Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my review of the Panasonic Lumix gh7 A high-end camera based on the micro 43 System aimed at hybrid Shooters and Videographers and before you ask yes it Now has phase detect autofocus announced In June 2024 the gh7 comes 2 years after The gh6 hit the shops and it shares the Same launch price of $2,200 or £2,000 for the body alone new Features again include phase detect Autofocus for for the first time in the GH series internal prores raw video up To 5.7k enhanced subject recognition and With the optional XLR 2 accessory 32-bit Float audio recording the G7 also Inherits frame iio proxy recording and Enhanced video stabilization from the Latest s52 updates along with realtime Luts and compatibility with the Lumix Lab app from the recent S9 these all Join a core feature set from the earlier Gh6 which includes 4K 120 Open gate 5.8k up to 30p and unlimited Recording times thanks to the built-in Cooling fan Panasonic briefed me online And learn me a sample to test even Though it was described as Pre-production it behaved during all of My tests so far so let me show you Around it and demo the new features Starting with design the gh7 shares Essentially the same body as the gh6 Before it a satisfyingly chunky camera
With a decent grip that feels good in Your hands as before the drive mode dial Is on the upper left side while a Lockable mode dial is on the right with A power collar around it behind the soft Touch shutter release is a finger dial And three dedicated buttons for white Balance ISO and exposure compensation These are joined by an information Button and a red record button which Requires a firm push to start and stop Recording finally there's a thumb dial In the upper corner meanwhile on the Rear are a colar switch and button for Adjusting the AF area and the AF mode an Afon button an eight-way joystick and a Flat thumb wheel oh and there's also a Second record button on the front of the Camera in the lower right corner it all Works together very well and I wonder if Panasonic will recycle this body or Parts of it for a future Flagship full Framer after all the g92 and s52 now Share the same body design the gh7 also Inherits much the same viewfinder as the Gh6 a 3.69 million do OLED but now Quoting a fractionally larger 0.8 times Magnification either way the 4×3 native Sh shape of micro 4/3 means the Viewfinder image fills the entire panel Height when shooting photos or open gate Video which in turn delivers an Impressively large and immersive view Moving on to the monitor the g87 also
Inherits the 3-in 1.84 million dot touch Screen of the gh6 with its cunning Articulated mechanism this includes a Side hinge for flipping out to the side And twisting forward to face you or back On itself for protection but this entire Mechanism is also mounted on onto an Upper hinge which allows the screen to Tilt vertically upwards in two stages Without flipping out to the side first This is not only faster but remains in Line with the Optics and also allows the Screen to stay nice and clear of any Connections even when flipped out Sideways like the g86 the screen Mechanism is also pushed outwards by the Active cooling system which includes a Barely audible fan and vents on either Side Panasonic still claims the body Remains dust and splash resistant though As well as operating down to Temperatures of -1 C the benefit of Active cooling is unlimited recording Times and in my test the gh7 Matched the Gh6 in this regard when set to 4K 30p I Managed 88 Minutes on a full charge Before the battery ran out without any Overheating warnings to really push the Gh7 though I connected it to USB power With my Apple MacBook Pro charger I Popped in my largest 512 GB memory card And managed almost 7 and 1/2 hours worth Of recording before stopped because it Ran out of space this clip was split
Across three files two at 3 hours each Leaving the last at about an hour and a Half and again no overheating issues Speaking of memory cards the gh7 has two Card slots one for CF Express type B and The other for SD as before CF Express is Required for video bit rates above 600 Megabits per second which means most of The all ey or PR res options above 1080p But if you're happy with h264 or 265 Compression you should be able to record Pretty much any of the video resolutions And frame rates to SD cards for access To larger and cheaper storage the g87 is Also compatible with USB SSD drives from Day one which can be connected directly To the USBC Port I tried it with a SanDisk Extreme portable one tbte drive And once USB SSD was enabled in the Menus and the drive formatted the camera Reported a huge 14 hours worth of 4K 30p Available or over 10,000 photos of Course you'd need external power to Record video for that long and since the USBC Port is already occupied by the Drive you're going to be looking for a Dummy battery adapter you'll also have To be careful how the drive is mounted Unlike The Balancing Act that I've done Here restrictions aside though it's Still great to be able to record Directly onto external ssds as they're Large fast fairly cheap and connect Directly to most computers without the
