The new Panasonic Lumix GH6 is the next iteration in the Micro Four Thirds system from the company. Equipped with an increased 25-megapixel sensor, it continues Panasonic’s aim to make the GH range a relatively affordable all-rounder for both photography and video.
What is Micro Four Thirds?
In our camera buyer’s guide, we discussed the different sensors that are available on the different cameras. Micro Four Thirds is a relatively small, but powerful sensor that allows for smaller bodies for shooting with, while not ditching features. The lenses that are within the system are also plentiful, affordable and varied, allowing you to explore different options without any real worry.
Micro Four Thirds came about when Olympus and Panasonic partnered to create an ecosystem that they’d be able to both use when they move to a mirrorless system. Later down the line, Blackmagic Design also joined them with their Pocket Cinema camera ranges, before opting to use the Canon EF adaptor instead for the 6K and above.
What’s new in the GH6?
Other than the beefed-up sensor, the GH6 can now shoot 5.8K footage at 30fps, while 4K has been boosted to 120FPS. For those in the colour grading business, the camera now supports 10-bit internal recording, with all resolutions other than 5.8K supporting 4:2:2 internal, with anamorphic allowing 5.8K to record at 4:2:0 internal or 4.4K to shoot up to 60fps with 4:2:2 10-bit colour.
4:2:2 internal is a major upgrade for the GH6, allowing for people to begin ditching external recorders if they don’t require them and shift to external monitors to ensure colours are correct.
However, those still wanting to use the external recorder will find that they can shoot DCI 4K up to 120fps with a future firmware update that will also include 4:2:2, 12-bit RAW footage.
Outside of video, the photography aspect has been sped up considerably, with the camera now able to shoot up to 14FPS with the mechanical shutter, besting the GH5 II’s 12fps in AFS mode. Where it really comes into its own, the AFS shooting mode will allow for a whopping 75FPS continuous shooting when using the electrical shutter, but a reduced 7 over the 9 in AFC (continuous focus) when using the electrical shutter in the GH5 II.
ProRes on the GH6
ProRes is Apple’s video data format, allowing for compressed data at huge resolutions and when thrown into a video editor, takes off some of the strain.
This is especially helpful when shooting at 5.7K, as you’ll be able to edit a bit more smoothly without major hiccups. Of course, shooting at this high a resolution will still need a beefy PC, but for all intents and purposes, it’s an easier way to work with large video files.
The ProRes included maxes out at 422 HQ, which compresses but doesn’t lose any visual quality when you begin to work with it.
So to break it down:
- The shooting speed is insanely fast at 75fps in electrical shutter mode
- Up to 5.7K ProRes 422 HQ
- 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording up to 5.7K
- CFexpress and SD UHS-II storage options
Lumix GH6 Specs
Here’s the short version for those of you who might have their eyes glaze over when they see the table below:
- 25.2 megapixel Micro Four Thirds Sensor
- Up to 5.7K 30fps Apple ProRes 422HQ
- DCI 4K at 60fps, 4:2:2 internal recording
- 13 stops of dynamic range with V-Log
- UHS-II and CFexpress media storage options
- 5-axis stabilisation
- New Venus engine for better processing
| Camera effective pixels / Total pixels | 25.21 megapixels / 26.52 megapixels | |
| Aspect ratio / Color filter | 4:3 / Primary color filter | |
| Recording file format | JPEG (DCF, Exif 2.31), RAW | |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 1:1 | |
| File size (Pixels) | 4:3 | 5776×4336(L) / 4096×3072(M) / 2944×2208(S) / 11552×8672(XL)* / 8192×6144(LL)* *High Resolution Mode. |
| 3:2 | 5776×3848(L) / 4096×2728(M) / 2944×1960(S) / 11552×7696(XL)* / 8192×5464(LL)* *High Resolution Mode. | |
| 16:9 | 5776×3248(L) / 4096×2304(M) / 2944×1656(S) / 11552×6496(XL)* / 8192×4608(LL)* *High Resolution Mode. | |
| 1:1 | 4336×4336(L) / 3072×3072(M) / 2208×2208(S) / 8672×8672(XL)* / 6144×6144(LL)* *High Resolution Mode. | |
| Image quality | RAW / RAW+Fine / RAW+Standard / Fine / Standard | |
| Color space | sRGB, AdobeRGB | |
| Recording file format | MOV: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, Apple ProRes | |
| MP4: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC | ||
