An adventure into the Panasonic GX85/80 begins - and a look at the Leica Nocticron for Micro Four Thirds

[fuzzynormal]

On May 28, 2016 at 5:02 AM, TheSicilianGuy said:

 I think any serious videographer would pull focus manually anyway.

I find this curious as well. Shooting video, in my mind, needs manual focusing. And most of what I shoot is documentary style, not narrative, so if pulling focus in a run n gun situation is doable, then it's even easier when things are under control.

I can't imagine letting any auto system control focus for me. I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but I certainly don't trust it.

Yet, in online comments such as these, auto focus seems to be one of the items at the top of spec sheets people like to acquire and/or brag about.

Of course, if you need the speed for action photography, different story

For video though, I'll stick with my collection of cheap old manual glass and the less inclined can buy the fancy stuff. 

[John Matthews]

3 hours ago, Vesku said:

GX85 is the newest Panasonic camera. Can it finally show exposure information during video recording? It could be helpful to see what aperture, shutter or iso the camera is using.

I can see shutter speed, aperture, iso, light meter, a live histogram and zebras BEFORE and DURING capturing video. That should be sufficient for monitoring your exposure. Not sure which LUMIX you're talking about, but this one is fully featured.  

[Dimitris Stasinos]

Have someone compared GX80 with G7? Does actually the lack of a low pass filter make a difference in video?

[Inazuma]

4 hours ago, Vesku said:

GX85 is the newest Panasonic camera. Can it finally show exposure information during video recording? It could be helpful to see what aperture, shutter or iso the camera is using.

Ey which cameras don't show this? Even my GX7 did

[Vesku]

Panasonic shows exposure values just in one video mode (M). If using S, A or P or auto iso user cant know what values the camera chooses. It leads easily diffraction softness, weird shutter speeds or too high iso. My GH4 has even no upper iso limit (like in photo mode) when using auto iso. There are lots of situation when I must use automatic exposure but I must also know what the camera is doing so that I can react when the camera goes to danger zones. It is also handy to use auto exposure with AE lock if I want to keep exposure locked. I use always auto exposure with photos. It would be very odd if the camera would not show all exposure values in S or A or P in photo mode. Why Panasonic wont show these in video mode.

Does the GX80/85 show these automatic exposure values? Will the GH5 show?

[7 Lakes]

On May 27, 2016 at 0:36 AM, Inazuma said:

To be fair, that moire is only appearing in 1080p

If it has no moiré in 4K, then it is good. But if it has, then this would be a highly questionable purchase. I have no tolerance for any kind of moiré. Even the old Nikon D5300 works without such a defect (I would call it).

[mechanicalEYE]

https://player.vimeo.com/video/168553820

[John Matthews]

2 hours ago, Vesku said:

Panasonic shows exposure values just in one video mode (M). If using S, A or P or auto iso user cant know what values the camera chooses. It leads easily diffraction softness, weird shutter speeds or too high iso. My GH4 has even no upper iso limit (like in photo mode) when using auto iso. There are lots of situation when I must use automatic exposure but I must also know what the camera is doing so that I can react when the camera goes to danger zones. It is also handy to use auto exposure with AE lock if I want to keep exposure locked. I use always auto exposure with photos. It would be very odd if the camera would not show all exposure values in S or A or P in photo mode. Why Panasonic wont show these in video mode.

Does the GX80/85 show these automatic exposure values? Will the GH5 show?

Oh o.k.... you didn't make that clear in your question. I guess if you shoot in P, A, S, or M mode, then NO. It doesn't show all the SS and aperture values in those modes when you press the video record button. I've never shot video like that, but if you do, I suppose it could be an issue DURING the recording. However, if you're content with a histogram and zebras DURING recording, it will be o.k. Also, you should note that you can adjust shutter and aperture values before recording, but I'm not totally sure if it keeps them. I don't think it does. Sony's have the same problem. AE lock does work. Most still and video cameras tend to isolate photo capabilities and video capabilities- specifically max ISO and lowest shutter speeds. When the camera is set to "still" mode, it thinks you want to take a photo, hence different parameters and they drop back into a P mode.

[Inazuma]

1 hour ago, 7 Lakes said:

If it has no moiré in 4K, then it is good. But if it has, then this would be a highly questionable purchase. I have no tolerance for any kind of moiré. Even the old Nikon D5300 works without such a defect (I would call it).

