[shoplink 46227 ebay]
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GH4 in Stock status in USA:
The only store that has them in Stock sells them for $2099 on [shoplink 46226 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. And for the first time the YAGH interface is in Stock via [shoplink 46227 ebay]eBay seller (Click here)[/shoplink].
The GH4 will be back in Stock in late May at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Ritz Camera and Panasonic.
Meantime Gordon Laing posted the full GH4 review at CameraLabs and writes:
If you’re only judging the GH4 on stills, it’s clearly very good, but you can match or beat it with cheaper models. But if you’re interested in video, the Lumix GH4 is triumphant. Yes it’s noisy at high ISOs, but look at the price! 4k video with internal recording and 1080p at 96fps, squeezed into a compact camera that’s also respectable for stills – all for under $2000 USD? The GH4 is not just a bargain for video enthusiasts, it’s a game-changer.
Great review by Gordon!
North American preorders, shipping date and price:
GH4 camera at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Ritz Camera and Panasonic. Price: $1,698. In Canada at Vistek.
GH4 camera with interface unit at Adorama and BHphoto. Price: $3,298
Interface unit only at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic. Price: $1,998
Europen preorders, shipping date and price:
Germany: Wexcameras, Marcotec-shop.de.
UK at Wexphotographic, CameraWorld, UKdigital, CVP, TipTop.
Holland at Fotohanskeuzekamp.
Belgium at Fotokonijnenberg.
Norway at Fotovideo.
Sweden at Cyberphoto, Skandinavianphoto.
Finland at Telefoto, Topshot, Verkkoauppa.
France at Photocineshop.
Spain: Fotoboom.
Asian preorders, shipping date and price:
Digitalrev and Digidirect Australia.
4K cards
Kingston 16-32-64 GB SDHC UHS-I Speed Class 3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Sandisk 16-32-64 GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-II Memory Card at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Transcend 64-128 GB High Speed 10 UHS-3 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Panasonic 16-32-64 GB SDHC-UHS-I U3 Card (90MB/s) at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
92 Responses
So cheaper models trumps it on stills. MAKE MINE EPM-2!
Jeez Panny… your DSLR SUX!
For sure, an EPM2 is probably a better choice for many. GH4 is more camera than most need. Most will not notice the difference. You will never notice the difference in your vacation shots, or shots of your kids birthday, so buy an EPM2 now while they are dumping the excess stock. It’s a fine camera for casual snaps and a spectacular deal!!
That’s what my GM1 is for.
It is not hard to trump any mFT in stills now is it , all current Nikon, Pentax,Sony APS models for starters ,right from the bottom end .Even the crap A3000 will still give you better image quality than the best mFT. It costs about teh same as a night out at the pub lol
Looks like you wrote this after a night out at the pub. Cheers!
A night out at the pub in London perhaps, but you are right.
Can’t wait to receive my GH4. This is the best thing to happen with cameras in my life! With my 12-35 f2.8 lens and this new camera the only limitation will be my energy (usually not a problem) and inspiration/artistry which ebbs and flows.
Like so many have said, “Thank you, Panasonic”!!!
I nominate the Panasonic GH4 for “camera of the year”!!
I think the Fuji X-T1 has that in the bag already. But it’s a nice runners-up.
Well, the YAGH interface is in stock at Foto Gregor, Cologne, Germany. Saw one this afternoon in the shop window,
pricing was 1999€
I find the CameraLabs commentary about GH4 very accurate:
“if you’re only judging the GH4 on stills, it’s clearly very good, but
you can match or beat it with cheaper models. But if you’re interested
in video, the Lumix GH4 is triumphant. Yes it’s noisy at high ISOs, but
look at the price! 4k video with internal recording and 1080p at 96fps,
squeezed into a compact camera that’s also respectable for stills – all
for under $2000 USD? The GH4 is not just a bargain for video
enthusiasts, it’s a game-changer”
Thanks for posting Admin.
