An S.L.R. Tailored for Video

When Panasonic’s Lumix G1 digital camera arrived last fall, it was a technical breakthrough that took a giant stride toward the holy grail of photography: gorgeous, professional-looking photos from a small camera. It was Popular Photography’s Camera of the Year, and it made plenty of hearts race.

Yet the camera itself wasn’t as exciting as the potential of its design. Or, as one reviewer put it: “Panasonic has shattered longstanding technical hurdles, turned conventional wisdom on its head and invented the elusive hybrid. And yet you probably shouldn’t buy it.” (O.K., that was me.)

Source: panasonic.com Lumix GH1

At the end of May, Panasonic will unleash the second generation of the G1, called the GH1. Wow, what a difference an H makes.

These two Panasonic cameras are the first in a new camera format called Micro Four Thirds, developed in partnership with Olympus. The concept is deliciously simple: shrink an S.L.R. by removing the mirror box.

Don’t panic — I’ll explain all that.

S.L.R. (single-lens reflex) cameras are the type professionals use. They’re usually big, bulky and heavy (the cameras, not the professionals). But they take absolutely amazing photos. They take such great pictures because they have enormous light sensors inside, about 10 times the size of the sensors in pocket cameras. These big sensors, and the big S.L.R. lenses, blow away the little cameras in light sensitivity, color and clarity.

In an effort to keep that kind of quality but make the camera smaller, Panasonic and Olympus decided to remove the mirror box — the mirror-prism contraption that, in regular S.L.R.’s, bends the light from the lens into your eye at the viewfinder. Getting rid of that apparatus saves nearly an inch of camera depth, and permits smaller lenses and smaller camera bodies.

Instead, when you peer into the viewfinder, you see a tiny video screen. Professionals traditionally hate these electronic viewfinders, and Panasonic’s does take some getting used to.

On the other hand, the image you see is much clearer and finer than most electronic viewfinders, and it does have its perks. For example, you can see all the photographic effects (white balance, depth of field, monochrome) right in the viewfinder, before you take the photo.

(There’s also a superb bright screen on the back of the GH1 that tilts and pivots to let you shoot forward for self-portraits, over your head, down at knee level and so on.)

So the G1 and its same-size successor, the GH1, are smaller than any other S.L.R., and yet the sensor is nearly as large and captures exceptional photos. Still, these are not pocket cameras. Indeed, they’re only a fraction of an inch smaller than the smallest real S.L.R. Does a fraction of an inch make these cameras worth the investment?

Not before. But now, yes. Because in the GH1, Panasonic has packed in yet another breakthrough: full, unlimited-length, 1080p high-definition video, with autofocus.

This sentence, too, requires a bit of explanation.

In the last few months, Nikon and Canon have introduced several cameras that can record high-definition video — a first in S.L.R. history.

Of course, pocket cameras can also capture video.

But an S.L.R. offers an enormous range of creative photographic controls and lenses — all of which you can now use when you film video. You now have control over the focus, depth of field, ISO (light sensitivity) and exposure of your video.

Better yet, you now have a video camera that takes interchangeable lenses — something that used to cost $10,000 or more. Now your homemade movies (or independent film) can use fish-eye lenses, telephoto, macro lenses, anything.

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Those Nikon and Canon cameras, however, are deeply flawed in the video department. For example, video clips can be only a few minutes long.

Worst of all, these S.L.R.’s can’t change focus while you’re recording video (unless you turn the focus ring manually, which is imprecise and awkward). Even cheapo home camcorders can do that.

The Panasonic GH1 blows all of those compromises off the map. The video length is limited only by the capacity of your memory card; an 8-gigabyte card, for example, can hold about 60 minutes of video. (It’s compressed in the AVCHD format, which requires a fast computer to edit.) And it’s the real deal: 1080p high-definition video. Especially in good light, the footage looks jaw-droppingly good, like a hi-def loop playing on the $4,000 flat panels at Best Buy.

CONTINUED : Looking for professional quality in pocket size

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