From what I know, all Panasonic cameras do a 1:1 pixel readout to produce 4k, which is why there is a slight crop (and a bigger crop on the 20mp GX8). This pretty much eliminates any possibility of aliasing and moire. And so far at least, I haven't seen any of those artefacts.

[John Matthews]

11 minutes ago, mechanicalEYE said:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/168553820

So was all of that shot on a gx80? Care to share any information?

[sanveer]

23 minutes ago, mechanicalEYE said:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/168553820

Excellent camerawork, thought I suspect it is not a GX85/ 80/ 7 markii. 

[mechanicalEYE]

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

So was all of that shot on a gx80? Care to share any information?

 

53 minutes ago, sanveer said:

Excellent camerawork, thought I suspect it is not a GX85/ 80/ 7 markii. 

My mistake, Sanveer is correct. The video was tagged with GX80/GX85 tags but was not shot using the camera. It was tagged because their next project will be shot completely using the GX80/GX85.

[RWR]

Not much discussion here about the BM 4k video assist. When I look at some end user feedback elsewhere, seems many have problems with theirs. Did Andrew just get a good one?

Hopefully the color science here will migrate across the line. It would be nice to know whether it's sensor specific or if firmware in other cams could benefit.

[tomastancredi]

https://vimeo.com/168468785

 

[fuzzynormal]

21 minutes ago, tomastancredi said:

https://vimeo.com/168468785

FWIW, I can't make heads or tails of this test.  Different lenses, cameras, and stabilization that doesn't seem to be activated properly?  What's what?  Not sure what I'm looking at.

[bigfried]

On 27/05/2016 at 6:22 PM, The Chris said:

A new vid with the GX80/85, lots of people and wide shots

https://vimeo.com/168318144

And a good example showing the stabilization. But that moire, yikes!

 

What is it about Lumix cameras - that jerky movement with the slightest camera panning. I have a G7 and an RX100 IV and the Sony is so smooth but the Lumix is like this video, jaggy jaggy jaggy, even with the horizontal stabilisation turned off. It seems ok as long as the camera movement maintains a fixed point of focus, as around 22 seconds. I'm not interested in making fixed shots, like to have camera movement and this jerky movement is so distracting, makes me feel a bit giddy!

[Henry Ciullo]

quick test with gx80 comparing it to gh2 on a gimbal. Of course it cannot replace a gimbl, but i wanted to test the limits. 

 

[mercer]

32 minutes ago, Henry Ciullo said:

quick test with gx80 comparing it to gh2 on a gimbal. Of course it cannot replace a gimbl, but i wanted to test the limits. 

 

Nice test. Apparently, the GX80/85/7ii with IBIS is no match for a gimbal but every time I see footage from it I am supremely surprised at how good it is. With planned shots and judicial editing, I would have no problem using it for a narrative. 

[RWR]

Do others concur that Panny has inherent judder during pans compared to others? When I see it on the web I assume encoding/connection etc.

Regarding the clips above, the highlight handling in the windows seems good.

[fuzzynormal]

1 hour ago, RWR said:

Do others concur that Panny has inherent judder during pans compared to others?

A fair chunk of this new LUMIX video footage I've seen online seems to be shot by photography enthusiasts that might be, umm... let's just say technically challenged when it comes to finessing motion pictures.  The old power plant footage is good to my eye, however.

At any rate, I've certainly seen user error, bad shutter speeds -- and even lousy vimeo playback, which could be an issue.

I suppose this should be expected.  Not too many film pros are clamoring to get their hand on a new $700 camera like the GX85 and create videos that they would then screen online.  You often get the dudes that like playing with new toys, not necessarily the ones that'll take their time to understand how to creatively maximize the motion picture aesthetic.

That said, many people do seem to have a more discerning eye than me in regards to motion cadence.  Maybe there is something about it that you don't like.  Perhaps even a 24fps rate makes you uncomfortable?  The best bet is to get ahold of actual camera files and see what you think using them in your NLE. 

Myself? I like using a 0° shutter with 24p.  A good dose of motion blur and the traditional film frame rate is a "flaw" I actually sorta like.  Not typical, but I prefer certain imperfections in my image.  Anything to take the edge off the clinical quality of digital and lean it towards an analog feel.