A fake rendering of the GH3 made by our friends at E-P1/blog.livedoor (Click here)
The only thing we know about the GH3 is that 1) It is weather sealed 2) It will very likely arrive at Photokina in September. Now a new asian source sent me a list of specs of the GH3. I don’t know if these are real specs but I thought it’s good to post it here to see if my trusted anonymous sources can confirm and deny the spec list. And I am also curious to read your opinion about these specs:
Sensor: 15.5 mega-pixel sensor
Iso: Iso 160-12800, extends to 80-51200
Speed: 6.7fps
Body: Magnesium alloy body, weather sealed, thinner and lighter than GH2
LCD: 3.2″ ips, 1050k-dots, with capacitive touch screen (multi-touch depending on final setting in firmware). LCD tilt-able
EVF: new EVF with 2.06 mega-dots
Message for the anonymous source that send me this: Thanks for sending me the info. Sorry If I post it with a low rumor value but I had no chance to verify your info. Hope you will send me more details in future 🙂
In USA the GH2 now sells for $200 less than usual at Amazon (Click here). And thanks to the super hacking work from Vitaly you can enjoy a continual improvements. So the GH2 still remains a highly recommended camera particularly if you work a lot with video. I only hope those two nice X zoom lenses will arrive soon. No more prototype shows please Panasonic! 🙂
Panasonic GH2 shop links: [shopcountry 16254].
—-
Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct
189 Responses
what is a global shutter?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=global+shutter
strange no one has mentioned weather sealed lenses and adapter coming from Panasonic, unless Panny are expecting you to use Olympus….
are the upcoming { soon please !} Panasonic fast zooms not meant to be weather sealed ?
I *think* a global shutter is a fully digital shutter (i.e no need for a mechanical shutter) which reads all pixels *simultaneously*. Most (all?) current digital/electronic shutters read various pixels at slightly different time instances. Some advantages of a global shutter would be:
* no problems with shutter life span
* enables shorter shutter times, I assume
* quiet operation — no sound
* enables taking a sequence of picture samples in a *very* short time, and combining these (e.g averaging to reduce noise level, HDR, etc)
An example: the Nikon 1 has a max rate of 5 frames per second using the mechanical shutter, but allows 10-20 fps with the digital/electronic shutter. But I don’t think the Nikon 1 has a global shutter, so it cannot easily combine several images into one.
Yea that is not it.
@MJr: What is not it? The advantages, or my understanding of the global shutter?
Googling global shutter gives “To stop the action, the camera starts and stops exposure of all pixels in an array simultaneously, under electronic control.” This is precisely my description of a global shutter. When it comes to the *advantages*, I’m pretty sure my list gives valid advantages compared to a mechanical shutter.
Of course, there may be other advantages that are more important in video, etc. I’m not that interested in video myself. But there is an obvious advantage if one can take e.g. several images in short succession and combine them. That, of course, will not work well in poor light and moving subjects :-).
Removing the jello effect from video is a big advantage of global shutter
the main advantage of global shutter I think is it eliminates the ‘rolling shutter’ jello effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_shutter
I’m not sure if it has any relation to faster fps like in the Nikon 1 (which AFAIK does not have global shutter) or to HDR
Just making the sensor readout time faster can virtually eliminate the rolling shutter affect. The Nikon 1 series cameras do this and the GH3 will also.
The biggest advantage of an electronic global shutter is faster shutter speeds and no vibration for extremely long focal lengths(Think astrophotography).
The GH3 will not have a global shutter. They simply have not got the technology down to a consumer cost level in a 16 megapixel sensor size.
2 megapixels, yes. 16 megapixels, no. Panasonic will simply increase the sensor readout to 1/250th of a second or faster like Nikon did. The GH3 will still have a mechanical shutter unfortunately.
>Just making the sensor readout time faster can virtually eliminate the rolling shutter affect.
Hhmm… Are you sure about this? I thought that the problem was not just the readout speed, but also the fact that the mechanical shutter is not exposing all pixels at the exact same time (see some graph of how a shutter works to understand what I mean). So I think that no matter how fast you read out the data from the pixels, the problem won’t be solved as long as the information the pixels contain is not acquired at the exact same time.
Or maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know.
EDIT: I think the problem with the mechanical shutter can happen when shooting stills above the x-sync speed. When shooting video it’s the readout speed that matters (since the mechanical shutter is not used).
J1, in my opinion, is the ideal mirrorless csc camera. It’s only failing point is the lens offerings but that is made up for by its crop with Cmount lenses. I will still be using my GH2 though.
Global shutter and relationship to HDR: if you can take e.g. 3 or 5 images within 1/4000 s on a sunny day — with bracketing of exposure, you should be able to get some sort of HDR effect on pictures with both sunlight and shadow. The possible advantage of global shutter compared to rolling shutter is that all pixels are frozen at the same time instance. Perhaps not essential for very fast shutter speeds, though.
one more:
*no high sync speed limitation with flash
For me, the most important benefit of global shutter.
A lower (+ strange?) resolution sensor is quite unlikely.
I agree. I’m 101% sure that Pana will increase the pixel count.
They won’t increase the pixel count significantly. It doesn’t make sense. They have extremely sharp lenses and the sensors are pretty much maxed out already on pixel density.
No one is screaming for more megapixels. The only reason they increased it for the GH2 was to enable the ETC mode. 16-18 megapixels puts the ETC modes in the sweet spot(2.6x-4.8x). They don’t need to go any higher for now(Think 4K in about 3 years).
