Panasonic announced two new cameras this week the ZS200 America / TZ200 Europe which offers the worlds longest wide to super zoom range in a 1″ sensor form factor with a 24-360mm equivalent F3.3-6.4 lens and the larger sensor 4/3ds 20MP “Same as GH5″ Lumix GX9 which tops out at 60fps 1080p which we will not cover any further. We have a cut off of 120fps for slow-motion cameras. The ZS200, however, looks to be Panasonic’s answer to the excellent and full-featured RX series of cameras like the RX10 IV and RX100 V.
The main selling point of this camera is the appeal of carrying a 15X zoom in your pocket along with a 1″ sensor which beats most superzoom cameras that use tiny 1/1.8″ or 1/2.5” sensors. Panasonic is able to do this by extending the lens to almost 3 times the camera’s width footprint including lens ring which looks kind of ridiculous but is effective at contracting enough to fit on a large pocket. The image below shows only 3/4ths of the extension.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
As expected based on early comments of the slow motion mode on the GH5s, the camera has pronounced aliasing “seen in this video by Max Yuryev” and softness the higher the frame rate goes. Even at 120p it is less detailed than the standard GH5. It may be a function of supersampling in the higher megapixel 20MP GH5 vs the 10.2MP GH5s which is creating the new artifacts.
While the GH5s can shoot up to 192fps without cropping the sensor, anything above that up to 240fps it has a slight sensor crop which further decreases quality. While the VFR mode on the camera is better than most cameras in the price range that attempt the feat, it is of note that the quality instead of increasing or remaining the same as the sister model takes a hit which may kill it as an option for slow motion needs. We still believe the standard GH5 is the best Lumix option even when compared to the G9 in VFR mode.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
So the rumors proved to be accurate on the GH5s and now we have a low light version of the GH5 that can shoot cleanly up to ISO 12,800 with up to 100k ISO and by then a much noisier picture. It is claimed by Panasonic that there was a 1.5 stop improvement in noise performance. Judging by the initial video samples it is clear that the new 10.28MP sensor along with dual native ISO circuitry for each photosite “one at ISO 400” and “one at ISO 2400” make a huge performance leap if low light is desired in a m43 camera.
All is not rosy in Lumix land however as the camera now lacks IBIS or In Built Image Stabilization on the sensor which was a main selling point of both the GH5 and the G9. Panasonic claims that it was a decision made to cater to filmmakers that need no wobble or vibrations in a shot that can be produced when the stabilizer fails. But why not just add an On-Off switch? 1080p 240fps is also included in the camera but as initial samples show it reduces quality substantially.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Galaxy S8 is still fresh in the minds of people and while the flagship phone offers some very compelling design and performance, the now rumored Galaxy S9 which should be announced sometime in Q1 2018 “MWC Barcelona”, will offer a much faster processing pipeline for imaging, augmented reality and object recognition. All of these technologies increase the odds of higher framerates as a side-effect of the faster scanning modes needed for these features.
However, according to rumors, the Galaxy S9 is also going to use a new imaging sensor with built-in DRAM in the same package capable of 1000fps recording at some resolution. Will it be HD or Full HD? That remains to be seen but our money is more on the 720p spec as was demonstrated earlier this year in the Sony Xperia XZ series shooting 1000fps for the minute amount of time 0.27 seconds, proves that these types of specs on phones are still quite limited in recording time & resolution.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Panasonic EVA1 camera has started to ship to pre-order owners and some footage has started to show on the web. The camera seems to be very good at low ISOs and up to ISO 5000 it defends itself well. After that banding and heavy noise starts to become a problem. One thing to keep in mind is that the 5.7k sensor is intended to supersample for 4k to deliver unbelievable detail levels while having a detrimental effect on super high ISO. The dual native ISO settings of 800 on the low end and 2500 ISO on the high end help the camera achieve dependable noise free and extremely clean footage in those modes.
The camera can also shoot up to 240fps full HD and or 2k super slow motion video and use it’s improved sensor specs to reduce rolling shutter. The camera should be able to deliver excellent high frame rates in good light but it seems the slow-motion option offers lower quality in codec and also in noise control. We have no clue what is causing this but it is apparent from the samples that detail and quality take a hard hit in these modes.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Panasonic seems to be doing a lot of things right lately with their fantastic GH5 with 10 bit recording and 4k 60p for the first time in a mirrorless camera and of course the 180fps Full HD slow motion to boot. The just-announced Lumix G9 is a monster of a camera in its own right but Panasonic is right to segment it as a Stills first and video second machine.
The GH5 is the best video-centric portable camera in recent memory and the aim with the G9 is to go after the Sony a9 which is arguably the best stills camera ever conceived performance wise. The G9 is capable of shooting 60 RAW images in a single burst per second and while the buffer is only 50 RAWs worth; it becomes easily renewed thanks to dual card slots.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
