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Panasonic DMC-GH1 12.1MP Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Camera with 1080p HD Video

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Product Description With the GH1, shooting incredible photos is only part of the fun. You can also shoot beautiful, richly detailed movies in Full HD at 24 frames per second, or smooth HD movies at 60 frames per second in AVCHD format with continuous auto focus.The GH1 gives you more creative freedom. It lets you adjust the aperture and shutter speed any way you like when shooting movies. Aperture control is convenient when there are several subjects at different distances and you want them each to stand out. Changing the shutter speed brings special effects to movies, which is especially effective when shooting fast-moving subjects. Creative movie mode gives you a wider range of expression to explore, and lets you shoot movies with full manual control.The GH1 also comes with the high-quality stereo sound of Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, the global standard for superior audio recording. The stereo microphone on the upper body records dynamic, true-to life stereo sounds that bring out all the power of your HD movies. Reviews I was looking for a camera to complement my already excellent Canon point and shoot compact camera. I wanted a longer zoom than the current 3x the Canon had, and I wanted more flexibility and performance in low light and night shooting (for indoor and travel pictures). However, I didn't want a big bulky DSLR and didn't want to lug a bunch of lenses around everywhere I went. After a lot of research, I settled on two alternatives - both Panasonic (GH1 and GF1). I really liked the GF1 due to its smaller overall size, however the lens zoom didn't really get me any further than what I already had. I was concerned however that the GH1 would be too big and complicated to operate. After settling on the GH1, I have to say not only is it easy to use and shoots great pictures, but its actually more compact than I thought it would be. This camera is very well built, and although it's pricey (I paid just under $1200 thru Amazon), I was willing to pay more for a camera that would have greater flexibility and long term usability. I was a little surprised at first that the zoom was manual (unlike compacts that have a motorized motion), but after using it I don't think you need it because you have to use two hands anyway to steady the camera at zoom length and it's very natural to hold the camera with one hand while resting the lens with the other in the palm of the hand and twisting to zoom. This camera is perfect for me and while expensive, you definitely get what you pay for. Pro's: Build quality, ease of use, portability, lens and zoom quality Negatives: Price (but should continue to come down) I bought the GH1 as a second camera to my larger Canon system, replacing a Canon S5 IS. It was a big jump price-wise but I wanted the improved video quality I'd been reading about. I've always had Canons, so getting this camera was a personal big deal. However, I have not been disappointed. Panasonic has done a very nice job designing the camera's controls and menus. The top right layout of controls is very, very nice. Everything I like to do easily available. No more hunting for that hidden menu for exposure bracketing or the timer. And after I got the hang of the Quick Menu options, I find I'm using them a lot: very well conceived and thought out. The two things I loved about the Canon S5 IS are also part of the GH1: the articulating LCD screen and the red button on the back to immediately activate video. However, the LCD screen is more reflective in bright sun than the Canon's, so I'm forced to use the viewfinder more than I like (perfectly fine in lower light situations, both outdoors and indoors). That viewfinder is taking some getting used to but after a couple of weeks of moderate use, I've got the hang of it. The video is exactly as I'd hoped. I'm amazed at its ability to maintain focus and exposure on moving subjects. I practiced at a dog park so the camera got a good workout: lots of quick movement towards and away from me and shifts from sun to shade. The camera adjusted quickly and silently. It is, however, too heavy for one-handed use (which I was able to do with the Canon S5 IS), so I'm having to adjust to two-handed video recording; of course, that's necessary anyway to adjust the zoom. Finally the camera feels substantial and well-made. We got this per some coworker's recommendation and it turned out exactly what he sold it as. It was great for what we wanted to do which was take HD videos of Antarctica marine life. Splendid! It's easy to use and there are lots and lots of functions to play around with and meet all your needs for a camera. I processed a raw file from my GH1 with Stepok's Raw Importer and found that the 28-280 mm lens is actually a semi-fisheye at the 28 mm setting. There was substantial barrel distortion, far more than I have ever seen on any normal lens. I was shooting raw + jpeg, and the jpeg looked fine, no significant distortion. My raw files processed with the provided Silkypix also look fine. The linear distortion was primarily on the far sides, left and right, where I happened to have straight lines. The center linearity looked good. So why am I worried? The point of the 4/3rds alliance was that lenses would be interchangeable between brands. The Lumix is obviously making major lens corrections internally for the jpegs and videos. Will camera brands be programmed to make corrections for brands other than their own? Will my Lumix make corrections for Olympus or Sigma lenses? Has anyone put this lens on an Olympus? What were the results? Silkypix knows the appropriate lens corrections and applies them based on the exif data. So I assume I would be able to take a raw file shot with an Olympus camera using my Lumix lens and get a corrected image. But Silkypix does not process jpegs. You can get other programs that will correct for chromatic aberration and geometric distortion. But that still leaves videos. It looks to me like I have a very expensive chunck of glass that may only be fully usable on a Lumix. And it is not as sharp as I expected. The GH1 uses a 14mp sensor to produce a 12mp image. This is ostensibly to allow for the different frame formats. But another reason is it needs extra coverage to allow for lens correction. Part of the edge image is sacrificed when reshaping it into a rectangle via computer. This has got to affect resolution in that area some. However, the end result looks remarkably good. There are only three size settings for images, with two compression levels each. At the 12mp low compression setting, jpeg files are 6 mb, while raw is 12 mb. I have settled on raw + 6 mp jpegs at low compression as my normal setting. The compression of these jpegs runs from 1.6 mb to 3 mb, which indicates intelligent compression. If I have a worthwhile image, I edit it raw. But the jpegs can be edited nicely, too. The jpegs are better than the raw files when shooting at iso 1600 or 3200. These raw files processed with Silkypix have far more noise than the camera's jpegs (if there is a setting to fix this, I haven't found it on Silkypix, which is a highly enigmatic program). The rear LCD and the EVF have excellent color reproduction, which I have discovered is more accurate than my laptop's LCD. But the camera boosts the live image, so it is of no value in adjusting exposure (I hope there is a setting somewhere to fix this, but haven't found it). The shutter is remarkably loud. No, it is not an electronic shutter simulation, but presumably a powerful solenoid. It sounds about as loud as an old film SLR. So much for candid street shooting. So you better be the one smiling when you take that picture. This is not the DSLR killer that some claim, not at this price. At this price and weight, you can get a pretty nice DSLR. Given the image quality of the 28 to 280 lens and the fact that it is a relatively slow F 4/5.8, it is over-priced.