Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12M Fine JPEG image size option, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 produced images of very good quality during the review period. It produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and 200, with limited noise starting to appear at ISO 400. ISO 800 exhibits quite visible noise and loss of fine detail, and ISO 1600 and 3200 are even noisier. The images were soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting if you don't like the default results. Anti-shake is a feature that sets the DMC-GH1 apart from its competitors and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The Film Modes allow you to quickly and easily customise the look of the camera's JPEG images. The pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 which you can select at any time if the camera is in one of the creative shooting modes. There is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 100 and 200, and ISO 400 also looks fine, with some noise creeping in. More obvious noise and slight loss of detail is apparent at ISO 800, particularly in the shadow areas, and at the fastest settings of ISO 1600 and particularly ISO 3200, image quality has deterioated a lot. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has 2 different JPEG image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Fine (5.74Mb) (100% Crop)	Normal (2.52Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (14Mb) (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are soft at the default sharpening setting, and benefit from further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level by tweaking the Film Mode, with five different settings available.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction and Forced Flash Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (280mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (280mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-Eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds and there's also a Bulb option for exposures up to 4 minutes long, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 10 seconds at f/5.6 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Film Modes

Panasonic's Film Modes, similarly to Nikon's Picture Styles, Canon's Picture Controls and Olympus' Picture Modes, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and noise reduction settings. The nine available Film Modes are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There are also two My Film options so that you can create your own look.

Standard	Dynamic
Nature	Smooth
Nostalgic	Vibrant
Standard B&W	Dynamic B&W
Smooth B&W

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Panasonic RAW (RW2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Pop-Up Flash

Front of the Camera

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Vari-Angle LCD Screen

Rear of the Camera / Vari-Angle LCD Screen

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Info Screen

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Live View

Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 is the best attempt yet at implementing video recording on a DSLR-like camera. The combination of high price, compulsory kit lens and so-so image quality in low-light conditions won't make it suitable for everyone though.

If you're looking for high-definition video in a DSLR format, then the Panasonic GH1 is easily your best choice. The ability to continuously auto-focus during recording simply isn't offered by the likes of the Canon EOS 500D or Nikon D5000, which force the user to manually focus. Although the GH1 is sometimes a little slow to re-focus, having this functionality makes the world of difference, ensuring that the main subject is amlost always sharp. In addition, the GH1 also allows you to change the aperture and shutter speed during recording as well as before, something that only the much more expensive Canon EOS 5D Mark II can do (with its recent firmware upgrade). Again there's a caveat, as you can clearly hear the click of the GH1's mode dial in the movie, but you can always edit this out later if you have the software and know-how. Sound is otherwise a real high-point of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 's movies, with the built-in stereo mic and wind cut function helping to create a much better soundtrack than virtually any other digital camera.

In terms of still image quality, the Panasonic GH1 also gets most things right. Colours are accurate when using the default Standard setting, with lots of scope to adjust the JPEG output to suit your own tastes, and the auto white balance is spot-on in most lighting conditions. The pop-up flash is fine for use as fill-in, the ability to make bulb exposures up to 4 minutes long will please night photographers, and anti-shake via the supplied lens helps to keep things sharp in low-light. The new 14-140mm kit lens exhibits commendably few signs of distortion at either end of the focal range, although images were noticeably soft at the default settings. The notable downsides are the traditional bug-bear of Four Thirds sensors, namely noise at slow ISO speeds (it's clearly visible at ISO 400), plus the comparatively poor macro performance if you're used to the 1cm focusing capability of many compact cameras. Ultimately the DMC-GH1 can't rival a DSLR camera with an APS-C sized sensor in low-light, but otherwise it delivers very good image quality that most of its target audience will love.

As it's so clearly based on the older G1 model, the GH1 offers almost all of the same handling benefits. Users looking to move-up from a point-and-shoot compact should definitely consider the G1. It delivers a near-seamless Live View experience which doesn't feel as though it has been literally forced into the overall design, as with the Live View function on the majority of DSLRs. The combination of the high-resolution, swivelling LCD screen and the outstanding electronic viewfinder is a joy to use, and in many ways actually surpasses what a comparable SLR camera can offer. Despite its technological advances, the EVF can't quite rival a good optical viewfinder, as it has a noticeable flicker and becomes grainy in low-light, but it is preferable to the small, dim viewfinder of many entry-level DSLR. The DMC-G1 isn't as small as you may have hoped from looking at the glossy marketing shots, but it subsequently handles really well, even for someone with large hands. There's really very little to complain about in terms of the G1's design, feature set and ease-of-use. It delivers all the convenience of a compact camera shooting experience in a DSLR-like package that is smaller and more portable than most DSLRs.

As with the G1, however, the single biggest problem with the GH1 is its price-tag. A recommended price at launch of $1499.95 / £1299.99 with the 14-140mm kit lens is simply too high for a camera targeted at customers used to spending far less on a compact. It also doesn't compare well to a more traditional DSLR, with that kind of money easily buying you a Canon EOS 50D, Nikon D90, Sony A700 or Olympus E-30, all with kit lenses. Unfortunately for the GH1, virtually all of those cameras also offer better image quality, so if that's the most important factor for you, there are plenty of options available for the same or even less cash. On the other hand, the all-in-one nature of the GH1 package will undoubtedly appeal to many people. As long as you don't mind the relatively slow maximum apertures of the 14-140mm kit lens, you could buy the GH1 and never have to purchase another lens. Ultimately we'd like to see the GH1 offered as body-only so that at least the consumer has the choice.

In summary, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 offers a fantastically well-implemented Live View experience in a small and portable DSLR-like format with the addition of an intuitive video mode that mere mortals, and not just experienced videographers, can produce great results with. If you don't need the video capabilities, though, the much cheaper DMC-G1 camera is by far the more logical choice.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	5
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	3.5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 from around the web.

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