The Panasonic G7 has been rumored for some time now, and now it looks to be all but confirmed heading into the weekend before its expected announcement. 
Earlier this morning images (see above, below) and detailed specs about the supposed upcoming Panasonic release leaked on several rumor sites across the web. According to those leaked specs, the camera will be capable of 4K video capture at 30fps or 24fps, something that is sure to be a big marketing point from Panasonic.
Panasonic G7 Leaked Specs
– 4K video. 4K Photo – 4K 30p / 24p – Contrast AF employing the DFD technology – 16MP Digital Live MOS sensor – New Venus engine – 360-degree panorama function – Shutter speed 1/16000 – 2.36 million dot organic EL EVF – 1.04 million dot free-angle monitor 
There you have it, Panasonic’s soon to be announced G7. It looks to be a pretty solid M4/3 release and another great option for anyone looking to shoot 4K video on a budget. It will be interesting to see how Panasonic prices the camera; too much and people will just opt for the GH4. The official announcement is expected for Monday, the 18th, so keep it locked to SLR Lounge and we will get you all the official information, pricing, and availability once it is released. What are your thoughts on Panasonic’s new G7? Do you see one of these being added to your kit? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
[via Digicame]
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I could see this as a useful second camera to my EM1. It will have good still photo specs and way better video capabilities than the Olympus. Perfect for a second shooter that also does the video. Of course, the same thing could be said about the GH4!
The GH4 definitely has had me drooling over its video, and given my increasingly large Olympus collection, it would be kind of a no-brainer if I were doing as much video these days as I did years back. If this one’s in keeping with the other G-series, it’ll cost quite a bit less and still deliver the much of what you want, video-wise. Oh, sorry, that was me drooling a little, again…
Down-size a 4K video to Full HD. It looks super crisp. I’d have use for that…
Also, if you shoot 4K on these, you’re shooting in 4:2:0 color like most lower-end formats. But downsampled to HD, your’re getting 4:4:4 color, at least with a smart scaling algorithm. So that’s going to be a better basis for HD delivery than most affordable cameras.
When did “4K Photo” become a thing? Is that just marketing speak for pulling a still from video?
Yeah, I stubbed my eye on that also. I am not sure I understand what 4K photo means.
I like to think of it as shooting 8mp jpegs at 30 frames per second.
Yes, that’s right Adam. I’ve pulled stills from video in the past using Premiere, but the video wasn’t shot at 4K so the results were only so-so. Here’s a decent blog post that describes the process.
http://naturalexposures.com/lumix-gh4s-4k-photo-mode/
Sony has 4K all over its boxes as well. I think it is just marketing gurus trying to find a reason to put 4K on the box, since it is the resolution buzz word of the year.
A may be wrong, but Sony’s just alows you to show your pictures through hdmi at 4k. Panasonic’s pulls the image from your 4k video in camera. So when you are shooting sports, just video the whole thing in 4k and pull out the frame you want as an 8mp jpeg. Not ideal for every situation, but still a very cool option to have.
“Stubbed my eye” wins the Internets today.
Derek,
I have confess that I stole that. :) Abe Lyman used that line in the 1940’s
Part of the 4K Photo thing is that it also saves all the EXIF data with the still, as well as providing a simplified interface for extracting the frame in-camera.
It may seem like a small difference, but I think that modest workflow advantage would change it from something I would almost never use (removing a 4K still in Premiere) to something I would use frequently if trying to capture fast action.
“4K Photo Mode” is actually the name of a mode in all of the Panasonic 4K still cameras. The main idea is that it lets you trade off video vs. photo when setting exposure. In classic video, you generally shoot with a 180-degree shutter — that’s 1/48th second at 24p, 1/60th second at 30p, and 1/120th second at 60p. You’re not really locked into that, but video can look rather odd if you shoot at higher speeds. Many of the still-for-video cameras don’t give you much shutter speed control.
So “4K Photo Mode” is simply Panasonic letting you have full control over video exposures. You can shoot your 30p video at 1/16000 second if you want to. That’ll be weird looking video, but it may be what you want if you’re extracting 8Mpixel stills. They’re still going to be recording in long GOP AVC, far as I can tell, but this will make the photos you extract look less like video frame pulls.
I had the g6 and it was a very functional (if not very exciting) camera. I like the design changes here. Looks less like a toy then the g6. Boy I wish Panasonic and Olympus would share more than just sensor size. Panasonic’s video quality with Olympus’ image stabilization would be spectacular! Especially for family’s and hobbyists who arent going to rig up.