Rumored Panasonic GH5 Specs Leaked, Still 4K

By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS)

Well that didn’t take long. Almost as if Panasonic wanted to steal Canon’s thunder. But the rumored specs for the Panasonic GH5 have allegedly leaked onto the Internet and although it isn’t going beyond 4K as previously thought, it is bringing 10-bit 4:2:2 internal recording.

Granted, these details come from 43Rumors, so you have take them with a grain of salt by default. But 43 has classified it as FT4, which is their way of saying they are about 60 to 80% sure of the information. As time goes on, sites like this have become very adept at fishing for details in the rumor mill and hitting it remarkable close to home. Not all the time, sure. We had an article recently that said the GH5 would be 6K, wouldn’t have a larger sensor (there was another rumor stating there could be a Super 35 sensor).

Now we’re hearing it will remain 4K and beef things up with 10-bit 4:2:2 recording. That means it won’t have to rely on the expensive Panasonic YAGH Interface to record in ultra high definition. More of a dot upgrade, to be sure, so think of it as a GH4 Mark II, rather than a GH5. The specs, according to 43Rumors include:

1. 16 megapixel sensor
2. 4K recording with no crop
3. 4:2:2 10 bit
4. Internal recording

So far, that’s it. But others are talking about what else they would like to see in the GH5, and that includes:

1. 5 axis in-body sensor stabilization (more effective than the Sony α7 series)
2. 2x crop sensor, in both 4K and stills modes
3. 1.5x crop Super 35mm field of view with standard Speed Booster and 1.3x crop with Speed Booster XL

The conventional wisdom also says that Panasonic will stand pat on using H.264, rather than strike new ground with the once and future king, H.265. Canon chose to stand pat for their existing codec on the 5D MK IV, choosing to remain with Motion JPEG for its 4K recording, rather than H.265 as well. So maybe they know something about the new emerging recording codec that we don’t, like it’s not really ready for prime time. Canon and Panasonic aren’t the only ones either. Sure, there are some outliers who are offering the H265 option, but it isn’t yet the adopted standard that the UHD committee wants it to be.

Back to the GH5… The other talk is that the GH5 isn’t going to be ready for the lucrative Fall shopping season. So while Panasonic is believed to be getting ready to announce it at Photokina 2016 next month, it will do so with a prototype and will talk about a 2017 release date. That’s good news for Canon, as it will give the 5D MK IV some breathing room to get some sales under its belt before it falls behind the power curve again. Because once the GH5 comes out, and that 10-bit 4:2:2 internal ends up being true, then anyone who has bought the 5D4 may start listing it on eBay.

Some will say it’s an apples and oranges argument, that Canon’s 5D is primarily a stills camera. Well, sure. That’s fair. But we need to remember that it was the 5D MK II that caught the filmmaking world on fire back in 2008. Since then, it seems they’ve pulled back to their stills identity (plus video), while Panasonic’s GH line has always embraced both the stills and video side.

But regardless of the specs, what the GH5 has going for it is the price point: The GH4 goes for just under $1500, body only. So we can expect that the GH5 will have a similar MSRP. That’s more than half the price of the announced Canon 5D ML IV. Sure, the 5D4 has a full-frame, but these days, that seems to be less and less important. There are cameras that are full-frame and cropped, and the images are stunning. So is full-frame really the best anymore? I don’t believe so, and I don’t think it has been for quite awhile.

What is important is that Canon needs to prepare for an eventual Panasonic GH5, because their moment in the sun is shrinking, fast.