Sensor IQ is basically unchanged for a couple years now. While the GH4 provides a bit more latitude in the files, in real world use you won’t see much difference unless you spend a lot of time shooting at the extremes of low light or dynamic range. The advances for stills the GH4 brings are DFD focusing, which seem to put m43 on par with mid level DSLRs for shooting action, much much better low light focusing, and noise that is finer and looks more film grain. If you are a more casual shooter who isn’t going to push your camera like that, you will certainly be as well served by another model. In fact, the GH4 is rather pricy and likely too much camera for many people. Both Olympus and Panasonic have some lower end models available (some at huge discounts) that might fit your needs if you don’t need what the GH4 offers. Get your GF6 or EPM2 now while you can. Both are fantastic tools for casual photography, and for most users, will take snaps as good as the GH4 for much less. Hope that helps 🙂
I don’t what you are talking about, “in real world use you won’t see much difference unless you spend a lot of time shooting at the extremes of low light or dynamic range”, I have watched every video I can find (including the videos posted here), the GH4 is so sharp and colorful as to make it’s competitors like “looking through a glass, darkly” or pastels on gauze.
This camera is extremely advanced. If it is too expensive for you there are hundreds of other lower priced models available. Maybe you should buy a cheap EPM2 and learn a little photography. Try it, you will have fun.
I was responding to his comment on stills, not video 🙂
The upgrade to video is obvious with the GH4. The upgrade to stills is certainly there, but is not nearly as obvious. But its true. For snap shots of your families vacation, most wont notice or utilize what the GH4 brings to the table. They wont notice any difference at all when they they post on social media and probably SHOULD by an EPM2, GF6 or EM10.
@Dougie Totally agree!
All of them are very good for stills, so good in fact that the only major factor in choosing one is the price, name, color, etc
They are equally mediocre, yes. Do you work for those corporations or are you just a total prat?
…or maybe they should buy a NEX or a small DSLR, which cost a fraction and take better pics
Agree, but the thing which jumps in my eyes are the colors, color fidelity has increased. People are wining about noise, but Gh4 trashes all canon APSC ever made, in raw or JPG mode and this is something.
Image quality may not be a hole lot better, but it is a nice improvement. I own two Gh3’s and I can tell I hate the JPG engine entirely, on Gh4 until ISO 6400 I have no problems with JPG files, they actually look quite pleasing and I fell less need to shot raw (only for special work). I call this an improvement in still quality. The video part is undisputed.
The differences mentioned are subtle, relevant to some, irrelevant to other.
Anyway, I know a lot of people who try to compare Gh4 with other FF cameras, and complain of the image quality. The still image quality can not compare to any modern FF, they are better for stills, but who cares all of them shoot crappy videos in comparison.
I hope I did not contradict myself LOL. I love this camera, but I fell the need to present both her strengths and not so strength points of her.
He should have said “match or beat in jpeg Quality.”
I can’t believe people are still reviewing cameras, and basing who had the better image quality, by judging Jpegs! It boggles the MIND!! -How backwards is that!
That’s like taking Canon and Nikon two flagship DSLR’S, and judging the winner in Image Quality, simply by looking at Jpegs. That’s just dumb.
I am getting so tired of all those triumphant GH4 comments. I like panasonic camera’s since the GH1 but their last cameras are mainly made for people with much money. And what does the GH4 so much better than GH2 : only a higher resolution that not many people really need for double the price. All those people saying that it is so cheap because of 4k compare it with other cameras that hardly any people would consider to buy.
For the other improvements there is no need to double the price. I am a little disappointed by Panasonic.
You can’t really blame us for the excitement over the GH4. This is only the beginning!
Like any other tool, once we have it we will find uses for it. Why don’t you buy one yourself and try to celebrate with us.
I don’t see any company (other than Panasonic) developing cameras this versatile and future-proof. Olympus wants to act like video doesn’t matter, (same with most of the others). To me this is a camera I have waited for all my life. I feel like celebrating!!!