Need to have a card reader I'm also Pleased to report the gh7 inherits the Frame iio and proxy options recently Added to the s52 and 2x models this Allows the gh7 to record a low bit rate Proxy file to the SD card while the Original file is recorded to CF Express Or an external SSD the latter is Particularly welcome since the Dual slot Menu options for backup or overflow Become unavailable when an SSD drive is Enabled in terms of ports the left hand Side is home to 3 and a half mil Microphone and headphone Jacks each with Their own flaps below these are the USBC Port and and a fulls siiz HDMI Jack Sadly like other recent Lumix bodies the USB C Port still won't work as a Standard USB webcam without a driver but Making up for this somewhat is the Ability to stream directly from the Camera without the need for a computer In between connect the gh7 to Wi-Fi or Tether it over USB direct to a mobile Phone and you can broadcast directly to YouTube live or other rtmp compatible Services this was first implemented by Panasonic and the gh5 2 and I demo in my Review of that camera as for the HDMI Jack this can be set to Output raw video To black magic or atomos recorders in 5.8k open gate up to 30p or 5.7k in 17 By9 up to 60p although again a key Upgrade of the gh7 is being able to
Record prores raw internally which I'm Going to talk about in a moment like the Gh6 The Flash sync port and the front Doubles for time code output with Panasonic supplying a BNC adapter in the Box meanwhile the shoe on top can be Used to connect the optional DMW XLR 2 Audio interface which Sports dual XLR And single 3 and 1/2 mil microphone Inputs and supports four Channel Recording so far so similar to the Previous model but what makes the XLR 2 Really special is additional support for 32-bit float recording which in theory Provides so much dynamic range it's Impossible to saturate okay so now I'm Filming with the Lumix gh7 fitted with The XLR 2 microphone accessor And I've got my road shotgun microphone Here which is normally pointing down at Me from out of shop but I want to show You the distance here connected to the 3 And 1/2 mm input on that adapter and I've set the menu to be recording 48 khz 32-bit float and when you select 32-bit Float it disables things like the audio Recording levels so it should be Recording all of them so let's put that To the test sorry this is going to sound A bit Grim at first but let's see if we Can recover it right now I'm speaking Very loudly right into the microphone Right now I'm speaking very loudly right Into the microphone this would be
Horribly distorted uh but it's an Example of how hopefully I should be Able to recover this sound with 32-bit Float I think Panasonic describing the Gh7 is having internal 32-bit flow is a Bit of a push though as it does require This external accessory and after all You could enjoy 32-bit float with a Variety of alternative sound recorders But in its defense the XLR 2 accessory Is allowing the J 7 to record that 32-bit audio track internally as part of A video file thereby eliminating the Need to copy and synchronize a separate Trap from a recorder later and finally The gh7 is powered by the DMW BLK 22 Pack which as I mentioned earlier is Good for about an hour and a half of Standard 4K video also note the tripod Lock pin hole in front of the thread Under the camera moving on I believe the G87 employs the sensor which made its Debut in the g92 making it the first Model in the GH series to sport phase Detect autofocus and in fact only the Second Lumix G model to do so I've got Loads of examples in just a moment but First let's look at the photo quality as Yes you can use the g87 to take pictures The 25.2 megapixel sensor records photos With a maximum resolution of 5776 by 4336 pixels in the native 4×3 Shape of the 4/3 format cropped versions In 3×2 16×9 or 1:1 are also available or
Be B none of the super wide panoramic Options that are seen on the fullframe Models there's two levels of jpeg Compression three low resolutions and The chance to record raw files although Like the g92 there's no raw compression Options nor the option to switch JPEG to Hiff here's my standard bright and peer View taken with a gh7 and 12 to 60 at 12 Mil for a 24 mil equivalent field of View taking a closer look shows a good Level of detail in bright conditions at Lower isos obviously as the isos Increased the smaller sensor will begin To fall behind larger formats but in my Test is cleaner than you might expect Plus there's plenty of bright lenses and Decent IUS in the body to help keep the Isos low I'll include some samples in my Review page at cameralabs.com if you'd Like a closer look the gh7 also inherits A pixel shifting high res mode which Exploits ibys to capture a burst of Images with the sensor slightly shifted Between each one these can then be Combined in camera afterwards to Generate a potentially more detailed Image so here's that peer view again but This time on the left I'll show you the Single frame 25 megapixel version while On the right is the high resolution Composite version like all pixel shift Composite modes there can be artifacts Around any subjects that might be in
