NiniaPimp Magazine

Photo gallery:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

Following up Panasonic’s video darling, the DMC-GH1, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 delivers some important enhancements, including a much-needed HDMI connector. Its price and feature set–by accident or design–targets photo and video enthusiasts rather than the entry-level point-and-shoot upgrader.

The combination of a new sensor in the GH2 and some improved JPEG processing on Panasonic’s part have resulted in some of the best image quality we’ve seen in the company’s cameras to date. For example, in most Panasonic cameras–including the good ones, like the LX5–even the lowest ISO-sensitivity shots are riddled with color noise. That said, there’s unfortunately still quite a bit of noise in midrange-to-high ISO JPEG shots; I can’t suggest shooting higher then ISO 200 for JPEG unless absolutely necessary. However, depending upon the scene, you can buy about two stops of usability by processing raw files instead of using the JPEGs. You still lose some dynamic range and detail, but even a quick-and-dirty processing in software delivers far better results than Panasonic’s internal algorithms.

And keep in mind that you can definitely get better results with a fast prime lens, even with the JPEGs. However, the GH2 rates just OK on color accuracy and auto white balance, and JPEGs develop an excessively yellow cast in low light because of the color noise.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 photo samples

The 14-140-millimeter kit lens (28-280mm equivalent) is pretty sharp, with nice geometry–there’s probably some in-camera correction happening, but I don’t see any of the artificial-looking straight lines that the correction usually produces–though there’s some distortion around the edges, which can result in fringing. It’s pretty good away from the edges, though. But it’s also really slow; its widest aperture is f4.5 at 14mm, narrowing to f5.8 by the time you get to 140mm, which really limits the lens’ flexibility. The 10x zoom range sounds really convenient, but not if you can only use it in very bright conditions. It’s pretty quiet while focusing and zooming during video capture, though.

For video, the most important update in the GH2 is a new sensor that drives at a higher frame rate–it can natively output 60p vs. 24p, though AVCHD limits the actual recorded video to 1080/60i. That, and a bump to the AVCHD maximum bit rate of 24 Mbps (albeit only in 24p mode), delivers improved results over the GH1; it’s equivalent to current AVCHD-based prosumer camcorders. The video does look exceptionally good, even in moderately low light (though you can see the same color shifts as in stills there). It’s sharp and clean, with few artifacts–no rolling shutter or obvious moire. Note that 24p, with its progressive output and higher bit rate, delivers visibly better results than 60i, especially with respect to background detail. Panasonic’s lens and body combination gives very good autofocus performance, doing better at locking and holding focus even in challenging conditions that can stymie some camcorders.

One of the more interesting features is variable frame-rate recording: 80, 160, 200, and 300 percent speeds based off 24p. It’s silent, as you’d expect, and works seamlessly and well.

The audio quality with the built-in stereo mics is also quite nice–clear and crisp, if a bit bright. The mic is relatively sensitive, and there are five reference levels you can set plus four levels of wind filtering and an onscreen meter. There’s no way to reduce its omnidirectionality, though, so if you plan to shoot interview-type footage you’ll definitely need to plug in an external mic.

I also got a chance to shoot with Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds 3D lens, which consists of dual fixed-focus f12 12mm lenses (note that the 35mm angle-of-view equivalent is about 57mm because each lens covers less than half of the sensor). The camera simultaneously shoots a 2D JPEG using one of the lenses along with a standard 3D MPO file. It’s nice for a lark–most of the random stuff I shot and viewed on a Panasonic 3D TV did display depth and novelty value–but you have no manual exposure controls when shooting in 3D and the camera doesn’t support movie capture with the lens.

While not best overall, the GH2′s still-shooting performance can certainly compete with class leaders, and is improved a lot over the GH1′s. It’s still a bit slow on start-up–it takes about 1.3 seconds to power on, focus, and shoot–but it can focus and shoot in 0.3 second in good light and 0.6 second in dim. JPEG shot-to-shot time runs 0.6 second, which increases to 0.8 second for raw; with flash enabled it jumps to about 1.5 seconds. For continuous shooting the camera averages about 4fps.

The camera is certainly fast enough for everyday burst shooting, and the EVF is pretty good–in low light the refresh does get a bit sluggish, though. But it’s still an EVF, so keep in mind you’ll have the accompanying framing issues–you can’t visually tell what’s happening, only what’s happened–for continuous shooting. It does come in handy for shooting video, though, if like me you prefer the stability of eye-level shooting (sans rig).

Overall I like the GH2′s design and operation, although there are a few potential major irritations. It’s smaller and lighter than most of its competitors–and most digital SLRs–but it can get pretty weighty when paired with the 14-140mm kit lens. But it’s generally comfortable to grip, with a nice shooting design. Although the grip is relatively featureless, it’s deep, rubberized, and just high enough to work comfortably. I also like that Panasonic put the SD card slot on the side rather than in the bottom battery compartment.

