Ok the Lumix GH1 with its HD video recording capability isn’t anything new per se and was introduced in the US a couple of weeks ago. However today was the official launch of the GH1 in Japan and we got some quality time with the beast. Now I’m not going to give you all the details of this camera here, since we did it here Lumix GH1…HD Ready!, but we’ll give you our first impression.

The GH1 look less cheap than the G1, and despite its compact size, the GH1, like the G1 is quite easy to handle if you have average sized hands… We couldn’t test its HD video capability and we’re waiting for our test sample, however, we really liked the dual HD format recording giving the choice between 720/60p and 1080/24p, a WAY better choice than the Kiss X3 or 500D and its 1080/20p video recording. We also liked the additional Dolby microphone that can be added on top the GH1 for better audio recording. If you purchase the GH1 as a dual camera with a mix usage of photo and video, we strongly advise getting the 14-140mm HD lens built to get the most out of HD videos.

As for photos, we were quite satisfied with it, but once again we’re waiting for our test sample before giving our final thoughts on the GH1.