G5 may have manual controls for video.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=42057000

Just imagine how AMAZING flower footage is going to look in 120fps!!!

(Not to mention the cat, the angry girl friend, the bored kids at the park, ...the possibilities are ENDLESS)

@mpgxsvcd - You cannot forget a major difference between this G5 and the GH3 (or whatever they are going to call it)... the weather sealing. For some of us, that is huge!

@Manu4Vendetta

Check first post :-) I try to update it from time to time.

None of Panasonic's recent camera models include the GH2's 1080p24 encoder, and in my view, that rules them out as upgrades to the GH2. The 24p encoder is effectively a completely separate AVCHD encoder capable of sustained bitrates exceeding 150Mbps.

This statement is 100% false.

• All of latest Panasonic cameras include 1080p24 encoder (but not the necessary sensor modes :-) )
• It is not separate encoder, and all the difference is more related to frame rates and other encoding parameters

encoder is in practice limited to about 100Mbps peak bitrate, and I expect that limit to apply to the G5's 1080p60 video mode as well.

1080p60 requires less bitrate per frame compared to 1080p24 or 1080p30. As for interframe codecs you have much smaller changes and much better changes tracking if use higher framerates.

PTool patch settings for the 24p encoder are completely separate from those of the HBR/FSH/SH encoder.

And? 720p settings are also separate, except bitrate (and bitrate is the same only because this routine is written as such, not because encoder). It does not mean that encoder is separate.

Frame rate is separate, and settings are separate. But encoder itself is the same.

Your claim that a 1080p60 frame requires less bitrate per frame than the same frame size at 24p or 30p is true only for long-GOP recording formats.

It is true for any actual modes used in actual cameras. as 1080p60 mode is using same 0.5 second, 30 frames GOP.

LPowell: "Your claim that a 1080p60 frame requires less bitrate per frame than the same frame size at 24p or 30p is true only for long-GOP recording formats."

Vitaliy_Kiselev: "It is true for any actual modes used in actual cameras. as 1080p60 mode is using same 0.5 second, 30 frames GOP."

By "actual modes", you're evidently referring to the stock GOP-lengths and bitrates of the video modes in unhacked Panasonic cameras. But as I'm sure you understand, what most of us are interested in is how well these cameras will perform with short-GOP, high-bitrate hacks. My point is that regardless of how these modes are implemented in software, in practice they behave effectively as two separate encoders: 24p versus HBR/FSH/SH. The bottom line is that the 24p encoder modes can be hacked to operate at significantly higher bitrates and quality than the HBR/FSH/SH encoder modes. And if the new 1080p60 modes are built on extensions to the HBR/FSH/SH encoder, I expect it will share the limitations of that encoder as well.

Hi, Vitalij,

Is it possible to include in your upcoming G3 hack the new “touchpad” functionality from G5? This is the G5’s most important feature I miss from G3, but obviously it would be a great waste if I upgraded from G3 to G5 just for this reason.

Please, I’d greatly appreciate if you could do it...

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

I believe that the new touch feature is meant for users to look through the viewfinder but swing the lcd out to control focusing. Now this means that you are not actually looking directly at the screen you are touching. However, it means that your nose will not be touching the screen either.

Personally I think this feature is a gimmick. I would just use the LCD for viewing and focusing instead of trying to look through the viewfinder and fumble around with the extended LCD.

More detailed review:

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_g5_review/

A couple of cool new features I found while reading about the G5. This bodes very well for the GH3.

1. High Dynamic and Cross Process video modes. The High dynamic mode definitely has much more dynamic range in the video at the link below. How much more noise will it have?

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/video.html

1. HDR Image mode can use several images to achieve a much broader dynamic range without increasing noise.

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/image_quality.html

1. Level Guage – “The Level Gauge lets the camera detect the horizontal / vertical angle of view with its internal level working with the acceleration sensor. Photos shot in a portrait aspect will be automatically displayed vertically whatever lens is used.” This should have been in the G1!

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/control.html

1. Star Filter and One Point Color modes – Could be great for astro Photography

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/creativity.html

1. You can now select 1080p as an output option for the HDMI output.

“The HDMI output function requires the optional RP-CDHM15/CDHM30 HDMI mini cable. The output resolution of the DMC-G5 can be selected as 1,080p, 1,080i or 480p. Please confirm that the TV you are connecting to has an HDMI input terminal compatible with the selected signal. Depending on the cable used, some functions may not be possible. Panasonic HDMI cables are highly recommended.”

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/creativity.html

1. New two Axis white balance adjustment.

“The DMC-G5's 2-axis adjustment feature gives you a finer white balance adjustment, even when adjusting the Color Temperature Setting or White Set function*. The white balance bracket function shoots 3 consecutive photos with slight changes to the white balance setting of each photo in both the horizontal (amber to blue) and vertical (green to magenta) axes.”

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/creativity.html

1. Bulb mode is limited to 2 minutes. The G2 was limited to 4 minutes and 16 seconds.

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/g5/specifications.html

Here is a link to a sample G5 video file straight out of the camera.

http://img.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_g5/sample_images/panasonic_lumix_g5_01.mts