 
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
Sony Alpha SLT-A55
Sensor (effective resolution)
18-megapixel CMOS
12.1-megapixel Live MOS
12.1-megapixel Live MOS
16.1-megapixel Live MOS
16.2-megapixel Exmor HD CMOS
22.3×14.9mm 17.3×13.0mm
17.3×13.0mm
17.3×13.0mm
23.5×15.6mm
Focal-length multiplier 1.6x 2.0x 2.0x 2.0x 1.5x Sensitivity range
ISO 100 – ISO 6,400/ 12,800 (expanded)
ISO 100 – ISO 6,400
ISO 100 – ISO 3,200
ISO 160 – ISO 12,800
ISO 100 – ISO 1,600/12,800 (expanded)
Continuous shooting
3.7fps
34 JPEG/ 6 raw
3.2fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
3.0fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
5.0fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
6fps (10fps with auto exposure)
35 JPEG/20 raw
Viewfinder
magnification/ effective magnification
Optical
n/a
95% coverage
0.87x/0.54x
Electronic
n/a/1.4 million dots
100% coverage
1.4x/0.7x magnification
Electronic
n/a/1.4 million dots
100% coverage
1.4x/0.7x magnification
Electronic
n/a/1.5 million dots
100% coverage
1.42x/0.71x magnification
Electronic
0.46 inches/1.2 million dots
100% coverage
1.1x/0.73x
Autofocus
9-point phase-detection AF center cross-type
23-area contrast AF
23-area contrast AF
23-area contrast AF
15-pt phase-detection AF
3 cross-type
Shutter speed 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb up to 4 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb up to 4 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 60 secs; bulb up to 2 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/160 x-sync Metering 63 zone 144 zone 144 zone 144 zone 1200 zone Image stabilization Optical Optical Optical Optical Sensor shift Video H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/25p/24p @ 45Mbps (est); 720/60p/50p @n/a Mbps AVCHD Lite 720/30p/25p or Motion JPEG MOV AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17Mbps; 720/60p/50p @ 17, 13, 9 Mbps AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17, 13Mbps; 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbsp; 720/60p/50p @ 17, 13Mbps
QuickTime MOV, Motion JPEG
720/30p AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4 1440×1080/30p @ 12Mbps Rated estimated max HD video length 4GB
(12m) n/a 29m59s 29m59s 2GB or 29m, whichever comes first
Audio Mono; mic jack Mono; mic jack Stereo, mic jack Stereo, mic jack Stereo; mic jack LCD size
3 inches fixed
1.04 million dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
921,600 dots
Wireless flash No No No No Yes Battery life (CIPA rating) 470 shots 390 shots 320 shots 340 shots 330 shots Dimensions (inches, WHD)
5.1×3.8×3.0
4.9×3.3×2.9
4.9×3.3×3.0
4.9×3.5×3.0
4.9×3.6×3.3
Body operating weight (ounces)
18.6
13.1
15.2
15.7
17.8
Mfr. Price n/a n/a n/a $899.95 (body only) $749.99 (body only) $899.99 (with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens) $720.00 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens) n/a $999.95 (with 14-42mm lens) $849.99 (with 18-55mm lens) n/a n/a $1,499.95 (with 14-140mm lens) $1,499.95 (with 14-140mm lens) n/a Ship date March 2010 May 2010 June 2009 December 2010 September 2010

The GH2′s controls are pretty typical for Panasonic, and easy to feel and operate. On the back right there’s a four-way navigation control (which double as ISO sensitivity, white balance, and two programmable Fn controls) plus menu buttons, quick menu, display, and preview buttons. You can set the Fn buttons for functions like intelligent auto, film mode, focus area, aspect ratio, quality, single-shot raw override, metering mode, single-shot spot-meter override, flash, flash adjustment, ISO limit set, digital zoom, burst rate, auto bracket, and so on. Plus, there’s an additional programmable button on the top. But despite the flexibility gained from being able to customize like this, with these types of designs I can never remember how I set them, and it ends up slowing me down rather than streamlining my shooting–and can get even more complicated since the assignments get saved when you save to the three custom settings slots. You really need LED text to label the current settings.

Under your thumb lies a jog dial for toggling between exposure compensation and whatever the primary dial function is; for instance, if you’re in shutter-priority mode the primary dial function is changing shutter speed. As long as you’re not prone to accidentally pressing it, it’s a pretty efficient control mechanism. My twitchy thumb is prone to accidentally pressing it.

