Stab

These are the camera's I have owned: - Canon 60D Then saw footage of the GH2 and was blown away. Since the GH3 was 'around the corner', I waited for that and bought it on the day of release. - GH3 - GH5 - GH5-S - S1 And later added S5 and S1H to the fleet because I need multiple bodies for wedding shooting. I'm happy for now. Shooting anamorphic. Great photo capabilities as wel. I don't mind the 1.5x crop in 4k 50p, I think S35 is the sweet spot for videography work. Shooting at f1.8 is still doable focus wise, but has nice separation and is better in low light than shooting at f2.8 in full frame mode. Image quality is virtually the same in full frame mode / s35 mode with much better rolling shutter in s35 mode. With the 1.33x anamorphic lenses and shooting in the 4:3 crop, I'm actually getting about 1.39x crop since the 4:3 sensor crop is a bit taller than the 16:9 s35 crop. So that's almost APS-H territory. 10-bit colors. V-log. Good rolling shutter. Small file sizes. Great dynamic range. Good low light performance. A great viewfinder (not the s5 though). Good IBIS and even compensates for anamorphic lenses. I'm done really. New camera's don't even interest me anymore. I got everything I want in a camera and more. The only things that could be improved in an S2 or so are: - Video AF, obviously, but I don't care about it since I use manual anamorphic lenses - Better rolling shutter in full frame mode. Again, I don't care cause I barely use that mode. - Maybe a ProRes mode of RAW mode for even better colors (won't use it for weddings though) - OLPF should be fitted on all S-bodies cause there is a lot of moiré / alliassing going on. The S1H is clearly the best in that regard since it's the only body with one equipped. - The 120 fps full HD modes aren't very good. Riddled with aliassing, low detail and noise. I now have 4 S-line bodies and I'm invested deeply in the L-mount so I won't change anytime soon. Very happy with the images coming out of them.

Yea I heard / read that many times before but I simply don't believe it. Never have. I have both by the way. When I don't know which clip is shot by which of the two, it's impossible to tell. The S1H does suffer a bit less from aliassing though because of the OLPF.

At € 2500,- it's gonna be a hard sell I think. Especially when you can buy an S1 for € 1700,- these days... I have no doubts that the S1 has a better sensor with more dynamic range and better low light performance. And full frame DOF when you need it. And even in the 50p/60p and anamorphic 50/60p modes, the crop factor will be 1.5 as opposed to 2.0. So the only stuff that the GH6 would do better is: - 6k at 60p - 120 fps in 4k - Probably better rolling shutter - Better IBIS I mean, those are worthy advantages and should not be overlooked, but for most filmmakers I think the S1 is still the better choice. And very likely, not long after the GH6 release there will be a successor to the first S-line camera's. So the GH6 will probably appeal to people who have a bunch of M43 stuff / lenses, and / or people who like small lenses and lower weight.

