In this post, we just run through the spec differences between the Panasonic Lumix GH6 and the newer GH7.

 

 

The Panasonic GH7 has the same body design as the GH6 which is great, so we still get tally lamps, sync port, a front record button and most importantly, that tilt-up screen and rear fan. It also means existing accessories for the GH6 like cages will fit the GH7. They are both dust and splash resistant and can work in temperatures down to -10c. The GH6 and GH7 have up to 13+ stops of dynamic range in V-Log (12 stops + in other profiles or over 60fps as DR Boost is disabled). They both have a 25.2mp sensor but now the GH7 seems to use the same sensor as the Lumix G9m2. Due to the GH7 having the same body design it means that you are still not able to use a battery grip.

 

 

The GH7 does have a slightly bigger viewfinder than the GH6 and although the body design is almost identical, It’s 18 grams lighter than the GH6.

 

 

 

DR Boost is now enabled by default with ISO 100 as the base ISO in the standard profiles and ISO 500 being the base ISO in V Log. So you are going to have less noise when DR Boost is enabled, especially when using the V Log picture profile. It also means you will be able to avoid using an ND filter every time you want to use DR Boost. DR Boost does get disabled at frame rates over 60fps.

 

 

In-body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) looks a little better on the GH7 from the videos I have seen which is a real credit to the camera because the IBIS in the GH6 and even the GH5 was excellent for both photography and video.

 

 

The big improvement over the GH6 is the Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF) which is more quicker and more accurate than the previous contrast-based AF system. The new AF system also introduces new modes for trains, plains, motorbike or helmet detection.

 

 

 

 

– Internal RAW recording 5.7k 30p and C4k 60fps (1TB is about 30 minutes of 5.7K footage). You will get a maximum of 1 hour of video at 5.7k per 2TB drive which is the max size allowed. This will give you the flexibility to change white balance and ISO in post. If you shoot C4k and want to deliver it to a 4k timeline you will need to do a little bit of cropping, I talk more about that here.

 

– Proxy Recording

 

– Pre Burst

 

– Live Streaming

 

– Frame.io Integration

 

– Live Cropping is back!

 

– Live view composite

 

– Realtime LUT

 

– Lumix Lab support (but no MP4 lite option so those files are going to be big)

 

– The new filtering for Proxy, VFR, Codec or Resolution is a nice touch as the video modes can be a bit cumbersome to work with at times.

 

– Crop Zoom (digital Zoom for JPG files) – I believe this is just Ex Tele Conv renamed

 

 

 

– The info display over HDMI is now FIXED so you can see it on both screens

 

– You only get 2 track audio now without the XLR adapter attached

 

– The GH7 has the same implementation of the DR Boost in G9m2 (no switching on and off)

 

– HDMI latency has been slightly improved

 

 

 

– The GH6 and GH7 have the option to buy the DMW-SFU3A unlock key for Arri LogC3 which gives you access to 87 looks to choose from, this is available with Real Time in the GH7 but not in the GH6.

 

 

– The XLR-2 Unit allows 32-bit float and 4-channel input – The 32-bit float element is specific to this camera body. This is handy because although you can record 32-bit float to external devices, this lets you bake that audio straight into your video file without syncing in post.

 

 

– DCC-18 USB Dummy Battery which enables those higher frame rates over SSD on the GH6 and GH7.

 

 

 

– Same battery with the same output times, I have external power options for my GH6 which will all work on the GH7 but newcomers should know you are going to need a few batteries or external power if you plan on doing full-day shoots.

 

 

 

– Still only one USB-C port but the new USB-C dummy battery power solution gives you an option to free up that port.

 

 

 

– Still no backup recording for those bigger file sizes due to it not having dual CF Express card slots. So H.265 LongGOP video can be backed up but not the All-Intra H.264 or ProRes/ProRes RAW video. But I guess you have Frame.io and proxy recording. It’s not a solution but it’s better than nothing I guess.

 

 

– Still limited to 30fps in 5.8K open gate which is a shame as having the option for 60fps there would make it a lot more usable.