On the top are more direct-access controls. On one side you can set focus mode and focus area/type (face detection, tracking, multiarea, and spot). On the other you’ve got a somewhat crowded mode dial with the typical PASM, auto, and scene modes, as well as advanced movie capture and three custom-settings slots, plus drive and bracketing options. My one gripe here is that manual movie mode, where you can adjust a lot of parameters, is on the mode dial rather than available more directly.

While the GH1 had a flip-and-twist LCD, the GH2′s is a touch screen that operates much like the DMC-G2′s. On one hand, especially given the complexity of the camera, Panasonic makes one of the best touch-screen interfaces I’ve used. Everything is directly settable–for instance, you can just choose the desired ISO sensitivity from a matrix of values rather than having to scroll–the target touch areas are defined well enough that accidental selections don’t happen too often, and the screen is responsive enough that you don’t feel like you’re continually poking it in frustration. Panasonic incorporates all the requisite touch-specific features as well, such as touch focus and touch shutter.

But I also hate the same thing about the GH2′s touch screen that I did about the G2′s: I generally only use the center focus area, but every time I inadvertently hit the touch screen the focus area moves. There’s no way to disable touch focus, which is ridiculous since you can disable touch shutter and Quick Menu touch operation. It’s so annoying that I simply stopped using the screen and used the EVF for everything (the alternative is flipping the screen to face inward, but that’s more of a pain).

There are some nuanced features as well. The camera can bracket up to 7 frames in one-third stops, and it supports plus or minus five stops of exposure compensation in still mode (plus or minus three stops for movies). In the multiarea focus mode, you can select four area clusters, and the camera can save four custom white-balance settings. It also handles travel dates in a clever way: you define a date range in advance. That way you don’t have to remember to toggle it off when your trip’s over. And Panasonic remains the only manufacturer to offer face recognition (for six prerecorded faces) in addition to the ubiquitous face detection. For whatever that’s worth. (For a full account of the GH2′s features and operation, you can download the manual for the European version of the camera. Note that frame rates will be different for the U.S.)

To my mind, the Sony SLT-A55 poses the biggest competition to the GH2. For video pros and rabid hobbyists, Sony pretty much surrendered the field by not including 1080 progressive recording and maximum AVCHD bit-rate options, and the GH2′s relative wealth of choices looks mighty attractive. Consumers who plan to use autofocus during movie capture should also note that Panasonic has been developing quieter lenses specifically for movie recording with its Micro Four Thirds cameras, while Sony has been concentrating that work on the NEX E-mount models rather than the standard Alpha (A) mount used by the SLT series. However, the in-body image stabilization used by Sony is a good perk, and though the sensors are the same resolution, Sony’s is a larger APS-C model. Despite the A55′s phase-detection-based autofocus system, it doesn’t seem to deliver a clear performance advantage over the GH2. But all the ILC manufacturers need to improve the generally lame battery life of cameras like these.

The GH2 is an excellent choice for a combination still/video shooting device, or as a relatively inexpensive video-capture device with interchangeable lenses (with the caveat that it’s harder to get shallow depth of field at short focal lengths with Micro Four Thirds cameras). But if you’re primarily still-photo focused, you can get better quality from other dSLRs and ILCs.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot  

Raw shot-to-shot time  

Typical shot-to-shot time  

Shutter lag (dim)  

Shutter lag (typical)  

Hide Review

Photo gallery:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

Following up Panasonic’s video darling, the DMC-GH1, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 delivers some important enhancements, including a much-needed HDMI connector. Its price and feature set–by accident or design–targets photo and video enthusiasts rather than the entry-level point-and-shoot upgrader.

The combination of a new sensor in the GH2 and some improved JPEG processing on Panasonic’s part have resulted in some of the best image quality we’ve seen in the company’s cameras to date. For example, in most Panasonic cameras–including the good ones, like the LX5–even the lowest ISO-sensitivity shots are riddled with color noise. That said, there’s unfortunately still quite a bit of noise in midrange-to-high ISO JPEG shots; I can’t suggest shooting higher then ISO 200 for JPEG unless absolutely necessary. However, depending upon the scene, you can buy about two stops of usability by processing raw files instead of using the JPEGs. You still lose some dynamic range and detail, but even a quick-and-dirty processing in software delivers far better results than Panasonic’s internal algorithms.

And keep in mind that you can definitely get better results with a fast prime lens, even with the JPEGs. However, the GH2 rates just OK on color accuracy and auto white balance, and JPEGs develop an excessively yellow cast in low light because of the color noise.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 photo samples

The 14-140-millimeter kit lens (28-280mm equivalent) is pretty sharp, with nice geometry–there’s probably some in-camera correction happening, but I don’t see any of the artificial-looking straight lines that the correction usually produces–though there’s some distortion around the edges, which can result in fringing. It’s pretty good away from the edges, though. But it’s also really slow; its widest aperture is f4.5 at 14mm, narrowing to f5.8 by the time you get to 140mm, which really limits the lens’ flexibility. The 10x zoom range sounds really convenient, but not if you can only use it in very bright conditions. It’s pretty quiet while focusing and zooming during video capture, though.

