be perfect for me.
@Kelmon
"what is the point of buying a camera with the option of interchangeable lenses if you aren't actually going to take advantage of this feature?"
Well I'd buy it for the superior sensor which doesn't have millions of pixels crammed on a small-sized sensor like a non-dSLR camera.
that lens is made specifically for the 1080 hd.
All other lens wont be as responsive in video.
In what part this camera is small? Sorry, couldn't find it on the picture. Looks like a monster to me.
Yeah, I'd prefer sigma DP2.
the 14-140mm has a stepless aperture, which is pretty much perfect for shooting video. the lens is probably pretty good for stills as well, but it's made for video which is teh biggest difference between this and the G1
Engadget just ruined my morning.
I like this camera so very much that I would be ready even to get rid of my trusty and undestroyable Canon to get one of those; unfortunately it's price is about the double of what I would be prepared to pay for a camera.
Why is the world such an unjust, unfair and cruel place?
+1 to unbearable Panny pricing.
Excellent lens and IQ can be considered a consolation prize.
Amazingly, a nice looking camera. The color is a bit shocking, but not unpleasant. The Graphite part plays well with the reddish color at least on my screen.
Can't wait for this, although it's a little more expensive than I would have expected. Especially considering the price of the original G1.
So is April 24th the Japanese release date only? The article wasn't too clear on that, hopefully it lands stateside not too long after.
Oh Oly Oly Oly, where for art thou μ4/3?
Seconded!
720p is NOT full HD
So?
"Full HD record of 1,920×1,080 pixel /60i (17Mbps)"
I still wonder why a camera like this will be attractive. Effectively it is adding consumer-camera features onto a DSLR while ignoring those features that are attractive to a photographer. Do we really think that consumers buying these cameras are actually willing to spend money on a range of lenses? I tend to think that someone who wants HD video recording facilities would be better served by a Bridge camera.
I really have nothing against the idea of making a DSLR smaller. In this case I just feel that adding features to make taking pictures easier/better is more important than adding HD movie recording facilities.
Don't fret on the color...it'll be available in Red, Blue and Black.
...but you CAN fret on the price! :(
Nope, for some reason they got rid of blue and changed it to gold.. too bad, I liked the blue too. http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GH1/verdict.shtml
Wow...price is way beyond what I would have expected. Would have guessed something closer to $1000, especially considering the G1 is in the $600 range.
Finally! Man it was quite a wait to see when this was coming. Can't wait to see if the price will be lower on online retailers like Amazon and such. Price is painful, but I'm already counting my pennies... and gold bars.
I bet most of that $1500 is that lens - which is quite a capable range (28mm-280mm EFL).
Plus, unlike most other SLR cameras with video recording, this one actually has continuous autofocus, making it the ONLY SLR-type vid recorder that's actually useful for most people.
Have you even tried the video mode for the other cameras before saying something like this?
This is the very first thing I thought - without the mirror/prism assembly that qualifies a camera as "slr" you can have an *almost* slr that can shoot video with use of the viewfinder AND maintain autofocus while shooting. Awesome.
maikurohuosazushisutemu:
maikuro=micro
huo=four
sazu=third
shisutemu=system
lol. I love Katakana.
The Lumix lens is no longer Leica branded/mfrd?
The initial µ4:3 lenses were developed solely by Panasonic. Presumably to keep the cost down.
from a DPReview interview with Panasonic (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0903/09031901panasonicinterview.asp):
"Leica doesn't allow us to use digital corrections, so that's why there are no Leica lenses for the Micro G system. But of course, we have a plan with Leica as part of the roadmap."
...
"In order to minimize the size and in order to maximize the performance of the lens we choose to use [digital correction] technology. It's a digital camera, so it makes sense."
Thats 2.5 times the price of the current G1.
Just buy a G1 and an LX3 IMO.
Expensive. What is the size of the sensor in comparison to a sub $1000 DSLR?
The sensor area is exactly the same as in 4:3 dSLRs from Olympus and Panasonic. Though actually it uses a slightly bigger sensor in order to achieve multiple aspect ratios while retaining the same resolution.
Now compared to the sensors in say a Nikon, a (µ)4:3 sensor is about 33% smaller. But that still makes these sensors several times larger than what you would find in most fixed lens cameras.
I don't think that is accurate pricing though, because the article also says that the GH1 will be 30,000 yen (~$300) more than the G1, which is BS, because the G1, even with the larger 45-140 lens, is no where CLOSE to $1,200.
Hey, that's my birthday!! :)
There is 1 for sale on ebay. Does $1600 w/1yr warrany sound reasonable? I really want to know the release date and price in US. Any thoughts?