PANASONIC ADVERT I SEMENT FE ATURE .
TRAILBLAZER Koyama pioneered mirrorless cameras for shooting movies right from the start and the GH6 is his latest creation
Who is Masanori Koyama?
He joined Panasonic in 2002.
After a career as a hardware engineer, he’s currently in charge of product planning for LUMIX in the Imaging Business Unit . Has overseen product planning for TZ, FX and FZ series compact cameras, and mirrorless, such as GH series and full-frame S1H.
“Our goal was to achieve dynamic range close to the full-frame cameras, and also very high frame rates. It was difficult, but we have reached a new level”
The GH6 autofocus system has been significantly improved, thanks to the new engine’s processing power, alongside the performance of object recognition algorithms. In addition to significantly faster object detection speed, the accuracy of face and eye, head and human body recognition have also been enhanced. AD: As one of the pioneers of mirrorless cameras for shooting video, what are your predictions for the future? MASANORI: With the spread of 5G, video streaming and sharing through social media are expected to increase, but we need to improve the efficiency and speed of our workflow. We must draw more attention to the benefits of the unique visual expression you get from cameras like the GH6. We will continue to work closely with the video production workflow through the MFT G series and the full-frame S series, to stimulate the creativity of customers and support the production of high-quality content.
and processing engine. This produces excellent results that go beyond the expectations of MFT users in terms of the sense of depth, colour reproduction and gradation. I hope people who use other formats will see the potential of MFT. AD: What were the most technical difficulties or innovations in the camera? MASANORI: Development of the new image sensor. Our goal was to achieve dynamic range close to the full-frame cameras, and also very high frame rates. It was difficult, but we have reached a new, higher level. Most revolutionary is the new image processing engine. The potential of its codec brought by this is truly excellent. One technical issue is heat radiation from not only the engine and sensors, but also the newly adopted CFexpress card. Improvements have been made to our unique active cooling system – also used in the S1H full-frame camera – but it was challenging to fit it into the compact form of the Micro Four Thirds system. But I believe the advanced codec in this size of camera is an epoch in development. AD: Why has Panasonic prioritised high bit rates rather than Raw shooting internally in the GH6? MASANORI: You need a balance between memory card capacity and high bit rates
that lead to flexibility in post-production, and convenience for the majority of users. It’s important to support ProRes, which is often used as an intermediate codec for editing, to provide creators with a greater degree of production flexibility. If using Raw, you do get more editing flexibility – and we will continue to explore these possibilities in the future. AD: Is there anything that stood out to you when you started using the GH6? MASANORI: The image stabilisation. We achieved a 7.5-stop benefit, so you expect a powerful performance. But what’s even more impressive is that I didn’t encounter any unnatural frame movement. Engineers told me that our correction algorithm is very advanced, especially when it comes to distinguishing between panning and blur. AD: Many mirrorless cameras use on-sensor phase detection autofocus, but the GH6 doesn’t. Why is this? MASANORI: In the development of the GH6, AF was one area we focused on. We have been studying lots of technologies, including PD, for a long time. However, we opted for the best overall balance between image quality and progress in our AF technology with the GH6’s new engine, as well as factors like development timing and price.
panasonic.com
77. APRIL 2022
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