This was a hard one but for frame rates and practical usage the GH1 in my opinion beat the competition. The main reason I choose this HSLR is it was the first and only swivel viewfinder camera to appear during 2009.
I was further convinced by Joe Shaw’s “Salsa Kingdom” shot entirely with the GH1 although not with the stock lens, though thats OK as interchangeable means not having to stick to stock lenses.
( http://exposureroom.com/members/jshaw300.aspx/assets/a68b3949b9ab4abc9dba49e59fe7168d )
With the swivel viewfinder this DSLR is the only model to come close to a video camera in usage and the AVCHD is a standard video codec which saves conversion time. Personally I think this is the cinderella of HD DSLR’s, the Canon’s are all getting huge hype while this camera hits far more sweet spots than a 7D.
Well done Panasonic for their well deserved title of “Best HD HSLR of 2009”.
Couldn’t agree more, Still the easiest to get a result out of for me. And although I own a few DSLRs the little GH1 is the first one I reach for more times than not.
This was shot with entirely with a GH1 /Stock lens after owning it for about a day.
http://www.2moresleeps.com/2moresleeps/Nick+Crystal.html
I took my usual cameras XHA1s and played with the GH1 mounted on my manfrotto mono pod. Yes the low light was where it all fell down a bit but for the most I love this little camera. Add some nikon primes and the world is your oyster.
The biggest bug bear with most HD SLRs is the lack of stabilisation…I filmed my dogs in the park with my Canon 5D2 and the quality of the pictures were indeed superb but 96% of the footage was in my opinion unusable due to camera unsteadiness and who wants to use a tripod all the time. There is something to be said for “Steadyshot”.
FYI the run times you show are for the pal versions if the camera. The NTSC version has no run times. It stops recording when the card is full. That gives it one more plus over the canon cameras.