For video, the most important update in the GH2 is a new sensor that drives at a higher frame rate–it can natively output 60p vs. 24p, though AVCHD limits the actual recorded video to 1080/60i. That, and a bump to the AVCHD maximum bit rate of 24 Mbps (albeit only in 24p mode), delivers improved results over the GH1; it’s equivalent to current AVCHD-based prosumer camcorders. The video does look exceptionally good, even in moderately low light (though you can see the same color shifts as in stills there). It’s sharp and clean, with few artifacts–no rolling shutter or obvious moire. Note that 24p, with its progressive output and higher bit rate, delivers visibly better results than 60i, especially with respect to background detail. Panasonic’s lens and body combination gives very good autofocus performance, doing better at locking and holding focus even in challenging conditions that can stymie some camcorders.

One of the more interesting features is variable frame-rate recording: 80, 160, 200, and 300 percent speeds based off 24p. It’s silent, as you’d expect, and works seamlessly and well.

The audio quality with the built-in stereo mics is also quite nice–clear and crisp, if a bit bright. The mic is relatively sensitive, and there are five reference levels you can set plus four levels of wind filtering and an onscreen meter. There’s no way to reduce its omnidirectionality, though, so if you plan to shoot interview-type footage you’ll definitely need to plug in an external mic.

I also got a chance to shoot with Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds 3D lens, which consists of dual fixed-focus f12 12mm lenses (note that the 35mm angle-of-view equivalent is about 57mm because each lens covers less than half of the sensor). The camera simultaneously shoots a 2D JPEG using one of the lenses along with a standard 3D MPO file. It’s nice for a lark–most of the random stuff I shot and viewed on a Panasonic 3D TV did display depth and novelty value–but you have no manual exposure controls when shooting in 3D and the camera doesn’t support movie capture with the lens.

While not best overall, the GH2′s still-shooting performance can certainly compete with class leaders, and is improved a lot over the GH1′s. It’s still a bit slow on start-up–it takes about 1.3 seconds to power on, focus, and shoot–but it can focus and shoot in 0.3 second in good light and 0.6 second in dim. JPEG shot-to-shot time runs 0.6 second, which increases to 0.8 second for raw; with flash enabled it jumps to about 1.5 seconds. For continuous shooting the camera averages about 4fps.

The camera is certainly fast enough for everyday burst shooting, and the EVF is pretty good–in low light the refresh does get a bit sluggish, though. But it’s still an EVF, so keep in mind you’ll have the accompanying framing issues–you can’t visually tell what’s happening, only what’s happened–for continuous shooting. It does come in handy for shooting video, though, if like me you prefer the stability of eye-level shooting (sans rig).

Overall I like the GH2′s design and operation, although there are a few potential major irritations. It’s smaller and lighter than most of its competitors–and most digital SLRs–but it can get pretty weighty when paired with the 14-140mm kit lens. But it’s generally comfortable to grip, with a nice shooting design. Although the grip is relatively featureless, it’s deep, rubberized, and just high enough to work comfortably. I also like that Panasonic put the SD card slot on the side rather than in the bottom battery compartment.

