Panasonic GH6 launches with a fresh design and excellent video quality
The new Panasonic LUMIX GH6 is finally here! It was teased almost a year ago alongside the launch of the GH5 Mark II. Now, Panasonic has announced its latest video-focused Micro Four Thirds camera, the Lumix GH6.
First off, I will be honest with you guys, the GH6 is the best mirrorless camera based on the MFT sensor so far. It’s on par with, if not slightly better than, those full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Highlighted features:
--5.7K/60p, 4K 60p at 800Mbps and 4K 120p HFR / FHD up to 300fps VFR video recording
--4 channel audio recording
--ProRes recording with two options: ProRes 422 and ProRes HQ up to 30fps
--Unlimited C4K/60p in 4:2:2 10-bit video recording
--4K120p (Equivalent to 4x slow motion), FHD maximum 300fps (Equivalent to 10x slow motion)
--100-megapixel high resolution photo mode
--Stabilization rated to 7.5EV with Body I.S and Dual I.S.2 lenses
--Enhanced DFD AF system, with a choice of human, face/eye, and Human/Animal detection
--High-speed stills burst mode up to 75fps
--Full V-Log/V-Gamut (not V-Log L)
This article is divided into two parts. First, we will introduce the new design of the GH6 and compare it with GH5M2, S5 and S1H. In the second part, we will focus on the GH6's video performance. You can learn about its latitude, autofocus, rolling shutter, sensitivity, stabilization and so on.
The update of the GH6’s recording formats, autofocus test and photo mode will be available soon.
Design and Handling
The GH6 weighs just 739g (without battery), and measures 138.4 x 100.3 x 99.6mm, which makes it only slightly wider than the GH5S and GH5 Mark II and heavier than the GH5S(660g).
The GH6 does have a bigger hand grip than that of the other two GH-series products.
(from right to left: GH5S、GH5 Mark II、GH6)
Compared with the full-frame S1H, the GH6 is very petite whether it be the size or the mount.
(Left: GH6 Right: S1H)
From front side, the GH6 looks a lot like the S1H. The red [REC] button is on the front of the camera that’s easy for left-handed operation. And around the button comes a raised design to prevent accidental press.
There are two new customizable buttons between the grip and the lens. The GH6 logo is engraved onto the left side, rather than beside the handle traditionally.
(GH6 and S1H)
GH6 has a new slightly larger hand grip. The body is somewhat thicker and the set-top warship department is squarer which is similar to the style of the S series bodies.
Compared to the previous GH series models, the GH6 has a larger dial on which a high-resolution option is newly added. In addition, it does have an additional button that, by default, is used to control audio.
(from right to left: GH5S、GH5 Mark II andGH6)
(fn buttons on the top plate)
The rear of the camera is somewhat alike to the full-frame S5. Also like the S1 and S1H, it features a Lock switch on the left shoulder of the camera, which can be set to lock whichever buttons you want to disable.
(Differences between GH6 and S5 from the positive perspective)
The LUMIX GH6 inherits a similar cooling fan system as the LUMIX S1H. As usual, the fan blows air across the back of a heat sink, and is mounted outside the camera's sealing so as to cool the camera body.
The Lumix GH6 features a 3-inch flip-out touchscreen, with a super-flexible design: not only does it flip and twist, it also tilts. This gives you greater scope for shooting at unusual angles.
The card slot is covered by pure-plastic material.
The GH6 hosts one SD slot and one CFExpress (Type B) slot to support better video recording. During shooting, we used Panasonic CFExpress(Type-B) card which is proved to be reliable. Note that only CFExpress can record the top-end compression codecs and bitrates on offer from the GH6.
Like previous models, the ports of the GH6 include a full-size HDMI output, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm microphone port, a 3.5mm line out for headphones, plus a cable adapter.
The GH6 uses the same DMW-BLK22 as the Panasonic S5. With 300mAh more than the DMW-BLF19, the DMW-BLK22 has a capacity of 2200mAh. It’s necessary to use the new battery to power up stronger stabilization, video recording and heat dissipation.
