1. Introduction 2. Specifications 3. Body and Design 4. Body and Design 5. Camera Menus 6. Camera Menus 7. Performance 8. Wi-Fi 9. Video Features and Samples 10. Video Assessment by EOSHD 11. Video Assessment by EOSHD 12. Raw Image Quality 13. Phototests and IQ summary 14. Noise & Noise-reduction 15. Dynamic range 16. Resolution 17. Image Q. Compared (JPEG) 18. Image Q. Compared (Hi ISO) 19. Image Q. Compared (Raw) 20. Conclusion 21. Samples Gallery

Camera Menus

Panasonic has tried to make the menus on the GH3 a little prettier than its predecessor's (and a little larger so that they can easily be operated using the touch screen). The result is generally successful and we found slight changes to the screen layout means it's easier to tell where you are within each menu tab.

The menus are long and it's worth spending a few minutes scrolling through them to fully understand the options available to you. Like many high-end cameras, it's a little easy to be overwhelmed by the number of options and the degree of choice offered to you, but it's no worse than cameras from the other major brands.

An initial press of the Menu button brings you directly to the menu settings screen. Using the 4-way controller, pressing the up or down arrows cycle you through the main menu categories. The screen is also touch-sensitive.

Rec menu

The Rec menu concentrates on the primary properties of the images you're shooting. This includes parameters such as image size and iDynamic. The Rec menu also defines the camera's handling of ISO and flash, and accesses some of the camera's special shooting modes, such as Multi-Exposure and HDR mode.

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Photo Style	• Standard • Vivid • Natural • Monochrome • Scenery • Portrait • Custom
Aspect Ratio	• 4:3  • 3:2  • 16:9  • 1:1
Picture Size	• Large (16MB)  • Medium (8MB)  • Small (4MB)
Quality	• Fine  • Standard  • RAW + Fine  • RAW + Standard  • RAW	RAW mode stores only the maximum number of pixels of your chosen aspect ratio, not necessarily the entire sensor.
Metering Mode	• Multiple  • Center weighted  • Spot
Burst Rate	• SH  • H  • M  • L	Selects 20, 6, 4, or 2fps shooting. Live View is not available in SH and H modes. SH mode only available from JPEG mode.
Auto Bracket	• Single/Burst Settings Single / Burst  • Step 3 • 1/3 3 • 2/3 3 • 1 5 • 1/3 5 • 2/3 5 • 1 7 • 1/3 7 • 2/3 7 • 1  • Sequence: 0/-/+ -/0/+	Defines the number and extent of exposure bracketing, along with whether you need to hold the shutter or press once for each exposure.
Self-Timer	• 10 sec.  • 10 sec. (3 images)  • 2 sec.
i.Dynamic	• Off  • Low  • Standard  • High	Exposure and contrast are adjusted to compensate for scenes requiring a wide dynamic range.
i.Resolution	• Off  • Low  • Standard  • High  • Extended
HDR	• On  • Off  • Set Dynamic Range Auto +/–1EV +/–2EV +/–3EV Auto Align On Off	Controls and engages the camera's three-shot 'High Dynamic Range' mode. This menu option is only available when the camera is set to capture JPEG images
Multi Exposure	• Start  • Auto Gain On Off  • Set On Off
Time Lapse Shot	• Start  • Start Time Now Set Start Time HH:MM  • Shooting interval Image Count Shooting Interval MM:SS Image Count XXXX
Electronic Shutter	• On  • Off
Shutter Delay	• 8 Sec  • 4 Sec  • 2 Sec  • 1 Sec  • Off
Flash	• Firing Mode TTL Manual Wireless  • Flash Mode Flash On Red-eye reduction Slow sync Slow sync + Red-eye reduction  • Flash Sync 1st 2nd  • Flash Adjust –3 to +3EV
Red-eye Removal	• Off  • On
ISO Increments	• 1/3 EV  • 1 EV
Extended ISO	• Off  • On
Long Shtr NR	• Off  • On	Takes a second, dark-frame to allow subtraction of long exposure noise
Shading Comp.	• Off  • On
Ex. Tele Conv.	• Zoom  • Tele Conv.  • Off	Only uses part of the sensor, to simulate additional zoom; available in JPEG-only modes.
Digital Zoom	• Off  • 2X  • 4X	This feature is accessible in JPEG-only modes.
Color Space	• sRGB  • AdobeRGB
Stabilizer	• Normal • Panning	Normal mode compensates for both up/down and left/right movement. Panning mode corrects for up/down movement only.
Face Recog.	• On  • Off  • Memory	Exposure and contrast are adjusted to compensate for scenes requiring a wide dynamic range.
Profile Setup	• Baby 1 Age On Off Set Set Birthday Name On Off Set Specify Name Exit  • Baby 2 Age Name Exit  • Pet  • Off  • Set Baby 1 Age Name Exit Baby 2 Age Name Exit Pet Age Name Exit	Defines the birthdays and names of up to three specified individuals, allowing you to include age and name in the resultant images EXIF.

