Panasonic G95 wants to be your camera for YouTube as well as Instagram
Panasonic's the latest mirrorless maker to explicitly pursue vloggers.
Panasonic makes some great cameras, but they all tend to skew one way or the other: the Lumix G and GX series towards photo enthusiasts and the GH series towards prosumer videographers. Its new Lumix G95 brings some of the more important video features into the fold, in the hopes of luring vloggers who want a single camera to fill all their video and photo needs.
Panasonic intends to offer only kits in the US, at least initially, with the 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens. When it ships in May, the G95 kit will cost $1,199 (directly converted, about £917, AU$1,685).
The vlogosphere is not new territory. A ton of cameras want to be your one and only for both vlogging and stills, especially in this price range, which is slightly above where models like the new Sony A6400, Fujifilm X-T30 and the old Canon EOS M50 sit.
Panasonic's going a little further, though, with some important video features cameras like those don't offer, notably in-body image stabilization. It also supports clean HDMI-out with simultaneous internal and external recording (both 8-bit), comes with a V-LogL flat profile and has a headphone jack. Plus, it can record continuously for essentially an unlimited length of time -- as long as the camera stays cool -- and because the battery won't last that long, you can run it on a USB-connected power source.
The camera's back controls are extremely similar to the G9's, though it's missing the joystick for selecting focus areas.
But while it's a size compromise between Pansonic's higher-end G9 and older G85, it's still bigger and heavier than the competition. Plus, it's continuous-shooting speed of six frames per second (with continuous autofocus) can't quite keep up with the others, either. It does have a good set of direct-access controls, though, and an articulated touchscreen for off-angle or selfie shooting with a mic attached to the hot shoe.
Comparative specifications
| Panasonic Lumix G95 | Fujifilm X-T30 | Sony A6400 | Canon EOS M50 | |
| Sensor effective resolution | 20.3MP Live MOS | 26MP X-Trans BSI CMOS 4 14-bit | 24.2MP Exmor CMOS 14 bit | 24.1MP Dual Pixel CMOS |
| Sensor size | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm | 22.3 x 14.9mm |
| Focal-length multiplier | 2.0x | 1.5x | 1.5x | 1.6x |
| OLPF | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 100 (exp)/ISO 200 - ISO 25600 | ISO 80 (exp)/ISO 160 (exp)/200 - ISO 12800/51200 (exp) | ISO 100 - ISO 32000/ISO 102400 (exp) | ISO 100 - ISO 25600/51200 (exp) |
| Burst shooting | 6fps 600 JPEG/30 raw (9fps with AF-S) | 8fps 90 JPEG/18 raw (20fps with eshutter) | 11fps 99 JPEG/46 raw | 7.4fps 47 JPEG (10fps with fixed focus and exposure; Servo AF not supported with raw) |
| Viewfinder (mag/ effective mag) | OLED EVF 2.4m dots 1.48x/0.74x | OLED EVF 0.4 inch/10mm 2.4m million dots 0.93/0.62x | OLED EVF 0.4 in/10 mm 2.4 million dots 1.07x/0.7x | EVF 0.4 in/10mm 2.4m dots n/a |
| Hot Shoe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Autofocus | 49-area DFD Contrast AF | 425-point phase-detection AF 91-area Contrast AF | 425-point phase detection, 425-area contrast AF | 143 points phase-detection AF (with specific Canon lenses); 99 points |
| AF sensitivity | -4 - 18 EV | -3 to n/a EV | -2 - 20 EV | -2 - 18 EV |
| Shutter speed | 1/4,000 to 60 secs (1/16,000 with electronic shutter); Time to 30 minutes; 1/200 sec x-sync | 1/4,000 to 30 sec (1/32,000 sec with electronic shutter); bulb to 60 min; 1/180 sec x-sync | 30-1/4000 sec.; bulb; 1/160 x-sync | 30 - 1/4000 sec.; bulb; 1/200 x-sync |
| Metering | 1,728 zone | 256 zones | 1,200 zones | 384 zones |
| Metering sensitivity | 0 - 18 EV | n/a | -2 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV |
| Best video | H.264 MP4 4K UHD/30p @ 100Mbps, 1080/120p @ 20Mbps | H.264 QuickTime MOV DCI 4K/30p at 200Mbps; UHD 4K/30p at 200Mbps; 10-bit 4:2:0 internal, 4:2:2 external | XAVC S at 100Mbps; UHD 4K/30p, 25p, 24p; 1080/120p | H.264 QuickTime MOV 4K UHD/24p at 120Mbps, 1080/60p, 720/120p |
| Audio | Stereo, mic input, headphone jack | Stereo; mic input, headphone jack | Stereo, mic input | Stereo; mic input |
| Manual aperture and shutter in video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum best-quality recording time per clip | Unlimited | 10 minutes | n/a | 4GB/29m59s |
| Clean HDMI out | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IS | Dual IS 2 (5 axis) | Optical | Optical | Dual Sensing IS (Optical with gyro data sent from body) |
| Display | 3 in/7.5cm Articulated touchscreen 1.2m dots | 3 in/7.5 cm Multiangle tilting touch 1.04 million dots | 3-inch/7.5cm Tilting, flip-up 921,600 dots | 3-inch/7.7 cm Articulated touchscren 1.04m dots |
| Memory slots | 1 x SDXC (UHS-II) | 1 x SDXC | 1 x SDXC | 1 x SDXC |
| Wireless connection | 801.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 | Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth | Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), NFC, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
| Flash | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless flash | Yes | Yes | Yes | n/a |
| Battery life (CIPA rating) | 290 shots (1,200 mAh) | 380 shots (1,60 mAh) | 360 (VF), 410 (LCD) (1,020 mAh) | 235 shots (875 mAh) |
| Size (WHD) | 5.1 x 3.7 x 3.0 in 130 x 94 x 77 mm | 4.7 x 3.3 x 1.8 in 118 x 83 x 47 mm | 4.8 x 2.8 x 2.4 in 120 x 67 x 60 mm | 4.6 x 3.5 x 2.3 in 116 x 88 x 59 mm |
| Body operating weight | 18.9 oz (est.) 536 g (est.) | 13.5 oz (est.) 383 g (est.) | 14.3 oz (est.) 403 g (est.) | 13.8 oz (est.) 390 g (est.) |
| Mfr. price (body only) | n/a | $899 | $899.99 £949 AU$1,499 | $779 (est.) £539.99 AU$899.95 (est.) |
| Primary kit | $1,199 (with 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens) | $999 (with 15-45mm zoom lens) | $999.99 £999 AU$1,699 (with 16-50mm power zoom lens) | $899.99 £649.99 AU$949 (with 15-45mm lens) |
| Release date | May 2019 | March 2019 | January 2019 | April 2018 |