Weird move frome Panasonic indeed. I wonder what the improvements would be but probably incremental. Panasonic has always innovated, always took the lead when it comes to video since the release of the GH2. And I have started using Panny since I first saw footage that compared the GH2 to the much more popular 7D / 5D Mark II at the time. I had multiple bodies over the years. First the GH3, bought on the day of release. The GH5 and GH5-S, same story. At first the S1 didn't appeal to me much, because I was shooting with a GH5-s with speedbooster already and the upgrade looked incremental due to a lack of 4k 60 fps in 10-bit. The S1H was too expensive. But I couldn't resist the urge to go for a better sensor, so after a year or so I sold off my GH5, GH5-s, G7 and speed boosters and lenses. Now I have S1's, an S5 and I recently bought a 2nd hand S1H for a very good price. It's interesting how I now have zero interest anymore in a new GH-camera. Or even new camera's from other brands that aren't major upgrades with tons of new features. I'm satisfied. I reached the point of 'this is good enough for years to come'. Finally. After all the camera's I own, I now no longer care about gear. I mean, I can now shoot 4k 50 fps in 10-bit LOG with incredible dynamic range in anamorphic mode with anamorphic preview and even anamorphic compensated IBIS. I got myself a set of Sirui lenses with modified L-mounts and called it a day. In 4:3 mode the sensor crop is slightly taller than the 16:9 s35 crop, leading to a crop factor of around 1.35x when shooting with a 1.33x anamorphic lens. That's close enough to full frame to me. And when the project calls for it, or I need to go a little wider, I can change to the 5.4k 3:2 mode. Amazing really. The camera's are a joy to operate. The buttons feel 'right'. The EVF's are brilliant (minus the one of the S5). I got a Sigma 85mm f1.4 DN and a Lumix 24-70 for photography and the AF is very good. More than good enough for the kind of photo's I take. Why am I writing this? Because I think many people feel like this in 2021. The current gear on the market is so 'affordable' and good and unlike 5 years ago, there is plenty of competition and alternative in the video world. I honestly can't see what a GH6 would bring to the table to make me enthousastic for even a second. I think GH-folks also underestimate how good the S1-line camera's are these days, especially ater the firmware updates. Much cleaner images. It's just a shame you can't use your GH-glass on the the S-camera's. But I think most of us were on some kind of speedbooster anyway. So nothing changes there. And Panasonic knows it. They can't release a €2000,- GH6 that is worse in a lot of things than their S1 / S5 due to the smaller sensor. And cheaper is probably not viable for Panasonic. They simply aren't as big as Sony or Canon and don't sell that much. It's funny how good Panasonic has treated us videomakers since forever, but marketingwise they aren't exactly like Apple. The product presentations with the old uncharismatic men. The 'Lumix' brand, which has as much appeal as a Toyota. I feel like they could have accomplished so much more if they had a more established brand. Or if people would take them more serious. And what was that cinema box release last year. Or that G100 'VLOGGING camera' with shitty AF and no IBIS. Video quality and feature wise, Panasonic always has been on top. And still, the competition (a7sIII / Canon R5) offer no anamorphic modes, overheat and lack a lot of monitoring tools. How many times I have heard from people 'What is that? A Lumix??'. 'Yea it's Panasonic'. And Panasonic is even a known name in the cinema world with their Varicams. The brand Lumix shouldn't have existed. The same goes for 'Micro four thirds'. Which man wants to have anything Micro in life? It always sounded like a compromise. Micro is better, until the 'Full Frame' (as in, the complete picture) steps up. And it has. A S5 or similar offerings from other brands is now under € 2000,-. I say it's game over for small sensors. And Panasonic has some work to do with their branding and future releases. Because I fear for their future as well. But as long as my S-line camera's keep working, I will be shooting 10-bit anamorphic slowmo in LOG with 12.4 stops dynamic range, in body stabilised, for years to come.

In which profile? V-LOG as well?

Yea its most probably very possible. But no way they're giving the 'cheap hybrid model' internal raw, which their 'flagship video model' cannot. S2h might do that.

Wasnt the sensor in the s1 and s1h made by TowerJazz? That name has been thrown around here a lot when the cams came out. Although it is a bit curious that the cams of that generation all have pretty much the same specs, i.e. Sony a73 / Nikon z6 / S1(h).

Plastic vs metal. The expensive Panasonic lenses, the one with the red S on it, are partially metal and partially plastic. But I believe the newer, cheaper glass is completely made from plastics.

Incorrect. Still 1.56x crop in 4k50p and 60p.

Oh yea, and the biggest thing is actually the abillity to shoot 10-bit in 4k 50 fps / 60fps. Albeit 4:2:0, still a thousand times better than 8-bit. It makes shooting in v-log feasible.

Yep, was waiting for that. Was really happy the day it was announced. My S1's just became baby-S1H's. But really, the last updates were all great already (shutter angle / red recording indicator, etc), and this one is for me all about the anamorphic modes. Good stuff.

I had 3 different S1 bodies (now 2) and used 5 different cards. 3 of them were Sandisk Extreme Pro v30 cards of various sizes, and 2 were brand new v90 cards. One Adata v90. And one ProGrade v90. The latter was suggested and is an official 'supported' card by Panasonic themselves. I had camera freezes and corrupt files on the first shoot with both the v90 cards. All combinations of cards and and the 3 camera's have given me problems. So yea, basically proved it is not about the cards but the camera. Oh and those Sandisk cards were used in 3 different GH5's and a GH5-s for 2-3 years without any problem. People keep pointing to the cards, but it is the camera. And specifically, how it offloads the buffer to the SD-card module. That's all I know. Since I changed to the other slot, I have used both XQD and CFexpress without a single problem or corrupt file ever since.

+1 for Sigma Art. They choose a bad name actually. Should have been named Sigma Perfect. or Sigma Clean. Also, my Panasonic 24-70 f2.8 is pretty damn perfect. But also perfect as in clean, sterile.

Damn, bad to hear that. Yea it's absolutely a travesty. I have been in contact with various people from Panasonic before but there are no solutions, simply because they don't know (or at least that's what they say) the cause. They can't 'reproduce the issue'. My anger has subsided over the years because I started to use CFexpress and that has been great, but I would love to buy an S1H if I knew it was free of problems. But I just can't know. I use a 'dual-body' setup now during weddings so an external monitor / external recording all day is a no-go for me. Also, the filesizes. I shoot about 25-30 weddings in (normal) year and they are about 500-600 GB each. Backed up two drives makes for 1.2 TB per wedding. I keep the footage for a year. It adds up quickly. Can't imagine shooting Prores or anything similar for weddings with volumes like that.

