Panasonic launched the GH5 over 5 years in the past, serving to set off a mini vlogging increase and confirming the potential of mirrorless cameras for video. Its substitute has lastly come within the type of the $2,200 GH6 with an all-new sensor and fascinating options like ProRes, 5.7K 60p video and an all-new stabilization system.

Panasonic had the video creator market largely to itself in 2018, however issues are completely different now. It’s crowded with fashions from Canon, Sony and Nikon, all providing comparable options to the GH6 for the same worth. Some of these, like Sony’s A7 IV and the Canon EOS R6, have full-frame sensors and superior phase-detect autofocus methods.

Pros

• Pro-level video high quality
• Outstanding in-body stabilization
• Great dealing with
• Affordable

Cons

• Sub-par autofocus
• Relatively heavy
• Battery life isn’t wonderful

Panasonic has its personal full-frame lineup too, so it’s successfully competing with its personal Lumix S5 mannequin. Is there nonetheless a spot for a video-centric Micro Four Thirds digicam with contrast-detect autofocus? I took a ultimate manufacturing model of the GH6 out within the French countryside to search out out.

Body and dealing with

Apart from the same management format, the GH6 doesn’t look very like the GH5 anymore. The first substantial change is the hump on the again. It accommodates each a multi-angle articulating show and an energetic cooling system with a fan and vents for steady video capturing at excessive video resolutions.

It’s bought a brand new grip too, which is probably the biggest I’ve ever seen on any digicam, mirrorless or in any other case. It makes use of a tackier rubber materials and has an even bigger ridge on your fingers, giving a safe grasp on the digicam always.

All the buttons and dials are in roughly the identical spots, save a number of exceptions. The most noticeable change is the addition of a swap on the highest left nook that permits you to lock out any controls you need. The different is a devoted autofocus button for altering AF areas, fashions, eye detection and extra.

Another huge change is the addition of a second video file button on the entrance, ideally positioned for vloggers. There’s additionally a pleasant devoted audio management button that permits you to rapidly entry ranges, high quality and extra with out diving into menus. Finally, there’s a second button up entrance that may be set to do no matter you need.

The GH6 makes use of the brand new fashion of Panasonic menu discovered on the GH5 II and S5. It’s among the many best to make use of of any mirrorless digicam, with logical classes and never an excessive amount of scrolling wanted. Plus, it may be operated by contact or utilizing the buttons and dials.

As talked about, the GH6 has a totally articulating 1.84-million dot rear touchscreen, as you’d anticipate, but it surely borrowed a function from the full-frame S1H as nicely: It tilts up by about 45 levels, letting you retain it away from the microphone and HDMI ports for vlogging or exterior seize.

The 3.68 million dot OLED digital viewfinder is as sharp as rivals, however the refresh charge is proscribed to 60Hz. Since the GH6 is primarily designed for video that’s not too huge a deal, as increased EVF frequencies largely assist motion photographers.

With the introduction of ProRes and ProRes HQ, inside knowledge charges can hit as much as 1.9Gbps (237.5 MB/s). To that finish, the GH6 now has a high-speed CFexpress slot, together with a UHS II slot. The disadvantage of getting one very quick card and one very sluggish card is that you could’t backup ProRes (or 800Mbps All-I H.264 video) to the SD card. That could possibly be an issue for videographers that completely require a backup when capturing video for weddings and different dwell occasions.

As for ports, it has a full-sized HDMI port as you’d hope on such a digicam, together with a USB-C port that helps energy supply so you possibly can cost or energy the digicam whereas capturing. Naturally, it has headphone and microphone jacks, and you’ll improve that to four-channel XLR inputs utilizing Panasonic’s $400 DMW-XLR1 hotshoe adapter.

Overall, the GH6 is a nicely designed and great-handling digicam, significantly for video. Key settings like audio ranges, video decision and autofocus are straightforward to vary and monitor.

There are a number of drawbacks, although. It’s heavy for a Micro Four Thirds digicam at 823g, and the battery life isn’t nice both. It’s rated for simply 350 nonetheless photographs on a cost, in comparison with 400 on the GH5 with the identical settings, and about an hour of steady 4K capturing. On one among our shoots, nonetheless, it didn’t handle greater than about 45 minutes of stop-start capturing, so that you’ll need to purchase and carry numerous additional cells.

Video

Just just like the GH5, the GH6 is a video creator’s digicam above all. For that, it’s higher than its predecessor in almost each means, from decision to stabilization to dynamic vary.

The GH6 can shoot 5.7K all the way in which as much as 60 fps, DCI 4K as much as 120 fps and 1080p at 240 fps. As with different Panasonic cameras, it helps anamorphic capturing as much as 5.7K. That allows you to use lenses from Vazen, Sirui and others and get these dramatic JJ Abrams horizontal lens flares. 10-bit video with billions of colours is accessible for many of those codecs, with an Intraframe I mode for simpler modifying and LongGop L mode, (each with H.264 and H.265 codecs), to preserve house.

It additionally helps 12-bit ProRes and ProRes HQ, codecs that gobble card house however are simpler to edit than MP4. You can solely shoot 5.7K 25p ProRes video for now, however ProRes DCI 4K and full HD are coming later by way of a firmware replace. RAW output at as much as C4K (4,096 x 2,160) 120p to an exterior Atomos Ninja V+ recorder may also be launched down the street.

The 5.7K ProRes footage permits for crisp downsampled 4K footage or cropping the place wanted, whereas delivering the very best high quality with minimal compression and 12 bits of colour. It’ll additionally play in actual time on an honest modifying pc, however you’ll want a number of cupboard space – the file sizes are large.

Meanwhile, 4K at 120 fps is an enormous plus for dramatic slow-mo. Unlike with rivals, there’s no cropping or drop in sharpness at these increased body charges, and 10-bit video is accessible. The solely draw back to 120p is {that a} function referred to as Dynamic Range Boost isn’t supported.

So what’s that? Rather than Dual Native ISO just like the GH5, the GH6 has Dynamic Range Boost. It combines excessive and low-gain readouts to ship additional dynamic vary at ISO settings over 800. With the function turned off, dynamic vary is a bit under the GH5 and when enabled, it’s a full cease increased.

The GH6 can be Panasonic’s first non-professional digicam with full V-Log, not hobbled V-Log L. With all that, video high quality is excellent, significantly in demanding, contrasty scenes. It’s sharp, colours are proper on level and the additional cease of dynamic vary over the GH5 provides editors extra room to dial down vibrant scenes and amp up shadows in post-production.