Panasonic Lumix GH3 – EVF, Screen and Connectivity

Panasonic Lumix GH3 - EVF

The Panasonic Lumix GH3 uses a 1.7million dot, 16:9, OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with eye-sensor, which it claims is its fastest and most colour-accurate yet. Indeed, in our time with the GH3’s viewfinder we saw no sign whatsoever of lag or smearing with fast movement in a dim environment, eliminating one of the most common concerns of optical viewfinder proponents.

Panasonic Lumix GH3 - Screen

Like its predecessor the Lumix GH2 the more consumer-oriented Lumix G5, the Lumix GH3 sports a fully articulating screen. This is much handier than the tilt displays of many micro 4/3 rivals, like the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony NEX7, as it allows you to take easy self-portraits and fold the screen inwards for protection while out and about – and it’s pretty much essential for videographers, which is a large part of the market the GH3 is aiming for.

The 3-inch screen sports a 614k resolution, and is a thing of beauty. For the first time on a Panasonic G-series camera, the Lumix GH3 uses an RGBB OLED rather than LCD rear screen – just like the OM-D E-M5. Panasonic claims this allows higher colour accuracy, and indeed we found colours to be realistic rather than the oversaturated mess the technology often used to be associated with.

Of course, other advantages of OLED include flawless viewing angles, inky contrast, and lightning-quick response times. This latter is the main reason Panasonic went OLED for the GH3.

Touch has been an integral part of the Lumix G family for quite a while now, and the capacitive iteration found on the Panasonic GH3 is – as you’d hope – the best yet. For focusing, picking levels and more, it’s a genuine enhancement to the physical controls. However, you can still operate the GH3 without touching its screen.

Panasonic Lumix GH3 - Connectivity

The Panasonic Lumix GH3 doesn’t just have more buttons than most cameras, it also sports more connections. On the camera’s right is a remote socket and the SDXC card slot with support for the new UHS-I standard, while at the front to the left is a Flash sync jack.

The left side of the Lumix GH3 houses a microphone socket, headphone jack for monitoring the audio levels while recording video, HDMI socket which can be used to output video or record it to external storage (in addition to the camera’s own SD card), and USB AV-Out/Digital socket. All connections are covered with sealed rubber flaps to keep out the elements.

Yet another first in its range for the GH3 is that if offers built-in Wi-Fi. This means you can upload shots or clips directly to online services, back them up to Panasonic’s Cloud system, or remotely control your camera with a smartphone or tablet using Lumix Link.