Panasonic Announces GF6

After Japan announced the DMC-GF6 on the 9th of April, it is now the turn of the US to announce the GF6, one full week later. Canada has indicated the GF6 will not be offered here. The Lumix DMC-GF6 is Panasonic’s newest Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) camera and is the most compact of the Lumix G family. It is a point-and-shoot model full of features including the new Self Shot, Creative Panorama, and Stop Motion Animation.

PRESS RELEASE

LUMIX GF6 – Wi-Fi® / NFC SMARTPHONE LINKED SOCIAL MEDIA DSLM CAMERA… UNWIRE YOUR CREATIVITY

Featuring 19 In-camera Creative Effects and Creative HD Video Capture

Share Your Images Using the Panasonic Image App with your Favorite Social Media

SECAUCUS, NJ (April 16, 2013) – Panasonic is proud to introduce the DMC-GF6 (GF6), a new Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera which is the most compact of the LUMIX G family. The new 16.00–megapixel Live MOS Sensor achieves both high-resolution and high sensitivity image and video recording. The Venus Engine was also newly developed for the GF6 to attain both high-performance signal processing and noise reduction, achieving a maximum ISO 25,600 (Extended) making the most of the new sensor.

The GF6 is more than an interchangeable lens camera…it’s a creative magic box full of features including the new Self Shot, Creative Panorama, and Stop Motion Animation, in addition to the popular Creative Control mode that boasts 19 fascinating filter effects. Stop Motion Animation delivers unique stop motion video while the Clear Retouch function gives you the power to erase unwanted parts of a picture after shooting. Both of these functions occur automatically right in the camera.

The GF6 boasts high-speed, high precision Light Speed AF (auto focus) including practical full-time AF and tracking AF is available for video recording. The newly integrated Low Light AF enables accurate focusing on the subject even in low-lit situations. It is ready to shoot in only 0.5 seconds after start-up saving the end-user from missing a shooting opportunity.

The GF6 might just be the smartphone’s next BFF. With the Wi-Fi® connectivity featuring NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, users can connect the camera to their smartphone/tablet anywhere with one-touch, which makes sharing images much easier. It is also possible to use a smartphone/tablet as a multi-capable remote shutter with a monitor. With the Instant Transfer function, photos are automatically sent to the smartphone/tablet immediately after shooting. In addition, both images and video can be archived to the registered digital equipment such as a PC automatically via the wireless access point (router) at home.

The GF6 records 1920 x 1080 at 60i (60 Hz) full-HD video in AVCHD with high quality stereo sound. The P/A/S/M mode in video recording is also available for more expressive creation of motion picture footage. Despite its sleek, compact profile, the GF6 touts a built-in flash (GN6.3 ISO160･m / GN5.0 ISO100･m) and 3.0-inch large approx.180° tiltable monitor.

1. New 16.00-Megapixel Live MOS Sensor and Venus Engine for Superb Picture Quality
The GF6 integrates a new 16.00-megapixel Live MOS sensor which enables high resolution and high sensitivity image recording while minimizing noise. The image processor Venus Engine is also newly developed to feature advanced noise reduction systems so that every part of the image – from shadow to highlight – is faithfully reproduced.

2. Pursuing Even Higher Speed Response and Mobility
It takes only approximately 0.5 sec to capture a photo after startup. Not only does the rear monitor have touch control but the layout of the devices makes the camera control smooth and easy.

With the Full-area Touch AF, it is possible to set focus on any point in the field of view which yields quick and intuitive focusing operation with free frame composition.　In addition, the newly adopted Touch AE (Auto Exposure) function allows the user to set focus and exposure with a single touch on the subject displayed on the monitor.

3. A Variety of Shooting Functions for Artwork Creation
The GF6 is not just a high quality camera but an advanced photographic tool enhancing the shooting experience with a wide variety of options. With the new Self Shot mode, users can shoot their own portraits by stretching an arm to hold the camera with the rear monitor flipped approximately180°vertically to frame the shot properly. A variety of options such as Creative Control can be applied on this self-portrait as well.

The popular Creative Control mode is upgraded by increasing its filter option from 14 (for GF5) to 19 (for GF6) adding new Old Days, Sunshine*, Bleach Bypass, Toy Pop and Fantasy in addition to the conventional Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia, High Dynamic, Soft Focus*, Dynamic Monochrome, Impressive Art, One Point Color, Cross Process, Low Key, Toy Effect and Star Filter* and Miniature Effect** mode.

The new Stop Motion Animation function enables producing a stop motion (stop frame) video in camera with pictures that are sequentially shot while moving the object by degrees. This effect makes the object appear as if it is moving by itself.

