JazzBox

​It's way dark in general. At least, a lot more then the one on the Panasonic G6 or GH4.

​But unlike the (beautiful) Alexa, it costs less then 1500 €.... and you can take it everywhere: with a couple of cheap batteries you can shoot for hours and hours. If you use it in a proper way you can achieve a very cinematic look... take a look here: http://www.eoshd.com/eoshd-panasonic-gh4-shooters-guide/ and here: http://vimeo.com/107747711

I'm very happy to read this article! Thank you Andrew! I look forward to install it on April 22nd

Thank you all. After a couple of days testing it I'm really impressed by the final quality of the files. Unfortunately the workflow is (at least for me) not ideal as the GH4's one. I can live without 60p (even if I hope in a future firmware update), but I find very hard to work with that display and I don't like the way I have to search ISO, shutter angle, WB etc... in a sub-menu. If you all have some advices for simplifying the Pocket's workflow it would be great! And if you have some tips to match the GH4 slow motion files with the ProRes 422HQ you are more then welcome!

Yesterday I caught the Pocket: after 20 minutes the battery was out. The screen is very dark and the simple things you need to set quickly a proper shoot (at least ISO, WB, Shutter angle) are in an internal menu, so you can't change them on the fly just pushing a button. It's difficult, because with GH4 I can instantly compare different settings whereas with Pocket I have to enter again and again in the menu. In "natural" light I had to select 800 ASA: the screen was barely visible and it was very difficult to understand what I was shooting and what was in focus while, with the same settings, the GH4's screen was dazzling! The histogram is minimal... but quite ok... I was near to give it back, but.... watching the files in the computer I was AMAZED by the quality! Super great looking flat images! Unbelievable! Today I made some test and I'm very happy about the quality of the ProRes files. I tried a couple of RAW shots, but at the moment I can just see some (great looking) .DNG files with my laptop. Working with GH4 I normally end up using one, sometimes two batteries for each shooting day, so it's difficult for me to get used to 30 - 40 minutes batteries' life, but luckily EN-EL 20 are way cheap, so I can buy some spare batteries. What is very difficult for me it's the display: very dark, too dark for the great files you can see after on the computer' screen. It's not articulated and the magnification is very basic, just the center. BUT: superb images (great dynamic and perfect skin tones), excellent focus peaking (in good light conditions), very comfortable guide lines for various aspect ratio. It's a difficult camera: since it's little (and is called "pocket") you think you can run and gun with it, but probably (at least for me) it's not like that, unless you use it with a proper rig, an external monitor and an external battery pack. But the image's quality worth the discomfort. I rarely saw a so nice tonally balanced image straight from a camera. Of course you have to grade it, but it's REALLY beautiful. It would be nice if Blackmagic could improve this little monster with a firmware upgrade with a nice 1080 50p, a better batteries' life and maybe a more bright setting for the display. Or if - for a funny miracle - tomorrow morning I had an unique GH4Pocket in my backpack: the GH4 simplicity and usability with the 1080 ProRes codec of Pocket Dreams apart, if you have any advice for a better workflow with it (even with RAW) I'd be grateful

Thank you for the advice, Dan!

If I buy it, the Pocket will be in my bag with GH4: do you think they can work nicely together? Thank you!

​Is the 14 wide and good enough for normal work? Unfortunately I can't buy the Pocket online, because I want to give back the 12mm Olympus and the G6 (or a big Manfrotto tripod) to the shop. Is the aliasing and moire very strong on the Pocket? Thank you!

Thank you very much!!

Dear all, I own two m43 bodies: a Panasonic G6 and a GH4. I'm happy with them and I've collected a little kit of Canon FD and Zeiss M42 lenses from 20mm to 85mm that I use with adapters and a native m43 Olympus 12mm (that I rarely use, since I love the FD 20mm and it's wide enough for 99% of my works). Do you think it worth to give back the G6 and the Olympus 12mm in order to buy the Blackmagic Pocket? Is it still a camera that worth to invest on? If I sell the Olympus 12mm, what would you suggest to use with Blackmagic as wide angle? There are not a lot of cheap solutions, but maybe the Lumix 14mm is not that bad... Thank you very much for your advices!

The world is full of GREAT ENG cameras with amazing quality. Did we need a 5000$ new one with 4k? Yes, maybe, but at least with interchangable lenses! I'm not rich, so if I will need one, probably the DVX200 is not exactly a bargain. Maybe the mini URSA is a better solution!

​We are in 2015: watching TV news we don't mind if the images are from a 4K camera, from a Sony MiniDv or from an iPhone, because we search informations, contents, not cinematography. I think that Andrew (and 99% of this community) talks about cameras thinking how to "bend" them for artistic/cinematic purposes, not for ENG (just my opinion).

​Great! Thank you Daven!

