Gadgets.ndtv (Click here) posted a new set of the ready to be announced Panasonic GF5 camera. And here the specs:
Resolution: 12 Megapixels
Sensor: micro four thirds
ISO: 160-6400 (expandable to 12800)
Burst Speed: 4fps
Video: AVCHD/MP4 (FullHD)
Microphone: Stereo
LCD: 3-inch TFT LCD (921K Dot)
Ports: TV/Digital Out and Mini HDMI
As you know that camera is going to be announced on Thursday April 5th! Be sure to be online at 43rumors as I will follow live the announcement and keep you up to date with all latest news and reviews. I am still not sure yet but I guess the camera will be announced at 6-7am London time.
Automatic message to Panasonic: Make a Micro Four Thirds [shoplink 23692 ebay]Lumix DMC-L1[/shoplink]…make a Micro Four Thirds [shoplink 23692 ebay]Lumix DMC-L1[/shoplink]…make a Micro Four Thirds [shoplink 23692 ebay]Lumix DMC-L1[/shoplink] 🙂
Click on the pictures below to enlarge the image:
78 Responses
Looking at those specs?…. Big deal.
It is a big deal, when you realise how much better it is than the models of two/ three years ago.
As an entry level CSC, with the X Zoom or the 14mm pancake, it’s a very practical little camera, with IQ way above any compact.
It’s a very boring camera- especially in light of the REAL innovations we are now seeing from Olympus. People should just go ahead and get the GF3 if they love this camera. It’ll be far cheaper and just as good. I don’t think too many are going to get excited about this one. Maybe there will be some fantastic improvements over the GF3 that I haven’t heard about.
I agree it’s a cool little camera with pancakes on it. If I already had a GF3 I doubt I’d upgrade though. But maybe it will represent a real improvement over the GF3. I just get annoyed with camera companies constantly putting out new models that are barely upgrades.
The LCD is a major milestone for panny crappy LCDs.
finally! though I wonder how long until we get a retina display on our cameras :p
Really. I hope it’s going to be very low priced.
A friend bought a GF3 last Christmas, because he lost his LX5 in a taxi. He has since started using some of my lenses, and bought a telephoto zoom. He just placed a preorder for an E-M5, because he wants an EVF after using the one on my E-PL1. But he won’t be getting rid of the GF3, it’s just such a neat little unit with the 14mm pancake.
Just as ugly as the unpopular predecessor. Nothing can save it now.
Stereo mic eh?
Admin: Any news on what lens kits will be offered?
Maybe a kit with the 20mm pancake or the 25mm f1.4?
I will keep my wifes GF3.. cause after all it is already hacked.
Hacked GF3 is probably already better than this.
So a better LCD then.. 😉
Unless this camera has built-in image stabilization I am not really interested. Give us IS in the body so we can use our old lens easily.
+1
Not coming soon from Panasonic, but we have to keep asking for it…
Finally they get rid of the 460k screen, manual focusing should be more easier, just hope the 12MP sensor is based on the new process and not the same old 5 year tech
And they add an extra button on GF5!
Admin,
that’s the question! Is sensor new? If it is, it’s a nice improvement on a nice little camera and I may buy it if price is right.
If it’s old, they are wasting they resources and doomed to failure (should be investing in real R&D and/or marketing and distributing their cameras and lenses to brick and mortar stores where people would see them as often as they see Sony NEXes and Nikon 1s)
Sensor is supposed to be new. Pana should really not put a 4 year old sensor in thsi camera.
“…just hope the 12MP sensor is based on the new process and not the same old 5 year tech.”
—-
The first cameras equipped witgh the 12MP sensor were the E-30 and the G1, launched in late 2008 – just three and a half years ago.
still not excusable anymore 😛 especially when it isn’t a particularly good sensor
Are you really sure there is stereo mic ? I have to choose between this and the new NEX-F3…the GF5 should be much smaller. But I suppose that better image quality/dynamic range than the GX1 is a dream…but not impossible, given the fact that it has less megapixels.