| Audio format | MOV: LPCM (2ch 48kHz/24-bit, 96kHz/24-bit*) (4ch 48kHz/24-bit**, 96kHz/24-bit**) | |
| MP4: AAC (2ch 48kHz/16-bit) | ||
| Video Resolutions | 5.8K | 5760×4320 |
| 5.7K | 5728×3024 | |
| 4.4K | 4352×3264 | |
| C4K | 4096×2160 | |
| 4K | 3840×2160 | |
| Full HD | 1920×1080 | |
| Monitor | TFT LCD monitor with static touch control | |
| Tilt free-angle, 3.0-inch (7.6cm), 3:2 aspect | ||
| Focus Mode | AFS (Single) / AFC (Continuous) / MF | |
| Tracking / Full Area AF / Zone (Horizontal/Vertical) / Zone / 1-Area+ / 1-Area / Pinpoint | ||
| Shutter Speed | Still image: Bulb (Max. 30 minutes), 1/8,000 – 60 | |
| Electronic front-curtain shutter: Bulb (Max. 30 minutes), 1/2,000 – 60 | ||
| Electronic shutter: Bulb (Max. 60 sec), 1/32,000 – 60 | ||
| Motion picture: 1/25,000 – 1/25 | ||
| Creative Video M mode / MF mode: 1/25,000 – 1/8 | ||
| Self timer | 10sec, 3 images / 2sec / 10sec / Custom Time | |
| Remote control | Yes | |
| Silent mode / Shutter type | Yes / Yes (Auto / Mechanical / Electronic front curtain / Electronic / Electronic+NR) | |
| Burst Shooting Speed | Mechanical Shutter | H: 14 frames/sec (AFS/MF), 8 frames/sec (AFC) (with Live View) |
| M: 6 frames/sec (AFS/MF) (with Live View), 5 frames/sec (AFC) (with Live View) | ||
| L: 2 frames/sec (AFS/MF/AFC) (with Live View) | ||
| Electric Shutter | SH75: 75 frames/sec (AFS/MF) | |
| SH60: 60 frames/sec (AFS/MF) | ||
| SH20: 20 frames/sec (AFS/MF) | ||
| H: 14 frames/sec (AFS/MF), 7 frames/sec (AFC) (with Live View) | ||
| M: 6 frames/sec (AFS/MF) (with Live View), 5 frames/sec (AFC) (with Live View) | ||
| L: 2 frames/sec (AFS/MF/AFC) (with Live View) | ||
| Timelapse | Yes | |
| Stop motion | Yes | |
| Flash type | Sold Separately | |
| Photo Style | Standard / Vivid / Natural / L. Classic Neo / Flat / Landscape / Portrait / Monochrome / L. Monochrome / L. Monochrome D / L. Monochrome S / Cinelike D2 / Cinelike V2 / Like709 / V-Log / Hybrid Log Gamma / My Photo Style 1-10 | |
| Picture adjustment | Contrast / Highlight / Shadow / Saturation / Color Tone / Hue / Filter Effect / Grain Effect / Color Noise / Sharpness / Noise Reduction / ISO / WB | |
| Filter | Expressive / Retro / Old Days / High Key / Low Key / Sepia / Cross Process / Bleach Bypass | |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen2)) | |
| HDMI | HDMI TypeA | |
| Audio: ON / OFF, MP4: 2ch, MOV: 2ch (When [4ch Mic Input] is set to OFF.), 4ch (When [4ch Mic Input] is set to ON.) | ||
| HDMI Monitor | 4:2:2 10bit (When [Rec Quality] is set to [4:2:2 10bit] or [4:2:0 10bit].) | |
| 4:2:2 8bit (When [Rec Quality] is set to [4:2:0 8bit].) | ||
| Down Convert: Auto / C4K/4K / 1080p / 1080i / OFF | ||
| Playback | 59.94Hz: 8K/30p* / C4K/120p** / C4K/60p / C4K/30p / 4K/120p** / 4K/60p / 4K/30p / 1080/120p / 1080p / 1080i / 720p** / 480p** | |
| 50.00Hz: 8K/25p* / C4K/100p** / C4K/50p / C4K/25p / 4K/100p** / 4K/50p / 4K/25p / 1080/100p / 1080p / 1080i / 720p** / 576p** | ||
| 24.00Hz: 8K/24p* / C4K/120p** / C4K/24p / 4K/120p** / 4K/24p / 1080/120p / 1080p | ||
| *Only for still image playback. **Only for playback. | ||
| Audio | Built-in with Stereo and Wind Noise cancellation | |
| External microphone support via line-in or XLR with external hardware (DMW-XLR1) | ||
| Card slot | Slot 1: CFexpress Card (CFexpress Type B) | |
| Slot 2: SD Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card* / SDXC Memory Card* | ||
| *Compatible with UHS-I/UHS-II UHS Speed Class 3 standard SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards and UHS-II Video Speed Class 90 standard SDXC Memory Cards. | ||
| Timecode In/Out | With included BNC Bundled Cable | |
| Wi-Fi | 2.4GHz (STA/AP) (IEEE802.11b/g/n) | |
| 5GHz (STA) (IEEE 802.11a/n/ac) | ||
| Security: WPA/WPA2/WPA3 | ||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth® v5.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)) |
Where to buy the GH6
The GH6 is currently on preorder for a base price of $2197.99 or £1999. This is just the body without a lens.
Meanwhile, if you want an included lens, you’re looking at around an additional 500 dollars or pounds, with it coming it at around $2797.99 or £2599. The current kit lens on offer is the 12-60mm Leica lens.
If you purchase from one of the three retailers above, you’ll also be able to take advantage of Panasonic’s offer of a free CFexpress card, a much-needed card to keep up with the data rates of the highest end video camera can output.
