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GH3 user reviews and opinions
  • Topic dedicated ONLY to post review/opinion if you have camera on hand.

    Also for discussions about such opinions.

    For all other discussions use other topics or general GH3 official topic

  • 1089 Replies sorted by
  • Original opinions. Sadly, will be removed in quite short time :-)

  • Terrific. You can change ISO whilst recording. :-)

    Here's a box shot of the GH3A - Camera plus X Lens 12-35mm. I had to buy two GH3s of course!

    A note to anyone in the UK: There will be 4 body only GH3 packs at the Brighton Panasonic store this week (from 4pm tomoz).

    GH3Abox.JPG
    4608 x 3456 - 6M
  • Thats a great feature. Its very benificial having it on the Nex/camcorders so hoped Panasonic would do likewise.

  • @ Driftwood "You can change ISO whilst recording" Holy grail of DSLR video right here, right now!

  • Really liking the Low Light handling. Looks much cleaner. This is huge since most of my work is done with very low light and where I can't use extra lighting. Gotta figure out my lens targets now.

    I can't wait to see more of what @Driftwood has in store. I'm trying to figure out how i'm going to move forward and the more info the better. Saving up now and by the time i'm ready there should be a lot more info.

  • There were improvements in video, let me know if there are improvements in still photography, will be close to the E-M5 in that aspect?

  • ETC mode on GH3 seems slightly different than the GH2. I'm reading a 2.6x on GH2, and either 2.4x, 3.6x, or 4.8x on GH3 depending on recording quality. I would like to request a test using 1/2" or 2.3" C-mount or ENG lenses if possible for those that own it. Thanks!

  • A quick flick thru the scene guides and creative control modes on a cold rainy day yesterday. In-depth analysis will in the next video up.

  • Thank you very much @driftwood. Looks like some modes can be pushed better with correct white balance. Like retro mode. This footage tells alot on the dynamic range of the camera.

  • The high dynamic profile definitely looks VERY usable for grading to me.

    Thx @ driftwood for these awesome reviews!

  • @driftwood is there some addon/change respect to photokina model?

    Thanks

  • @JDN Fw version 1 Questions and answers here

    I'm ready to accept any queries anyone has: Ask away and Ill endeavour to answer /even test/now!

    • NOT WORKING NTSC/PAL/vice versa Rec modes switching: Ive tried switching to NTSC to no avail - so no 30p/60p. Another reason why we need GH3 hacked.

    • WORKING 4:2:0 HDMI Out 1080p Out of HDMI to compatible 'progressive' monitor confirmed as working beautifully. You can record GH3 pictures with or without the display menus in the picture!

    • WILL BE FULLY WORKING Presently, Wi-Fi remote recording doesnt work correctly for remote shooting using Lumix Link on Iphone/iPad/Android. Basically it only works if you move your hand across the EVF sensor to initiate photo taking. Movie recording doesn't work. I believe a firmware upgrade/Lumix Link fix will be required by Pany. It didnt work in v0.5 fw either. UPDATE: Yes, its happening this week... http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/lumixlink/iphone/index.html http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/lumixlink/android/index.html

    • NOT WORKING 1080 50/60P can't make use of Ex Tele. Indeed any setting using the Sensor Output of 50p/60p will not be able to use EX Tele mode. This includes the AVCHD 108050i/60i modes and MOV mode 720p50/p60 and 40% / 48% slow-motion settings which also use a sensor output of 50p/60p. There is little or no information regarding above in the manual. On this site there is a note under the Ex Tele table regarding 50p/60p sensor modes;- http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/video_shooting.html

    • NOT WORKING Can't record > 30mins in PAL GH3. Same as GH2. Because of licensing laws in EU, the GH3 is only able to make max 30 minute recordings. NTSC is fine. The camera fails to begin a new file when it reaches the 30 min mark.

    • WORKING Touch screen/Manual Focus Assist with Manual Lenses Working with firmware v1. Couldnt get this working with v0.5.

    • WORKING Full Range Flag in SPS Video full range is confirmed in GH3 (not applicable on GH2).

  • @driftwood please or anyone explain something to me doesn't Panasonic advertise it as doing 1080p @ 60p or is something else?

  • @HillTop1 There are likely two versions of the camera (at least): one for Europe, where mains power uses a 50 Hz frequency, and USA/Canada, where mains power uses a 60 Hz frequency. Due to aliasing, under fluorescent lighting a mismatch on frequency would cause banding on video, therefore cameras generally record with a frame rate at a multiple of the mains frequency.

    Strictly speaking, this is also a function of the use of PAL versus NTSC, which generally use 50 and 60 Hz refresh rates (linked to or derived from the mains power frequency -- although some countries use PAL @ 60 Hz. Go figure.) If you have an "NTSC" version of the camera, it will support 720p60, 1080p30, 1080i60 and 1080p60.

    Paradoxically, Japan actually uses BOTH frequencies (in different parts of the country), so it's possible that some cameras intended for use throughout the country should be switchable.

    Partly, this may be a technique intended to reduce support issues or grey market or parallel imports, but I don't see the point myself.

    I think you'll find that Panasonic advertise 1080p60 (and 30) in the USA and other locations which use 60 Hz mains frequency power, and NTSC rather than PAL. See section 2 of this Press Release, that shows Panasonic offering both (but only for each region-specific "version" of the camera.)

    http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/pressrelease/gh3_hs35100/index.html

  • @driftwood So EX Tele does not work in AVCHD, mp4 and MOV neither in 1080 nor in 720 mode, correct? So only in the 24/25 fps modes? If that is true it is a drawback from the GH2.

  • @Driftwood: "The getaround (which I need to confirm) is that a new file will be created on recordings greater than 30 mins when it reaches 30 minutes of continuous recording for PAL land." Ok, would be cool, if you could test this... This would mean, i can record 3.5-4 hours and have it splittet in to 8 Parts and only a few seconds of non-recording...

  • @DealjagdLtd This was also, what the Panasonic Manager told me during the interveiw at the Photokina. Supposingly, in the ideal case, only 1 frame shall be skipped.

  • @AKED Ok, thanks Dieter! Great news! The GH3 seems perfect for me. @Driftwood: Do you know about Timelapse? Does the Cam go to Sleep-mode between the shots when you use for example an Interval of 30 Minutes?

  • The GH3 should be a global model NTSC/ PAL switchable, I Specifically checked with B&H before I pre ordered for this reason. I am in Australia PAL... The B&H website lists NTSC/PAL in the video specs..

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/892456-REG/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GH3_Mirrorless_Digital.html

    I emailed B&H to verify and they confirmed that the GH3 is NTSC/ PAL switchable.. Will have to wait and see if this is the case obviously....

  • @truestory

    What makes you think that some guy at B&H has more information than someone else? The specs even on Panasonic's own webpage have been in constant flux.

  • @AKED yeah, agreed. I was ready to pull the trigger on the gh3 until I found out about this fact -- I still may as I like a lot of it (especially in a kit where you can get the 12-35 for basically 1/2 price) but lack of etc 1080p60 is really quite sad as I primarily do nature work and the ETC on the gh2 is truly a killer feature.

    That said, having look at 720p60 footage from the gh2 on a $5K OLED studio monitor and compared it to 3K red scarlet footage at 48fps, I can say the results are shockingly similar, and no contest that the gh2 at 720p beats the scarlet at 2k 60 fps.

    4k is another matter. Scarlet wins there no problem.

  • @JDN where you can get kit with 1/2 price lens? I think it is actually cheaper separate now.:)