Motion during the capture time like People Birds water even foliage but Where the subject is static there can be An impressive boost in detail and unlike Most companies Panasonic is generating This internally and not forcing you to Make the composite on your computer Later Okay now for autofocus and I'm filming The back of the screen as connecting an External HDMI recorder can still have an Impact on autofocus for still photos on Lumix bodies you're looking at the 12 to 60 at 25 mil 3.5 here with AFC where the Camera is using phase detect autofocus Now that's pretty easy so let's switch To the old Leica DG 25 mil 1.4 wide open Of course where in AFC mode you can see The refocusing confidently lands on the Subject without hunting out of Interest Here's the same lens in single AFS mode Where I believe the camera still uses DFD technology and you can see for this Particular old lens is actually a bit Quicker despite the brief wobble to Confirm DFD for all his complaints on YouTube is still a good technology for Single auto focus photos still too easy Okay how about the old Olympus 75 mil 1.8 wide open here in AFS mode again Where the confirmation wobble is a bit More pronounced but the focusing is Still Swift and now if I switched the G87 to continuous AFC mode you'll see
That the hunting has been eliminated but Again for this older lens the refocusing Speed has reduced now this is more down To the age of this lens though as more Modern lenses do Focus very quickly in Either AFS or AFC modes making them Practical for capturing Action Sports And Wildlife I'm going to show you Autofocus for video in just a moment the G87 also Sports upgraded subject Detection over previous models including The updated s52 so along with allowing You to choose between human animal car Bike train and plane the gh7 lets you Drill down further to specify actual Target parts for a human or animal that Would be eyes as we've seen before but For cars and bikes you can now also Choose between the front of the vehicle Or bike or the helmet of the driver or Rider and for trains and planes you can Choose either the whole object or again The front of it in practice it works too Although I'd still like to see an auto Option that attempts to detect the Actual type of subject a more Dynamic Situation even if it means reduced Accuracy Canon and Fujifilm have proven That this is possible but either way Here's a burst of shots taken with a 12 To 60 at 60 mil F4 for a 120 equivalent Using the mechanical shutter at the top Speed of 10 frames per second when using Continuous
Autofocus if you can use AFS this can be Boosted to 14 frames per second like Other new Lumix cameras 4K and 6K photo Have long gone but fast electronic Bursts and pre-burst options are Available able on the g87 here's a Sequence I took in the pre-burst mode at 20 frames per second with a half second Buffer where I fully pushed the shutter Button as the bird took flight but here You can see the pre-burst mode has Allowed the camera to buffer and record 10 frames prior to takeoff allowing you To capture the exact moment that you Desire moving on to video the gh7 Becomes the most capable Lumix G movie Camera to date building upon the quality And features of the gh6 with more Confident autofocus improved Stabilization and the chance to record Internal prores raw yep internal prores Raw as with previous GH models there's a Vast array of movie options which I'll Briefly discuss while scrolling through Just the mov modes when the camera is Set to ntsc you can film 1080 from 24 to 240p 4K or Cinema 4K from 24 to 120p Along with a variety of anamorphic and Open gate modes with the best quality 5.8 K available up to 30p and recording The full 4×3 sensor area you'll also see There's 8 Bit And 10bit options and the Choice of long G or all ey encoding for Most of these modes okay enough of these
Menus now for some actual footage that I Filmed with the gh7 and 12 to 60 lens Which I'm going to keep at 12 mil so you Can compare coverage you're looking at 1080 30p here where the views uncropped Widthways compared to standard 4×3 Shaped photos and next at 1080 60p where The coverage is again the same you're Also still getting full subject Recognition with continuous autofocus up To 60p now for 1080 at 120p still Uncropped and still with continuous Autofocus or be it now without subject Detection so you're looking at just Using standard a areas from 100p upwards And now for the top frame rate of 1080 At 240p where the coverage May remain Unchanged but there is now a visible Dropp in quality I also lost continuous Autofocus in this mode with only single AF available while on my oldest lenses It became manual focus only you are Still recording sound in this mode Though so 1080 240p is best reserved for Static subjects like those times when You know you want to drop a brick into a Flower pot full of water or if the depth Of field is sufficient for continuous AF Not to really matter it can also be used To capture slow motion sporting action Like this weight boarding in both Examples I'm filming in 240p and slowing Them down by eight times for my 30p Timeline although if your project is in