Lab Tests
001 LUMIX GH6 Latitude and Dynamic Range
Panasonic describes the GH6's Log mode as 'V-Log,' rather than 'V-Log L' which has been used on previous Micro Four Thirds models. We have shot dynamic range charts using V-Log mode and pushed back to base exposure in post for analysis.
Results:
Dynamic range: 8 stops of dynamic range (3 over to 5 under). At 4 stops over, some highlight details start to miss; At 5 stops over, a majority of highlight details lose.
Latitude: 7 stops of exposure latitude (3 over to 4 under). The loss of details is showing up at 4/5 stops over to a different degree. At 4 stops under, some noise starts to appear, but noise reduction can help to clean up the image. At 5 stops under and pushed back, noise becomes uncontrollable.
As a whole, the GH6 tends to protect the darker part of the image, and the performance in highlights is also sufficient.
The GH6 offers a new “dynamic range boost” mode. With the mode on, saturation-priority image generated from low ISO circuit and low noise image generated from high ISO circuit are synthesized at each pixel. The composite image achieves both low noise and high saturation, resulting in a clear and smooth HDR video with rich gradation.
With DR boost mode “ON”, there are two base ISO values (V-Log / HLG: ISO2000; other picture profiles: ISO800).
Results:
Dynamic range: With DR boost mode “ON”, it is on a level with 9 stops (4 over to 5 under), one more stop than before. At 5 stops over, only a part of highlight details lose.
Latitude: Since when DR boost mode “ON” the base ISO will increase, the SNR of the darker part of the image will be unsatisfactory. At 4 stops under, some noise is showing up. There is 7 stops of exposure latitude (4 over to 3 under). Compared with DR boost mode “OFF”, there is almost no change, just moved up a stop.
In summary, Dynamic range boost mode really works well and gives an additional stop of exposure latitude. It is more recommended to use in high light. Also ND or other related light equipment need to be applied in actual operation.
002 ISO Sensitive
Instead of Dual ISO, two constant ISO recordings are adopted.
Concerning the ISO sensitivity, the GH6 maintains a range of 100 to 12800(in all other picture profiles) and a range of 250 to 12800(in V-log), which can be extended to the range of 50 to 12800 and a range of 125 to 12800(Video) respectively.
We have tested and analyzed the ISO sensitivity of the GH6 in all other picture profiles.
From above, we can see that at 50 to 3200 ISO, the results are wonderful with better details and less noise. By 6400 ISO, the finest details are beginning to look a little mushy and some noise is showing up. By 12800 ISO, the picture looks poor with mushy details and a strong sprinkling of noise.
To sum up, without Dual ISO, the performance of the GH6 is just OK, but only up to 6400 ISO is available in video shooting.
003 Rolling shutter
After testing, we have found that the rolling shutter of the GH6 performs very well. There is almost no need to worry about the jelly effect that makes the picture unusable in real time.
004 Autofocus system
The GH6 has much improved autofocus by introducing a new sensor and AI-detection technology rather than by replacing DFD (Depth From Defocus) contrast AF system.
The DFD contrast AF system is proved to be effective for stills photography, but there are many video users who complain of ‘flutter’ during continuous AF. So we have tested its performance in video shooting, and the results are as follows.
Continuous AF performance
At normal exposure, we have placed a doll on the slide rail, and pushed the rail close to and away from the camera body at three speeds to test the focus tracking for video recording.
Slow-speed movement: When shooting slow-moving objects, there is subtle vibration on focus, but the overall focus tracking ability is excellent.
Normal-speed movement: There is obvious bellows phenomenon, but after the doll is stabilized, it can focus on the doll very quickly.
Fast-speed movement: The bellows phenomenon becomes more apparent, but it can refocus as the normal-speed movement without the loss of focus or vibration on focus.
Overall, when it comes to focus tracking performance at normal exposure, the GH6 is reliable in many cases, just avoiding shooting fast-moving objects as much as possible.
Focus changing performance (at normal exposure)
Then we tested the focus changing ability at normal exposure, with the AF speed at 0 to 5 stops to analyze.
The results showed that the GH6 can focus accurately and fast, and there is no vibration on focus or loss of focus at all.