So yes, it’s a very exciting announcement for me ! 🙂
stereo mic on top. But the mics are very close together.
that’s actually not a problem if the mics are somewhat directional. in audio recording stereo mics are often placed as close together as possible
Panny had to do something now that Olympus has gone its own way (no way that’s a Panny sensor in the E-M5). Unfortunately, nothing short of a true upgrade to the GH2 is going to be much noticed at this point. Other than a quality 3″ LCD, doesn’t appear to be much going on here, and same silly Lincoln spare tire styling. I guess if the E-M5 has a “hump”, this must be the Panny “bump”.
It’s shit because it doesn’t have a built-in EVF.
Come one Panasonic, “we” want GF styled camera with EVF, not central VF like in DSLRs. /enthusiasts whine
+1
No one can be more eloquent! 🙂
No rangefinder-styled camera is small, as the body has to be stilted due to the EVF in the corner – as opposite to mini dslr-styled camera, where the EVF is just a hump.
Moreover, it’s a bit more complicated to make the display “tilt-and swivel” (not just tiltable) for a rangefinder-type camera.
By the way, The EVF of the G3 is really confortable, cannot understand this “rangefinder-styled” hype…
+1
Whine is correct…would you like some cheese with that? Your endless Panasonic tirade gets old. This is a tiny cam for the point and shoot upgraders at a low end price. The upgrades are a good thing if they kept the price down. All cameras aren’t for all people because no one camera can have all the features that everyone wants in the form factor that everyone wants.
They released the GX1 as an enthusiast cam and the GH3 is coming later. Not every m43 camera has to be aimed at enthusiasts.
Also despite the enormous cry for a side mounted EVF, having tried a NEX7, I can say it isn’t particularly comfortable since your face doesn’t act as a proper third contact point. And shooting with both eyes open is disorienting among other things. This isn’t a rangefinder, you get one eye TTL.
I myself would like to see a more radical camera rethink. Why not hold the camera like a telescope or like a video camera? I would personally LOVE that.
GX1 should have had an EVF in the corner, that’s what you should complain about. Leave this little camera alone – it’s supposed to be just that – little. There’s no space for EVF on it. Where’s EVF on NEX-5 or E-PM1?
What does this mean: ” Video: AVCHD/MP4 (FullHD) ” ?
Can it record full 1920×1080 video on a .mp4 wrapper? at the same data rate as ACHD?
T
Now that would be something!
Cant stand that AVCHD shite…
Uh.. AVCHD is great… it’s all mpeg4 or MP4/h.264 AVCHD just allows for structure that spans clips to overcome the 4GB limit and keep it standard. AVCHD .mts files are in fact Mpeg4/h.264 files so if you don’t like AVCHD then you don’t like Mpeg4 or MP4. AVCHD is far from “shite” it’s what makes the GH2 record continuous spanned files that show up in applications that support AVCHD (Premiere) seamlessly span them so they appear as a single long file. It’s the reason why Canon’s have a 12 min limit… when they hit the 4GB barrier they stop instead of doing the intelligent thing and SPAN to the next clip.
@Michael. Well illustrated by one of the loooongest sentences I have seen for a while!
Is it 1080p?
Is it touch screen – and if so – is it capacitive or resistive?
Since GF3 had touchscreen, this will havetoo. You can check what kind the GF3 has.
I’m hoping it is now capacitive even though it will lose functionality through gloves because the resistive screens on the Panasonics aren’t responsive enough to my liking.
so they finally caught up to nex 5 lcd quality? but they lack articulating screen?
WTF is this called GF5 instead of GF4?
They had a GF4 prototype with evf in the corner, but then said “Na, people will want that, let’s not do it!”
because 4 is a number that means something like death. If you want to kill a product, name it 4.
Nikon D4? 😉
Somebody else explained it quite well: D4 is a pro camera, and pros don’t care as much about superstition. Also, consumer cameras like the GF5 have a much larger audience, and so it is “easier” to put somebody off buying it.
D4 is for the highend pro maket, where a camera is a tool. It works in a bit different way in the consumer market.
OM-4
Another glorified P&S from Panny…wake me up when something exciting happens…
Do you expect ALL m43 cams to be high end enthusiast cams?
Not putting a control wheel to change aperture etc., is just as bad as Olympus putting horns on the side of the OMD (aka strap lugs). Both companies need to get actual working photographers, to test the cameras out, before hand, rather than just giving them to people that like to sport a camera around their necks, as a fashion statement. 😉
Maybe they did have the camera tested and the testers unlike most of the critics actually used the camera instead of criticising it from afar.