24p you could be enjoying a 10 times Slowdown okay now back to my 1080 30p Clip of the pier before switching to 4K At 30p where there's a visible Step Up In detail note that all of these clips Were filmed with far shutter speeds as It was Outdoors without a filter so the Motion is going to look a bit jittery But this test is all about detail next For 4K 60p still with sound the same Coverage and full subject detection with Continuous AF available and now for 4K At 120 P still maintaining the same Quality and coverage but like 1080 Anything above 60p loses subject Recognition and you'll need to use Standard AF areas you do at least still Get continuous AF and sound here's some Footage I filmed in 4k 120p of Steven Seagull and his extended family enjoying A flap around the beach I've slowed this By four times on my 30p timeline here And the results can look pretty good Although do beware of using the digital Stabilization set to high as I found That it could produce some visible Jitters when slowed down standard Digital or Ibis by itself though looked Fine and now back to 4K at 30p before Switching to the top quality of 5.8k Also at 30p where the result on this 16×9 4K timeline looks identical but the File does contain more detail than 4K And that can allow me to zoom in a bit
Or cro in post 5.8k is also in the open Gate format where the camera records the Entire sensor area and in the case of 4/3 cameras that's in a 4×3 shape so as I shrink the video you'll see how much Taller it is than standard 16×9 and this Provides great flexibility in post for Generating both wide and tall content From the same footage for example here's The same clip shown twice in the 4×3 Open gate format now I'll crop both of Them into landscape on the left and Portrait or vertical on the right where It's clear how the latter is enjoying The extra height captured by the sensor I personally use open gate for clips That I intend to use for both lands cape And portrait formats and on micro 4/3 It's particularly useful as the 4×3 Shape is even taller than the 3×2 shape Of fullframe and apsc models and this Alone could make the g87 more desirable Than those other cameras if you Regularly make videos that have to look Like that and that before moving on you Won't find the excellent hybrid Zoom With the recent S9 on the g87 which Exploits the full sensor resolution to Seamlessly extend the range of a zoom Without losing out on the full wide end Maybe there's some sort of issue Implementing it on micro 43s I'm not Sure but I do hope that they can resolve It as it is a useful feature now for
Video autofocus and just as an appetizer Here's a handheld clip with the old 25 1.4 showing how easily the gh7 can now Refocus from near to far with a single AF area and this was in pretty low light Too during dusk let's now switch to a More formal test with my usual bottle Against a brick wall filming 4K 30p First with a 12 to 60 at 25 mil 3.5 Where you'll see The Confident Refocusing back and forth with no Overshooting for something a bit more Challenging though how about the LI a Dg2 1.4 again wide open and again Showing nice and smooth Focus pools back And forth without any hunting this is Why we've been asking for phase detect For so long and to prove it's not just Limited to 30p here's the same test at 25 1.4 in 4k at 60p and again in 4k 120p I'm going to play it back four times Slow slower than normal to show how the Focus pulls stop just as soon as they Reach the subject as noted earlier you Still get continuous AF and sound in 4k 120 but without subject recognition but It's fine for this single area test Though I'm not going to bore you here With all of my 1080 tests but they also Worked fine from 24 to 120p although Again at 200 to 240p you're only going To be getting single AF at best and on Some really old lenses like my 25 1.4 You're only getting manual focus static
Subjects are easy though so how about One that's moving so here I am filmed in 5.8k 30p with the 25 1.4 wide open where You can see the gh7 not only refocusing On me as I move but staying locked on Once I pause I was using face and eye Detection here and for a tougher test Here's the Olympus 75 1.8 again wide Open and while this older lens is a tad More leisurely to refocus it's still Getting to where it needs to be smoothly And confidently without hunting or Wobbling and for those who need Boer Blobs to really tell what's going on Here I am indoors with the 25 1.4 again And I'd like you to pay attention to the Size of the blobs in the background Sorry I'm very close to the camera at Times but I really wanted to generate The biggest Boker blobs that I could Again the refocusing on the 25 1.4 may Not be as smooth as the latest lenses For video but the important part here is Seeing the size of the blobs remains Fixed when I stand still you may recall The wobbling or fluttering of previous Lumix bodies which relied on DFD only But now phase detect AF has put those Demons to rest and if you prefer Non-human subjects here's a dog enjoying A nice stroll along the seafront filmed In 4k 60p where the subject recognition Is still supported I've slowed it by two Times here on my 30p timeline I did
