Best Professional Compact System Camera for 2013 - Panasonic GH3!

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), an association of the top photography magazines in the United Kingdom,  has named the Panasonic GH3 the "Best CSC Professional" for 2013.

The award says,

"The 16MP Live MOS sensor in the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH3 boasts sensitivity up to ISO 12,800 with +1EV push capability. Sophisticated noise filtration and suppression and a newly designed low-pass filter provides further enhancement of low light shooting results. Utilizing Contrast AF, the camera boasts improved AF performance along with faster start-up and shorter shutter time lag. The 100% coverage, 3-inch 16:9 Live View finder has a brilliant 1744k dot; there is also an articulated OLED rear view monitor (180 degrees to the side and 270-degrees up and down). A magnesium alloy, full die cast frame and splash-proof/dustproof seals are among the other impressive specs."

Full text of Panasonic Press Release on its 2013 TIPA awards after the jump.

Even though the award principally recognizes the GH3 as a still camera - its lightning fast autofocus and ability to create high quality, low-noise images at high ISOs are pretty useful for filmmaking too.

You can get 2013's "best professional CSC camera" for $1298 at Amazon, Adorama or at Samy's via eBay

 

Panasonic Awarded Prestigious Industry Accolades for its Digital Imaging Products

Panasonic Wins Two Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) Awards

Panasonic today announced that it has been awarded two prestigious 2013 TIPA awards, widely recognized as one of the most coveted photo and imaging awards worldwide. Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-GH3 has been awarded ‘Best CSC Professional’ and the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT5(TS5) ‘Best Rugged Compact Camera’.

Laurent Abadie, Chairman and CEO, Panasonic Europe said, “We go to great lengths to ensure our digital imaging products deliver the best possible photographic experiences and we provide a wide range of memory cards for all storage and usage needs. It is great to see our efforts rewarded with such industry accolades and we’re honored to again be recognized by the respected international journalists that judge the TIPA awards.”

LUMIX DMC-GH3 for Best CSC Professional

Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-GH3, the camera for the serious photographer looking to take their professional videography to the next level with a portable interchangeable lens camera, was named ‘Best CSC Professional’, following Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-GX1 winning the ‘Best Advanced Compact System Camera’ last year.

A TIPA jury spokesperson commented: “The 16MP Live MOS sensor in the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH3 boasts sensitivity up to ISO 12,800 with +1EV push capability. Sophisticated noise filtration and suppression and a newly designed low-pass filter provides further enhancement of low light shooting results. Utilizing Contrast AF, the camera boasts improved AF performance along with faster start-up and shorter shutter time lag. The 100% coverage, 3-inch 16:9 Live View finder has a brilliant 1744k dot; there is also an articulated OLED rear view monitor (180 degrees to the side and 270-degrees up and down.) A magnesium alloy, full die cast frame and splash-proof/dustproof seals are among the other impressive specs.

LUMIX DMC-FT5(TS5) for Best Rugged Compact Camera

Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-FT5(TS5), the camera for the adventurous photographer demanding the ultimate tough still and video shooting, was named ‘Best Rugged Compact Camera’ following in the footsteps of the LUMIX DMC-FT3(TS3) which came top of this category in 2011.

A TIPA jury spokesperson commented: “Waterproof to a depth of 13 meters (43 feet), shockproof from a height of 2 meters (6.6 feet), 100kg (220 lbs) of pressure resistance and freeze-proof to -10C (14F), the 16.1MP Panasonic FT5 is an excellent example of today’s breed of outdoor and rugged compacts. Video can be recorded in Full HD (1920 x 1080, AVCHD) with audio capture utilizing Dolby Digital. The Leica DC-Vario Elmar lens (28-128mm equivalent) delivers high quality previews to the 3-inch LCD. Keeping with the “connectivity” trend, the camera has “one touch easy” connection to WiFi that allows for remote capture using the ‘Panasonic Image App’. This also allows for tagging images using GPS functionality.

Great GH3 review over at Soundimageplus

I haven't unboxed my GH3 yet (too busy - don't ask), so I'm living vicariously through the first GH3 still shots and reviews from bloggers such as David over at soundimageplus and emm at cheesycam.  My favorite camera description of all time has to be David's intro to Part 1 of his GH3 review and user experience. Hilarious.

In the meantime, here is my boxed GH3, still in its Adorama shipping parcel - with an unopened Kingston 128GB SDXC card ($85 from Amazon as of today) sitting on top of it.  And the sun is out today too. I can almost hear it calling: "open me, open me now..."

Pre-ordered my Panasonic GH3 DSLM!

It's here!  As Andrew Reid at eoshd says, "This camera is basically a dream..."  I have to agree.  The convergence of pro stills and video in the same camera makes the GH3 the realization of the hybrid camera dream.

As a GH2 still shooter who was dissatisfied with the build quality, autofocus speed and the lack of dynamic range in my stills, the new magnesium alloy body, lightning fast autofocus and HDR mode are what I have been waiting for.

As a GH2 video shooter reluctant to hack my camera, I have been waiting for a high bit rate camera with a stable codec capable of shooting 1080/60p with one hour plus video clip length (outside of the EU), manual audio level control, a headphone jack, XLR inputs (or at least an external accessory with XLR inputs), and clean recordable HDMI output.

So, for $1300, Panasonic has given us much of what has been on photographers' and filmmakers' wish lists for the last couple of years - and more besides (official specs here).

After being tempted by one or two of the plethora of cameras that Sony has announced over the last few weeks, I have put my pre-order in for the GH3.  Sony came closest to getting my business with the $3600 EA-50 or the $2800 A99, but $3600 is a lot of money for a prosumer camera - and the A99's 30 minute continuous shot limit makes it a "video clip" camera, and not a video camera.

It is a great day to be a photographer/filmmaker!

If you enjoy these posts, please support this blog by pre-ordering your GH3 through these links from Amazon for $1299.00 or Adorama for $1299.99.  They won't charge your card until it ships.

Thanks so much.