 
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
Sony Alpha SLT-A55
Sensor (effective resolution)
18-megapixel CMOS
12.1-megapixel Live MOS
12.1-megapixel Live MOS
16.1-megapixel Live MOS
16.2-megapixel Exmor HD CMOS
22.3×14.9mm 17.3×13.0mm
17.3×13.0mm
17.3×13.0mm
23.5×15.6mm
Focal-length multiplier 1.6x 2.0x 2.0x 2.0x 1.5x Sensitivity range
ISO 100 – ISO 6,400/ 12,800 (expanded)
ISO 100 – ISO 6,400
ISO 100 – ISO 3,200
ISO 160 – ISO 12,800
ISO 100 – ISO 1,600/12,800 (expanded)
Continuous shooting
3.7fps
34 JPEG/ 6 raw
3.2fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
3.0fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
5.0fps
unlimited JPEG/ 7 raw
6fps (10fps with auto exposure)
35 JPEG/20 raw
Viewfinder
magnification/ effective magnification
Optical
n/a
95% coverage
0.87x/0.54x
Electronic
n/a/1.4 million dots
100% coverage
1.4x/0.7x magnification
Electronic
n/a/1.4 million dots
100% coverage
1.4x/0.7x magnification
Electronic
n/a/1.5 million dots
100% coverage
1.42x/0.71x magnification
Electronic
0.46 inches/1.2 million dots
100% coverage
1.1x/0.73x
Autofocus
9-point phase-detection AF center cross-type
23-area contrast AF
23-area contrast AF
23-area contrast AF
15-pt phase-detection AF
3 cross-type
Shutter speed 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb up to 4 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb up to 4 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 60 secs; bulb up to 2 minutes; 1/160 x-sync 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/160 x-sync Metering 63 zone 144 zone 144 zone 144 zone 1200 zone Image stabilization Optical Optical Optical Optical Sensor shift Video H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/25p/24p @ 45Mbps (est); 720/60p/50p @n/a Mbps AVCHD Lite 720/30p/25p or Motion JPEG MOV AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17Mbps; 720/60p/50p @ 17, 13, 9 Mbps AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17, 13Mbps; 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbsp; 720/60p/50p @ 17, 13Mbps
QuickTime MOV, Motion JPEG
720/30p AVCHD 1080/60i/50i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4 1440×1080/30p @ 12Mbps Rated estimated max HD video length 4GB
(12m) n/a 29m59s 29m59s 2GB or 29m, whichever comes first
Audio Mono; mic jack Mono; mic jack Stereo, mic jack Stereo, mic jack Stereo; mic jack LCD size
3 inches fixed
1.04 million dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
460,000 dots
3 inches articulated
921,600 dots
Wireless flash No No No No Yes Battery life (CIPA rating) 470 shots 390 shots 320 shots 340 shots 330 shots Dimensions (inches, WHD)
5.1×3.8×3.0
4.9×3.3×2.9
4.9×3.3×3.0
4.9×3.5×3.0
4.9×3.6×3.3
Body operating weight (ounces)
18.6
13.1
15.2
15.7
17.8
Mfr. Price n/a n/a n/a $899.95 (body only) $749.99 (body only) $899.99 (with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens) $720.00 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens) n/a $999.95 (with 14-42mm lens) $849.99 (with 18-55mm lens) n/a n/a $1,499.95 (with 14-140mm lens) $1,499.95 (with 14-140mm lens) n/a Ship date March 2010 May 2010 June 2009 December 2010 September 2010

The GH2′s controls are pretty typical for Panasonic, and easy to feel and operate. On the back right there’s a four-way navigation control (which double as ISO sensitivity, white balance, and two programmable Fn controls) plus menu buttons, quick menu, display, and preview buttons. You can set the Fn buttons for functions like intelligent auto, film mode, focus area, aspect ratio, quality, single-shot raw override, metering mode, single-shot spot-meter override, flash, flash adjustment, ISO limit set, digital zoom, burst rate, auto bracket, and so on. Plus, there’s an additional programmable button on the top. But despite the flexibility gained from being able to customize like this, with these types of designs I can never remember how I set them, and it ends up slowing me down rather than streamlining my shooting–and can get even more complicated since the assignments get saved when you save to the three custom settings slots. You really need LED text to label the current settings.

Under your thumb lies a jog dial for toggling between exposure compensation and whatever the primary dial function is; for instance, if you’re in shutter-priority mode the primary dial function is changing shutter speed. As long as you’re not prone to accidentally pressing it, it’s a pretty efficient control mechanism. My twitchy thumb is prone to accidentally pressing it.

On the top are more direct-access controls. On one side you can set focus mode and focus area/type (face detection, tracking, multiarea, and spot). On the other you’ve got a somewhat crowded mode dial with the typical PASM, auto, and scene modes, as well as advanced movie capture and three custom-settings slots, plus drive and bracketing options. My one gripe here is that manual movie mode, where you can adjust a lot of parameters, is on the mode dial rather than available more directly.

While the GH1 had a flip-and-twist LCD, the GH2′s is a touch screen that operates much like the DMC-G2′s. On one hand, especially given the complexity of the camera, Panasonic makes one of the best touch-screen interfaces I’ve used. Everything is directly settable–for instance, you can just choose the desired ISO sensitivity from a matrix of values rather than having to scroll–the target touch areas are defined well enough that accidental selections don’t happen too often, and the screen is responsive enough that you don’t feel like you’re continually poking it in frustration. Panasonic incorporates all the requisite touch-specific features as well, such as touch focus and touch shutter.

But I also hate the same thing about the GH2′s touch screen that I did about the G2′s: I generally only use the center focus area, but every time I inadvertently hit the touch screen the focus area moves. There’s no way to disable touch focus, which is ridiculous since you can disable touch shutter and Quick Menu touch operation. It’s so annoying that I simply stopped using the screen and used the EVF for everything (the alternative is flipping the screen to face inward, but that’s more of a pain).

