Panasonic GH4 Review: A GH3 on steroids with 4K, high bitrate HD, 12fps burst and faster AF!
posted Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 3:44 PM EDT
We've just put the finishing touches on our Panasonic GH4 review, and boy, what a camera! Its predecessor, the GH3 earned heavy praise from us for its performance, especially with its video recording chops. And now with the GH4, Panasonic has taken the GH3 and made it even better: 4K resolutions, high bitrate Full HD, faster 12fps burst shooting and quicker autofocus system with their new DFD technology.
From the exterior, the Panasonic GH4 might not look all that much different than just a GH3 with a new badge, but the interior has undergone some serious revamping. The sensor, while keeping the same 16 megapixel resolution, has slightly improved dynamic range, and a new extended ISO of 100 is available. Other areas received a nice performance boost as well. Autofocus performance is excellent, especially when using Panasonic lenses, as the camera incorporates Panasonic's new DFD technology, and the GH4 now gets a 49-area AF grid (up from 23 on the GH3). And thanks in part to its new quad-core image processor, burst shooting and buffer performance is impressive: 12fps without continuous AF.
Of course, the GH4 is not just a stills camera, it's a hybrid. The GH3 made a huge splash in the HD-DSLR, or rather, "HD-DSLM" market, and the GH4 improved upon its already-impressive set of video features and image quality. The big story with video on the GH4 is, of course, 4K. Offering both Cinema 4K and Ultra HD/4K resolutions, the GH4 is ready, out of the box, for all your ultra-high-res video needs, and suffice it to say, video from the GH4 is amazing.
Of course, no camera is without its flaws, however in the case of the GH4, they are altogether quite minor. Ready to learn all about Panasonic's latest flagship mirrorless camera? Head on over to our Panasonic GH4 review, see how the GH4 handles with our Shooter's Report, or skip to the end for our final verdict and rundown of pros and cons. Is the GH4 going to earn a place in your camera bag?