Yea, I would buy an S1H if it wasn't for all the people complaining about corrupt .mtd files, camera freezes, etc. I also had those with my 3 S1 bodies. Many times and I was furious when it happened during weddings. But since I changed to CFexpress recording, I have no more problems. The S1H does not have that option, only SD-card recording. Which frankly, I don't dare to use anymore on paid gigs. Especially weddings... Now there are many people without problems, but some never had problems and then all of a sudden, boom, a corrupt file. Did you ever have anything happen? The Facebook groups of 'S1 and S1 users' are full of those posts.

I don't think I'll need another camera for the next couple of years. I own 2x S1 and 1x S5 at the moment, and they are exactly what I need at the moment. The only 'downside' is that the camera's can't record 4:2:2 10-bit and full frame at 50 fps. But, I have now invested in anamorphic lenses and these camera's offer great anamorphic support. In camera desqueeze and even the IBIS takes the squeeze factor into account. Also nice is that the 4:3 crop of the sensor is a bit higher than the normal S35 / APS-C crop (and slightly narrower) and that means that the crop factor when shooting a 1.33x anamorphic lens is reduced with about 20% as opposed to shooting in s35 mode. That's close to APS-H territory which is IMO, all you need for video. Add to that the great photo quality and decent AF (for photography), the relatively small filesizes, the great DR when shooting in V-LOG 10-bit and the price... I really can't complain. Well if I have to complain, it's the lack of an OLPF.

Nope. They only accept applications from producers so i am currently trying to get a producer to read my script and hopefully get someone on board. So the film fund would be the next step. But im not holding my breath, they make it very clear that diversity is now a demand both scriptwise and crew and castwise. We will see. The Oscars have recently published something similar as well. And so did Netflix which was organising a scriptwriting competition in my country recently. I considered joining in until i read the demands. Diversity, cultural, urgent, every group represented, etc. It seems that this is the way the industry is moving. But the funny thing is that the audiences couldnt care less. Actually, i would bet that most people are sick of the forced diverse bullshit stoved down their throats in many recent productions, remakes and sequels. Read the reviews. Im not joining in. Not watching that shit, nor creating anything like that myself. That isnt to say i am a racist or dont promote everyone to make the film that they want. I have seen many movies about blacks that were great. Or italians. Or whatever. But there is a difference between making Intouchables because it is great, or making a sequel to a movie and force black women in there just for the sake of it. / end or rant. Hopefully one day i can make my movie in the way i see fit!

You are right in the sense that every thing that people can imagine / think of / conceptualise is always a product of their mind, who is alive in certain moment of time in a certain (cultural) climate and thus is every form of art or an idea, inherently cultural and political. I give you that. But, it's what we do with that information what counts. And what do you reckon I should do now? I wrote a script about great characters in a beautiful setting. I mean, I could make them all black but that wouldn't change anything if I'm not making them black and struggling with poverty or racism. I could also make the main character purple. It has no effect on the story. So in that sense, they might as well be white. Right? Or not? Is it now a crime (or rather a sin) to make my main character white? And what if we turn it arround? Does Bollywood needs to make their movies about Mexicans or blacks? Or even whites? And what about movies produced in Africa? Do they need to cultural enrich their arts and ideas as well? Or is this only for a select few Western countries which were 'white' for millenia and have only imported blacks / muslims for about the last 40 years now? I know this isn't the case for the USA, but it is the case for my country (the Netherlands). Your reasoning sounds nice in theory, but in practice it has huge implications. And honestly, positive discrimination is still discrimination. If I want to work with my favourite cameraman but I cannot because he is WHITE, then that is blatant racism. Film is about art and enjoyment. About giving the audience a nice story to watch, to have them enjoy themselves and to maybe broaden their horizon about certain topics. Inspire them with new ideas. Sometimes that might be political or cultural. But sometimes it should be just that. Escapism. Saying all this, of course I am 100% supporting equal opportunities for everyone. Nobody should be ignored or rejected for any type of work because they are of a certain background or race. That includes everyone. Talent, quality and dedication should be the main motivators to work with someone or to implement someone's idea. Oh and money, unfortunately.

Yes films can be political. And sometimes they should be. But then there is a whole world of films which aren't, and that is perfectly fine as well. We need both kind of films. There is nothing political about Shutter Island, but it is still a a great film with a great story. I'm sure audiences, all over the world, enjoyed the film. It wouldn't matter much if the main character were black or purple, but Leo did a great job. That is what I call an 'inclusive' film. Everyone enjoyed it, no feelings hurt. But when new scriptwriters are kind of required to include certain themes and main characters of color, that is where I draw the line. And if that is how it's going to be from now on, I opt out.

