Panasonic GH6 Hands-on Preview: The much-anticipated flagship GH6 is finally here
posted Monday, February 21, 2022 at 9:00 PM EDT
Click here to read our Panasonic GH6 Hands-on Preview
It's a great time for Micro Four Thirds. The long-awaited Panasonic GH6 is here, just a week after OM Digital Solutions announced its own new flagship MFT camera, the OM-1, and nearly a year after Panasonic first teased the GH6. Panasonic's next-generation compact camera is packed to the brim with new features and improvements.
At its core is a new image sensor and processing engine. The GH6 incorporates a new 25.2-megapixel Live MOS Sensor, increasing the effective pixel count by more than 20%. It also includes a new Venus Engine that promises twice the processing power of its predecessor, the GH5. The new image sensor ditches a low-pass filter to deliver improved fine detail and promises reduced rolling shutter thanks to faster sensor readout.
The new sensor has evolved with three key technologies: New Intelligent Detail Processing, new 2D Noise Reduction, and High Precision 3D Noise Reduction for video. Intelligent Detail Processing detects the edges and flat and detailed parts in your images more accurately, resulting in better fine detail resolution. 2D Noise Reduction suppresses chromatic noise and improves the texture of the luminance noise in your still photos. High Precision 3D Noise Reduction does the same, but for video. The GH6 is better able to detect stationary and moving subjects in your videos and can apply more precise, better noise reduction, especially at higher ISO settings. Speaking of the ISO, the native ISO of the GH6 is now 100-25,600 for stills and 100-12,800 for video, with an extension down to ISO 50 for both shooting modes.
(Shot on a camera using pre-production firmware.)
Another key improvement that the GH6 has made concerning image and video quality is the new Dynamic Range Boost mode. Using this mode, the GH6 promises 13+ stops of dynamic range, a full stop better than without this mode enabled. Dynamic Range Boost works by generating two images at different gains, one low ISO and one high ISO, and then creating a synthesized composite image that takes advantage of the rich gradation and dynamic range of low ISO gain and the improved shadow detail of high ISO gain. This mode is enabled automatically for stills photography in certain situations, including when shooting at or above ISO 800. Head to our Hands-on Preview for much more detail.
(Shot on a camera using pre-production firmware.)
The new 25.2-megapixel image sensor featured in the GH6 doesn't include phase-detection autofocus pixels, meaning that the GH6 continues to use Panasonic's tried-and-true Depth-from-Defocus autofocus system, which relies upon contrast-detect autofocus. However, that doesn't mean that everything has remained the same as the GH6 incorporates new AF algorithms that promise much faster performance, and the GH6 has more autofocus zones/areas than the GH5, up to 315 from 225.
While the GH6 is a stills-first camera, the GH-series has long been very popular for video applications, and the GH6 makes many significant strides here. The GH6 offers 4:2:2 10-bit C4K 60p video with unlimited recording time, 4:2:0 10-bit 4K/120p, 4:2:2 10-bit FHD 240p High Frame Rate video and FHD with 300fps Variable Frame Rate, plus much more. In addition to C4K resolution, the GH6 also records 4:2:0 10-bit 5.7K 60p video and 4:2:0 5.8K 30p (4.4K 60p) anamorphic 4:3 video that uses the full area of the image sensor. 5.7K 30p video can be recorded in Apple ProRes 422 HQ for the first time in a LUMIX camera, too, which enables non-linear editing without transcoding. Extended recording times are made possible by an integrated active cooling system.
(Shot on a camera using pre-production firmware.)
There's much more to learn about the exciting new Panasonic GH6, so head over to our Hands-on Preview to get the full scoop and read about our thoughts after using the camera ahead of today's announcement.