Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 review – Noise, resolution and sensitivity
Considering that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4’s 16.05-million-pixel sensor seems to have been modelled largely on that used in the Lumix DMC-GX7, the new materials and processing algorithms used by Panasonic seem to have boosted this new camera’s resolving power, after we found that it resolved 28 lines per mm at ISO 100 on our resolution chart.
The GH4’s standard sensitivity range of ISO 200-25,600 during stills mode is a significant step up from the range of its predecessor. ISO 100 is available in an extended setting, while sensitivity is limited to ISO 6400 during movie recording.
JPEG images were surprisingly detailed straight out of the camera, producing smooth lines with very little noise-handling degradation affecting the images right up to ISO 3200. I did notice some colour noise at high sensitivities, but this can be eliminated easily from the JPEG and raw files. The sensitivity can be pushed beyond ISO 3200, but past ISO 6400 details become smudged due to aggressive smoothing, particularly in darker areas.
These images show 72ppi (100% on a computer screen) sections of images of a resolution chart, captured using the 14-140mm lens set to 35mm and f/5.6 . We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution is at the specified sensitivity setting.