Alright, I have finished my first feature film script. It's 113 pages long and it has everything that I look for in movies. Mystery, fantasy, drama and an interesting premise. I am now trying to get producers to read it. I'm based in the Netherlands and just contacted a couple of film studio's, but no reply just yet. But what does worry me is the gigantic load of diversity / inclusiveness / positive discrimination horeshit I see everywhere. Netflix is for sure guilty of that. But unfortunately, also the Netherlands Film Fund, which funds almost all feature films being made here, has written all over their website how 'diversity' and 'inclusiveness' are very important to them and hard demands for any future funding. Every applicant has to fill out a form in which they have to answer how their project / theme is diverse and which measures they have taken or will take to make it so. Jesus Christ this is going too far. It drains the living soul out of me. And it also worries me. I don't think my script is 'saleable' like this. I mean, there are no transgenders, poor black folks or oppressed women in my script. Nor does it address any current woke or political theme. It's just a a film, down the lines of Shutter Island, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Midsommar, etc. Those are, what I call, inclusive films. They are films for everyone. And everyone enjoys them. Are scripts like that still able to be sold to current producers or subsidy funds, if you're not famous already? I very much start to doubt so. Film has become political. And it sucks.

Hmm maybe the bitrate is higher on the xt3? And do you shoot h264 or h265 on the s5? And which cpu have you got?

Right, so you think that for 4:2:2 a M1 is necesarry. But for h265 4:2:0 a powerful CPU (such as a 5900x?) might be enough on Premiere? Couldn't quite figure out what you meant to say.

Hi guys. I'm looking at upgrading my PC. I'm considering the Ryzen 5900x and 5950x at the moment. It would be paired with 64 GB of ram @ 3200mhz. My current GPU is a 1070ti and because of the low supply of current gen GPUs that will probably go back in there as well. Does anyone of you have experience with these CPU's with Adobe Premiere on Windows and the h.265 files from the S5 / S1H? I'm a wedding videographer and will only shoot in 4k 50 fps 10-bit 4:2:0 h265 codec from this season onwards. If there will be any season 🙂 Transcoding is not an option for me and I would really like to stick to Premiere (on Windows), which I know both are not 'optimal'. But I figured, one of these high end CPU's might do the trick. So, how is the timeline playback performance? Are there any dropped frames? What about 2 or 3 video tracks stacked on top of each other? And with some color grading and scaling? Anyone that has experience with this or a similar setup? Or maybe h265 files from the a7s3 or R5? Which are 4:2:2 I believe as opposed to 4:2:0, I don't know how much of a difference that makes. Thanks!

I really don't think there is a big market anymore for a GH6 at this point. And that Panasonic agrees. I mean, the GH5 and GH5-s were about €2000 and €2500 at release and for that money you can now buy an S5 or an S1. Or buy something from Sony or Fuji. Image quality is virtually (for 99% of 'normal' people) indistinguishable between all camera's at that price point. Besides that, 'micro 4/3' sounds small and incomplete. 'Full frame' sounds like an end goal. Finally, you can use the whole, full frame. And it costs the same? And has better performance in low light? And you are an instant professional when shooting with it? I'm pushing it now, I know. I'm just not seeing any advantage anymore. Most of us bought GH-line camera's for the video quality and options that they had. But most of us slapped a speed booster on it to compensate for the 'small' sensor. You could also sell your GH5, get an S5 with an adapter and use your current lenses in aps-c mode. Or even in full frame if they cover that. So that leaves the only crowd for a GH6: - People who really love light and small lenses - People who already own native M43 lenses and want to keep using them I also sold my GH5 and GH5-S and G7 with speedbooster and got 2x S1 and an S5 in return. Even for anamorphic shooters there isn't really a reason to stick to m43 anymore. The new S-cams have a 4:3 mode which is about 1.33x crop. And every competitor now offers 10-bit recording modes. I mean, I would love it if they could push the boundaries again with a shiny new GH6, but I don't think it makes sense anymore from an economic perspective. Besides above reasoning, there is a pandemic going on and camera-sales are at an all time low. So who else, except people who love small and light lenses and or already own a gh5, would the camera appeal to?

For encoding/ decoding the CPU does almost all the work. So in this case buy the best CPU possible. Unfortunately, all those cpu's don't have h265 acceleration built in the chip and therefore it's always going to be ineffecient at it. Apple recently released an M1 chip which actually does support that. And even though it's a much slower / less powerful cpu than the options you mentioned, it might be faster at encoding and decoding (playpack) than most cpu's in this regard. Check it out!