Panasonic has confirmed it will lauch a new flagship, Micro Four Thirds camera: the GH5.
The new model was announced at the Photokina trade show, although it is not expected to go sale until the “early” 2017.
The GH5 will feature several image quality improvements, although not the rumoured 6K video. The camera will be able to record 10-bit, 4:2:2 video internally in up to 4K, with frame rates of 50fps or 60fps.
A new “6K photo” mode will allow photographers to capture stills images out of an 18 megapixel video stream, but at this stage, there will be no support for conventional 6K video. Sony’s A6300 compact systems camera captures video at 6K, but downscales to 4K for recording.
Panasonic has, so far, released few other details of the GH5: it is not clear, for example, if the camera has the five-axis stabilisation system fitted to the GX80/GX85 and the upcoming G80.
Nor has Panasonic said whether the GH5 will use the sensor from the GX80, the slightly higher resolution sensor from the GX8, or an entirely different sensor.
There are also few details on the video modes supported by the GH5, including bit rates, and whether it supports Log recording.
However, images of the GH5 from Photokina appear to show the camera with a hotshoe-mounted adapter. This could be an XLR audio adapter similar to Sony’s optional adapter for the A7s.
If this is the case, Panasonic could be moving away from the GH4’s YAGH expansion unit, which offers XLR inputs, SDI out and timecode in.
Alternatively, the mic unit could be a more compact way of adding pro audio to the GH5 for users who don’t need all the features of the YAGH.
Panasonic also said it is launching a range of new Leica co-branded lenses, including a 12-60mm f2.8-f4, an 8-18mm, and a 50-200mm telephoto optic.
