Panasonic presents its first compact mirrorless box camera as a further development of the GH5 in the Micro Four Thirds system. Thanks to the interchangeable bayonet, the Panasonic Lumix BGH1 can be combined and flexibly expanded to the extensive range of Micro Four Thirds lenses. Against the background of the rapidly increasing streaming possibilities, the Panasonic BGH1 is a camera for professional broadcast transmissions and offers simple installation and at the same time high expandability up to multi-camera control. Thus, it covers a wide range of possible uses, from live streaming to control via the network using on stabilizing gimbals or in combination with multicopters.
The Lumix BGH1 records internally with C4K / 4K resolution and 4:2:0 10-bit color depth either with 60p or 50p. It can record videos with a gamma curve compatible with the ITU-R BT.2100 standard. It also offers Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) for HDR recordings, thanks to the HEVC/H.265 codec that can be saved with a significantly reduced data rate. With the pre-installed V-Log L mode, the camera provides a dynamic range of 13 f-stops and can output this signal to a recorder via HDMI in C4K / 4K 4: 2: 2 10-bit.
The VFR mode (Variable Frame Rate) allows recordings with variable frame rates, slow motion, or time-lapse. With C4K / 4K resolution, recordings can be made with 60 frames per second, so that in 24p mode, slow motion is slowed down by a maximum of 2.5 times. With Full HD, the camera allows a maximum of 240 images per second and enables 10x slow motion in 24p. The minimum frame rate for time-lapse recordings is 2 frames per second.
The Panasonic BGH1 also uses advanced deep learning technology and recognizes objects – both people and animals such as dogs, cats, and birds that move very quickly. In order to enable even more precise focus tracking in real-time, especially for people, there is now separate detection of the head in addition to eye, face, and body detection. The camera can reliably track the focus of people even when they are moving quickly, turning away from the camera or tilting their head or moving far away from the camera.
The housing of the Lumix BGH1 is made of an aluminum-magnesium alloy and is light and robust. Thanks to the new cooling concept, the camera has no length limits for video recording. This is why it offers two SD card slots that can be written in parallel as a backup or one after the other for longer recordings.
The Panasonic BGH1 is a compact, lightweight box camera that is very easy to assemble and install thanks to Power over Ethernet + (PoE +). The new Lumix Tether for Multicam PC software can be used to control up to twelve Lumix BGH1 cameras. A future firmware update will also enable IP streaming (RTP / RTSP) via the network cables.
In addition to the USB 3.1 Type-C interface, the box camera offers a 3G-SDI and an HDMI Type-A output, both of which can output a video signal in parallel. There is also a genlock IN and a timecode IN / OUT for easy synchronization with Multicam recordings. Thanks to the diverse interface equipment, the Lumix BGH1 can be easily combined with external monitors, rigs, and gimbals from third-party manufacturers and is a very scalable solution for very different requirements.
Panasonic Lumix BGH1 price and availability
The Panasonic Lumix BGH1 is now available to pre-order on Amazon and Bhphotovideo store and will be available from 20th, November 2020. The recommended retail price is $1,997.99.
Apart from this, the Bhphotovideo store has also opened the pre-order for the new RED Komodo Canon RF cinema camera Super35 format sensor, priced at $5,995.