However, AF speed becomes faster, the focusing at close range is less natural, especially when the AF speed is 3 to 5 stops. Therefore, It is recommended to keep the AF speed at 0 to 2 stops all the time to produce a better result.
Focus changing performance (in low light)
We tested its focus changing performance in low light (at normal exposure to 3-stops underexposure).
The results are great. The GH6 can focus accurately (1 under to 3 under). At 3 stops under, the focus becomes slower, but without vibration on focus or loss of focus.
Continuous AF tracking of humans (face, eye and body)
During the test, we set the "detection object" and turn on "autofocus detection".
We have found that the GH6 tends to focus on the center subject. When other people appear in front of the subject, the focus frame will change, but when the subject returns to the center again, the focus frame can also be very quickly switch to the subject.
When the human body detection AF is turned on, the GH6 can achieve very accurate face recognition focusing, and can achieve very reliable focus tracking for almost the face/eye of the subject.
005 Stabilization
The GH6 also includes improved image stabilization with 5-axis gyro stabilization which claims to offer an impressive 7.5 stops of stabilization. We chose to handhold the GH6, paired with 100mm focal length lens(equivalent to 200mm) for this test. The footage was shot when the stabilization mode was “OFF” or “ON”, and " Electronic Image Stabilizer " and " Enhanced Image Stabilizer " were turned on.
There is a big difference between turning off/on the stabilization mode. When the stabilization mode was “ON”, the hand-held image is stable enough to be used directly.
When the "Electronic Image Stabilizer" and "Enhanced Image Stabilizer" are turned on, the image will be slightly cropped, but a more stable result can be produced.
006 Slow Motion
When it comes to slow motion, GH6 also brings significant improvements. The following slow-motion modes are available: 4K 120fps and FHD 240fps HFR (High Frame Rate) video recording.
The GH6 can also achieve 4K 120 fps (equivalent to 4x slow motion) and FHD up to 300fps (equivalent to 10x slow motion) VFR (Variable Frame Rate) video recording. However, when shooting slow-motion videos, autofocus is not available, which can only be adjusted manually. If you want to shoot 4K 120fps slow-motion footage, the normal frame rate is recommended, and then you can adjust in the post production.
(4K 120 fps (equivalent to 4x slow motion))
(1080P 300fps (equivalent to 10x slow motion))
007 Shutter Pressure
The maximum pressure bearing capacity of the shutter could affect shooting processes due to probably accidental press. Thus, we have conducted 5 tests on the shutter pressure, and obtained the median value to judge the shutter pressure of the camera. After calculation, the average value of the five tests is 1.53N, relatively small. Therefore it can shoot effectively in burst mode, but it is also necessary to pay attention to accidental press.
008 Battery
The GH6 uses the same DMW-BLK22 as the Panasonic S5, with a capacity of 2200mAh.
We used the GH6 for continuous shooting at 4K 60fps 800Mbps, 5.7K Pro Res 422 HQ 1.9Gbps, and 4K 120fps 300Mbps. We have found that a single battery can support 2 to 2.5 hours of shooting, and in one-day shooting, we used three batteries.
Although the battery life of the GH6 is not very outstanding, a single battery can support enough shooting time even at high specifications. Our experiences, however, indicate a few more batteries needed to be on standby in outdoor shooting.
We also used a charging head that supports up to 65W fast charging directly to the camera to test its charging speed. Obviously, the charging speed of the GH6 in the off state can reach about 10.6W. And the battery takes 1 to 1.5h to be fully charged.
Overview
Overall, the GH6 seems not to be a successor of GH series, but a pioneer which integrates all strengths of its predecessors into one camera. It not only inherits a similar design to the S5, the continuous shooting and high pixels of the G9, the cooling system of the S1H, etc., but also the compact body and high performance of traditional GH series.
At the beginning of 2017, Panasonic officially released the GH5, which is the world's first mirrorless camera that can achieve internal 4K 60p 4:2:2 10bit recording, winning great popularity. Furthermore, manufactures in the industry have to respond quickly with rapid iteration of camera specifications.
The GH6 is a sign of the Panasonic’s determination to continue to develop in the field of video-centric camera. M43 could be anything in future!