Fritz Pierre

The M4/3 lenses are small and light only in physical properties...the image coming out of these Panny and Oly lenses defies the toy like feel....at least of the Panasonics...even the Panny/Leica 12-60 which is an all metal housing shocked me when I first picked it up...the MF takes getting used to, but no question,the image is there!...and now that the GH5 AF is so good, who cares about MF?????sorry...could not resist!

I thought Arrival suffered from lack of light...I liked the film (love Amy Adams) though it was hard to see anything...Deakins will help with that. I'm actually disappointed that Ridley Scott did not make this....and the anamorphics used in the first definitely made the constant rain and atmosphere and floating billboards and decay seem suffocating... there's so much time since the original (which was not well received when released but attained cult status after the fact) that I'm not turned off by the idea of the sequel...in fact the exact opposite...I'm glad they made it...but the Cinematography....Design....Script....every aspect of the original will be a tough act for any filmmaker to follow...mixed feelings about the trailer...but as the studio making it already knows, this will definitely be one to see in a movie theatre...

I opted for the 12-60 Panny/Leica...I already own the PL 25 F1.4, Panny 20mm F1.7 and the 14-140 F4.0. I think it depends on your needs really....to me Leica glass was important...that the lens is F2.8 at 12mm and for interiors I would be on the wide end...I care less about the fact that it gets slower through the zoom...the extra 50mm of reach was also important to me, as I would need that outside, where for my purposes the F4.0 was outweighed by the longer reach of the 60...I would suggest, as they are both in and around the $1000 mark, that if possible you try them out...both for build quality and image Edit...The only M4/3 lens I actually bought....not as part of a camera package before the 12-60 P/L was the P/L 25 and the lens blew me away...then I added the 12-60....and I can now see myself selling my two Panny lenses and adding the P/L 42 prime and the 8-18 when it's released...there is a distinct difference between the Leicas and the Pannys....so where you go with your set should probably factor into this for you too

Only the Panny/Leica 1.4...when you handle the lens it feels like a toy...but the image is all Leica...and at 1.4 the lens is tick sharp and the DOF unforgivingly shallow...as I never use AF, the fly by wire MF took a bit of getting use to, but the lens has performed flawlessly in over 5 years of owning it. @Rich Merritt...I recently bought the 12-60 Panny/Leica 2.8 and although I don't have the GH5 that I bought it for yet, I am already very impressed with this lens. It will definitely earn it's keep! I got both the 20mm 1.7 and the 1st generation 14-140 4.0 on cameras I purchased and although slow, the 14-140 is a good outdoor video lens and the 20 is fast and sharp for indoor use...especially needed if you shoot Vlog as raising ISO in Vlog seems to get noisy quickly...

Great job with matching these two cameras...for those preaching the 5D as the holy grail...it's your opinion...nothing but subjectivity there...I remember one critisism of the GH5 being that you can actually match it with the 5D...or have to...lol....well only if that's what you're looking for...I prefer Panasonics image over Canon...what does that mean?...NOTHING....to be exact...just my taste...my preference...just like yours....and it holds the same weight...if the 5D is the image you're loving....happy for you...as I'm happy with my Panny cameras....

Hey...I have a 20 year old daughter and she loves the Beatles more than I ever did??...you never can tell with Millenials!

Spot on....I remember when people gave their wish list for what the GH5 had to have, for them to be interested, and then the camera released and blasted so far past even the most optimistic expectations, it was almost funny...whatever Panasonic does with this camera...it will not be cheap...it also will not make redundant either the GH5 or the Varicam 35 & LT....and I suspect it will be similar to the GH5 image wise, but on S35 sensor so even better low light performance and better DR...and to put the 12stops of the GH5 in Vlog in perspective...the RED one was originally rated at 11 stops but cinematographers did not rate the camera that high...more like 8 to 9 stops on early Reduser forums...if the mystery cam had 13 stops of DR...that would be huge...I'm sure Panasonic has the competition worried now, because whether you like their IQ or not is subjective...anybody who uses their cameras know the company is generous with the features, IQ and ergonomics they provide their clients for the cost.

