Panasonic announces the Lumix BS1H full-frame cinema camera

The Lumix BS1H is one of the latest in the category of those powerful cameras that look as much like a box as possible, the better to become the center of a full cinema- or documentary-grade set-up with peripherals such as external monitors and lenses stuck to it. However, Panasonic also touts this new model as ideal for mounting on cine-drones or handles due to its refined weight and footprint.

The BS1H's "durable" magnesium-aluminum chassis is indeed 1.3 pounds (lb, or 590 grams (g)) and 3.7 inches (in, or 9.4 centimeters (cm)) to a side. Inside, it packs one of its maker's latest 24.2MP CMOS sensors, rated for up to 6K/24fps recording in 10-bit color with at least 14-stop dynamic range (in V-Log or V-Gamut), dual native ISO and Contrast Auto-Focus (AF) for precise tracking and object-recognition.

The new camera sports an L-mount for Leica cinema lenses and has an RJ-45 port that also supports power-over-Ethernet (PoE), so that it can record just about anywhere (according to Panasonic, at least).

It supports many forms of output or storage the user might already have, including HDMI (for output in RAW); SDI; RTP/RTSP for streaming via Ethernet; USB tethering or up to V90 or UHS-II class 90 SD/SDHC/SDXC cards for  MOV or MP4 formats.

The Panasonic Lumix BS1H is also relatively inexpensive, at just under US$3500. It can be pre-ordered on platforms such as B&H from now.

Buy a Panasonic Lumix BGH1 Micro Four Thirds Cinema 4K Box Camera with Livestreaming on Amazon