At CES 2018, Panasonic announced the Lumix GH5S, a sort of refresh to their GH5, albeit geared more towards video.
It sports an entirely new multi-aspect ratio sensor which has only half as many megapixels as the GH5, but has better low light performance, with native ISO sensitivity now being a maximum of 51,200.
The multi-aspect sensor allows the user to utilize the full area of the sensor across all the standard aspect ratios without losing resolution or field of view. It is also quite fast, allowing you to shoot 14-bit RAW images at up to 10fps.
The GH5S is the first digital mirrorless camera to shoot 4K 60fps at “true” Cinema 4K resolution, or 4096 x 2160. Other video-oriented features extend to 4K HDR support with the HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) standard, 4K HEVC low-bitrate recording mode, variable frame rate for time-lapse and slow-motion videos, and pre-installed V-LogL and Rec.709 LUTs.
The camera’s DFD (Depth from Defocus) autofocusing system allows it to achieve a very fast 0.07 autofocus speed across 225 focus areas. Other autofocusing abilities include Face/Eye recognition, Tracking AF, 1-are AF, and Pinpoint AF.
In terms of design, the body is made of magnesium alloy full die-cast frames, and has incredible durability, being splashproof, dustproof, and also freezeproof up to -10 degrees Celsius.
At the back, there is a 3.68M-dot OLED EVF (electronic viewfinder) and a 3.2-inch, 1.62M-dot vari-angle OLED touch-enabled display that actually runs at 120Hz. Like the Sony a7R III and a9, the GH5S also now features a joystick at the back.
Also like the a7R III, the GH5S sports dual SD card slots, compatible with UHS-II standard cards. For connectivity, it also has a USB 3.1 Type-C port, full-size HDMI, and a flash-sync terminal. Wireless capabilities include Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi, with support for the much faster 5GHz band.
Given the Lumix GH5S’s capabilities, it definitely looks like it wants to go up against Sony’s a7 series, specifically the a7S, which is also an incredible performer in low light. However, with its retail price of $2499, it looks like a more direct competitor to the more recently released a7R III. It will be available starting February 2.
Source: Panasonic
