Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds cameras have always had a slight increase in noise at high ISO compared to larger sensor cameras (a small price to pay for compact size and edge-to-edge sharpness), but the GH-1 has narrowed the gap and is a significant improvement over previous models.

I have only just started playing with my GH-1, and on the weekend, I had the pleasure of being a tour guide for a French student staying with us. After a morning at the zoo, it was time for a nice well deserved lunch I knew she would like, and when they brought the dessert out, I couldn’t resist being a nerd – I had to test the GH-1 out in the available light, hand held at ISO 1000 and 1/80th sec:

The above image has not had any noise reduction or post-processing other than cropping and resize for the internet. It demonstrates how good the image stabiliser is on the Lumix 14-140mm lens, and how well the GH-1 works at ISO 1000.

Now, I wonder when they will create a device that could capture the flavours as well?

Oh, and here’s a pic of a rhino walking near the tour bus at the open range zoo, taken with the GH-1 and 14-140mm lens at 125mm focal length (250mm in 35mm terms) at ISO 320 and 1/160th sec, again, no post-processing other than resize for web (click on image for larger view) – a bit of motion blur from the rhino here, should have put camera in shutter priority at 1/500th sec with auto ISO – next time!:

Given the popularity and interest in the E-P1 and GH-1, I have created a page to try to bring together most of the resources and information relating to the Micro Four Third system.