We teamed up with B&H to give you a first look at the Panasonic G95. This camera was designed for the amateur and hybrid content creator and comes in at a great price point of $1,200. It’s a solid update from the G85.
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What’s New with the G95?
In the G95, we see a sensor that went from 16mp to 20.3mp. We have 3 new buttons for WB, ISO and Exposure Compensation; and new rear thumb wheel, making on-the-fly adjustments much easier.
We have a headphone jack for monitoring audio, and an OLED screen on the g95. In addition, we can now record in 4K at 24/30p with an unlimited duration, (unlike the G85 that was set at 30 minutes). We do have a slightly higher 4K crop at 1.26x vs 1.18x, but this shouldn’t make a material difference for users.
The G95 also boasts 1080p 120fps, making it great for slow motion, but keep in mind your recording options will be limited in this mode. No sound, and no continuous autofocus.
The G95’s built-in v-log profile also gives it 12 stops of dynamic range, and allows for modest grading in post. The G95 also now has low-energy bluetooth connectivity, in addition to WiFi.
Overall Thoughts on the Panasonic G95
Good Build Quality – I love the rugged build quality. It’s weather sealed and you can tell it’s built tough. Granted, the G95 does feel more like a DSLR than a small mirrorless body, but I appreciate the ergonomics of that build.
Menu Needs Improvement – I’d love to see a more user-friendly menu design, those without experience with Panasonic cameras may have a bit more of a learning curve and have to spend a little bit of time consulting the manual.
Good Stabilization – I absolutely loved the camera stabilization on the G95, it’s some of the best in-camera stabilization I’ve ever seen making it great for a handheld video like you see here.
Autofocus Needs Improvement – Really the only drawback for me is that I had expected a bit more with the Panasonic G95 autofocus system. Noticed both when shooting stills and video, the face and subject tracking had a tendency to drift in and out more than we expected. But, this is something that future firmware updates can likely target and address.
All in all, it’s a solid upgrade to the g85, at a great price point. If you love creating video, and also shooting stills, this is a great option, specifically if you are already in the Panasonic ecosystem.