However notice a drop in accuracy above 60p when the subject detection becomes Unavailable with faces and eyes not Always being as sharp as they could be At these frame rates try to use a single Area and position it carefully over the Part of the subject that you'd like to Be the sharpest now for stabilization With the gh7 sporting not just Ibis Sensor shift but some of the most Effective digital compensation around Right now let's start with a clip filmed With the Olympus 75 mil so that's 150 Mil equivalent on this body without any Stabilization first where the result is Of course wobbly next For Ibis alone Where the view has become much steadier Remember this lens has no Optical Stabilization of its own so this is just Ibis you're looking at and now for ibis With standard digital movie Stabilization which takes a small crop To deliver more stable footage you can See this begin to lock on as I recompose And next for ibis with digital movie Stabilization set to high this takes a More substantial crop and is really Designed for filming when walking so We'll come back to that and for now Disable the digital movie is all Together and have a look at Ibis plus The optional boost is mode this assumes That you're trying to hold the camera as Still as possible so snaps more into
Place after recomposing it can be pretty Effective as you can see here but if You're more into walking while filming Here's the G7 with the 12 to6 here 12 Mil and absolutely everything turned on So you're looking at Ibis Optical Stabilization in the lens and digital Movie is set to high here I'm not Walking particularly carefully but There's still a nice floating look to The footage here and just for fun here's Two vlogging clips for you both filmed In open gate at 12 mil with I and Optical but the one on the left with Standard movie is and the one on the Right with high movie is note the Difference in the field of view moving On the gh7 of course offers Vlog for Grading with Panasonic claiming 12 plus Stops of dynamic range in standard modes Or up to 13 plus stops in a boosted Dr Mode up to 60 frames per second which Effectively combines two exposures to See what's possible here's a clip that I Filmed with the standard profile where The high contrast has blown out some Highlights and Crush some Shadows Especially Under the Pier now let's open A wide dynamic range project in Final Cut and import some Vlog Clips note that My screen recording here is in 8 bit so The video preview in the top middle is Going to look blown out so I've turned On the video scopes in the upper left
Which will indicate the ttal range even When the preview to its right looks Terrible I'll start with that standard Profile clip again which the video Scopes reveal has clipped highlights and No amount of adjusting is going to bring Them back nor the detail in the shadow Area area under the peer it's all gone My second clip is filmed with Vlog so Right now looks very flat so the first Thing to do is add the Panasonic Vlog L From the information panel now the Colors look much more natural while Switching between it and the first clip Shows greater tonal range especially in The highlights again my screen recording Isn't showing the full range that I can See with my laptop actually in front of Me but hopefully you'll see that there Is more tal detail in the Cloudy Sky Even if just checking out the Scopes in The upper left conversely if we take a Closer look at the shadow area and boost That part you'll see how a lot of Turnal Detail is just waiting to be recovered At both ends of the range of desired but The gh7 goes one step further still by Offering internal prores raw so that's What I've used for my third clip filmed In 5.7k and in the information panel Upper right you can see the iso and White balance as recorded by the camera For this clip you don't normally see This information PR res Raw on the g87
Is recorded in Vlog as standard so let's First add the lot before comparing it to The previous clip looking at the Scopes You may notice a slightly greater range To start with but the preview window in The middle is also revealing the raw Clip capturing a wider field of view Than the non-raw clip before it just Look at the edges this is because it's Not yet had a lens profile applied to Correct the Distortion and this is one Of the things that you're going to need To think about when filming raw video Likewise for noise reduction which also Needs applying to raw video but as Before there's still plenty of Opportunity to adjust the tnal range to Retrieve highlight and Shadow detail if Desired and finally my fourth clip was Again filmed in 5.7k raw but what's this Whoops I've accidentally filmed it with An incandescent white balance of 3200k rather than the correct daylight Setting of 5500k and once I apply the Vlog look that strong blue cast is quite Obvious I've ruined everything haven't I But wait a minute for raw video you'll Find a new modifi prores RAW button at The bottom of the information panel and This then lets you adjust the white Balance you can see how adjusting it to 5,500 K effectively corrects this clip But you can of course take it further in Either direction if desired you can also