There be no problem with the video you produce with the Leica...the weirdness lies in getting used to manual fly-by-wire focus...when you get the lense...and it's so small and light, you'll laugh when you see the first images...Jon on this forum vlogs with another Panny/Leica prime...I forget the exact focal length and F stop and also an Olympus 75mm fast prime....these M4/3 higher end primes both with Panny/Leica and Olympus are beautiful lenses...and Jon also shoots on a G85...check his Vlog out too...

I would bid the days you are not able to work for someone else as full days...this would include traveling to the starting location and returning home....if the job lasts longer than 5 days...say for example starting on a Monday, and you don't normally work weekends, then you would not bill them for weekend days, but if you then continue on Monday you'd be back to billing...I presume they're covering your hotel expenses and or meals...so anything that reasonably takes you out of the running for earning money elsewhere you bill for.

Well...we'll just have to wait for the reveal...do I sense a wager for a beer in your response??? agreed on black dot in sun by the way...it's in the first clip...in the GH5 clip (2nd if I'm right ) it's blown out because it's the sun!...whatever camera that is, the detail maintained in the shadows in that shot is interesting...ok who owes who a beer here?

OK...I'll bite??5D first....GH5 2nd....regardless your grade looks good!....it also shows just how well the GH 5 10bit holds up against the 14bit?? In ML 5D

What camera are you shooting on?...few lenses by any lens maker renders the way Leica does...I have the Sigma 18-35...a lovely lens but not in the same league...the Leica is for want of a better word "painterly"...and at 1.4 in a photograph looks almost 3D...the DOF is very shallow....I would not call it the best AF lens but focusing manually with it is easy when shooting video....at f1.4 in 4K it's easy to miss focus on a lens of this quality though...sharp is less than 6" deep....wide open is edge to edge sharp...it feels like a toy lens till you look at the image!

I'm curious as to why you're so certain no SSD....The camera is physically large enough to use it....add to that shooting in Prores and boom 800 Mbps in AFFORDABLE robust media...P2 express cards are not "affordable" and SD may be fast, but when it comes to robust it does not really tick the Pro box....I also think Panasonic may be aiming for clients who already like and use say GH cameras but may buy something higher end in say the mid range price...I don't think you can convert anyone over from Canon...Sony maybe...I looked at a clip shot on the Canon 5D mk 3 the other day in 14bit ML about Rome...one shot had serious banding in the sky and another bad rolling shutter....I commented about this but not a peep in reply...if you're going for that Disney color or Zach Schneider look, I don't think you're ever going to be persuaded over to Panasonic color (I would never shoot in Canon either...completely subjective, so I understand their point of view too)...whatever camera one chooses, has to satisfy the individual needs of the filmmaker which has little to do with forum opinions...For me the GH5 is there already, as is also Panasonic in terms of native glass they are producing...I would like to see something more in the form factor of a robust Cine Cam with the GH 5 serving as a BCam in tight spots or stealth mode grabbing shots that no one could dream of 2 years ago, without getting mugged or asked for a permit...anyway....we'll know soon enough!

+1 for the M4/3 locking mount on variable S35 sensor....Panasonic knows this is what their M4/3 customers want and it makes it like the AF100 except, with a professional weight infinitely lens adaptable mount and S35 sensor...that with some internal ND and good image in 4K up to say 60p and S35 that can crop to m4/3 and also to S16...lots of really interesting S16 glass out there...I think the price will be higher but they may also go 12bit instead of 10...as they sell M4/3 lenses that would make sense to from a business perspective....SD for media would surprise me....SSD is much more robust and you can record Prores directly to the cards...SD neither seems robust or fast enough. The Varicam LT also records 2K RAW @ 240p to a CD recorder now...curious about your impression of the LT when you finish your shoot with it!

Yes....I bought the PL 12-60 for commercial work, but this lens is in a whole different class...

