Panasonic GH3 for photography (in 2024).

In my last post I discussed my recent purchase of the Lumix GH3 for shooting video. This will be its main purpose - in conjunction with my Lumix S5 - to supply video and photos for a Real Estate firm. But it will also act as a back-up of sorts, if anything should happen (please no, touch wood) to the S5 while on a shoot. So the IQ (image quality) needs to be 'good enough' to take over photo duty if required (again, please no....!).

Of course whenever you get any new gear, you need to test it out - right?! Nobody in their right mind would take a newly acquired piece of equipment and try it out for the first time on a shoot - least of all an actual paid gig! No - I thought not.

With this in mind, I loaded up my Lowepro backpack with my Lumix S5 and S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 attached, and the Lumix GH3 with the G 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Power OIS, and headed out the door this past weekend (as I write this).

It had been a while since I had been to Dorothy Falls at Kaniere, so that was my destination. I got up at stupid-o'clock on Saturday morning so I could get to the falls around dawn. Turned out this was a little too early, so I wandered down to Lake Kaniere to see if I could capture a few sunrise photos.

As you can see from the image on the right, reducing the exposure to retain highlight detail in the sky (very important with digital sensors) has meant that the landscape itself is underexposed. Looking at this image back home on the computer, I didn't hold out much hope of getting any detail or definition in the trees around the lake, especially since this is from a micro four thirds sensor. 

Lake Kaniere Dawn.  Lumix GH3 with Lumix G 12-60mm Power OIS. f/8 @ 1/50th, ISO 200

Having owned, and used, 16MP Olympus micro four thirds cameras for many years, I shouldn't have been so pessimistic. I've written myself, on several occasions in this very blog, that the ability to extract information from the micro four thirds sensor is actually quite staggering. Micro four thirds sensors are capable of capturing excellent dynamic range - the GH3 itself is capable of around 12.5 stops of dynamic range. 

In comparison, the S5's 24MP sensor is rated by DXO of 14.5 stops. Two stops is certainly significant, but this is a considerably newer - full frame - sensor. 12.5 stops on the GH3 is very, very respectable, and allows it to create images like the one above. What's more, the detail pulled out of the shadows is very clean and noise-free at the cameras native ISO of 200. A very good result indeed.

Dorothy Falls. Lumix GH3 with G 12-60mm. f/8 @ 1/3rd sec, ISO 200 + Polariser

I would have liked to have spent a bit more time exploring Lake Kaniere, but I was being swarmed and eaten alive by the (in)famous west coast sand fly. They like the taste of me unfortunately, and as soon as I set up my tripod I was surrounded by the little biting monsters! I took this as my que to head back to Dorothy Falls where, given the slightly cooler temperatures of the surrounding bush, the sand flies were thankfully (mostly) absent.

This allowed me to take my time, and take two shots of the same subject - one with the GH3 and one with the S5 - for 'comparisons' sake.

I've already discussed the dynamic range capabilities of both cameras, and this can be seen in the 100% crops above. The S5 retains detail in even the brightest areas of the waterfall, whereas the GH3 doesn't quite manage it. On both exposures I was very careful not to 'clip' the highlights, but the GH3 sensor just isn't capable of  retaining the extreme highlight detail. The full frame image is also very slightly 'crisper' than the micro four thirds one - again not surprising given the size and age advantage of the newer S5 full-frame sensor.

And yet, there's not a massive difference between the two - certainly not as much as some would have you believe there should be. I would take the S5's full-frame sensor over the GH3's micro four thirds - of course I would. But if you told me I had to use the 16MP GH3 from now on, it certainly wouldn't hold me back from making amazing images. And as a back-up to my S5, it'll do just fine.

Dorothy Falls Cascade. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/2sec, ISO 200

Having just said that, I will admit to preferring to using the S5 over the GH3. For a start, the viewfinder on the GH3 leaves a lot to be desired. It's a little blurry around the edges for us glass-wearers, which makes composition a little tricky. Fortunately, when shooting video, I'll only be using the LCD screen which is perfectly fine to compose from. This was also the case for most of the morning while the GH3 was on a tripod. But take it off the tripod, use the viewfinder to compose and the picture taking experience is diminished somewhat.

I also prefer the weight, heft, and overall handling of the S5. The GH3 isn't bad in this respect, but the S5 is better (IMHO). The GH3 with battery grip weighs about the same as the S5 body. Add a lens to both of them and the weight is similar enough to not be a factor. But the S5 certainly feels better in my hand. That being said, the GH3 is probably the most comfortable micro four thirds camera I've ever used. Far better than the angular and retro inspired Olympus offerings like the OMD EM-5 and EM-1.

Cloud Cover. Panasonic Lumix GH3 with G 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 OIS. f/7.1 @ 1/800th, ISO 200

As someone who has had a lot of experience shooting micro four thirds - especially with Olympus - the Olympus vs Panasonic question is an interesting one. I can see why Olympus embraced their heritage with the retro OM look to their cameras, as much as I can see how it made sense for Panasonic to pursue a more traditional DSLR style to their cameras.