Motion picture menu

The Motion Picture menu contains all the key settings relating to movie shooting. These include parameters for the footage itself and related settings relating to sound recording and audio monitoring.

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Photo Style	• Standard • Vivid • Natural • Monochrome • Scenery • Portrait • Custom
Rec Mode	• AVCHD  • MP4  • MOV
Rec Quality	• AVCHD FHD 60p  • AVCHD FHD 60i  • AVCHD FHD 30p*  • AVCHD FHD 24p  • MP4 FHD 60p  • MP4 FHD 30p  • MP4 HD 30p  • MP4 VGA 30p  • MOV FHD 60p  • MOV FHD 30p I  • MOV FHD 30p  • MOV FHD 24p I  • MOV FHD 24p  • MOV HD 60p I	Specifies image size, frame rate and compression type. Available options are defined by the 'Rec Mode' menu setting. FHD = 1080, HD = 720 and I indicated 'All-I' compression * Technically considered 60i (progressive segmented frame) because 30p is not part of the AVCHD standard.
Exposure Mode	• P  • A  • S  • M	Defines the exposure mode for movie shooting - Only accessible when the camera's mode dial is set to 'Movie'
Frame Rate	• Off  • <40%  • <48%  • <80%  • >160%  • >200%  • >300%
Picture Mode	• Movie priority  • Stills priority
Continuous AF	• On  • Off
Metering Mode	• Multiple  • Center weighted  • Spot
i.Dynamic	• Off  • Low  • Standard  • High	Exposure and contrast are adjusted to compensate for scenes requiring a wide dynamic range.
i.Resolution	• Off  • Low  • Standard  • High  • Extended
Time Code	• Time Code Display On Off  • Count Up REC Run Free Run  • Time Code Value Reset Manual Input Specify value Current Time Set TC to current time  • Time Code Mode DF NDF	Defines the behavior of the camera's Time Code mode - what number it starts at, whether it continues when the camera isn't shooting footage and whether it drops certain numbers to compensate for 30fps actually being 29.97fps.
Rec Highlight	• Off  • On	Only available in Movie mode.
Ex. Tele Conv.	• Off  • On	Only uses part of the sensor, to simulate additional zoom.
Digital Zoom	• Off  • 2X  • 4X	Digital Zoom - crops the image to simulate additional zoom
Flkr Decrease	• Off  • 1/50  • 1/60  • 1/100  • 1/120	Reduces flicker effect from artificial lighting. Not available in Movie mode.
Silent Operation	• Off  • On	Only available in movie mode
Mic Level Disp.	• Off  • On	Live display of sound level being detected by microphones
Mic Level Adj.	Level 1 - 19
Special Mic	• Stereo  • Mono	Controls behavior of an external microphone
Headphone Sound	• Realtime  • REC Sound	Dictates whether you hear sound directly from the mic or when it is recorded
Wind Cut	• Auto  • High  • Standard  • Low  • Off

1. Introduction 2. Specifications 3. Body and Design 4. Body and Design 5. Camera Menus 6. Camera Menus 7. Performance 8. Wi-Fi 9. Video Features and Samples 10. Video Assessment by EOSHD 11. Video Assessment by EOSHD 12. Raw Image Quality 13. Phototests and IQ summary 14. Noise & Noise-reduction 15. Dynamic range 16. Resolution 17. Image Q. Compared (JPEG) 18. Image Q. Compared (Hi ISO) 19. Image Q. Compared (Raw) 20. Conclusion 21. Samples Gallery

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Comments

By perry rhodan (2 months ago)

Really don't understand the rating of the jpeg compared to OMD em5. In text it seems a lot worse, in bars it's just a tiny hair worse. Whats with this? Both can't be right!

0 upvotes