There are some nuanced features as well. The camera can bracket up to 7 frames in one-third stops, and it supports plus or minus five stops of exposure compensation in still mode (plus or minus three stops for movies). In the multiarea focus mode, you can select four area clusters, and the camera can save four custom white-balance settings. It also handles travel dates in a clever way: you define a date range in advance. That way you don’t have to remember to toggle it off when your trip’s over. And Panasonic remains the only manufacturer to offer face recognition (for six prerecorded faces) in addition to the ubiquitous face detection. For whatever that’s worth. (For a full account of the GH2′s features and operation, you can download the manual for the European version of the camera. Note that frame rates will be different for the U.S.)

To my mind, the Sony SLT-A55 poses the biggest competition to the GH2. For video pros and rabid hobbyists, Sony pretty much surrendered the field by not including 1080 progressive recording and maximum AVCHD bit-rate options, and the GH2′s relative wealth of choices looks mighty attractive. Consumers who plan to use autofocus during movie capture should also note that Panasonic has been developing quieter lenses specifically for movie recording with its Micro Four Thirds cameras, while Sony has been concentrating that work on the NEX E-mount models rather than the standard Alpha (A) mount used by the SLT series. However, the in-body image stabilization used by Sony is a good perk, and though the sensors are the same resolution, Sony’s is a larger APS-C model. Despite the A55′s phase-detection-based autofocus system, it doesn’t seem to deliver a clear performance advantage over the GH2. But all the ILC manufacturers need to improve the generally lame battery life of cameras like these.

The GH2 is an excellent choice for a combination still/video shooting device, or as a relatively inexpensive video-capture device with interchangeable lenses (with the caveat that it’s harder to get shallow depth of field at short focal lengths with Micro Four Thirds cameras). But if you’re primarily still-photo focused, you can get better quality from other dSLRs and ILCs.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot  

Raw shot-to-shot time  

Typical shot-to-shot time  

Shutter lag (dim)  

Shutter lag (typical)  

Hide Review

Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) HTC Mozart in New York using T-Mobile service, and call quality was mostly good. Though not the richest in sound quality, the audio was clear on our end, with very little background noise or voice distortion. The sound can get a bit shrill if you have the volume set to the highest level. Meanwhile, friends said the audio sounded clear on their side of the conversation and had no major complaints.

HTC Mozart call quality sample
Listen now:

Speakerphone quality was decent. The audio was clear but, as on a number of other handsets, a bit hollow-sounding. With audio set at the highest level, there was just enough volume to have a conversation in a noisier environment (a room with the TV on in the background), but our caller’s voice was drowned out when we were trying to talk on a busy street. We successfully paired the smartphone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset and the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.

Like the HTC Trophy, the Mozart was designed for the European and Asian markets and doesn’t offer North American 3G support, so whether you pop in an ATT or T-Mobile SIM, you’ll be operating on one of those two EDGE networks. Using T-Mobile’s network, CNET’s full site loaded in 16 seconds, while the mobile sites for CNN and ESPN came up in 8 seconds and 10 seconds, respectively. YouTube videos took a few seconds to load, and needed to rebuffer a couple of times.

We transferred a couple of MPEG4 videos from our PC to the Mozart using Zune software, and they played back beautifully. The Mozart includes Dolby Mobile and SRS WOW HD technology to enhance audio and video via the Sound Enhancer app. If you’re using headphones or external speakers, there are various equalizer settings you can choose from. The difference between these various effects was minimal over the phone’s speakers, but we definitely noticed when we had our headphones plugged in. Without any effects, general audio quality was good but the SRS Enhancement definitely boosts the overall quality and provides a very rich audio experience.

For imaging, the HTC Mozart offers an 8-megapixel camera–the largest on any Windows Phone 7 device currently available. It comes with a Xenon flash, auto focus, and 720p HD video recording. Editing options include various effects, metering mode, flicker adjustment, and different scene modes.

Despite this better camera, picture quality was disappointing. First, it was difficult to get a sharp image, and second, photos often looked washed out. Video quality is also subpar. Though you can make out the subjects in the video, there’s a hazy effect and pinkish hue that make the overall picture look soft and degrade the quality. There’s 8MB of onboard storage with no option for memory expansion, which is disappointing for such a multimedia-focused device. Once done with your photos, you can share via e-mail or MMS, or upload them to SkyDrive or Facebook. However, for video your only options are to delete the file or to transfer it to your PC and share it from there.

The Mozart is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 512MB ROM/576MB RAM, and the smartphone performed like a well-oiled machine throughout our review period. It handled our demands with no problems. As we noted in our other Windows Phone 7 reviews, we did experience some slow load times while trying to play games, but this is more an issue of the OS than the device itself and will be addressed in the upcoming update.

The HTC Mozart ships with a 1,300mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 6.75 hours and up to 15 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. In general, we were able to get about a day and a half of use on a single charge.