Olympus looks amazing Jon...what a lens!...you are collecting an enviable selection of lenses!

Good news....I like his films a lot....The Game is one of my favorites...they collaborate well together!

Exactly...if the GH cameras have done a service to people who don't like them, it's that they force the competition to up their game with each release they come up with...and then Panasonic incorporates a lot of those GH features into their less expensive lines following their GH release....with the Varicam line the competition can only be healthy...and in the LT you now have a cinema camera cheap enough to buy new instead of rent...first cinema camera to do this....

Lucky devil...please share your thoughts on the cam once you used it! Yes....more and more DP's are shooting stuff with this camera....and they love it....and without exception they all talk about the dual native ISO feature and that last shot they managed to grab with no light before going into the dreaded Golden Hour....and make no mistake, producers take notice when they get that last shot, without the crew going into double time!...Panasonic has entered the Cine Camera market with a very solid contender here...and just as with Tessla....who has just surpassed GM in the largest US car company holdings, Panasonic will and has taken the long view with the Varicam and they are in the game to stay...

Emanuel makes an excellent and often overlooked point earlier in this thread...these are capturing devices...most of the creamy Alexa images you see on the big screen in features with a budget have been converted to film, for those beautiful buttery highlight rolloffs, before the final conversion to digital projection...so the final result is rarely judged in equal terms....Fincher still uses RED cameras exclusively (could be wrong hear) but after acquisition everything is converted to film....one could say that RED can't hold a candle to Arri, yet to my taste Cinematography in Fincher's films are simply stunning...visually some of the most beautiful films out there IMO...

Agreed...image is completely subjective...when a director makes a choice, it's his eye that needs to be satisfied...if he can't immerse himself in the image he or she uses to tell the story, it will be told poorly...I love the look of the Alexa...though I love the look of the F35 more...as for the Varicam 35 or LT...now in defense of that statement...for those who love the 5Dymk 3...because it shoots RAW....so does the Varicam....so hire a colorist.....to my eye, there is no camera in its league....period...and that's what matters to me as a storyteller...and when it comes right down to it...we're all just having a conversation here....expressing our opinions...nothing truly quantifiable....because the reason for shooting moving images, is TO WATCH THEM MOVING!....not zoomed in 400 percent and frozen for discussion but moving on a screen telling a story....so IMO...we are all experts...and on the other end none of us are...as in the final moment the only one that needs to be satisfied with the image they choose is the filmmaker themself...to my eye both these cameras produce a lovely image...so I'm tankful that my eye is not so critical that I can never see past the camera lol I think with Netflix rapidly becoming the biggest "studio" in the world that nut is cracking quite fast!

Vlog is notoriously noisy at high ISO...not recommended when you're shooting in low light...as I don't have one yet I can't say, but I imagine in low light Natural or CineD would be better choices at higher ISOs

Lovely footage!...too bad about the banding in the sky in the shot of the flag and the rolling shutter in the last shot of the bus...really no "perfect" camera out there...just what we feel we can or cannot live with.

Aha...we're either blessed or cursed?...depending on location, being unhurried is a good thing...I bought one in the US and the Panny/Leica 12-60 separately as in the US they don't offer it as a kit...it's a $1000 lens...yet in Germany a friend's brother bought that same combo with the lens at $600really beautiful piece of glass...so patience (I have none) is always a good thing...

Of course no one can pick a camera for anyone, but I can tell you from my experience....GH2, GH4 & now in a month GH5, that these cameras grow on one with use...they really are a pleasure to shoot with.... and the image you want...well that will be up to you...the camera will produce...of course the biggest problem with these cameras are the lenses (you will never be able to pass a pawn shop or yard sale again without browsing)...I think I'm at 26 lenses now not counting anamorphic adapters...I've stopped counting...anyway...if I see one image I love out of a camera, it's enough...I don't need easy....I need capable...robust and easy to operate....the rest is up to me...and yes...the clip of the motorcycle is great???always things to lure us in life!