Panasonic Lumix GH1 Digital Camera Review

The Micro Four Thirds format, jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic, is designed to allow interchangeable-lens cameras without the traditional SLR mirror system that lets you see out of the lens you're shooting with. Instead, Micro Four Thirds cameras work more like point-and-shoots, with the scene you're seeing displayed on the LCD screen as you line up your shots. No mirror means a smaller camera, at least in the depth department, and a smaller lens format also promises size savings.

When the first Micro Four Thirds camera, Panasonic's Lumix G1 was released last year, though, it really wasn't that "micro" – just a hair smaller than many traditional SLRs. It did have one breakthrough feature that made it stand out from the crowd. The G1 can autofocus on fast-moving subjects while shooting with the LCD screen, a feat no Live View SLR has accomplished. Something was missing from the G1, though; it couldn't shoot video at all. With the Lumix GH1 Panasonic delivers the goods on that front, with the best video recording we've seen on any interchangeable lens camera to date. This is a pricey package at $1499.99, largely because of the extraordinary 40-140mm lens, specially designed to be whisper quiet when focusing. Why does that matter? Because the camera can continually autofocus while shooting video, a basic camcorder capability that's been naggingly lacking in video-enabled SLRs to date.

If you're not interested in shooting video, there's basically no reason to buy the GH1. The G1 is essentially identical in shape, size and still image features, including 12-megapixel resolution, and sells for $800 (albeit with a lesser lens). However, if an all-in-one device appeals to you, the GH1 won't disappoint. While our still image testing wasn't a home run, the results were still respectable. And on the video side, in addition to continuous autofocus, there's manual control over aperture, shutter speed and image parameters you won't find elsewhere, providing the freedom to achieve a range of creative effects (or, if you prefer, you can just point and shoot with solid results).

The GH1 offers both a nice 3-inch LCD with enhanced 460,000-dot resolution plus an electronic viewfinder if you prefer holding the camera to your eye (handy on bright days, and to steady the camera). The LCD is mounted on a side hinge, so it pivots away from the camera body and rotates up and down. This is great for shooting at odd angles, and we also found it helpful in video mode for reducing camera shake. There's HDMI output for connecting directly to an HDTV (useful for both videos and stills), and a port for connecting an external microphone. One caveat about the Micro Four Thirds format: you won't find the wide assortment of lenses available for traditional SLRs. You'll get a lot of mileage out of the kit 14-140mm lens, though (equivalent to a 28-280mm in 35mm photography).

Performance (read in-depth performance coverage at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
Our lab testing for still image quality came out a mixed bag. Sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberration were all impressive, but color accuracy and white balance were underwhelming, and there was more image noise than we like to see. Micro Four Thirds and Four Thirds format cameras both use a smaller sensor than traditional digital SLRs, which generally leads to an image noise problem as many megapixels are crammed into little space. As for continuous shooting speed, the GH1 clocked in at a relatively slow 3 frames per second

When it comes to video performance, the experts at our sister site CamcorderInfo.com proclaimed the GH1 "the first DSLR camera to really impress us with its video performance." Their testing revealed first-rate image quality, which combined with the choice of AVCHD and Motion JPEG video recording at up to a full 1080p resolution made them GH1 fans.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
For head-to-head comparison purposes we chose the only sub-$1000 SLRs with video capability to date, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon T1i, along with the more expensive video-enabled Nikon D90 and the Four Thirds format Olympus E-30, which can't shoot video but uses the same size sensor as the GH1.

The Olympus, priced at nearly $1300 without a lens, has a hinged LCD similar to the GH1, and a lot of fun creative features including extensive digital filters and editing options. Resolution, color accuracy and continuous shooting speed testing all favor the Olympus over the Panasonic, but overall the combination of snappy autofocus performance and exceptional video recording makes the GH1 a better investment.

Between the Canon T1i and Nikon D5000, we feel the Canon has the edge in video recording quality, while the Nikon shoots better still images. When compared to the Panasonic GH1, though, the T1i is far less appealing from a video perspective, shooting full 1080p resolution only at a significantly reduced 20 frames per second that impedes smooth motion capture. The T1i also has significant problems with still image sharpness. As for the D5000, it too has sharpness issues, just not as severe as the T1i. The Nikon offers a hinged LCD, though we preferred the Panasonic screen.And the Nikon video mode is limited to 720p and minutes per clip, with none of the manual controls offered by the GH1.

As for the Nikon D90, priced at $1000 without a lens, it offers the same 720p video capability as the D5000, with the same 5 minute maximum clip length. For still photography, though, the Nikon D90 is a far stronger camera than the Panasonic GH1, with superior results in nearly every image quality lab test we run, coupled with sophisticated manual controls and rugged body construction.

For a more in-depth review, visit the Panasonic DMC-GH1 Review at our partner DigitalCameraInfo.com