They simply have to expand the ISO limits and increase the dynamic range to stay up with the competition. Increasing the resolution adversely affects those two things.
Absolutely, after yesterdays introduction of nokia 808 with 41 mpx, everyone knows that it would be stupid to continue that race.
They can’t even race with cellphone lol.
Focus on important aspects as DR, noise, still and video controls, EVF, global shutter
@ Admin,
Wouldn’t be nice to have a post about discussing m43 and the new competition from phones like the nokia 808 and the likes?
It would be nice to discuss a bit the current trends in this forum..
I want to see some real image samples before to write something about the new Nokia. Right now it looks like this is a big marketing bluff. The 41 megapixel are not real, just an interpolation 🙂
Judging from the sample images floating around, the 41MP sensor seems real enough. If it is anything to write about on this website is again another story.
All “bayer sensor” pixels are there. Sensor size is just lot bigger than usually in phone cameras (and bigger than in many compacts) so pixels aren’t complete shitty.
Though they’re exactly as messy as in compacts of such tiny pixels and dynamic range is similarly small.
This shows quite black shadows even without picture having anything really bright in picture.
http://press.nokia.com/products/media/7415/photo/hanging-out-2-captured-with-nokia-808-pureview/
They are very real megapixels, and the full-size samples actually look surprisingly good given the smallish size of the sensor (smallish compared to any other sensor outputting even remotely similar megapixel numbers). The photos get *down*sampled in the phone to 8/5 MP photos in normal use, supposedly producing crisp & noise-free photos. Check out the whitepaper: http://europe.nokia.com/PRODUCT_METADATA_0/Products/Phones/8000-series/808/Nokia808PureView_Whitepaper.pdf
The is only 38 megapixel in phone so is in use, but interpolation down to 8 megapixel or 5 megapixel is only for better DR and IQ so i can look.
I had a look of this photo (http://press.nokia.com/products/media/7415/photo/hanging-out-2-captured-with-nokia-808-pureview/) in Photoshop and the settings are:
Shutter speed:1/213 sec
ISO: 58 (58?????????)
Aperture : f/2.4
Pixel Dimension: X=7152 Y=5368
…I don’t think they were lying….
I’m very interested in that camera ( and a bit in the phone part 🙂 ), but I don’t think it’s a topic for 43rumors. Mirrorless rumors, yes, but not here – Nokia doesn’t have anything to do with four thirds. Although, it would be interesting if they joined and made a phone with m4/3 mount :).
> The only reason they increased it for the GH2 was to enable the ETC mode.
No, they did it for marketing reasons. They even admitted that officially later when the GH2 was released.
No it was to enable ETC. That may have been a marketing reason. However, it enabled ETC in the range they wanted. That is why they did it.
some people think they need high mp, while they actually don’t
“No one is screaming for more megapixels”
Lol. Let me see… Nikon is wrong. Nokia is wrong. Sony is wrong. You are right. Okay… 🙂
BTW, I’m not saying that it would be a good step. But I’m sure that the next GH camera will have around 20mp. They need (or they think they need) to compate with the EVIL manufacturers.
You don’t need it, I don’t need it, but are others than us, you know that?
We shall see.
Trying to drive a marker is not the same as being right, even if all manufacturers are doing it. The costumer is always right!
Look at Fuji. They have made a large sensor fixed lens camera when everybody else (except for Canon and Nikon at a certain point) is making them interchangeable. Its bloody expensive but sells like hot cakes. Was Fuji wrong?
Nokia? Does it still exist? I have not been hearing about them for about a decade. Have they switched to making photo cameras after failing with their phones?
20 Mpix would be so stupid on m43…Even Nikon D4 has 16 Mpix, that must be a sufficient number ? I really hope they will stop at 16 Mpix and improove IQ (DR, noise, color range, etc…)
+1
They should focus on clean low ISO and DR.
He didn’t say there was never a need for more MP, only that no one was screaming for it. And no one is.
16 is plenty for general use. It will increase over time, but that doesn’t change the fact: No one is screaming for more MP in m4/3.
Pretty sure these ‘specs’ are BS.
Im liking the iso 80, everything looks good but “LCD tiltable” scares me, hopefully it will be similar to the gh1 and gh2, and NOT like the new OM-D!
If it’s not a fully articulating LCD I won’t be buying it.
specs seem plausible – but answer none of the questions that people interested in GH3 will have.
It reads like an alignment to the more classy OMD body, so the GH will not be perceived as cheap in comparison.
but the real issues lie elsewhere: upping video and IQ performance to continue to lead against the dslr’s for video.
Agee does seem plausible. The casing although functional, does need an update to compete. I have a feeling Panny have offered their new sensor tech to Oly first as the ISO is similar to EM5. However Panny will reserve features such as multi aspect for themselves. As for global shutter who knows. As a stills photographer I only want an electronic shutter which is different to global.
Why do we speculate on future products when the GH2 whith the right hack will do a broadcastable productions without problems.
I don’t like products myself that have very little improvements and then are changed a year later with more little features.
…because some people want a camera for stills rather than video.
Stills improvements can’t help but improve the video side of the cam, and vice-versa. The unique thing about the GH2 is that it rocks all around. The photos are great, the video is unbelievable. The cam as a whole is so unbelievable most people don’t trust the fanboys, but the fanboys have a reason for their loyalty and dedication, and in the GH2’s case a lot of them are pros. In the end the GH3 will surely trump the OM-D for stills and will surely trump the 5DmkIII for video.
