Posted by: George Hall
Pansonic’s next generation GH5 camera is set to ship by middle of 2017, and it’s interesting they announced it this early. The announcement was made yesterday at PhotoKina in Cologne.
One of the design features touted in the press release and presentation includes
“internal” 10 bit 4:2:2 recording in 4k
and up to 60fps according to whats being said. It will be interesting
to see how heat and battery life will be dealt with. Also Im guessing
the timing to ship is being linked to an (affordable) SD Card standard that can keep
up with this kind of data stream. It might be time to by that Pansonic YAGH you’ve been wanting.
There was no new discussion about chip technology in the GH5
Important is ….. as far as interchangeable lens camera’s, the only thing Panasonic
has that this competes against is their own Varicam, so they have
lots of elbow room to push the envelope wth this and not have to
encroach on that product line. SONY does not have that
luxury, so it kinda sorta boxes them in.
As an aside, Im waiting to see what Black Magic does with their pocket camera too.
My gut (for what its worth) is telling me that with HDR closing in, internal 10 bit recording at
4k is a new and significant sweet spot for cameras starting below $2,000. If
Panasonic can clean up V-log-L and squeeze in one more stop of Dynamic Range
over all and keep the price about where the GH4 was, It might represent the start
of a new wave. (even in camcorders)
Its time for this to happen, (affordable for the masses internal 10 bit 4k) and the sooner competitors
are driven to go in that direction the better. We will be standing in line next year to try the new GH5 out.
About the Author:
George Hall Founder/President of VideoSSC. He has over 30 years’ experience as a high technology engineering executive. With significant experience in high performance computing, Military electronics, IP networks and Video Broadcasting. Board member Public Television. An author and frequent guest on technology programs and panels. He holds a BA in mathematics from Hillsdale College.