I think you are right. Sony has the innovation, but lacks the focus. Fuji has the focus, but isn’t particularly innovative (but they sure make good cameras and optics, just not real innovative). Canikon are dinosaurs (especially Canon). Olympus is on the rocks financially and seem to think super expensive lens hoods will save the day. Pentax/Ricoh is interesting… but not interesting enough to sell me anything (the GR sure looks cool though!). Leica has gotten way way too overpriced for what they offer. Samsung is irrelevant. Yup… Panasonic is kicking some serious butt these days.
Pentax is always interesting, but the K-3 has turned out to need some help, unfortunately. It could have been a real successor to the Nikon D300, but the image quality isn’t there.
Well the K3 has better image quality than any mFT and betetr than the D300
You’re confusing higher resolution for image quality. The D300 is much, much better than the K-3 and the D7100 is better also. micro Four-Thirds bodies with a 16 MP do quite well compared to the K-3. They could adjust the K-3’s firmware to fix some problems with a lack of detail, but their history says that they won’t.
so take a rest !!!!
Yes and no. The GH4 is aimed at professionals. It’s really good for M43 to have a pro-grade camera like this with a huge wait list. Professionals are lining up to buy it, but it is a pro camera with a pro price tag.
But overall, Panasonic is still reasonably priced. You can get The the GX7 for less than the EM10 and get the same IQ and far far better features for less money. Same with the GX7 and the EM5 (and people don’t need to line up to say Olympus are overpriced. We know). It’s true Panasonic is getting out of the low end market, but aside from the pro cameras, they are still reasonably priced.
It’s priced like a semi-pro camera, though, unless someone is trying to get nearly US$3000 out of it. It’s an amazing value, even with flaws.
So 3-4 hundred dollars more than the E-M1 is “Much Money”? How much was the E-M1 when it first came out again?
And double the price? What country are you from???
And the GH4 is selling great, don’t know why you’re crying about price. Then again, the Majority of M43 is too expensive to me…
Too bad he didn’t test the DFD AF. It could be a stills game changer but we would never know from this review.
It doesn’t matter. Professional photographers know what it offers and are lining up to buy it. Educated and skilled enthusiasts know what it offers and are waiting for ACR support to buy it. Everyone else would be better served with something else.
Until DFD supports non-Panasonic lenses, it’s not much of a game changer.
I dunno about that. I have mostly Panasonic lenses. When they have primes of close to the same focal length, I prefer the Panasonic option almost every time (the 12 is much better than the 14 though). In zooms its a case by case basis, but either Olympus is very slightly better (12-35 vs 12-40) or Panasonic blows it away (7-14 vs 9-18). Aside from the Olympus 75 (and i suppose the 12), you really wont miss out on much going with all Panasonic lenses.
Not speaking about 35–100 which is far the best zoom to date for MFT. (And about Nocticron but this is a lens most of people simply cannot afford)
No, the 35-100mm isn’t the best of anything, but it focuses quickly. It really is incredibly mediocre, except for the price.
Haters Gon Hate…
so tell me, what is the best zoom?
Mainly, the biggest two problems for that lens and the 12-35, IQ aside, there’s really no manual way to set hard stop infinity or minimum focus without approximating with AF. This is where the manual clutch on the Oly zooms offer something superior to the Panasonics. Second point, the Oly zooms having much better zoom ranges. The upcoming 40-150 has a much more useful range. Third less important point., Oly pro zooms clearly sharper performance when wide open, which may or may not give you an advantage.
That’s just your opinion, and how many Olympus zooms have a Manual clutch? And it’s all focus by wire, so there is no hard stop. Also, it would display on the EVF and back screen, so why bother?
and if they’re “so good”, why aren’t they moving? Did you see the latest Olympus financials?? They are sitting on massive Stock, not including the MASSIVE stock of four third lenses they BEEN sitting on. And that’s a FACT!