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This week’s review is of the Yard (4300 Sixth St. S, St. Petersburg; 727-498-8809), which is a sports bar at its heart, but with better food than you would expect to find at such a place. It is in the spot formerly occupied by Shackelton’s Folly in southern St. Petersburg. Here is a link to the review, and here is one to the restaurant’s site, which is just the menu. (Some of the prices are out of date on the menu. The ones that are wrong have gone down.)

Simply put, the Dell UltraSharp U3011 is the best 30-inch monitor we’ve yet seen. Not only does it deliver great performance–which is expected from most devices running at a 2560×1600 resolution–but it also has tons of connection options and an OSD with a surprisingly high number of calibration features. The only problem is the price. At $1,349, it’s about $400 more expensive than the 27-inch Dell UltraSharp U2711, which includes mostly the same features, with less real estate. The U2711 is still the best overall large-screen monitor, but if 27 inches just isn’t enough, the U3011 is a fully capable alternative.

Design and features
The 30-inch UltraSharp U3011 takes nearly everything great about the UltraSharp U2711, adds three inches to its screen size, increases the already high resolution, and adds even more On Screen Display (OSD) options. This in itself is nothing to write home about (not that anyone receiving such a message would be the least bit interested anyway), but when we consider that OSD options for the vast majority of 30-inch monitors (including the recently reviewed HP ZR30w) are limited to brightness adjustment options only, the fact that the UltraSharp U3011 includes a full array of OSD options is quite the oddity. In fact, the last 30-incher we reviewed that included OSD options was Dell’s own UltraSharp 3008WFP from 2008.

The OSD follows a label-free design that’s become the house style for Dell monitors. Five vertically arranged buttons line the lower right-hand corner of the bezel. Pressing any of the buttons brings up the OSD, which pops up parallel to the button array, and each option corresponds to one of the five buttons. Once a new menu is selected, the function of each button changes dynamically, as the top two buttons become the up-and-down arrow buttons used to navigate through the newly seen menu. Since any button labels for the OSD are actually on the screen (instead of on the bezel), calibrating the display in a dark room is easy.

Each OSD button on the U3011 is responsive and depresses just enough to feel satisfying. The OSD menu options include the standard brightness, contrast, and various color options. These color options include custom color controls for gain and offset, each allowing you to adjust the red, green, and blue values in the brighter and dimmer sections of the screen respectively. Also, the hue and saturation options include RGB adjustments as well as cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) adjustments.

Main screen presets are Standard, Multimedia, Game, Movie, Warm, Cool, Adobe RGB, sRGB, and xv Mode. There are options to adjust the sharpness and additional options for setting the OSD to stay onscreen up to a minute (useful for anyone who will spend a good amount of time calibrating) and OSD transparency level.

Like the U2711, the U3011 has a matte black chassis with a gray highlight running through the middle of the panel. The panel is 1.75 inches deep; however, the back of the display–which houses the backlight, connection options, and ventilation system–extends another 1.8 inches, bringing the full monitor depth to about 3.7 inches. The panel width measures 27.3 inches; the surface of the screen itself is a slightly frosted and smooth matte. The bezel measures 0.9 inch on all sides.

The Dell UltraSharp U3011 has a host of connections including two DVI, two HDMI, DisplayPort, Component, VGA, four USB downstream, one USB upstream, and an SD card reader, making this one of the most robust monitor connection arrays we’ve seen.

Performance
We tested the Dell UltraSharp U3011 through its DVI input, connected to a Windows Vista PC, using the included DVI cable. The display posted a composite score of 97 on CNET Labs’ DisplayMate-based performance tests.

The U3011 displayed excellent color reproduction and accuracy. Although the HP ZR30w showed evidence of a green push, the U3011 had no such problems and as a result got higher marks in our color tracking test. In our grayscale bars test, we were able to see dark gray down to level 2, two levels above black, which indicates accurate black-level performance.

The U3011 performed well in our uniformity and dark screen tests, showing only a minimum amount of backlight bleed-through. Unfortunately, as with the ZR30w, we did see clear evidence of static streaking. Static streaking occurs when there are large changes in contrast and either the darker or lighter color “streaks” onto its counterpart, showing, for example, black bars on a white background.

The biggest advantage the UltraSharp U3011 has over the ZR30w is its detailed OSD that allows you to adjust the monitor’s output, which can result in better performance.

Text:
In text, we saw no color problems with black text on a white background. Fonts were clearly visible down to a 6.8 size. Not much wrong a monitor can do at this high of a resolution on such a large screen.

Movies:
We tested the Dell UltraSharp U3011 using the Blu-ray version of “Avatar”. We saw deep blacks, and accurate color that looked great on the huge 30-inch screen. Faces looked natural with no egregious color tint problems.

