Pansonic’s newest Four Thirds DSLR – commercially aimed at both amateur & advanced photographers – was recently announced and it features a few bells & whistles not found in the previous G1 model.
New for this incarnation, the GH1 incorporates FullHD video-recording capability which allows you to record high-resolution FullHD (1,920 by 1080p) video at 24 fps or smooth HD video (1,280 by 720p) at 60 fps using the AVCHD format (MPEG-4/H.264). This effectively doubles recording time in HD mode compared to Motion JPEG. And a dedicated video-record button allows you to keep shooting video even while you’re capturing still photos.
Another feature unique to this model is the Lumix G Vario 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH/MEGA OIS lens (that’s included as part of the kit) featuring silent motor and continuous AF capability in a design specifically for HD movie recording. This, combined with the stereo mic featuring Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, allows you to record seriously high quality audio.
The 12.1-megapixel DSLR features all of the manual functionality & creative control desired by more advanced users, while one of Pansonic’s popular point-and-shoot features – iA (Intelligent Auto) mode enables fully automatic control of the camera settings – allows great photo capturing capability for those nearer the amateur end of the photography spectrum.