Panasonic GH6 offers 16 bit variable compression RAW at 25 megapixels and dynamic range boost

I watched the presentation last night and also downloaded some sample images

The camera has some interesting features for underwater users taking photos although this is not the main audience of the camera

It has a new dynamic range boost mode in both photo and video that combines two exposures at high and low gain. It is unclear to me if this is working with flash it may not be however for ambient light shots this is significant

But more interestingly it has a 16 bit RAW variable compression. In essence it uses between 14 and 16 bit depth depending on the scene with file size that vary between 32 and 45 MB

I expect those two features to be interesting from a still point of view on land and when I get my hands on one unit I will check about the flash

For me the tonal depth of the 12 bit RAW was a problem underwater and I am glad this has been massively expanded

About time they released it..
I am curious about " Built-in fan for unlimited recording " ...that could suggest overheating, now how would that work in a closed housing with limited amount of air?

Also, we can now start betting at what ridiculous prices we see housing wise

11 hours ago, makar0n said:

About time they released it..
I am curious about " Built-in fan for unlimited recording " ...that could suggest overheating, now how would that work in a closed housing with limited amount of air?

 

Also, we can now start betting at what ridiculous prices we see housing wise

 

The fan will blow the warm air from the camera onto the housing wall where it can then be transferred to the water.  Still air is an excellent insulator and moving air with a fan is a good way to improve heat transfer.  Turbulence promotes heat transfer.   The aluminium in the housing would make an excellent heat sink and the housing manufacturers could even add fins in the path of the air flow to assist in transferring this heat. 

Aluminium has excellent thermal conductivity and will very quickly transfer any heat transferred to it throughout the housing and to the water outside.  The slow step is transferring from the air to the aluminium and air flow and possibly fins will help with this.  Even quite low fins will make a difference by increasing surface area and turbulence.  Heat transfer from Aluminium to water is much faster than air to aluminium.

I don't know that it indicates overheating as such -  The Canon R5 overheated due to the processing overhead - there is no getting away from the fact that processing high bit rates generates heat and any computation done requires use of a CPU which also generates heat.  The recently announced R5-C has a cooling fan as well and many high end video cameras also utilise fans to keep temperatures under control and people use these in housings without issue.

Don't know how a fan indicates overheating. If anything it indicates that the manufacturer was aware of the problem, took steps to alleviate it and now it's not a problem anymore. If a camera body is prone to overheating, that is a design choice (or mistake if you want) the manufacturer makes. High Framerate/Resolution/Bitrate Video will always generate lots of heat. The question is not if heat is generated but how the manufacturer deals with it.

2 hours ago, hyp said:

Don't know how a fan indicates overheating. If anything it indicates that the manufacturer was aware of the problem, took steps to alleviate it and now it's not a problem anymore. If a camera body is prone to overheating, that is a design choice (or mistake if you want) the manufacturer makes. High Framerate/Resolution/Bitrate Video will always generate lots of heat. The question is not if heat is generated but how the manufacturer deals with it.

That's correct. There have been stress tests already and the fan never kicked in outdoors. We need to see what happens inside a housing or in prolonged use

Panasonic did not cut corners here and create a monster of reliability just watched someone taking it to the Isle of Skye in pouring rain

I don't get this thread on GH6 in the photo gear section

I've never seen a panasonic mirrorless overheat. The design has always been top notch. For example, the GH4 which was the first mirrorless to have 4K had the exact same camera body as the previous GH3, which only shot at 1080p. Case more unique than rare especially if you think about the huge difference of the electronic part.

On the GH6 I read that the compartments of the fan and electronics are completely sealed and separated. The fan is magnetically driven through the walls.

On 2/24/2022 at 10:08 AM, Davide DB said:

I don't get this thread on GH6 in the photo gear section

it takes nice pictures!

It seems that the native ISO of GH-6 is at 100. This, together with 16bit raw and increased DR may make this camera very attractive for UW stills. I am eager to see what careful tests will reveal...

Wolfgang

I'm hoping for a stills focused GX10 or G10 still. Probably won't happen until next year though.... I really don't need all those video features, but I prefer Panasonic menu layouts and general handling of the camera. I also own a bunch of Panasonic Glass and want to keep using Dual IS (this is strictly topside).

On 2/23/2022 at 2:26 AM, ChrisRoss said:

The fan will blow the warm air from the camera onto the housing wall where it can then be transferred to the water.  Still air is an excellent insulator and moving air with a fan is a good way to improve heat transfer.  Turbulence promotes heat transfer.   The aluminium in the housing would make an excellent heat sink and the housing manufacturers could even add fins in the path of the air flow to assist in transferring this heat. 

Aluminium has excellent thermal conductivity and will very quickly transfer any heat transferred to it throughout the housing and to the water outside.  The slow step is transferring from the air to the aluminium and air flow and possibly fins will help with this.  Even quite low fins will make a difference by increasing surface area and turbulence.  Heat transfer from Aluminium to water is much faster than air to aluminium.

I don't know that it indicates overheating as such -  The Canon R5 overheated due to the processing overhead - there is no getting away from the fact that processing high bit rates generates heat and any computation done requires use of a CPU which also generates heat.  The recently announced R5-C has a cooling fan as well and many high end video cameras also utilise fans to keep temperatures under control and people use these in housings without issue.

Aluminum yeah..but air is terrible for heat transfer sadly. But anyways, guess that won't be a problem unless one records 1 hour straight or something

Well anyways, Nauticam seem to have announced their GH6 housing as coming soon...with a cool 3.863 Euro price tag..almost double of what GH4 one sold for originally. There goes my upgrade , guess going to ride the GH4 for a while longer, or will maybe look for some 2nd hand Olympus.

EDIT:

Hmm Aquatica seem to have announced one as well, but no price tag yet....maybe there is hope.

Second-hand market, the only solution (for me) 

On 3/15/2022 at 5:04 PM, Davide DB said:

Second-hand market, the only solution (for me) 

Same...but that means another 2 year+ wait till these appear there at reasonable prices,....och well, i suppose i knew this was coming, just had this tiny ray of hope that somehow the housings won't be that overpriced

Nearly 2000 USD more then the GH5 housing when  first came out

May be i go for GH5 II then.

There is a rumor i have heard that may be gh5 II will record raw or pro res  externally with an update

Will see

I hope to find a second hand GH5 MKII to use in my housing

In Turkey we even dont have the brand new one i dont know why?

21 hours ago, Davide DB said:

I hope to find a second hand GH5 MKII to use in my housing

Ha, again might do the same same Just the MKII bodies are rather rare...not many folks jumped on it since GH6 was around the corner. And ebay prices are still 1300+...if spending so much would prefer GH6 body...if not he damn price of the housing :/

Well guess we wait and watch classifieds

21 hours ago, lutfu said:

In Turkey we even dont have the brand new one i dont know why?

So Nauticam does not sell directly in Turkey ? if you are so desperate to part with cash i am sure you can talk to some shops out there, who won't mind sending it over...I can recommend Fotografit for any VAT free purchases, did a few over the years (when gf still had residence status outside EU) and was super easy.

Hello

Thanks a lot for the recomendations but there is Nauticam in Turkey and actually it is good. I was trying to mention the GH5 II.

There is also Panasonic here but in any of the shops couldnt see any GH5 II yet.

Well not sure how much stock Panasonic produced in a first place ...given the ongoing chip shortage, and rather small market,  (i.e. most people wouldn't bother but instead wait, given the GH6 around the corner)...well either way, good luck to us all finding a 2nd hand GH5 II