Another new in-camera function is Clear Retouch, which makes it possible to erase unwanted objects or figures in an image by just tracing over them on monitor with a fingertip. They naturally disappear without hurting the image.

* For photo only
** Sound will not be recorded with [MINIATURE EFFECT] in Creative Control Mode and approximately 1/10 of the time period is recorded. (If you record for 10 minutes, the resulting motion picture recording will be approximately 1 minute long)

4. Wireless Connectivity for One-Touch Picture Sharing & Remote Shooting via Wi-Fi® / NFC with Smartphones
The GF6 integrates Wi-Fi® connectivity (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to offer a more flexible shooting experience and instant image sharing with compatible smartphones/tablets. All these flexible shooting / browsing / sharing styles are made possible with the GF6 and Panasonic’s dedicated application software Panasonic Image App for iOS / Android smartphones/tablets.

Users can connect the camera with a smartphone/tablet by just bumping them together. What is new is that the setup is extremely quick and easy, making it possible to pair the camera directly to the smartphone/tablet without going through any connection procedures to authorize information inputs.

Remote shooting of both photo and video* is available by using the smartphone/tablet for a remote shutter with a monitor which displays live at a smooth 30 fps. Not only the shutter release, but zooming**, focusing and setting the shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation are all controllable with a smartphone/tablet.

The Instant Transfer function allows the camera to transfer the photo data to the designated electronic device automatically when the shutter is released. In playback mode, users can also touch the image displayed on the camera to transfer it directly to the smartphone/tablet. In addition, it is possible to tag the location information to the image by utilizing the GPS (Global Positioning System) log of a smartphone / tablet.

Archiving images becomes easy. GF6 transfers the data to PC or other electronic devices automatically via the wireless access point (router) at home. Also, with Panasonic’s exclusive cloud service “LUMIX CLUB”, the GF6 can automatically synchronize images via internet with the designated devices and web services like Facebook™, Flickr™, Picasa™, Twitter™ or YouTube™.

The Wi-Fi Direct™ function allows direct playback of images on the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) – compliant VIERA HDTV***.

*For remote shooting of video, start/stop recording is available over smartphone/tablet control
**With LUMIX G Power Zoom Lens H-PS14042 or H-PS45175.
*** Using [Playback on TV] of the Wi-Fi function, you can display images on a TV that supports the Digital Media Renderer (DMR) function of the DLNA standard. Please check the following website about the compatible devices for details. http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/

5. Additional Attractive Features for the GF6

High Quality 1920 x 1080 Full-HD Video with Stereo Sound
The GF6 records 1920 x 1080 at 60i (60 Hz) full HD video with full-time AF and high quality stereo sound in the AVCHD format which excels in both compression efficiency and compatibility with AV equipment for playback. With a dedicated video record button on the top, users can instantly start recording videos while shooting photos without having to make any extra setting adjustments. In addition, the P/A/S/M mode also lets users enjoy professional-like expressive video recording. Videos can also be recorded in MP4 format for playback on a PC or other portable electronic devices without having to convert the files.

– Maximum time to record motion pictures continuously with [MP4] is 29 minutes 59 seconds or up to 4 GB.
– You can check the recordable time on the screen. (For [FHD] in [MP4] format, the file size is large and so the recordable time will drop below 29 minutes 59 seconds.)

New 1040K-dot 180゜Tiltable Touch Monitor
The new large, approximately 1040K-dot high resolution monitor boasts about 100% of field of view, and it tilts up roughly 180°. The front panel is directly attached to the new In Cell Touch LCD without containing an air layer in between. The result is that the reflection of external light is dramatically suppressed. Together with an increase in resolution by 13% and improved color reproduction by roughly 20%, the monitor for GF6 offers greater visibility.

Advanced iA+ (Intelligent Auto Plus Mode) and Scene Guide for Beginners
For beginners with Digital Single Lens Mirrorless cameras, iA (Intelligent Auto) mode supports capturing images with a variety of shooting-assist functions including AF Tracking, Intelligent D-range Control, Intelligent Scene Selector, Face Recognition and Intelligent ISO Control. The Intelligent Scene Selector now integrates Food Recognition mode. It detects food on the dish and captures it so it looks delicious. The iA Plus mode lets users adjust the defocusing area in the background, exposure compensation and white balance for more flexible control.

The Scene Guide* offers 23 sample pictures shot by professional photographers. Users can choose the one closest to the situation they are going to shoot and optimum parameters for shooting the scene will be automatically set. Furthermore, shooting procedures, technical advice and the recommended interchangeable lens for the scene are displayed for users to improve their photography.

* Video recording using Scene Guide is not possible in some scenes.