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I sometimes do the 'low budget' equivalent of that outdoors, by having the TM-2X mic on the camera and a Tascam DR-05 recorder alongside it (which has two omni-directional mic capsules to effectively record somewhat diffuse stereo). Then I mix and match between the two recordings at the editing stage. Also, if you want some behind-the-mic sound 'surround sound', remember that a simple 90 degree crossed-pair cardioid capsule mic arrangement (like a lot of stereo mics are, including the TM-2X) provides some of that as anti-phase signal (subtract the Left/Right channels to extract it in post).

I've used a Tascam TM-2X on several Pana G-series cameras and been very happy with it. Note it needs 'plug-in power' on the mic socket to work. https://tascam.com/us/product/tm-2x/top (the plastic extension arm is optional - I've never used it, the basic mic is relatively small)

According to the MediaInfo tool, those HEVC files are 'Main 10@L5.1@High' (Main 10 profile, Level 5.1, High Tier) HEVC doesn't have a 'High' profile (only Main) - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Video_Codinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Video_Coding Main 10 => up to 10 bits per colour component, 4:2:0 Level 5.1 => up to 4096 × 2160 @ 60p High Tier (combined with level 5.1) => up to 160 Mbit/s The profile/level/tier info is provided for the benefit of decoders - it allows them to work out if they can decode the stream. It doesn't tell you what encoding features/techniques/limitations the encoder actually uses, just the range of features etc. it *could* use.

You don't say which country you are from, but note that the European spec versions of the G85 (the G80/G81) have a continuous record limit of 29 minutes and 59 seconds. Also note that the battery life of the G80/81/85 is much shorter than the GH4, due to using smaller, lower-capacity batteries, so you'll need several batteries for each camera to get through your 5-6 hours (but 1 hour of continuous recording should be OK, battery wise - Panasonic quote 110 minutes per battery in continuous FHD, MP4 record mode in the manual).

....or the G9 recently (with all the discounting and cashbacks over the Dec/Jan period we had in UK at least). I suspect putting 4k60p in a G85 body size is a problem due to heat issues, and if it happened it would have a similar (short) time limit like the G9 has in 4k60

No - the GX85 is a bit older, and the internal processing is set up differently - take a look at the 'Video stills comparison' (for 1080p) on dpreview - the GX85 is much softer. Also the G85 has a few more adjustments (like continuous autofocus speed) that can be useful (I own both of the cameras). If the audio from the on-camera mics is important to you, note that both of them suffer crackling and hissing noises from the IBIS system breaking through to the mics.

It's the same with the stabilised Panasonic lenses - if you put your ear close to them, you can hear a 'hissing' noise. The IBIS hardware is always 'active' when the G80 is turned on, and the small body of the G80 (and GX80) means the internal mics are very close to the IBIS system. So basically you can either have good stabilisation (G80/GX80), or clean sound (G6/G7/GH4) from the on-camera mics. As far as know, the more upmarket GH5 and G9 have a 'noise cancelling' mic buried inside the camera body to pick up the IBIS noise, which is then subtracted from the main mics output to remove the 'breakthrough' noise - one of the recent firmware updates for those cameras was to 'optimize' that noise reduction: ...and of course the larger bodies of the G9/GH5 mean the mics are further way from the sensor anyway. By the way - the long extension arm that is shown in the Tascam TM-2X mic pictures is optional (and I never use it) - the basic mic isn't very large, and looks a sensible size mounted on the G80 hot-shoe.

Yes, my G80 has noise breakthrough from the IBIS system onto the sound from the internal mics, and no, turning off stabilisation doesn't remove it (because the sensor has to be held in position by the IBIS system, even if it isn't dynamically moving it for shake reduction). The GX80 has the same issue - I own that as well, in addition to a G6. Just use an external mic - I use a Tascam TM-2X (it's powered by plugin power, so no batteries or on/off switch to worry about), inexpensive, reasonably compact and it seems to work well with the G80 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tascam-TM-2X-High-quality-microphone-digital/dp/B00FAC3KPK

One difference between the G80/G85 and GH5 is that the G80/85 has some aliasing in 1080p, whereas the GH5 (and probably the G9) do proper, filtered, down-scaling from a full sensor readout, so have nicer looking 1080p. Probably not an issue for a lot of material (or if you shoot in 4k), but I shoot a lot of video of things with fine horizontal/vertical lines, which show up the aliasing problem quite well when panning the camera across them... It's not a huge issue, but it is there. The only other significant issue for me is crackling noises from the IBIS system breaking through onto the audio from the internal microphones - easily fixed with an external mic. Otherwise it's a great camera (and noticeably fast to startup compared to the G6 I had before).

