Panasonic has finally announced the specs of the Lumix GH5, and for those who pay attention to this type of specs, they are quite juicy. Most of them are in an interview conducted with Panasonic this week by Newsshooter, which I have embedded in this article. Among the “wow” for internal recording on a mirrorless Micro Four Thirds worldcam camera under US$2k include: 4:2:2/10-bit video (150 Mb/s today/400 Mb/s after a firmware upgrade), and 24-bit 48/96 kHz audio using the optional DMW-XLR1 XLR adapter, which costs under US$400. Oh, by the way, the GH5 will also be able to record up to 6K anamorphic after a firmware update. Enjoy the video!
As you’ll see in the video, the GH5 also offers a full-sized HDMI output for connection to an external recorder, to record with no compression or less compression than provided in the camera’s built-in recorder.
https://youtu.be/_tyM4dMkkeQ
More about the optional DMW-XLR1 XLR adapter
The initial specs I have found indicate that the DMW-XLR1 offers sampling of 48/96 kHz at 16 or 24-bit resolution. (See my Understanding 24-bit vs 16-bit audio production & distribution to understand the advantage of recording 24-bit even when we don’t distribute 24-bit.)
It also says that the DMW-XLR1 offers a low cut filter at 16 or 160 Hz. That’s all the good stuff. Here come the questionable specs:
The published specs indicate that the DMW-XLR1 offers ±20 dB gain. I really hope that only refers to one stage, and that Panasonic has understated the total gain exactly the way RØDE did with the i-XLR which I reviewed here, As it turns out, the i-XLR actually offers a total maximum of 80 db.
+20 dB is not nearly enough for a dynamic microphone. Of course, it also offers 48-volt phantom power, either for a condenser microphone…
or to power a FETHead (shown above), which is a pre-preamplifier for very low-output dynamic mics. I’ll update this or publish another article once I ascertain the true number.
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