-Manual clutch: still not selling.
-More useful range: still not selling.
-Sharper? Haha! Subjective, STILL not selling.
Check the Amazon mirrorless lens chart and get back at me. And no, Amazon isn’t the end all, but it’s a good place to start.
You can masturbate over semantics all you like. But It has a hard stop at infinity and minimum focus you can manually set. The difference between electronic and a screw thread is irrelevant to that. Your sales nonsense has no bearing on this issue either, dumbass
Always so aggressive?? Seems like an over-reaction. I usually figure that the first debater to resort to name-calling (ad hominem) is the one who is intellectually challenged.
Chill, Bro. We are all in the same tempest tossed boat. Take some pictures and enjoy your superior lenses.
Amazon doesn’t really sell to the main m43 market; Asia. Your assertion is nonsense bullshit. This shitty Opteka http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-650-2600mm-Definition-Telephoto-Panasonic/dp/B0036YUIUY/ref=sr_1_11?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1400219503&sr=1-11 is way above the Panasonic zoom…. so it must be a better lens lol
It’s still funny that Olympus has a bigger market share than Panasonic.
That can’t be true is it? Olympus’ camera division is tanking so hard! They are hemorrhaging money… Are they THAT poorly run?
You say Oly zooms (plural), but there is only one Olympus pro zoom right now. Rave all you want about them… all the lenses in my imagination are super awesome also, but thats all the other Oly zooms are right now. Imaginary. But comparing the 12-40 to the 12-35, the 12-40 is slightly, slightly, slightly better in the corners, has a closer focusing distance, 5 extra mm on the long end, and is significantly bigger and heavier. Overall I would give the 12-40 the edge, but just barely. They are very close.
The 40-150 actually lens exists, just not in production run. I know because I trialled one
It’s still Vaporware
Another thing, I can’t wait for the Oly 40-150 f2.8 vs pana 150mm f2.8 vs Oly 150mm f2 showdown. The 35-100….is a total non runner.
Why isn’t the 35-100 a “total” non runner?
dang, i didn’t know your choices were the end-all…
Because that horse has a heart attack and dies at 101mm
When is the big “showdown”? Sounds exciting like NASCAR!!!!
I wouldn’t call it mediocre, the 35-100 is good, but not great, but you are correct in saying its not as good as the other Panasonic pro offerings, but for now, its the only game in town (its much much better than the consumer zooms in that range). If Olympus brings out a quality lens in that range, it will be one of the few focal lengths. where they are much better than Panasonic.
Don’t forget the Oly 45mm, perhaps the best “bang for the buck” little portrait lens in M4/3.
Like you I generally buy Panasonic lenses because they support the OIS in my cameras (GX7 & GH3) but I would love to have the Oly 75 & Oly 12.
For sure, the Olympus 45 is a bargain. Panasonic has 2 lenses that render much better, but one focuses really slow (the macro), and one is super expensive (the Nocticron).
So weird. Panasonic is the big electronics company and Olympus is the legendary optics company. You kind of expect Panasonic to have more features on their camera bodies, but you would expect Olympus to make the better lenses. And usually they don’t.
So why is it that Panasonic lenses ALWAYS beat out the Olympus lenses in sales on Amazon?
Why is the 20mm and 25mm on most Olympus bodies?
How come the majority of the times when i click on a EM5 pic on Flickr, it’s shot with a Panasonic lens?
better lenses? Where?
You need to check your reading comprehension. I said you would expect Olympus to have better lenses, but usually they don’t. But its cool though. Reading is much harder than typing.
Olympus optics are first rate – but not I am not too keen on their lens bodies. I spent a lifetime machining metal and don’t give much credence to plastics. Voigtlander Nokton, Pana/Leica Nocticron, most Leica, Nikkor and Canon lenses are machined alloys and are more rugged, durable and have superior finish.
Oly’s use of plastics in their lens barrels just gives them a cheaper look and feel.
