Panasonic Lumix GH7 and autofocus at DVinfo.net

Steve Siegel · July 27th, 2024, 09:21 PM

I recently traded in my GH6 and bought a GH7. I wanted to rid myself of the crummy autofocus in the GH6 and take advantage of the phase detection autofocus in the GH7. I have gotten to an age where my vision doesn't allow me to get reliably sharp images using manual focus, even with peaking.

The GH7 blew me away. Tack sharp every time. I shoot wildlife, and so picked the animal recognition mode. There is human recognition, of course, but also cars, trains and airplanes!! The autofocus snaps onto subjects quickly, even eyes, if you are close enough. I was shooting a quail at a bird feeder about 30 feet away when a small finch landed, backlit, on top of a tree across the street. You could barely see it. I pointed the camera at the finch and it put a box around the bird instantly. No hunting. It tracks well, but practice is required with flying birds. Autofocus works all the way to 120 fps in HD or 4K, but tracking only goes to 60 fps (maybe to 100, I haven't tried). There is no autofocus if you shoot at 240 fps.

Otherwise it is essentially a GH6. It does have a new useful feature if you shoot from a tripod. The monitor screen flips out, of course, but now also can be tilted 45 degrees while staying in back of the camera. It has braces. This is great for being able to shoot animals from close-to-ground-level sitting on a camp stool instead of lying on your stomach. This position eliminates the fear of putting a viewing hood on a flexible screen, out to the side, that is just hanging on by a hinge that contains all the electronics. Nice camera.

July 27th, 2024, 09:21 PM	#1
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	Panasonic Lumix GH7 and autofocus I recently traded in my GH6 and bought a GH7. I wanted to rid myself of the crummy autofocus in the GH6 and take advantage of the phase detection autofocus in the GH7. I have gotten to an age where my vision doesn't allow me to get reliably sharp images using manual focus, even with peaking. The GH7 blew me away. Tack sharp every time. I shoot wildlife, and so picked the animal recognition mode. There is human recognition, of course, but also cars, trains and airplanes!! The autofocus snaps onto subjects quickly, even eyes, if you are close enough. I was shooting a quail at a bird feeder about 30 feet away when a small finch landed, backlit, on top of a tree across the street. You could barely see it. I pointed the camera at the finch and it put a box around the bird instantly. No hunting. It tracks well, but practice is required with flying birds. Autofocus works all the way to 120 fps in HD or 4K, but tracking only goes to 60 fps (maybe to 100, I haven't tried). There is no autofocus if you shoot at 240 fps. Otherwise it is essentially a GH6. It does have a new useful feature if you shoot from a tripod. The monitor screen flips out, of course, but now also can be tilted 45 degrees while staying in back of the camera. It has braces. This is great for being able to shoot animals from close-to-ground-level sitting on a camp stool instead of lying on your stomach. This position eliminates the fear of putting a viewing hood on a flexible screen, out to the side, that is just hanging on by a hinge that contains all the electronics. Nice camera.