...and the AF is noisy. On the other hand, it's very compact & light weight (and cheap secondhand) - the sort of lens that you just slip in a corner of the camera bag/pocket in case you need it.

Do you mean 'M' on the mode dial, or with the mode dial set to 'Creative movie mode' (the 'movie camera' icon) and then setting that into 'M' mode (via the touchscreen). To get full exposure control for video you need to select 'Creative movie mode' on the mode dial. Then use the icon at the top-left corner of the LCD screen to select P/A/S/M for 'Creative movie mode' (only). Pressing the movie record button when the mode dial is in P/A/S/M positions (which control the exposure mode for still photos) will always use auto exposure for video.

Wex in the UK have the GX9 on pre-order at £699 body-only - https://www.wexphotovideo.com/panasonic-gx9-digital-camera-body-1652892/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=4416669&utm_campaign=1652892-b&eid=781996 ...and the spec is up on dpreview - https://***URL removed***/news/8865133559/panasonic-lumix-gx9-offers-20mp-with-no-low-pass-filter-improved-shutter-mechanism (looks pretty much like a GX85 with 20MP sensor, tilting viewfinder and more physical controls, so basically a hybrid of the GX85 and GX8).

No personal experience of using it for 4K H.264 files, but VideoRedo TVSuite is also worth a look/tryout - https://www.videoredo.com/en/Products_TVSuite_V5.html and https://www.videoredo.com/en/CompareProducts.htm

You might want to read this before exposing to salt water a camera that is not fully weather sealed - https://***URL removed***/news/4176919219/this-is-what-happens-when-a-weather-sealed-camera-takes-a-dip-in-salt-water It's a sad story of a Sony A7sII that is probably terminally damaged by salt water.

This is the official lens compatibility list for the GH5, showing what features are supported on which lenses - http://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/gh5.html

The UK prices include 20% VAT (sales tax), but normally US prices don't include any local sales tax.

Wex in the UK is now listing it for pre-order (stock due Mid-December) at £1849 body-only, £2399 as a kit with the with 12-40mm PRO lens. http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-olympus-om-d-e-m1-mark-ii-digital-camera-body/p1607761 http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-olympus-om-d-e-m1-mark-ii-digital-camera-with-12-40mm-pro-lens/p1611181

You can disable the 4k/UHD proxy generation in VMS 13 - it's a tick box in Options -> Preferences -> Video tab. 4k .mp4 files from my LX100 work OK in VMS 13 (I don't have Quicktime installed, and proxies are disabled). Only problem I've had is that I needed to disable 'GPU accelerated video processing' otherwise it would crash when rendering from 4k media, but this might just be an issue with my Intel GPU/driver setup.

The offer that started this thread has ended, but there is a new (but not with 'double cashback') offer just started - http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/111

Panasonic in the UK are running an 'Easter' cashback promotion until 30/03/2016 - it's £50-£100 (or 70-140 Euro) on the G7, GX7, GX8, GH4, FZ1000, LX100. See http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/111 for the UK details.

If you are considering the GH4, the GX8 (with a newer, higher-res sensor and 'hybrid' stabilisation capability, but no headphone socket) ought to be on your shortlist as well. Or even the G7, which has nearly all of the GH4 capability (no headphone socket is the main downside) in a smaller package and is so much cheaper that you could buy another secondhand lens or two with the difference...e.g. the 'pancake' 20mm/F1.7 for low-light work and the 45-150mm zoom are both usually around £120-£150 used.

I think it's obsolete now, but I use an Olympus LS-3 which is very small, metal-bodied and sounds good (as long as you avoid the 'auto' level control - which 'pumps' badly - use manual plus limiter instead). It looks like the current equivalent is the LS-14, but that is bigger all round and possibly made of plastic (as it doesn't say it's metal in the specs). The LS-12 is basically the same but with less internal memory and without the centre 'low bass' mic ('Tresmic') of the LS-14. My LS-3 has 'Tresmic' but I normally have it turned off because the bass response using the normal stereo mics is quite good anyway, and it becomes positively subterranean with it 'on', picking up every rumble and puff of wind (even with a muff on it).

Try here - http://www.eoshd.com/the-eoshd-panasonic-gh3-shooters-guide-book/ (hit the 'Buy it now' button)

The notes for the video above do say "f=100mm + ext. teleconv. + 4x zoom" so that jitter is very exaggerated (e.g. 1.7 x 4 = 6.8x extra magnification)

For MPC-HC, View -> Options -> Internal Filters -> Video Decoder (button near bottom of window) -> Disable 'HEVC' in the 'Hardware Acceleration' section maybe ? (HEVC = H.265)