The 7-14mm on Olympus bodies shows that it’s not very good optically, and I still hold it up as a good lens. The 9-18mm is a downsized copy of the budget Four-Thirds lens, which wasn’t very good.
I just don’t believe in buying lenses that need huge software corrections to be suitable, but that would be the Panasonic list of lenses, including my very mediocre 35-100mm.
Buy what you want, but the 7-14 issues on Olympus bodies has everything to do with Olympus not having AA filters, and noting to do with optics.
And you are in for a surprise because all lenses (including Olympus) have software correction.
I’m not in for a surprise. I stopped buying Panasonic lenses after the 35-100mm and I’m slow to buy anything micro Four-Thirds related, though the GH3 has worked well. Olympus’ 12-40mm may have some software correction but it’s not particularly noticeable, if it’s there.
The 12-40 does have software correction. They all do, and all of it isn’t noticeable. The purple flare issue on the 7-14is related to a lack of AA filter.
Olympus lenses are fine, Panasonic just tends to render with more contrast, which I prefer. I wasn’t trying to put down Olympus lenses. They tend to be pretty good over all. I was just pointing out that I general, you can get as good or better optics in most focal lengths by going full Panasonic
the 9-18 isn’t a copy of a 43 lens. Its the same focal length, but it is its own design.
But you do believe in digital camera’s which proces the image to great extend before you get it as RAW or is there is something with that too?
All these things are just means to get the best output possible. How doesn’t matter. And as you can see with Sony NEX lenses especially, corrections afterwards do not compensate for bad lenses.
The Panasonic lenses are designed as a hardware software combination.The final output is in mind and that is why these combo’s works so well.
Wanna sell that mediocre 35-100mm lens?
Unfortunately he tested and the result is quite disappointing:
Thats interesting. I’ve seen the exact opposite when compared to the A6000. I’ll try and find the comparison. And I don’t know if Fuji tracks well, maybe it does, but taken as a whole, their AF has a lot of drawbacks. Fuji has very good optics and super sexy cameras, but they are slow shooters. If that suits the way you shoot they are fantastic cameras, but m43 is overall a much much better and faster AF system than Fuji.
Hope you’re right, moreover, because this is the only review which claims GH4 would lag behind the competition in terms of AF performance.
Did the camera store guys review not mention the AF ? in this review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX56Mo8WPM0
My main issue is that he seemed to have used the Olympus 45/1.8 and Panasonic 25/1.4. Obviously the former will be a bigger problem since that won’t support DFD.
I’d really liked to have seen a test with the 12-35 and 35-100. Both lenses support the faster 240hz sampling rate.
Now it is clear that Oly becoming a really insignificant player in this game(since they cannot design their own sensors), the GH 4 hits a big homerun. The A7R for sheer stills and the GH4 for hybrid use, nothing else really needed in between these 2 great tiny cameras. They are cheap and a lot better than anything from Olympus or Nikon(which is also dying system). I want to see Leica T mount or Fuji X mount version of GH4 with a bit bigger super 35mm sized sensor very soon. But until that happens , I will enjoy this GH4 + my old but trusted A7R. Thanks Panasonic , you designed a really great versatile camera for motion or hybrid work.
Well, Olympus is mainly an optic company, and they still make a few very good lenses, regardless of the quality of their cameras. And Sony is the most innovative camera company out there. Hands down. Hopefully they will develop the A7 into an actual system. Right now its three bodies and four (!!!!) lenses. Thats so crazy! almost as many current bodies as lenses! As much as I admire them, I could never switch until they get some corporate focus when it comes to cameras.
Well, what do you expect from a electronics company. It’s been their story all this while since the NEX.