Adjust the exposure offset and the iso Value to effectively adjust the Brightness here while the base Sensitivity of Vlog is 500 ISO I'll Choose 1,000 then 2,000 ISO to brighten The image to retrieve that shadow detail Under the peer without even bothering With those color wheels again this all Looks way better on my actual screen in Front of me than this screen recording Now many higher end cameras already Support raw video output over HDMI and This is also available on the g87 if you Prefer but the ability to record prores Raw internally is much more convenient And a bit of a coup for Panasonic as Previously it had been tricky for Various legal reasons maybe that's not So much the case anymore sticking with Lot for a moment the g87 also supports The realtime lots and the Lumix lab app First seen on the recent fullframe S9 And like that camera you can download Alerts or create your own via the app Then bait them into footage if you Desire here's a clip I filmed with Included sample lot although if you'd Like to learn more about the feature and How the phone app works do check out my S9 review and finally hold on to your Lunches as it's time for a rolling Shutter test let's start with 4K 30p Where there's minimal skewing even as I Throw the camera from side to side next
4K 60 which again looks similar so There's some skewing but it's pretty Minor and now 4K 120 where again there's Minimal impact from skewing and finally In 5.8k open gate where the skewing Again looks pretty similar to those 4K Clips overall I'd say the gh7 does a Pretty good job at keeping rolling Shutter under control particularly given That this is not even a stacked sensor You'll really need to throw it around to Notice it which brings me to my verdict During which I'll show you some more Samples the Lumix g87 built upon a Strong series to become one of the most Powerful and compelling cameras for Videographers and hybrid Shooters at This price point at first glance it Appears to resolve pretty much the only Complaint of the earlier gh6 by Equipping this otherwise excellent body With the g92 sensor which in turn Finally brings confident pH detect Autofocus to the GH Series this alone Will be all that many need to hear but The g87 also brings more to the table It's one of the few cameras around that Can record prores raw internally up to 5.7k without the need for an external HDMI recorder The optional XLR microphone interface Now supports 32-bit flow audio which is Recorded directly into your files Without needing to synchronize a file
Later the AF subject recognition can now Also drill down to Target Parts like the Drivers of cars the gh7 also inherits Frame IO proxy recording and enhanced Video stabilization from the latest s52 Updates along with realtime Luts and Compatibility with the Lumix lab app From the S9 these all join a core Feature set from the g86 which includes Four K10 with no loss of coverage or Quality the flexibility of 4×3 shaped Open gate in 5.7k a cunning screen tilting mechanism External SSD support and unlimited Recording thanks to the built-in cooling Fan it seems almost cherish to complain You still can't use it as a standard USB Webcam but that's about the only obvious Feature missing and in some consolation You can still live stream direct from The camera without a computer in between If you're into video and understand both The pros and the cons of micro 43 you'll Love the gh7 but also don't rule out the G92 available a little cheaper and Sporting many of the same core features If full frames more you thing then the S5 2x actually comes in a tad less Expensive than the gh7 and the standard S52 even cheaper still now neither Sports the sheer wealth of g87 features Like internal PR as raw but they may Already be good enough for your needs Certainly I've been very happy filming
Most of my A and B role for the last Year with the s52 including this entire Review the bottom line with the s52 g92 And g87 Panasonic has a trio of Highly Compelling cameras for hybrid Shooters Of course the missing link now is a High-end full framer and it'll be Interesting to see if the g87 body or Feature set gives away any clues but in The meantime the g87 is a tremendous Camera and once again proves micro 43s Remains both relevant and desirable Which brings me to the end of what Turned out to be a somewhat longer video Than I first anticipated so if you got To the end I salute you and in the Absence of a sponsor all I have left to Do is to thank you for watching ask what You think in the comments and bid you a Fun farewell thanks again for watching Bye-bye
