With Photokina 2012 only a breath away, camera fans are gearing up for some exciting announcements. One of the most anticipated cameras is the Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GH3, and it really couldn’t come soon enough. The widely popular Panasonic GH2, having been announced at Photokina 2010 two years ago, has not only proved an incredible stills camera but has also won the hearts of videographers everywhere — just have a look at some examples here and here.
The GH series sits at the top of Panasonic’s mirroless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) line with integrated electronic viewfinder, DSLR-style body and handling and top of the line specs. However, although Olympus presented the incredible OM-D E-M5 this year, Panasonic has been quiet on the high-end front.
43Rumors has managed to get a long list of specs for the GH3 ahead of any announcement next week and it seems the wait has been worth it. Highlights include a new wide dynamic range sensor, control through iOS or Android apps, 3.5-inch audio in, XLR connectivity, a magnesium alloy body while Panasonic is claiming that the camera will have the fastest autofocus of any interchangeable lens camera.
Here is the full list of leaked specs:
- 16 Megapixel “Wide dynamic range” CMOS Sensor
- New Venus 7 engine
- Electronic shutter
- ISO 100-12,800
- 6fps
- Fastest AF of any interchangeable lens system camera
- 30p/25p in MP4, MOV and AVCHD at 50Mbps (72Mbps ALL-I)
- Built-in stereo mic and 3.5-inch microphone in
- Audio out
- Time Code
- 1740k OLED LVF, Touch Monitor OLED 610k.
- External battery grip
- Wi-fi with remote control through iOS and Android Applications
- PC control
- External XLR accessory
- Focus Peaking
- Interval shooting and slow motion. Slow Movie extension (40%, 50%, 80%) Fast 160/ 200 / 300%
- Magnesium alloy body that is bigger than the Panasonic GH2
The spec sheet is certainly far from complete, for example we don’t know if there is any weather sealing, there should also be a 24p video mode and we can’t figure out if PC control means perspective correction control or control from a personal computer, but it certainly gives a good idea of what to expect.
In any case the formal announcement shouldn’t be too far away now.