Nikon already had the 36mp Sony sensor since Feb 2012 the A7r certainly gives the same IQ in a very limited body. I own both and you can see where every penny was saved to keep costs down. Though I like the image quality I am unhappy with several aspects of the interface , ergonomics and build quality of my A7r
The reality is that Canon & Nikon will have single APS models that sell as much as the whole of mFT put together. All camera sales shrunk last year and mirrorless fell by a little more than DSLR which still accounts for 81% of all interchangeable lens cameras sold. The GH4 is a great video camera pity the stills remain the same old same old
Agreed that for video Panasonic continues to set the bar higher and higher.
Unless you’re a pro, I don’t think I’d call either the GH4 or A7R ‘cheap’. For stills the E-M1 and E-M10 are fantastic cameras at a fraction of the cost with a much more extensive lens selection than the A7R. Unless you’re consistently shooting subjects that require FF & RAW, you can’t dismiss them.
It’s a good bet that Olympus is feeling the heat from the GH4 and their own user base over demands for better inbuilt video. Seems obvious that the E-M5 replacement is overdue. I am hopeful, make that confident, that the Oly E-M5 replacement will be a state of the art Hybrid Camera that competes admirably with the GH4.
M4/3 would not benefit from a diminished Olympus Corp.
Glad I read the CameraLabs review, had no idea my GH4 could package timelapse sequences into 4K video files in the camera… this will be a huge time saver for me post.
…….is that a camera or Battle Star Galactica????????
Well, it likely will not save the human race, so I’m betting on camera
I think that there are a ton of Panny Fabois that think it WILLsave the world! ~(:-)
Change, not save. Change
Funny on many levels! LOL!
And Trolls who tray there best to discredit something revolutionary…which other manufactures who paid them are so afraid of.
It is a shame that Canon & Nikon aren’t bringing forth more revolutionary products. These camera behemoths could be setting the world afire with their great advantages. There is unquestionably something wrong with this picture. Personally, I had really high hopes for the Nikon AW-1 which is truly an advanced product but it seems like Nikon isn’t even really committed to it.
I hate to say it, but Canikon are beginning to resemble many U.S. manufacturers – whose priority on short-term profits and executive compensation argues against the development of a coherent corporate vision, against the careful nurturing of a highly skilled workforce, inevitably disregarding the desires and needs of their consumers.
What is revolutionary here exactly?
I knew Penny Flambeaux had put on a little wait, but I didnt rellize she weighed thaaat much!!
You callin’ my little filly Phat? ….. ‘Sup wiff dat?? She’s a sport model upside of Jo-Mama.
That’s funny!! 😀
Funny really because Gordon stated SEVERAL TIMES he was not interested in video! Thumbs down!
He also recommended that they remove the filter from the sensor for sharper images.
Um, the Filter is there for Video, Gordon. That was such a non-proffessonal suggestion.
Then he uses the camera with Olympus lenses. Don’t you think he’d get better results using Panasonic Lenses? It doesn’t make sense.
A bit of an odd review. Reading it you get the sense he doesn’t quite get hybrid photography, and that he preferred the EM1, but he gave the GH4 the highest rating he has ever given a m43 camera (and one of the highest ratings he has ever given ANY camera). Also, comparing JPEGs and inferring ANYTHING about the sensor is ridiculous. He should know that. And yes, testing it with Olympus lenses will not give you any insight into the DFD focusing.
He made a huge flaw on DFD. It is strange that he notes DFD is working by knowing how a lens output looks (in and out of focus rendering). Also notes it only does this for Panny lenses currently. And immediately after that, he tries it with….an Olympus 45 mm f1.8.
Second one: he should be much more specific when he says this cam cannot do low light filmography like cam with a big sensor. Which FF cam does he mean? The Sony A7s cannot do all this in body. And the 5 Mark III etc shoot 1080 HD. In 1080 HD this cam is better in high ISO than any other FF DSLR videocapable cam out there.AFAIK. Regardless a much better statement should have been that 1080 HD lets you shoot 3200-6400 ISO and 4K is best used from 800-1600ISO to give people a good clue. I browsed through that part, so to be honest, I might have missed it if he DID say this.