I’m sure it trumps the OM-D for still, with a photokina deput in September and Panasonic announcement-to-market times an estimated market entry is early 2013, which is ~10 months after the OM-D.
yeah, i have no doubts, plus I don’t think that Oly got that sensor from no one, and the GH3 will have a NEW m4/3s sensor, just like the GH2 did and just like the GH1 did. GH sensors are not going to be found in cams by other manufacturers though, so even if Pana did make the OM-D sensor, it wouldn’t be their top of the line.
@Leu
probably true, but doesn’t mean the E-M 5 sensor isn’t a good one…
@Leu
the GH3 may trump the E-M5 for video in some respects and in some smaller respects for stills and vice versa, I think with these two models it’s about what is important to the shooter….
Because weather sealing is a major improvement for many. My GH2 died after making these video’s http://youtu.be/zSRpC3MfiM8 and during http://youtu.be/Cc2tNVrhAUA
The damage was clearly by the weather and salt sea water. A big thanks and thumbs up for Panasonic since they repaired GH2 within the warranty of the product without charging me anything.
GH2 is a great cam, I will try the hack soon. Weather sealing, better high iso performance and better DR as for stills would be welcome improvements as well.
Although an awesome camera, the GH2 still has significant jello issues. Faster sensor readout is right at the top of my want-list for the GH3.
Well, manufacturers have shareholders to answer to, so if a company isn’t offering anything new for the year, heads will roll.
Also, any camera company needs to roll out new products because their competitors certainly aren’t sitting still, even though the GH2 is still one heck of a camera in this day and age.
Finally, it’s Photokina year, so it will be a huge missed opportunity if Panasonic stuck to what it already has while other companies would be bringing out some new stuff.
Good! Lower pixeldensity and higher iso. I see it as panasonic goes for the highest IQ instead of more pixels.
15/16MP is enough. Give us clean iso 6400 and high dynamic range. Full HD/120p/60p would also be nice….
My first reaction to this was, it’s a wish list but now I’m not so sure. If it’s a wish list why would there be a 15.5MP sensor. It could be that they had to slightly lower the pixel count for a global shutter. (A global shutter is an electronic shutter that reads the whole sensor at once, not line by line as they currently do for video.)
Don’t believe a word. 😀
yes! finally some gh3 rumors.. I am totally interested in this little monster!
Me too, not everyone wants the retro styled body of the new Oly.
Finally a rumor and not some stupid boring same-old-same-old factual news. THANK YOU ADMIN!
I really hope the GH3 has global shutter. All other camera inovations of the year (@OLY) are nothing in comparison. High-rez LCD + High-rez EVF will be cool, but we will need something else too, like variable framerate control (1 through 60) like they had on old higher-end super 16mm cams. Beaulieu for example. A non-removable hand grip (like a pistol grip) so that it actual looks like an old 16mm cam. Oh, and don’t make it look like a camera either, make it look like a fucking handgun please.
5-axis IS seems a bit more substantial than nothing…
5 Axis IS will cause a plethora of hardware problems. Enjoy it.
Remains to be seen. Are you willing to eat crow if it doesn’t?
My first reaction was: The right technical direction for this cam.
The only point I do not agree is “thinner and lighter than GH2” This makes no sense in combination with the new (real heavy) prime lenses 12-35 and 35-100.
There must be a balance between lenses and Body. So the new GH3 body has not to be lighter.
If you have a heavy lens, hold under the lens with you left hand and camera with right hand. No problem, great balance!
– If you want to hold the camera with one hand only, do not buy heavy lenses.
Great common sense. 😉
+1
Yes, but 80 % do not seem to be able to grasp the concept …
Cheers
@believer
the 12-35 and 35-100 are not prime lenses. “Prime” may be a word people bandy around but it does have a meaning – one. I.e. single focal length.
He mean only vario prime, only true. 😉
The 12-35 and 35-100 are actually quite light because they are just mock-ups with hollow air inside of them. They may weigh more 2-5 years from now when they actually become readily available products.
> the new (real heavy) prime lenses 12-35 and 35-100.
Well zoom lenses cannot be prime, they are just like night and day.
Also they don’t necessarily be heavy if their max aperture is f/3.5 or less and variable, just like the 12-50.
Consider the fact that the OM-D with magnesium alloy body is about same weight of existing GH2 (+0.08 lb) and GH3 will not have heavy IBIS then slightly less weight for GH3 is quite believable. As for thinner body the OM-D is only 1.7″ compared to GH2 3″ so some trimming of the grip design for new body is also a given. We still do know if whether or not there will be optional add-on grip as does the OM-D. If left hand is used to craddle the lens handling of larger lenses on the camera shuld be fine.
Yeah ! You will get a GH3 in the shell of the G3 😉
If this is the “very high end” Pany talked about, it’s no revolution for sure! Sensor size is interesting or frustrating: I hope for a 3rd generation m43 sensor.
Can there be something behind the figure, something like the Fuji X-pro1?
Based on specs, this is a camera that (only just) levels with the Oly EM5. Better video but without built in IS?
About sensitivity: extendable to ISO 80″ do not mean better DR or anything else as we have seen on other cameras with similar feature.
Is this “something” thrown to us not to switch to EM5?
The biggest rumor about this camera is fully global shutter, which, if it comes, will be revolutionary as anyone who knows what that would mean has pointed out. Look at BLI’s comment at the top.
OK – global shutter is a revolution!
I think the “global shutter revolution” will be more of a quiet revolution…
…more important to select shooters and more important to Panny as less mechanical parts.