The dial on the back of the GF cameras can be used to change both shutter speed and aperture when shooting in manual mode.
I thought admin said this will have the G3 sensor, but if it is 12 MP that is clearly not the case. Hopefully it is a new sensor because it will be pointless to make a new camera with the same four-year-old sensor
What is different to GF3? I see only doubled resolution of LCD, stereo mic, 1-step ISO increase, slightly different grip, mysterious Display button… anything else?
Surprised by the negative comments. GF3’s Achilles’ heel is/was its dated sensor. If Panasonic fixed that, I’m getting the new one. Why not GX1? Because, that one is bigger (as in non jacket pocketable), boxy, and imo ugly. Will be an exciting complement to my 5dMkII.
I agree, I like the super small form factor. Pany and Olympus need to be mindful of the market that wants super compact and get them down to micro size that fits in a pocket without being clumsy.
Now if they could just squeeze a control wheel, EVF, external flash mount and IBIS into it without making it any bigger, then it would be on my shopping list… 🙂
They would probably have to downsize that screen. But with all those extra features, maybe you want a GX1 with a built-in EVF? Having held the GX1, it is quite compact. The GF3 is mostly shorter and a little less wide.
UGLY UGLY UGLY. MAKE IT GO AWAY.
why isnt it f0 and 100 mp i hate you lumix but for 50$ and 6-600mm i love you long time
Any news on the video camera? Seems like that has the potential to rock things much harder on Thursday than the GF5… Amazed that there are no real rumors or leaks around it…
Anyway, NAB’s already coming just right around the corner. We’ll get some good news in couple weeks.
Is that grip removable? I can see two screw holes of the side.
Not for me , I expect something similar with X Pro in image quality fr Pana . This only can be delivered fr GH series or the new mysterious series that above GH .
I still doubt there will be anything above GH series soon.
I hope that there is some control over the flash on this model. Being able to disable the preflash in conjunction with a few manual power settings would help to trigger slave flash units. Rear curtain flash would be nice too 🙂
If it didn’t say GF5 on the front I’d swear it was my GF3. Forget this, where’s my GH3?!
panny should add hot shoe on this cam and evf on the future gx
I feel like tearing that fragile flash from the camera…
Why all the venom directed at the cute little GF3? Sure, it’s no GH2 or EMD or even a GX1, but it’s not meant to be. We’re not really the target buyer.
It sounds like a reasonable upgrade and a perfect platform for pancake lenses.
I agree. Although I won’t end up buying this camera, I might (might) end up recomending it to people.
If (and I say “if”) it has a new sensor with improved IQ, then coupled with the x zoom, this could (could) end up the best camera in terms of ratio of overall size : image quality.
I agree. Why all the hate to these cheap cameras that drive the platform forward? When someone makes a fully featured camera (like OM-D) people complain about price. When someone makes a cheap camera, people complain about missing functionality. You can’t have both you know…
Better design.
I just have to say this. The inglorious ‘Hump’ on the OM-D is a major design succes when compared to the ‘Boil’ on this ungliest of designs, whoever designed it should be terminated immediately.
I don’t know why almost every news/ rumor about Panasonic camera is not excited me anymore , and some people turn out just bashing the product ,..I feel pity for Panny
Looks like metall buttons like LX5 finally.
I once played with a G3 and even a GH2 in a store and found the rubberish or plastic (don’t remember exactly) buttons to be verry ugly with almost no click point. The metal buttons on the LX5 are way way better. So hopefully Panny is changing this on the G line now.
The real improvements should be under the hood: better high ISO, higher DR, higher flash sync speed, focus peaking, stitching modes. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow…
Ummm I think I need to stay with my GF2 since I like shooting macro a lot. Without hotshoe flash, it may not be possible to control the lighting with off-camera flash. 🙁
Apparently, most people here have not yet understood that that the GF series is primarily optimized for small size.
The GF3 ist the most compact system camera you can get, so I wonder whether the GF5 is even smaller. Unfortunately, that information is missing from the list of technical specifications.
Now after reading the above I have one more thing to say.
This is a MUST VISIT site it gives great insight and shows a vast depth of understanding.
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/03/hammerforum-com
+100000
absolutely MUST READ. Really!