Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 16M Fine JPEG image size option, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. It produces noise-free images at ISO 100 to 400, with limited noise starting to appear at ISO 800. ISO 1600 and 3200 exhibit quite visible noise and loss of fine detail, and ISO 6400 is even noisier but still usable. The fastest setting of 12800 looks much better on paper than in reality though. The images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening level 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. The various 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 8 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 which you can select at any time if the camera is in one of the creative shooting modes. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

JPEG	RAW
ISO 160 (100% Crop)	ISO 160 (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)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)
ISO 12800 (100% Crop)	ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 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 (6.92Mb) (100% Crop)	Normal (3.05Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (18.7Mb) (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-GH2 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-GH2 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 25 seconds at ISO 160. 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)

Intelligent Resolution

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2's Intelligent Resolution feature identifies outlines, texture areas and soft gradation areas of the image and then automatically optimizes the edges and detailed texture areas while using noise reduction to make the soft gradation areas smoother. There are three available strengths - low, standard and high.

Off	Low
Standard	High

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	Cinema

24P Cinema

The 24P Cinema mode adds a rich, cinema-like gradation to your movies.

24P Cinema On

Variable Movie

The Variable Movie mode allows the frame rate of the movie to be slowed down or speeded up (-80%, +160%, +200%, +300%).

-80%
+160%
200%
+300%

EX Tele Conversion

Available for both JPEG photos and movies, EX Tele Conversion extends the zoom by 2.6x beyond its original limit to get the subject even closer. In movie mode it does this by only using the central 2 megapixels of the GH2's 18.3 megapixel sensor, which is roughly equivalent to a 1920x1080 pixels movie, and subsequently there is less reduction of quality in comparison to the standard full HD mode.

EX Tele Conversion On

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 camera, which were all taken using the 16 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-GH2 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

Front of the Camera / Pop-Up Flash

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Touchscreen

Rear of the Camera / Touchscreen

Vari-angle LCD Screen

Vari-angle LCD Screen

Vari-angle LCD Screen

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-GH2 offers a winning combination of high-quality stills and video, proven handling and design, and a more affordable price-tag - it's simply the most complete interchangeable lens camera currently available for people who want to shoot in both formats.

Panasonic certainly haven't been idle since they released the original GH1 model in March 2009, adding a veritable plethora of new features and improvements to its successor in order to keep ahead of the competition. The GH2 may look very similar, but both the video and still image quality have been significantly improved thanks to the new 16 megapixel sensor and Venus Engine FHD processor, the lightning-quick auto-focus speed has to be experienced to be believed, and the touch-screen interface is a genuinely useful addition to an already well-thought-out design.

Just as we said about the GH1, if you're looking for high-definition video in a DSLR-like format, then the Panasonic GH2 is your best choice. Canon and Nikon may have recently made significant strides with their 2010 DLSR models, but they can't compete with the GH2. The ability to continuously auto-focus during recording is faster on the GH2 than on Nikon's cameras, with Canon lagging even further behind, and the sheer quality is visibly better than the GH2's main rivals. The EX Tele Convertor mode is the icing on the cake, allowing you to record Full HD footage with less scaling or image processing required, again resulting in great looking video.

The GH2's still image quality is also improved, especially the high ISO performance, impressive given the increase to 16 megapixels. Images shot at ISO 160-400 are clean, with a little noise appearing at 800 and more at the still very usable settings of 1600-3200. ISO 6400 is best reserved for resizing and smaller prints, while the top speed of 12800 is only for emergency use, but overall the GH2 offers the best image quality of any Micro Four Thirds camera to date. It still can't rival the best APS-C DSLRs, but the gap has at least narrowed.

The contrast detection auto-focus system is amazingly quick when certain lenses are used, at 0.1 seconds over twice as fast as the already speedy GH1, and importantly it's very reliable too, even in low-light. If you've always preferred the traditionally faster phase-detection systems of a DSLR, then the GH2 is here to change your mind. The 3 CPU-powered Venus Engine FHD also ensures that the GH2 is no slouch in other areas of its operation, with 5fps burst shooting, no lock-up between shots and instant image playback.

The new touch-sensitive screen further enhances the refined interface of the GH1, delivering all the convenience and more of a compact camera shooting experience in a DSLR-like package that is smaller and lighter than most DSLRs. Panasonic have wisely ensured that only certain key features can be configured by tapping the screen, rather than simply making everything accessible in this way, creating a hybrid interface that genuinely speeds up the camera's operation. You don't have to use the touchscreen at all, but you'd be mad not to.

Panasonic have also laregly addressed one of our few criticisms of the original GH1 - its price and bundle options. You could only buy that camera with the well-matched 14-140mm lens, fine if you wanted the best video lens that Panasonic offer and were prepared to pay the subsequent high asking price, but not so good if you preferred a different optic or you already had some compatible lenses. Now the GH2 is also available with the cheaper 14-42mm kit lens in the US and UK, and even better as a body-only option in the US (we hope that Panasonic UK follow suit too), drastically reducing the initial cost of ownership.

Overall the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 is a fantastic all-rounder that delivers the goods for both photographers and videographers alike. If you're a stills shooter who wants to dip their toe into the world of moving images, or a film-maker who wants the best quality video from an interchangeable lens system camera, then the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 will more than meet your needs.

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

Specifications

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