“thinner and lighter than GH2”
Exactly what people DON’T want from a GH. Great, Panasonic…
+1
Weight and height can stay as it is.. I don´t need to have superslim body like the ugly nex system and “heavy” lens there must be a nice balance..I think is allready there so no need to convert us GH shooters to G3 shooters,
If panny can make better specs in smaller body, then they should keep the GH1/2 proportions and increase the battery space! and please.. no oly style tiltable LCDs! WE LOVE ARTICULATED SCREENS!
> If panny can make better specs in smaller body, then they should keep the GH1/2 proportions and increase the battery space!
*Nod* Better battery life for a semi-pro/pro device would have been a very welcome IMO. And actually battery life was IIRC one of the most often sounded complains.
> and please.. no oly style tiltable LCDs! WE LOVE ARTICULATED SCREENS!
*Nod* Though I think it is a more of a NEX thing, than Oly’s. The whole idea of them trying to catch-up with the NEX-7’s lack of ergonomics is rather ludicrous. NEX’s design *can* disregard the lens size because duh Sony still has no lenses worthy of the NEX-7.
+2
If it is “tiltable” only, I will go with the OMD/EM-5.
PS: I also do not have to put with the crappy battery policy anymore. Good riddance!
Um, the E-M5 is “tiltable” only as well…
I know. At least it is a “tiltable” from a camera company and not a battery maker.
Panasonic make some awful nice cameras and lenses for a battery company.
The G1, GH-2. The end. It looks like.
8/3.5, 14/2.5, 20/1.7, 7-14, 14-45. Nice. Plus loads of dumbed down stuff.
I guess you are not so concerned about how such silly comments make you look like in the eyes of others.
If I have to pay 100 Euros for a spare battery, I do look silly. 🙁
Look, I skipped the G2 because I knew it was not worth its money. The GFs are of no use to me.
It would be interesting to see if the GH-3 introduces yet another battery. 😉
How much do you have to pay for an extra grip to look silly 😛
Unless they would offer a cheap grip a la E-M5.
But since the weather sealing is also part of the rumor, forget about it being cheap.
Bummer anyway one spins it.
The appeal of the GH series is limited by its dSLR styling. Any move to make the camera look more like the NEX7 or the OM-D (more rangefinder like in a smaller body) would be a step in the right direction. Bigger grips and more batteries can always be modular.
I agree, exactly what I don’t want. The GH3 would be better if it were slightly larger than the GH2 or failing that if it had the option on a properly styled power grip.
Sounds good to me! Good thing you don’t represent “everybody”
If the ergonomics stay excellent (could be the grip stays the same although the non-grip part of the body slims down a little), I won’t mind changes in height and weight.
I hop it will not have an capacitive touch screen………. then its not possible to use with gloves….
New generation capacitive touch screens can be used with gloves as well.
I really REALLY hope for a capacitive touch-screen. As great a camera as the GH-2 is, the touch-screen is JUNK imho. But then again I am spoiled by the iPhone and iPad.
Just get one of these:
http://www.smartouchgloves.com/
or of these
http://www.smartgloves-shop.de/content/start.aspx?s=107
You got me at 15.5
Any news on new Panny prime/s?
WHAT? They are getting rid of the swivel LCD????
Shame!
+1.
Non articulating LCD = less functional for video.
This is a hybrid camera after all.
Probably hard to keep it reliably weather-sealed if it is (dunno, just guessing). Anyway, there are third-party products that can solve that. I mean, it’s not ideal, but at least they’re there.
15.5mp sensor – Very interesting. 16mp is enough for me so the same resolution with a couple of years advancement in tech would be fantastic.
ISO – Would have liked to see a lower native ISO – 160 is annoyingly high for daylight long-exposures with the 7-14 (no ND filters…)
6.7fps – Ok, don’t care…
Mag-alloy, sealed body – fantastic 🙂
Thinner – less fantastic, I’m quite happy about the size of the GH2.
Higher-res, wider screen – fantastic 🙂
Capacitive – don’t care…
Tiltable – Really? What happened to tilt-swivel?
New high-res EVF – fantastic 🙂
> Sensor: 15.5 mega-pixel sensor
OK. MP race hopefully is over.
> LCD tilt-able
I do not like the trend. OK, I use swivel rarely on my E-620, but I use it precisely in the situation in which taking a shot is impossible in any other fashion. That makes the swivel rather a special irreplaceable feature. Sad to see it disappearing.
I think a combined touch screen and swivel maybe not good, but a smaller camera and large screen can i think also is reason to this.
I use mine all the time and can’t live without it.
ISO: 160 seems a little high to me, but it depends on how good the overall noise-supression is. I’d prefer to see it go as low as ISO 80 if possible, for extremely low-noise shooting.
Sensor resolution: 15.5 is fine with me. I’m quite happy at 12. I really want to see improvements in light gathering, noise-supression and dynamic range, rather than resolution. I’m holding out for a 3rd generation sensor to show up.
Display: the articulated swivel is one of the major features that sets Pany apart from the others. I find it incredibly practical and I use it just as much as the viewfinder. This should NOT go away. Oh please don’t go back to tilt. It’s useless when shooting vertical aspect.
Shutter: yeah I have no idea what a global shutter is and why I want one. But I can tell you that i find my G2 too noisy, it’s actually distracting, and reducing that loud “CLICK!” is fine with me.
Weight: should not be light just because it can be. You need a certain weight to cause comfortable inertia and helps to stabilize the camera when it’s hand-held. I don’t think anyone can dispute this.
