ProRes RAW on the GH5S: Panasonic G series cameras get major new firmware updates

Hot on the heels of the announcements earlier for the GH6 and GH5M2, Panasonic has not forgotten its older cameras, including ProRes RAW output for the GH5S.

It would be very easy for a company like Panasonic to release new gear and simply forget about the old. But in an acknowledgement that older gear is still being used in large quantities, Panasonic has announced new firmware for the G series cameras that shows them some love.

New GH5S features

The new firmware will be available on June 9th and includes the following new additions:-

• RAW video data over HDMI on the GH5S for recording onto the Atomos Ninja V
• 4K/anamorphic (4:3) 3.7K 12-bit RAW output over HDMI
• A LUT is available from Panasonic designed for RAW video from the camera to match Varicam and EVA1 cameras
• Improved autofocus performance. The GH5 will inherit the improvements made to the S5 with 2x faster facial recognition and 5x faster animal recognition
• Head recognition has been added to make tracking people easier
• Human/animal recognition also works with [1-Area] focus
• Red REC frame indicator has been added to make it clearer when the camera is recording
• Vertical videos can be played back in their correct orientation
• Users can add orientation info prevent unintended image rotation in playback
• Video guide lines have been updated with more options
• Power save mode can be enabled when using an AC adaptor

LUMIX G9 improvements

In addition to the V2 firmware for the GH5S, the LUMIX G9 is getting an update to version 2.4 that includes all the above improvements GH5S with the exception of RAW output. The LUMIX G100 is also getting a minor update with the addition of orientation data.