Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has the most extensive feature-set among mirrorless digital cameras, tied for first-place with the Olympus OM-D E-M5
Olympus OM-D E-M5 which is the other flagship Micro Four-Thirds camera. While these are the only two weather-sealed Micro Four-Thirds cameras, they are radically different in design and audience.

The GH3 offers a complete set of manual-controls for both images and videos. With the large number of Micro Four-Third lenses available, this makes it suitable for the vast majority of photographic subjects. The weather-sealed body allows the GH3 to be used in rough weather as long as a weather-sealed lens is also used. The limitation here is that there are only a handful of such lenses available for Micro Four-Thirds mount.

Weather-sealed Four-Thirds mount lenses may be usable with a weather-sealed adapter which opens up a few more options. The only such adapter is made by Olympus which means that perfect compatibility is not assured. None of those lenses are stabilized either because Olympus relies on in-body stabilization, unlike Panasonic.

Low-light photography is possible with the GH3 given a top expanded ISO of 25600 and shutter-speeds up to 60s. This is sufficient urban night photography, including light-trails and some light-painting. With bulb mode, shutter-speeds up to 120s can be used, giving one extra stop of low-light usability. This is mostly limiting for purely starlit or moonlit scenes.

HDR capture is made easy by in-camera blending of three images taken at most 3 EVs apart and automatically aligned. This can be done by computer after taking the separate shots manually or as a bracket. The Panasonic GH3 supports AEB up to 7 frames with at most a 1 EV increment between frames, giving it exactly the same ±3 EV maximum range as built-in HDR.

This camera supports JPEG and RAW capture, or both simultaneously. It also offers very fine controls over the rendition of JPEG images. Contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise-reduction are all adjustable in 11 steps each. All WB settings, including AWB and Custom, are fine-tunable along 2 axis in 19 steps. This allows users tune the look of images precisely cases when RAW files are actually needed.

The Panasonic GH3 offers an extensive set of drive-modes. The headline 6 FPS is only achievable without Live-View, meaning it is not suitable for action. 4 and 2 FPS keep up not too far behind the action but are on the slow side. Together this makes this camera weak when it comes to action photography.

There is both a Self-Timer and a Shutter-Delay available which are different and can be used in conjunction. To understand the distinction, it is important to know how mirrorless cameras operate. Since these cameras rely on Live-View, they must keep the shutter open for light to reach the sensor. To take a shot, the shutter must be closed first in order to discharge the sensor. It must then be opened again to capture a scene. The Self-Timer introduces a delay between the time the shutter-button is fully-pressed and the initial closing of the shutter. The Shutter-Delay introduces a delay between the initial closing of the shutter and its re-opening. This is why the preview on the LCD or EVF remains visible with the Self-Timer yet goes black with the Shutter-Delay. To best reduce vibrations, use the latter.

This mirrorless camera can capture a sequence of image to be merged into a time-lapse. The internal can be specified between 1 seconds and 99 minutes 59 seconds. The number of shots can be anywhere between 1 and 9999. Capture can start immediately or at the specified time within the next 24 hours.

There is an extremely well-implemented Multiple-Exposure feature that can merge up to 4 images together. As each image is taken, the total blended shot is previewed and the last image can be reshot any number of times until the user choose to advance to the next one. Once the number of desired shot is taken, the resulting image can be saved by exiting multiple-exposure mode.

The Panasonic GH3 has a sophisticated Contrast-Detect autofocus system. Focus-drive modes are the usual AF-S, AF-C and MF. MF is also optionally available in autofocus mode by simply turning the focus-ring on the lens. Regardless of how MF is performed, the GH3 can show a magnified view of the scene within the AF area to help focus precisely.

Focus-area modes are Face-Detect, Tracking, 23-Area, 1-Area and Pinpoint. The 23-Area option automatically chooses between 4 to 6 areas selected among 23 of them. The 1-Area mode lets the using select the position and size of a single square region where focus is measured. Pinpoint only focuses on a small movable point within the frame. Each time Pinpoint AF is used, the are being focused on is magnified to make sure that focus was achieved at the right point. While this helps, it also prevents the entire frame from being seen during that time. Face-Detect and Tracking do exactly as expected.

One of the headline features of the GH3 is built-in WiFi connectivity. Though a WiFi link, this Panasonic supports Remote Shooting, Playback on a DLNA-compatible TV, Automatic Image Sending and Manual Image Sending. Connecting to a smart-phone or tablet required Android 2.2 - 4.0 or iOS 4.3 - 6.0 via the Lumix Link application.

This digital camera also offers an unprecedented number of video features. These are described in the Video Performance section on the next page.