All in all I see nothing “wow” with htis camera, and I don’t see why anyone would choose this over a regular G3.
Rangefinder style please !!!
Where is Pana’s contender against X Pro & NEX 7 ?
Such specs can’t be recognize under the words of very highend . Should be another one from pana if Leica come out it’s mirrorless system .
Just like Lux & TZ series !
According to that interview, Pana will also “show their intentions” with GX series during 2012.
WOAH WOAH. LCD TILTABLE?!?!?!
That’s is some total BS right there. Why would they take the fully articulating LCD away? That feature is a must have. Bottom line, especially for my style of shooting, if the LCD is tilt only, I will not be buying a GH3, no matter what improvements they’ve made. This is very very upsetting news. I have the Sony 5N as well, and the tilt screen is such a hassle, especially when you want to turn the camera onto yourself.
Gah, man, this is the worst news ever, I hope it’s downgraded to FT1.
Sounds like for a smaller camera, I’m all for it. I don’t need to point the camera at me and I can shot anything without a tilt or swivel screen. Bring on a smaller camera that can do good stills and video!
Megapixel race? Take a look here: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2012/02/d800-megapixels.html
agreed – tilt instead of swivel?, terrible idea. If they did ANY market-research at all, they’d know Pany users love that feature, it’s a major advantage over the competition and it makes the camera so versatile and comfortable to use. I saw the interview with Mr. Terada from Olympus, and when he said they didn’t put a swivel on the E-M5 because of “size” I laughed. Why lose so much functionality to save a few millimeters, or for the sake of “aesthetic design” – cameras are tools, not fashion accessories.
Maybe i’m the only one who hates articulating screens, i’m very thankful the omd has the tilt, it’s perfect!
“tilt instead of swivel?, terrible idea”
Are you saying that you’d prefer swivel over tilt? Isn’t it that a flexible-use LCD should have both? If it’s swivel-only, I don’t see how much use that is aside from shooting self-portraits or possibly holding the attention of kids while shooting them.
If I’m picking one over the other, I’d rather have the tilt.
@Vivek
” I don’t see how much use that is aside from shooting self-portraits or possibly holding the attention of kids while shooting them.”
when I’m out with the kids I’ll be taking the GH1 and not the E-M5 it’s also good for self portraits with your kids…
…and reporters shooting their own reports as well as extreme angles
have fun mounting that on a tripod and flipping it to vertical position :/
> cameras are tools, not fashion accessories.
I think Olympus strategy is deliberately targeting those looking at fashionable looking items hence the bling bling factor.
http://www.43rumors.com/is-the-e-pl3-a-camera-for-girls/
bah, 36 megapixels is so *last week*
my new phone has more than that
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/27/symbian_808_pureview/
“Thiner and lighter than GH2”
– I want a camera to shoot. When i want to have a small cam, i´ll buy a GX1….
I hope the GH2 will have a better grip than the GH2 and a optionally battery grip.
About size: Pany has GH2 and G3 larger and smaller. Larger should mean better ergonomy. It seems some of those tested the Fuji X-pro1 felt the size contributed to very good ergonomy. I have a G3 (had GF1 and EP1 earlier). They are a bit too small for good ergonomy and “unintentional change of settings even if the Pany’s are better than the horrible EP1 that changed settings while walking with the camera abound my neck.
I miss the DSLR excellent ergonomy (but I don’t miss the weight 🙂 )
So “thinner and smaller” may not be good news. Keeping the size, improve ergonomy and make battery more efficient would be better.
> Larger should mean better ergonomy. It seems some of those tested the Fuji X-pro1 felt the size contributed to very good ergonomy.
Don’t often agree with you (and about blessing of retro brick styling) but unless designer screwed up completely bigger size helps with ergonomy.
Human hand size simply sets limits for ergonomic size.
And GH2 is already below cheapest entry level DSLRs in ergonomy thanks to its tiny grip and all rear space eating oversize TV screen so making body smaller while still increasing size of screen is sign of plain Point&Shoot brand.
Or are they making room for higher end body?
Real 1:1 multi-aspect crop, please!!
If this true we talk about over 20mpx, on total.
tilt-able LCD no swivel then….it’s a drawback albeit it’s using IPS and multi touch screen…. hoping it will multi touch AF
These are the minimum specifications the GH3 has to have to keep up with the competition. The rumor doesn’t say much about the sensor other than the increased sensitivity range and that it has a similar pixel density. I think Panasonic understands that they have to take a major step forward in terms of image quality. Otherwise they’ll lose ground in the market. Likely Panasonic will exploit the advantages of a global shutter to improve image quality.
All the other specifications are reasonable assumptions given the cameras the GH3 would have to compete against. You would expect that they’ll upgrade their plasticity, first generation body (essentially unchanged from the G1). Given Sony’s high resolution EVF and LCD, you’d also expect the top of the line GH3 to be the first Panasonic MFT camera sporting a new generation of screens.
Whether the rumor is true or not, the specifications are certainly plausible. This is the minimum that Panasonic would have to bring to the table in order to remain competitive.
+10 That makes perfect sense.
It’s a little early for people to start downing proverbial bottles of pills and slitting their wrists over “missing features. 😉
I just hope the build-up before the official GH3 announcement doesn’t turn into the idiotic frenzy over the OMD. Although, Olympus M4/3 and the PEN line-up had a lot more shortcomings and a lot more to make up for than the GH Series does.
A Sony Bloggie Touch HD can shoot better video than a GH2.
