Panasonic Confirms New 4K GH6 Camera
The Panasonic GH6 is real. Expect it to arrive later this year.
Panasonic has announced that it will continue its commitment to Micro Four Thirds with the development of the GH6, a new mirrorless camera expected to arrive in late 2021 with a price tag of around $2,500.
Since Panasonic is only teasing this camera, not much has been disclosed, but No Film School has learned through a press event prior to the company's livestream that the GH6 will be a brand-new mirrorless camera that brings several new features to the fold over the newly announced GH5 II.
Here's what we can confirm:
Panasonic GH6
- New Sensor and Processing Engine
- 5.7K 60p, 10-bit
- 4K DCI 60p, 10-bit (unlimited recording)
- 4K 120p, 10-bit
During the press event, Panasonic noted the GH6 will have more cutting-edge features than previous GH models. What those exact features are Panasonic didn't share, but we can safely tell you the GH6 is aimed more at the "professional creator."
You can think of the GH6 as an MFT version of the Panasonic S1H. Expect the sensor to be 5.7K with no pixel binning. Expect it to have slow/quick motion video with high frame rate and variable frame rate support for high-resolution recording.
The GH6 will also have both photo and video modes, support anamorphic open gate shooting, external recording, and support a number of aspect ratios like 9:16 vertical shooting.
Similar to the GH5 II, expect an improved autofocus system with the GH6. With the GH5 II, autofocus has improved tremendously, especially when it comes to eye, face, and body tracking, but it is still contrast-based. Our guess based on the event is that Panasonic might be moving toward phase detection autofocus along with contrast-based autofocus with the GH6. A hybrid approach similar to Canon, Sony, and Nikon. This would fulfill the "professional creator" moniker Panasonic touted in the presser.
If that's the case, that change would be widely welcomed. Plus, we might see the next generation S series cameras receive phase detect as well. But we'll just have to wait and see.
What do you think of the GH6? Is Panasonic headed in the right direction? Let them know what you want to see in the comments below.