Personally, even though I like the look of the Olympus cameras, I do prefer the Panasonic's DSLR style ergonomics and handling. BUT.... I think that Olympus make the better cameras in terms of functions, engineering and technology. Especially when it comes to the Panasonic's Achilles heal - auto focus. Not that Panasonic's contrast-based autofocus is unusable. For stills photography it's actually very good. But video - well that's another story. Needless to say, I think I'll be using a lot of manual focusing with the GH3. And that's absolutely fine.

Dorothy Falls, Kaniere. Lumix GH3 with G 12-60mm. f/8 @ 1/2sec, ISO 200. + Polariser

Is the 16MP Panasonic GH3 micro four thirds camera a twelve year old obsolete dinosaur that should be dismissed in 2024? No - of course not! In fact, it would be an amazing camera to give to someone who wants to learn photography and grow in their hobby. With great ergonomics, a very capable image sensor, and very good IQ - not to mention excellent video features (if you are happy to focus manually) - the GH3 was Panasonic's flagship camera when it was released in 2012. It was an amazing camera then, and it's a fantastic camera now. Not state-of-the-art, granted. But you're not paying state-of-the-art prices. And yet what you get for your money is above and beyond what you should expect at this price point. Cheap as chips, but oh-so capable. I reckon the GH3 will make a perfect video camera, and an ideal back-up for my S5.

The Lumix GH3 joins my Panasonic family

I have written recently about my mini-resurgence in photography, brought about by my getting involved in Real Estate photography. I've supplied photos and video for a few more properties since then - enough to formulate some ideas about how I can refine the process going forward.

Before going out on my last gig, it suddenly dawned on me that I was only going with one camera. That's something I would never do if I was shooting a wedding. And while taking photos of houses isn't exactly a one-off event, going back another day because your gear failed and you don't have a back-up is hardly a good look.

Also, as stated above, I have to supply both stills and video. So on each shoot I find myself juggling back and forth between video and photo settings on the one camera. It would, I decided, be better to have two cameras (back-up, back-up, back-up) - one for stills and one for video. 

Another S5 would be lovely - but even second hand it's out of my price range at the moment. So I started looking around for a good second body, video-centric camera. Enter the Panasonic Lumix GH3.

My 'new' Lumix GH3 with 12-60mm

Now before you say anything, let me explain. Yes, I know it's a twelve year old camera. Yes, I know it's micro four thirds and not full frame. And yes I know there will be a difference in image quality. But, as I've explained, this will be my video camera. And as a video camera, shooting 1920x1080p @ 50fps, it will be perfect for what I need (don't need 4k).

The lens I have with it is the Lumix 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Power OIS - a very good kit zoom with a decent range. At the wide end it gives me 24mm (full-frame equivalent) - not as wide as my S5's 20-60mm coverage, but again, this will be for video, not stills. And if all goes well with the Real Estate photography, then I could maybe add a 7-14mm f/4 in the future? But for now, for video, the 12-60mm should do just fine.

I also managed to find a brand new battery grip for the GH3 at a price I couldn't refuse. I'm a big battery grip fan, and may even end up getting one for the S5 - although the ergonomics on the S5 are already great, and the battery grip would add more weight. But on a 'smaller' camera like the GH3, the battery grip enhances the ergonomics, and a little more heft is a good thing when trying to keep things stable hand-held. Because that's one down-side of getting a twelve year old camera - the body doesn't have in-built stabilisation. Although as noted earlier, the 12-60mm lens does. Times have, however, moved on. And the stabilisation of the S5 is notably (or should that be substantially) better.

As for the GH3 camera body itself - well, lets just say I can't quite believe my luck. I got it for a very good price ($250 for the body and two batteries), and when it arrived it looked brand new. And I mean absolutely brand new! Not a scratch, mark, smudge, smear or fingerprint on it anywhere!! It's the newest looking twelve year old camera I've ever seen. 

A quick Google search showed me how to find the shutter actuations on a GH3, and when I had gone through the process, I could not believe the result. I still can't. But, as you can plainly see for yourself, the camera has only taken a grand total of 97 photos! 97!!!! Un-be-lievable! So even though it may have been released in 2012, my particular copy of the GH3 is basically brand-spanking-new!

I have avoided video for most of my career - although I did immerse myself in it somewhat when I was running my (brief ) YouTube Channel. How ironic is it, then, that I have specifically purchased a camera exclusively for video use! But this is also part of the reasoning behind getting an older camera like the GH3 (apart from the consideration of budget of course).

The Panasonic GH range is known as being video-centric, and the GH3 is still talked about by videographers as a good 'budget' film makers option. Yet because of its age, it isn't packed with too much technology as to be overwhelming for a newbie like me. The menus are simple to navigate, the options are reasonably straight forward (unlike those on my S5), and the actual process of shooting video on the GH3 is fairly straight forward. Even I should be able to manage it 😀

So I now have a micro-four-thirds camera in my arsenal again. And trust me, that's no bad thing. If Panasonic's iteration of the 16MP micro four thirds sensor and IQ is anything like Olympus's (and I have no doubt it will be), then the images (and video) that come out of the Lumix GH3 will be fantastic! Can't wait to take it out and clock up some more actuations on that shutter!