Nokia phone shoot better than any $orry crap
If those are your results, then it says a lot more about your ability to use a GH2 than it does about the camera.
+1
Lets see… Guy makes dickish comment about something he obviously knows jack shit about and when all evidence proves otherwise… red user.
I dont care about more megapixels and I dont care about faster frames per second.
How can anyone care about all these when it is so easy to blow the highlights???
Fix the dynamic range first. Like I would want to go to 40MP when the photo looks like crap because there was a window in my frame.
How can it be ‘lighter and thinner’ yet made of magnesium alloy when GH2 is made of plastic…….6.7Fps does not seen THAT fast, and tilt-able screen? dont think so, I could of made up better specs myself!
The is a heavy steel frame in GH2, under plastic.
I’m sure this will best the new OM-D when it comes to video but I bet the Olympus will remain head of the class when it comes to the stills side of things.
I’d be perfectly happy with a tilt-only screen if you could flip it entirely over to protect the screen when not in use.
If the screen isn’t fully articulating that will be the end of my association with Panny. So far had GH1 and GH2 and loved them both. I’d like to continue with a GH3 . . .
1080P @ 60FPS, 720P @ 120FPS, peaking, built-in ND, 4:2:2 color, clean ISO6400-12800 combined with legendary video processing in a weather-sealed body = winner. All other tweaks would be gravy and unnecessary for obtaining improved images (except global shutter). Chasing a smaller form factor is a loser IMO, save that goal for a G4 or GX2 that doesn’t require securely mounting heavier glass.
If I was a stills guy, I’d have already pre-ordered the E-M5 and would not bother waiting for the GH3 to show up. Oly really seems to have hit the mark with the OM-D.
@Epiphany…I think 1080P@60FPS & 720P@120FPS would be awesome!
Also would like to see variable 1-60 FPS, alongside 24/25/30FPS.
Couldn’t Panny “lift” some tech from the AG-AF100? (twin SD slots)
Can’t someone make a “Bolex Killer” in 2012?
Dual SD when 64 Gig sd cards exist? seriously?
Yes, seriously.
Consider shooting 1080P@60FPS (when that’s feasible) for extended durations…You’re gonna want two 64’s riding tandem, believe me!
@Leu
for photo you would be able to shoot jpeg to one card and raw to another, or both as duplicate for back up…
for video you could have video going to both cards to speed up work flow…
Yeah I suppose you’re both right, I have never used the AF 100 so I’m not sure of the advantages besides that more storage is always better. I personally would like a laptop with a hot-swappable HDD slot, and the Ikonskop A Cam to compliment it. imagine that workflow. Workflow heaven.
And here we go again… Still getting myself back together from the OM-D rumour rollercoaster!
Sensor: Maybe around 16mpix is what m43 can take (sweet spot). Checked pixel density:
G3 7100 pix/mm2
NEX-7 6500 pix/mm2
D800 4200 pix/mm2
X-pro1 4300 pix/mm2
Increasing with just 10% would mean double density vs D800/X-pro1 and maybe impossible to hold up IQ. Most likely ther will be a bunch of APS-C cameras with 24 mpix like Nex-7 and the realistic target for m43 is to have the same pixel to pixel quality as those. We cannot expect/hope for more.
Diffraction is the great problem for high dissolution for better IQ, not pixel size.
Diffraction has to do with aperture opening, smaller means diffraction. Theoretically it kicks in at 8,9 for D800.
Diffraction is because when light passes through a narrow gap, light “bends” oround the corner.
To test go into a dark room, narrow the door to outer (lit) room. At a certain point you will see this phenomena.
Yes but if we have had 36mpx sensor in a FT camera will we few diffraction from F4 maybe before. I think Olympus or Panasonic will not go up to highs dissolution and go down on DR in future.
Look back ten year on E-1, and now to in day on E-M5, so this absolute more better at all.
Can somebody check the pixel density of d700 and 5d classic?
I’ll buy GH3 if specs will become true!!! OMG, it is coooooool!!!!
I don’t really care about the specs. What I do care about is if Panasonic is going to package the GH3 in a retro body (maybe like a Kodak Brownie Instamatic) AND if they are going to release little picture-puzzle pieces of the camera before the announcement……..If they do, then I will buy it! 🙂
I prefer papercraft personally. I remember Canon making papercrafts for their 5D Mk II when it was still new and they used those as part of their marketing. I think I still have one here unassembled. 🙂
“Body: Magnesium alloy body, weather sealed, thinner and lighter than GH2”
sound like impossible
+1
I would regard it as a big step forward if Panasonic gave us a lower minimum ISO in an attempt to maximise the IQ. At least it shows that they realise that not all of us are obsessed with the high ISO performance. Handling of a wider dynamic range and reduction of noise in dark areas of the image are the improvements I would be most keen on.
I too would be surprised if the MP count was not increased. However, the Nikon D4 offers around 16MP and also has a minimum of 50 ISO in the extended range. There does seem to be a demand from some photographers for low values of ISO. Panasonic may be thinking that anybody spending around £1000 on a camera will probably be looking carefully at the IQ, rather than just being impressed by big numbers.
For me, weather sealing and a quieter shutter are not absolute essentials, but would be very useful. On some occasions when I have been taking close up photographs, the subject can be seen to be flying or running off in the photograph and has obviously been spooked by the sound of my G2’s shutter.
The Global Shutter is all I’ve been waiting for. That makes the difference in a camera suitable for video shooting.