Games:
Because of our intimate familiarity with StarCraft II (SCII), it is our new favorite tool for judging color quality and vibrancy in games. It’s difficult for a game running natively at 2,560×1,600 to look bad, and indeed SCII looks quite stunning on the 30-inch U3011.

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Of course, the biggest feature the Streak 7 has to offer is compatibility with T-Mobile’s 4G wireless network. Because 4G is still in its early rollout phase, coverage will vary from location to location, so check with T-Mobile’s 4G coverage map before making the jump. For us, the 4G speed enabled faster loading for YouTube videos, with less frequent drop-outs. We’ll update this review with test results from the CNET Labs with a more in-depth speed comparison once results are available.

From an app perspective, Dell and T-Mobile throw in a few gems worth your attention, including games (Asphalt 5, Let’s Golf!), music-streaming services (mSpot, Slacker), e-readers (Kindle, Zinio), and video-streaming apps (Blockbuster, T-Mobile TV, and YouTube). Because the Streak 7 has received Google’s blessing, you also get unfettered access to the Android Market, and Goole’s suite of mobile apps, including Latitude, Maps, Navigation, Places, and Google Talk.

Unfortunately, app performance is no better on the Streak 7 than it was on the Samsung Galaxy Tab or any other Android 2.2 tablet we’ve seen. The awkwardness of running smartphone apps on a tablet-sized screen is still no easier to accept in 2011 than it was in 2010, and will likely not be solved for Android devices until Android Honeycomb makes its way into the world. At the time of this review, Dell has made no statements assuring that the Dell Streak 7 will be compatible with future versions of Android.

Performance
Aside from the Streak 7′s 4G network compatibility, it isn’t particularly swift or responsive when it comes to general tasks, such as navigating, composing e-mail or browsing the Web. Dell promises there’s an Nvidia T-20 Tegra chip under the hood, but for the most part, we found the Samsung Galaxy Tab outperformed the Streak 7 in common tasks.

In spite of the aid of haptic feedback and Swype touch-screen keyboard technology, typing on the Streak 7 lagged behind that of the Tab and the iPad, and keypad accuracy was noticeably fickle, requiring longer presses to register input. Linger too long, though, and you may inadvertently kick in the Swype system, which predicts your text when you swipe your finger across groups of letters. In short, the Streak 7 is not a typing champ. We actually found the original 5-inch Streak easier to type with.

Another performance disappointment is screen quality. Sporting an 800×480-pixel resolution screen with only average viewing angles, the Streak 7 appears dull sitting beside the vibrant, smooth 1024×600-pixel resolution display on the Galaxy Tab.

For Web browsing, putting aside the touch-screen keyboard issues, there’s some noticeable system lag when it comes to scrolling though pages. We still haven’t seen any tablet that can stand up to the iPad in this regard, on which Web pages seemingly glide across the screen on their own imaginary momentum–but the Streak 7 is no step forward for Android tablets.

Finally there’s battery life, which never seems to be a strong suit in 4G devices. The Streak 7 is no exception, requiring frequent recharges during our review process and running down rapidly even while in standby mode. Battery conserving measures, such as switching off 4G, GPS, and Bluetooth, and turning down screen brightness, are all recommended tactics in the device manual. At the time of this review, Dell hasn’t published an official battery life rating, but we think it’s fair to say that if the company could brag about it, it would. CNET Labs will independently run a series of battery drains on the Streak 7 and update this review with the results once they’re available.

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   A fight over who got to drink the “good beer” led to the arrest of a former Ku Klux Klan leader and his son, OrlandoSentinel.com reports.

   The former klansman, George Hixon, 73, was drinking with his son Troy and Troy’s girlfriend when a fight started because she complained that she was forced to drink cheap beer while the men drank Budweiser, the Osceola Sheriff’s Office said.

   Must have been a fun night on the 7-acre tract where the men live (which the county property appraiser lists the as vacant other than sheds). Among other things, Troy Hixon told a deputy that he “did the ‘redneck’ thing” and shot holes in a trash can full of water to drain it, the deputy wrote.

Weird news stories, bizarre news, strange but stories. You’ve come to the right place: Bizarre Florida, where weird is the norm. Exploding pythons. Armless, one-legged drivers. Yep. We certainly have unusual news stories. Offbeat news. Strange, interesting stories. Weird, unusual, true news stories. Get the picture? Have a story suggestion?

E-mail Bizarre Florida: bizarre@tampabay.com

Weird news stories, bizarre news, strange but stories. You’ve come to the right place: Bizarre Florida, where weird is the norm. Exploding pythons. Armless, one-legged drivers. Yep. We certainly have unusual news stories. Offbeat news. Strange, interesting stories. Weird, unusual, true news stories. Get the picture? Have a story suggestion?

E-mail Bizarre Florida: bizarre@tampabay.com