Panasonic - LUMIX GH7 Micro 4/3 Mirrorless Camera - Black

When deciding on a platform around 2015, I noticed a lot of posts that said something like "I took this photo on my iphone because I didn't want to carry my big DSLR and heavy lenses on the trail... ) Welp... figured Nat Geo is not going to call me and a camera I found easy to carry all day is far more useful than one you don't... so never looked back. I've owned the GH3, GH4 and now GH7 and the improvements in each generation are exponential. Arguably this is most professional video capable of the non-professional class of DSLR style cameras out there that you can carry all day. Still photos you probably will find very little to complain about. Much better low light capability than my older GH4. I still use either the superb Oly 7-14 f2.8 pro or my "walk about" Panny 14-140 f3.5-5.6. I have an old Canon FD lens for macro work I bought on ebay for $75. Anything else, I rent as needed, which is not often. Weaknesses: Lenses and low light capabilities are still better on the larger format cameras, however, it's a lot smaller gap than it was even 4 years ago. This is overkill IMO for noobs. Having said that, I flip it into program and everything auto and my noob wife can shoot a family occasion without my help. Plus we can put my lenses on her GH4 and also use the same batteries. I still can use lenses I bought in 2016. I can swap batteries with the GH4 (although the more power hungry features like ProRes won't work) I can still use 35mm film lenses like a 35mm Nikkor F2 from 1980. It's not too taxing to carry all day (use a bino buddy, not a camera strap) Some things to know: If shooting maximum resolution a 1TB CFexpress B card willl only last an hour. Also high resolution modes will drain your battery, so buy spares. I strongly suggest you take it out and learn it before buying any accessories. For example, the ProRes codec is not supported by a lot of video editing tools and you may find it better to work in lower (but excellent) resolutions, perhaps not needing such an expensive storage card. You should really figure out your proposed work flow if you are serious amateur, as the capabilities of this camera can drain your wallet quickly. But once committed, you will have better hardware than the pros did even five years ago. This will also record 32-bit floating audio, catch is you need to buy the ($$) module that sits in the flash accessory hot shoe. Resolution: 4K (3840×2160) General purpose, YouTube, family videos Plenty of detail without huge file sizes Frame Rate: 24p or 30p Cinematic (24p) or smooth (30p) 60p for sports or fast motion Codec: HEVC (H.265) 10-bit 4:2:0 Best balance of quality and file size Great color for grading, low storage load Bitrate: 100–200 Mbps (Long GOP) Good quality, easy to edit Avoids excessive file sizes Recording Mode: Long GOP (NOT All-Intra) Smaller files, good for beginners All-Intra is for pro editing workflows

I'm an Olympus photographer since 1970 when I used the film Olympus camera and kept moving on to the mirrorless, was gratefully satisfied until the Lumix GH7 went on sale, this totally changed my perspective towards MFT because this is way better than my previous Olympus in terms of handling, features/specifications and image quality, the 24 megapixels upgrade from the long awaited 20 megapixels is enough to keep me stucked with MFT. I'll be with MFT as one satisfied camera owner.

I am still learning this camera. I know that this is beyond my photography skills. However, I like the few optional function bottoms on camera.