So, dear Panasonic you’d better put a global shutter on that bloody sensor, ok? 🙂
With Panasonic I’m still in “I believe when I see it” mode.
I still think you could do a whole lot of awesome performance with 12MP, better buffer, etc. It’d be nice if they could come up with global shutter, but it seems unlikely. But tiltable screen? I prefer a swivel one much more.
Panasonic’s pictures doesn’t look as gorgeous as the ones from Olympus, at least in JPEG, I wish they can make it more attractive since I already expect some good video quality from them, can they raise the bar higher?
I am generally ok with the feature lest, except that I don’t want a lighter and slimmer body. It should not be a body like the G3! I want the GH2 to keep its present qualities: a good grip, lots of analogish controls, and a large view finder. I want them keeping the eye sensor too.
If Panasonic makes the view finder smaller, cancels some of the GH2’s external controls, and omits the eye sensor, my next camera (unless I stay with the GH2) will be the EM-5.
If it has a fully working Global Shutter, with half decent software support it will be a completely different camera then the GH2, for that mater any camera. The potential advantages of global shutter is that it is not just a replacement for the electronic mechanical shutter, but that it can expose different parts of the picture differently for stills.
Now combine that with a sensor that uses one point for all colors on a mFT camera which triples the potential density like the “Foveon” then diffraction will not set in till you have triple more pixel density. Just about everyone is working on that type of sensor. It will be expensive probably at first.
Later benefits for Olympus, will be smaller IBS systems, as I think it has to be lighter then a mechanical shutter.
> Now combine that with a sensor that uses one point for all colors on a mFT camera which triples the potential density like the “Foveon” then diffraction will not set in till you have triple more pixel density.
Full RGB pixels of any type (vertically stacked Foveon or subpixels) don’t have any effect to diffraction to allow bigger pixel density.
It only allows every pixel to capture full RGB information rising effective resolution to pixel count (bayer CFA sensor’s colour resolution is lower) and boosts sensitivity by avoiding need to filter away wrong colour light. (different colours of light hitting to pixel are guided to their own subpixels)
Stop blueballing us and give us an Active Shutter already
await this camera, i can do everythink like pro photographer
5k stills 4k video my goal is gh3 like a red scarlet but cheaper..one day maybe..
5k stills and 4k video is easy. but are you ready to drag around a string of batteries that runs the camera for 20min each? That’s how long the Red Scarlet battery gives you.
You cannot get over the basic rules of physics in one night. Each camera to its own usage.
“thinner and lighter than GH2”.
It would be more interesting of the GH3 would be thinner and lighter than G3!!!
No, no! There are already too many small cameras you can choose from. The GH3 should simply retain the size and control layout from the GH2. Why should they change the best camera design currently existing in mirrorless cameras?
I hope that Panasonic does not wreck it.
Best camera design? You mean they came up with the dslr design? Why people love form over function beats me, oh look at me with my fake dslr design camera I’m a pro.
If anything its gripless retro brick which is look over function.
And as I recall there in recent thread quite of few were complaining about look of surface texture in black E-M5 which kinda tells what many retro people give top priorities.
Though with GH2’s fully substandard size grip EM-5 with landscape grip is surely more ergonomic to keep in hand.
Panasonic lcd patent found in Photorumors (thought I read it on 43rumors.com 🙁 )
http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2011-06-24
Maybe this is the new lcd on gh3 😉
Nice patent from Panasonic, but look also a new Nikon patent in body “IS” also. 😀
Thanks for the link for this lcd patent which enables a fully articulating screen to also tilt from the bottom as well as swing from the side. If the spec rumor is for tilting LCD maybe it is this kind that does both? I hope so. Very interesting but would be more complicated and potential maintenance problems. I like the existing articulated screens.
There are two reasons why I have not pre-ordered the Olympus EM-5:
1. I want to see if they update the E-5 first. That camera needs updating more so than anything else in Olympus’ line-up. I could use an E-7 more than an E-M5.
2. I want to see what Lumix does with the GH3.
There are two ways Panasonic can go with the GH3:
1. Minimal, incremental improvements in most areas, but styled more like a G3. In other words, the GH3 will be slightly dumbed-down, to make room for a new, top-end “pro spec” camera that will take the place of the GH series on top of Panasonic’s pyramid.
2. They can make the GH3 a true competitor to the E-M5, and even trounce it in a few areas, like video quality and the multi-aspect sensor (which I think will be 18mp, not 15.5.) So it will be an all-new body, taking styling queues from the 1970’s era SLR’s, but being significantly ruggedized for real professional use.
It will be interesting to see what happens…
– Olympius
Thank you admin for publishing this rumor of preliminary specs for the new GH3.
The large 3.2″ LCD screen makes it likely the GH3 will be a metal body in DSLR form maybe like that of the OM-D but with inbody flash. I too would have much preferred keeping the fully articulating screen but as many on this forum keep clamoring for a tilt screen, I think Pany is doing this to get larger or wider screen ie 3.2″ in 16:9 and cost less to produce. It also makes it likely that there will be a rangefinder style model ie GX2 or GP1 with a smaller swivel screen. The increased resolution for both the EVF and LCD look very promising and Pany did mention their emphasis would be on improving the IQ so we see lower ISO start and maybe no increase in MP? I would assume increased video capability and surprised not mentioned in the spec list?
While the fake photo caption says Global Shutter there is no mention of it in the specs and the 6.7 fps does not suggest it is there. All the more reason to suspect that the real high end camera with be in rangefinder form with swivel screen and global shutter? If built like the their patent of a couple years ago this high end camera would be chunkier and allow space for a bigger battery.
