The GH line has been the video shooter’s Micro Four Thirds camera for over a decade. The Panasonic Lumix GH7, released in mid-2024, is the most complete version yet. It records ProRes RAW inside the camera, it finally has phase-detection autofocus, and with an optional module it records 32-bit float audio. On paper it reads like a cinema camera. It costs about $2,200.

The sensor is a 25.2MP back-side illuminated Four Thirds chip. That’s smaller than full frame or APS-C, and it’s the GH7’s main tradeoff. In exchange you get a compact system, small lenses and deep focus that’s easy to control, which run-and-gun shooters love.

Kit lenses have a bad reputation. The Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 is one of the few that deserves a better one. It ships with the Lumix S5II and S9 and sells on its own for about $600, and its trick is the same one that makes Sony’s 20-70mm f/4 popular: it starts at 20mm.

That wider start makes it far more useful for vlogging at arm’s length, interiors, and travel shooting in tight streets. Most kit zooms start at 24mm or 28mm.

For years the Lumix pitch came with an asterisk. Great video, great color, great stabilization… and autofocus that pulsed and hunted. The Panasonic Lumix S5II, launched in early 2023, removed the asterisk. It was the first Lumix with phase-detection autofocus, and it turned Panasonic’s full-frame line into a real option for people who don’t want to babysit their focus.

That one change made the S5II one of the best-value full-frame cameras of the last five years. It launched at about $2,000, below the Canon R6 II and Sony A7 IV, and street prices have only come down since.

The Panasonic Lumix S9 is a full-frame camera that doesn’t look like one. It’s small, flat and colorful, with no viewfinder and a rear screen that flips around. Panasonic launched it in May 2024 at $1,499 for the body, aiming it at people who shoot social content on phones and want full-frame quality without full-frame bulk.

It takes the 24.2MP full-frame sensor and phase-detect autofocus from the excellent Lumix S5II, then strips the body down to about 486 grams with battery and card.