The

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

Lumix Lumix is Panasonic's brand of digital cameras, ranging from pocket point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs. Compact digital cameras DMC-LC5 and DMC-F7 were the first products of the Lumix series, released in 2001. Most Lumix cameras use di ...

DMC-GH4 is a Micro Four Thirds System digital still and video camera originally released in May 2014. At the time of its release, the GH4 was notable for being the world's first Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera with 4K

Video recording Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems ...

capability.

Features

The GH4 is largely physically similar to its predecessor, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3, adding only a locking mode dial and more detailed rear LCD screen and Electronic

Viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

. The emphasis of the camera is the video with

Venus Engine The Venus Engine is an image processing engine for digital cameras. It is developed by Panasonic, and almost all of their Lumix cameras use a version of it. It is based on the Panasonic MN103/MN103S. Image processors operate in four steps: rec ...

IX processor allow for 4K video and 12 fps continuous shooting. As a 4K video camera, it can be categorized as a pro-level video camera that can record in Cinema 4K mode (4096 x 2160) or standard 4K-UHD (3840 x 2160) using IPB compression in 100Mbit/s. In Full

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

HD there are two options, 200Mbit/s in ALL-Intra compression, or 100Mbit/s with no recording time limit. The camera also provides .mov, mp4,

AVCHD AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video. It is H.264 and Dolby AC-3 packaged into the MPEG transport stream, with a set of constraints designed around t ...

Progressive, and AVCHD video formats at a variety of frame rates according to the usage; and options for VFR (Variable Frame Rate) or

Time Lapse Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...

Stop Motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

Animation without the need for post-production processing.

Autofocus An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system ...

needs only 0.07 seconds with the 'Depth from Defocus' autofocus system. The camera also has Wi-Fi with NFC, PC sync port, highlight and shadow control, and a 'silent mode' which uses the electronic shutter only. Video features added to the DMC-GH4 include

Focus peaking Focus peaking is a focusing aid in live preview or electronic viewfinder An electronic viewfinder (EVF) is a camera viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is displayed on a small screen (usually LCD or OLED) which the photographer c ...

, zebra overlay, luminance level adjustment, and cinema gamma presets.

DMW-YAGH Interface

Along with the GH4, Panasonic also released the YAGH interface unit, a camera-attached device to increase input and output options for the GH4. The YAGH connects to the GH4 via attachment screw on the bottom of the camera, as well as a sliding mechanism which plugs into the camera's

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...

port on the side. The interface contains two 3-pin

XLR Connector The XLR connector is a type of electrical connector primarily used in professional audio, video, and stage lighting equipment. XLR connectors are cylindical in design, and have three to seven connector pins, and are often employed for analog b ...

inputs, which are controlled by a pair of

preamplifier A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier a ...

s inside the unit, offering

phantom power Phantom power, in the context of professional audio equipment, is DC electric power transmitted through microphone cables to operate microphones that contain active electronic circuitry. It is best known as a convenient power source for con ...

, more control over input gain levels and microphone choice, and input metering via LED meters on the interface. The YAGH also provides a

timecode A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...

input for multi-device synchronization. For outputs, the YAGH offers four

BNC connector The BNC connector (initialism of "Bayonet Neill–Concelman") is a miniature quick connect/disconnect radio frequency connector used for coaxial cable. It is designed to maintain the same characteristic impedance of the cable, with 50 ohm and 7 ...

terminals for Serial Digital Interface use with outboard recorders and monitors. In addition, a full-size HDMI port is also present. These video outputs differ from the camera's native recording in that they offer a 10-bit 4:2:2 signal rather than the camera's internal 8-bit 4:2:0. The YAGH interface is not powered by the camera, instead relying on 12-volt DC power provided by a separate battery or power supply using a four-pin XLR type connector.

References

External links

Official specifications

DMC-GH4 User Manual

DMW-YAGH User Manual
{{Micro Four Thirds cameras GH4