Global shutter? YES
But still that ugly fake pentaprism bump? WHY?
The is many woman so have silicon in bubs also, WHY 😀
But this GH3 image is only fake, the be a total new body.
I guess global shutter is a Gh4 exclusive in 2014
Not much exciting stuff in those specs.
The timing for this quite detailed spec rumor so far in advance of the suggested arrival in late fall seems suspect if true? I think this rumored GH3 is in effect the GX2 model that will emerge just in time for the summer Olympics debuting with the two new fast also weatherproofed Xlenses? For all we know it might even have the same processor that is in the OM-D.
In a recent interview a Pany spokesman said in 2012 the GX and GH models would be better identified as quality products. Perhaps this was a clue that the GH3 would actually be built from the GX1 body with built-in EVF in the middle? All the spec improvements mentioned seem possible in this body and the upgraded higher resolution EVF as well as tilt LCD would be a logical upgrade from the GX1. As for processor I think Pany would be willing to share the new sensor for economy of scale to reduce costs and certainly the fast Xlenses would also be a good match for the OM-D.
Such a development seems more logical to me than the cost of producing an all new body for the GH3.
This leak maps perfectly to a “GX2” and not the new GH3.
Every feature suggests a higher spec GX1 follow-up that’s focused on image quality rather than hybrid still/video GH2.
—15.5 MP > GX1 16.0
—ISO 160-12800 / 80-51200 > GX1 160-12800.
—Speed: 6.7fps > GX1 4FPS
—Magnesium alloy body, weather sealed, thinner and lighter than GH2 > Describes the size of the GX1 but with weather sealing that pros love.
—3.2″ ips, 1050k-dots, with capacitive touch screen (multi-touch depending on final setting in firmware). > GX1’s 3.0 screen 460k-dots resistive screen.
—LCD tilt-able > Fixed LCD on GX1
—EVF: new EVF with 2.06 mega-dots > Add on VF2
This sets up Panny’s product line to map just like so…
Entry -> Enthusiast
LX5 -> GF3 – Compact
GX1 -> GX2 – Rangefinder, Stills focused
G3 -> GH2/GH3 – DSLR, Video focused
@DAEMANO
true..
+1
I also think that this is GX2 specs because panny will announce something that will compete with EM-5
and later when E-7 will come also the GH3 will
Up grad after six month, and build in EVF so is 2,06 mega pixel in a GX size body!. I will say hardly!
A other thing is first GH2 rumors, come February or Mars 2010, be and advertise september same year.
Very good news and if Pany is to have this GX2 ready in time for Olympics we should see it announced by early April which is only a month away!
The advantages this GX2 if specified as rumored would be higher resolution EVF and possibly greater magnification, larger higher resolution ips screen, and a pro rated shutter compared to OM-D. The GX2 would have an inbody flash and likely the hump would be less pronouned, just my guesses.
Both OM-D and this GX2 would have their special advantages with OM-D with advanced IBIS but a more durable shutter will set the GX2 apart as a real pro model as compared to the versatile features for auxilary equipment but less durable shutter in the OM-D? Good to have such excellent choices.
I’m noticing that recently came out with a lot of compacts with FullHD 60fps 28Mbps video, with LCD screens up to 1M points.
I would say that would even now be presented the GH3.
At this point I think that the claims should be high, considering the ability of performing “compacts”.
I wish they’d give us a full sensor crop mode! i know that m43 lenses wouldn’t cover, but a lot of us use 35mm lenses which would! it’d be so nice to be granted access to the full sensor, seeing as we bought it and take photos with it!!! we have the right to use all those pixels if we want! surely they could market it as multi-aspect-ratio-raw-mode or something where you select your aspect ratio in post?
“The only thing we know about the GH3 is that 1) It is weather sealed 2) It will very likely arrive at Photokina in September. ”
Really? REALLY!?
The truth is we don’t even know that. You’re assuming it will be weather sealed just because the OMD is, and you’re just guessing about the date. We actually *know* nothing.
And FT2? A rumor from an anonymous source, and you give it an FT2? Please.
It will almost certainly be weather sealed as Panny’s new X lenses already are.
“Almost Certainly” is not the same as “we know” by a long shot.
Aside from that, there’s no firm information that the lenses are weatherproof, either. That’s also a rumor.
So you’re basing a “fact” on a rumor, with not real information to support either.
My Wishlist for GH3:
Some of my wishlist may be unrealistic or against other’s opinions but whatever
1) Larger, metal body with more solid, weather and dust resistant sealing. It feels too much like a cheap toy right now.
2) Larger LCD, swivel screen similar to 60d/600D.
3) Probably crazy here but I want a larger sensor. A APS-C sized sensor combined with the GH2’s power will be unstoppable.
4) Better lowlight, less artifacts, noise, moire, and aliasing.
5 REGULAR 3.5MM MIC JACK. I use an XLR adapter from Juicedlink, and it’ll be hell having an adapter for the 1/8 to 3.5, and then 3.5 to XLR.
6) Re-done menus that are more user-friendly and easier to use. Its a pain with the GH2.
I will not buy if the screen is tilt-only or it doesn’t have a proper mic input.
What do you guys think?
for wedding and documnetary I don t know if buy now a gh2 with 14 140 or whait september the gh3
whath you suggest me.
thank you very much
I think there are many very good suggestions
but will Panasonic listen
I’d like a manual super zoom
like on the FZ50