GH3 - No Peaking, Confirmed

[John De Rienzo]

So, just when you thought someone out there was actually listening to the cries of many...90% I believe requested peaking, a formal announcement confirms the GH3 will not have peaking due to sensor restrictions or whatever one will believe.

With the likes of Sony disappointing many with its crippled nex cameras, it looks like Panasonic may be doing the same.

Yes, the GH3 is a great camera but with no peaking, to many, a deal breaker. Yes, there are workarounds if you want to add a monitor etc., but it just reminds me of some kind of Fifa game for PS3!

Guess there will always be a GH4 round the corner which will no doubt have peaking forcing us to upgrade for this feature.

Anyone else disappointed by this announcement?

[Duane Adam]

While I would certainly prefer peaking, after using the camera for awhile I've found it's easier to manually focus than I expected so this wouldn't be a deal killer for me.

Would like to see it on the next version as well as a broadcast level mic pre amp and a 10 bit (or more) hdmi clean output. Then I could finally sell my ex1r.

[Dan Carter]

Guess I'm in the 10% not crying about peaking. Yes, it would have been nice, but there is a long list of other GH3 improvements. Some of which far outweigh the benefits of focus peaking.

[Ian Atkins]

Originally Posted by John De Rienzo

So, just when you thought someone out there was actually listening to the cries of many...90% I believe requested peaking, a formal announcement confirms the GH3 will not have peaking due to sensor restrictions or whatever one will believe.

With the likes of Sony disappointing many with its crippled nex cameras, it looks like Panasonic may be doing the same.

Yes, the GH3 is a great camera but with no peaking, to many, a deal breaker. Yes, there are workarounds if you want to add a monitor etc., but it just reminds me of some kind of Fifa game for PS3!

Guess there will always be a GH4 round the corner which will no doubt have peaking forcing us to upgrade for this feature.

Anyone else disappointed by this announcement?

Where is the source for the formal announcement?

[Chris Duczynski]

Peaking is really handy, oh well, but so is the expanded focus which I use constantly. Plus the auto focus is fantastic and really saves a lot of hassle when you're on the run
Not a deal breaker here either, but definitely one addition for the GH4.

[Dan Carter]

Originally Posted by Ian Atkins

Where is the source for the formal announcement?

CP+ 2013: Panasonic interview: Digital Photography Review

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by Chris Duczynski

Peaking is really handy, oh well, but so is the expanded focus which I use constantly. Plus the auto focus is fantastic and really saves a lot of hassle when you're on the run
Not a deal breaker here either, but definitely one addition for the GH4.

There will be no GH4.

In many Far Eastern cultures the pronunciation of the number four closely resembles that of the word for death so the Japanese and Chinese especially avoid using 4 in a model series.

GH5, anyone?

[Jim Nogueira]

Focus peaking and zebra pattern would be great, but I don't think realistically that either one of them are going to happen. The one feature that I definitely do need, that should correctable in a firmware update, is having the option to keep the on screen display remain on, instead of it shutting off after 10 seconds.

[John De Rienzo]

Totally agree Jim. The screen needs to stay on!, like the GH2.

I find after the 10 second mark if the screen disappears you actually have to press the record button twice to start record. Once to bring the screen display back up and then again to record!!!...correct me if I am wrong.... So frustrating and completely illogical and wrong on so many levels.....

Zebras would be good also...let's see if Panasonic come up trumps with a firmware update to surprise us all!

[William Hohauser]

There is a strange form of peaking on the GH2 LCD that I discovered when I attached a loupe to it. Anything with fine detail or a pattern gets a odd rainbow pixel effect when you have it in focus. It's not so apparent on faces but it shows up on clothing. It's hard to see this effect without a loupe. I have successfully used this effect to film stage plays without overt hunting for focus. The GH3 may not have this effect with the improved LCD, I'll see if I can notice it without the magnification of a loupe when I use the camera this week.

[Ron Fabienke]

Originally Posted by John De Rienzo

Totally agree Jim. The screen needs to stay on!, like the GH2.

I find after the 10 second mark if the screen disappears you actually have to press the record button twice to start record. Once to bring the screen display back up and then again to record!!!...correct me if I am wrong.... So frustrating and completely illogical and wrong on so many levels.....

Zebras would be good also...let's see if Panasonic come up trumps with a firmware update to surprise us all!

No kidding. What "mensa" at Panasonic that has anything to do with the "video" side of this hybrid equation thought it was a great idea to shut all that information off after 10 seconds into your take, including the very handy leveling indicator if you're hand holding. Sound bars, time code, everything..... bah who needs it?

[Buba Kastorski]

Originally Posted by Ron Fabienke

it was a great idea to shut all that information off after 10 seconds into your take, including the very handy leveling indicator if you're hand holding. Sound bars, time code, everything..... bah who needs it?

i absolutely hate this "enhancement"

[Ron Fabienke]

OK, my bad....apologies to "mensas" everywhere. I asked about this on another forum and here was the first reply back plus a handy tip that doesn't require touching the camera to get the info back up for another 10 seconds:

"The reason is because OLED is prone to burn in so they remove most of the static information displays after 10 seconds.

But here's a trick I discovered...

First make sure you have the viewfinder eye sensor feature turned on. This is the feature that switches to the EVF when you put your eye up to it.

Now, while shooting your video using the rear screen, simply wave your finger in front of the eye sensor and you'll see all the info re-appear. It will still go out again in 10 seconds, but you just have to activate the eye sensor to bring it back. This will avoid having to physically touch the camera.

Each time the eye sensor senses movement, it activates the display info."

[William Hohauser]

I wish the leveler would stop coming back on when I active the full info screen. It's a nice feature but it really makes composition on the fly difficult.