​BOLD STATEMENTS? Come on... I'm more then enthusiast about GH4! But I understand if they don't want to include RAW in the firmware update for some issue about noise in the shadows etc... (but at that point also MP+15 causes problems). Magic Lantern made the 5D MkIII an unbelievable RAW cinema camera, why Panasonic should have less knowledges? Of course they could prefer to give V-Log (or RAW or ProRes or a magic potion) with GH5: I can understand that! And probably I'll buy it, but I'm HOPING... since they made the mistake to show us V-Log too early! Just that! And we all have eyes to see that this NAB is not the best one for Panasonic: they made something in the Canon' style... a sub-5000 camera (DVX200) with fixed lens, when BlackMagic made a Super 35 one for less then 3000... or you are SURE that "the comparison does not make sense because they are very different cameras"? A camera is an instrument: BlackMagic Cinema and Pocket, Panasonic GH4, G6, GH2, Canon DSLR are all (in my opinion) for the same enthusiast (or on a budget) people. If I was Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino I probably would just ask for an Alexa and don't care about V-Log, RAW or ProRes.

That's crazy! I leave (and lots of people like me) Canon bodies thanks to you... they should listen better this community, because we are the crazy people that could sell all the Canon rig to switch to m43... but we are not blind... internet exists... and we see that BlackMagic made the mini Ursa for 3000... and the made a fixed lens for sub-5000... (and btw: if they let us see V-Log and then nothing happens it's a lot worse then just doing nothing!)

An interesting article, directly from NAB: http://noamkroll.com/v-log-may-never-come-to-the-lumix-gh4-but-their-new-firmware-update-looks-excellent/

I endorse every single word, Andrew! And I hope that YAGH is not stopping them to give internal ProRes (or RAW) to GH4

​I'm not a technician, but I started shooting on Canon and Magic Lantern, then I switched to Panasonic because (thanks to EOSHD) I tried the mighty G6 that is still a miracle for me: great cinematic videos with an humble 27 mbps codec at a price that normally you could buy a point-and-shot camera or a 2 years old smartphone. Not to talk about peaking, EVF, long life batteries... and the possibility to use all sort of lenses. I'm grateful to Panasonic! Even more with my GH4! But I'm not a fanboy and I see that BlackMagic Pocket can record RAW and Pro Res internally. So, why could that should be hard for Panasonic? Unlike Canon, they PROVE WITH FACTS that they listen to enthusiast shooters (or shooters on a budget), so I cannot understand why they don't add those features, like BlackMagic did. I'm not upset like other people, I can live without V-Log of course but, since I read here that *maybe* something like RAW or V-Log could happen during NAB... I just hoped! And I add my personal "request": a simple 2.35:1 crop marks (at least this one should be easy, no?) that could help me to better frame my video until I can not afford the real anamorphic way... theSUBVERSIVE, we are on this forum to talk about something we like: I have no knowledge about firmware to share and nothing to demonstrate here (less then ever some truth or lie to annunce to the world!), I just hope Panasonic can put some more technology in my trusty GH4, because if Magic Lantern (that is not an industry's leader with 100 years of history like Panasonic) can turn the old Canon 50D into a movie camera, I'm sure that Panasonic could give us RAW and ProRes more easily...

Why not internal RAW or ProRes like the Black Magic Pocket? I love my GH4, but I'm sure they could add those features easily... Anamorphic possibility is a great news, but 2,35 crop marks to fake it would be more useful for 90% of shooters that just can't afford Anamorphic lenses or for people that wants to shoot with a light rig... and would cost nothing... they already put moveable marks, but one is vertical... why not also 2 horizontal? Anyway, I strongly hope for this V-Log at least...

​I honestly can't understand why they can't add this function! It would be so simple...

Great music! Probably a 50 mm on Super 35 (or similar field of view, judging from the DOF and the framing).

I'd like: - GH4 update, with V-Log, 2.35:1 crop marks / guide lines, 120p or 240p in 1080, maybe RAW on fast SD à la BMPCC... - super cheap (€ 300) 3 axis gimbal for GH4 - a nice small recorder like Tascam DR-60 mike but with better battery life - a Super 35 GH5 ;)

Andy, I have to find the 28 Zeiss I'll put the 29 in the "artistic" kit with the super-odd Helios 58 and the Tokina FD 28-85 My FD kit is: 20 f/2.8, 28 f/2.8, 35 f/2, 50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.8. Do you think they all are better then M42 Zeiss Jena Flektogon 20 f/2.8 and Pancolar 50 f/1.8? I ask you because I have some ideas about them, but I trust your opinion more then mine (btw, my idea is: FD are way more "modern" and contrasty, Zeiss M42 are more "organic", maybe "filmic"). Do you think it is good to mix those FD and Zeiss in the same work or it is better to use all FD or all Zeiss?

I have some Canon FD (and I do love them) and now I started to buy some M42 lenses: I started with a Zeiss Pancolar 50 f/1.8, a cheap Pentacon 29 f/2.8 and now a superb Zeiss Flektogon 20 f/2.8. I'm in love with those lenses and I hope to find a 35 and an 85.

Have you tried to not underexpose or better to ETTR when you need to use high ISO? I ask you, because all the DSLR/DSLM have some issues in the shadows when you underexpose, even with low ISO... and most of them are perfect when you expose with good shadows​' level and then balance all in post. Take a look here: