$199 Z Camera E1 vs Panasonic GH4: 4K Video Comparison
 

I bought the Z camera E1 for $199 - Black Friday Deal. It is now $249, it sold before for $599.

It is an m43 camera about the size of a GoPro, with 4K30p and DCI 4K at 24p. It has full manual controls and works with all m43 lenses, with full auto features, including OSS (which it can shut off and on).

Mixed reviews on the sales sites, but...

The camera comes with firmware .23. Half the features are missing and AF does not work correctly. That explains most of the negative comments on the BH and Amazon sites.

With the October update (.30), the auto focus now works - push to focus. You can set shutter speed, aperture, and ISO - you can set ISO to Auto and set aperture and shutter speed manually, for example. There are many tweaks for picture, including NR and sharpness. There is MF assist.

The sensor is exactly the same as the one in the Panasonic GH4. So, performance should be similar (not identical, could be better given a newer processor and how it's tuned).

So, how about a 4K30P comparison of the GH4 and the Z Camera E1 - same scene, same lens, same shutter and aperture? This is actually with the old E1 firmware.

Leica Nocticron f1.2 lens (yes, a $1500 lens on a $199 camera) on both.

Here it is. Same scene at F2 and at F5.6 (and ISO 800 for that scene). The cameras are in the same order for each lens/ISO setting. Which is which? which do you like better? Which has more noise? Which is more accurate?


One camera does not get the reds correctly (too orange). Auto WB in both.

And here is what the Z Camera E1 alone produces from the same dim scene:

$199 Z Camera E1 4K Video with Lumix 14-140mm Lens
 

AWB, AF, handheld.