Panasonic Announces New Firmware Updates for LUMIX GH5S, G9, and G100

Firmware Update

by Jakub HanMay 25^th, 2021

Panasonic announced new free firmware updates for three LUMIX G series cameras which will be available on June 9, 2021. The GH5S and G9 both get improved AF, red REC frame indicator, Power Save Mode, and improved functions for vertical shooting. The GH5S additionally gets RAW output over HDMI for both DCI 4K and 3.7K anamorphic up to 60fps. The LUMIX G100 gets improved vertical shooting function.

During today’s online event, Panasonic announced a handful of new stuff. We prepared three separate posts about the news – click here to read all about the newly announced LUMIX GH5M2 camera or here to read about the LUMIX GH6 Development announcement. The news included in this particular article encompasses new firmware updates for the LUMIX G series cameras – GH5S, G9, and G100. Let’s take a look at the new features coming to these cameras.

LUMIX GH5S Firmware Version 2.0

GH5S – the low light king of the LUMIX G line – was released in January 2018 (check out our review and hands-on article). Although it lacks IBIS, it has become quite popular among filmmakers for its good image quality and dual-native-ISO. The new firmware v2.0 introduces the following improvements and features on the GH5S:

Improved AF performance – the autofocus can detect eyes / face at a 2x faster recognition cycle speed and human/animal at a 5x faster recognition cycle speed when compared to previous firmware. Tracking and recognition performance of AF have been improved with an addition of head recognition. Finally, Human/Animal recognition can be set ON or OFF when the AF mode is set to [1-Area].

RAW Video Data Output over HDMI – known from the LUMIX S cameras (and many others), this feature now comes to the GH5S as well. The camera will be able to output 12-bit RAW video data over its HDMI port and the connected Atomos Ninja V recorder (after the AtomOS 10.66 update) will be able to save the footage as ProRes RAW. Panasonic provides a custom LUT for this workflow to match the footage easier with V-Log footage from Varicam and EVA1 cameras. The RAW output will be available in two resolutions:

• DCI 4K 17:9 (4096×2160) with 23.98p/25.00p/29.97p/50p/59.94p frame rates
• 3.7K anamorphic 4:3 (3680×2760) with 23.98p/25.00p/29.97p/50p/59.94p frame rates

Furthermore, Panasonic adds the Red REC Frame Indicator function which will make it easier to determine whether the camera is rolling or not. It will also be possible to play back videos vertically. Users can choose to add camera orientation information in Vertical Position Info (Video) menu to prevent unintended image rotation in playback. Video Guide Line function has been upgraded with more options. Last but not least, Power Save Mode can now be selected while the camera is powered with an AC adaptor (DMW-AC10, sold separately).

LUMIX G9 Firmware Version 2.4

The LUMIX G9 was designed as a stills-oriented camera, but in November 2019 it received a huge video-oriented firmware update v2.0 that brought its video capabilities quite close to the GH5. With the latest firmware v2.4, Panasonic introduces the following improvements to the G9:

Improved AF performance – the autofocus can detect the eyes / face at a 2x faster recognition cycle speed and human / animal at a 5x faster recognition cycle speed when compared with the previous firmware. Tracking and recognition performance of AF have been improved with an addition of head recognition. Finally, Human/Animal recognition can be set ON or OFF when the AF mode is set to [1-Area].

The G9 also gets the Red REC Frame Indicator function which will make it easier to determine whether the camera is rolling or not. It will also be possible to play back videos vertically. Users can choose to add camera orientation information in Vertical Position Info (Video) menu to prevent unintended image rotation in playback. Video Guide Line function has been upgraded with more options. Last but not least, Power Save Mode can now be selected while the camera is powered with an AC adaptor (DMW-AC10, sold separately).

LUMIX G100 Firmware Version 1.2

Announced in June 2020, the LUMIX G100 is Panasonic’s compact-sized MFT camera for vloggers. You can take a look at Johnnie’s review of the camera with the SIRUI 35mm anamorphic lens. With the new firmware v1.2, Panasonic adds the following features and improvements to the camera:

• Users can choose to add to camera orientation information in Vertical Position Info (Video) menu to prevent unintended image rotation in playback.
• The camera can be recognized when it is connected to the PC via the USB power supply port.

Price and Availability

All the above-mentioned firmware updates will be available for download free of charge from the LUMIX Global Customer Support website. The release date is June 9, 2021, 1:00 am UTC.

Do you use any of the LUMIX G cameras mentioned in this article? What do you think about the firmware updates? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.