Panasonic GH5 - all is revealed!

[jonpais]

AKED-M's link is to a download of a copy of the presentation at Photokina of the GH5 on January 4th. Worth looking at and holding onto until the actual release.  

[Dean]

2 hours ago, AKED-M said:

Has this been posted?

 

https://s04d.storage.yandex.net/rdisk/ea5a52ab6f166485504def18edbd765a9227204439dc72d1d9a20eabca3e807b/58800d30/1A6YoTnKCjjYtnUnKO2EeQKkBlqQGcC8mRmx-cAOZzhNqSaae4SXdMAF2MNWNnRuPnXbjUfflWZ06trMy0Rc3Q==?uid=0&filename=GH5_presentation_161226_Final.pdf&disposition=attachment&hash=DRnUU9msfNyIzmR6jQG3ghFH5VOLnI7%2BbC/SAFjR/7I%3D&limit=0&content_type=application%2Fpdf&fsize=4982440&hid=254fbfcd45972f69d42257dec9fe414b&media_type=document&tknv=v2&rtoken=zdMfLQM9f3YZ&force_default=no&ycrid=na-b64ee16ab8994786923cefdfbf607b39-downloader4d&ts=54667e939ac00&s=c3fd7f12c2ee17185c5421cc7288f2eeaf129bd3f6bfbc2bd7c518e5af6610f2&bp=/42/7/data-0.21:50117435719:4982440&pb=U2FsdGVkX1_a4HKHDhJQEURADl1VQipzMAr5dlcjWjK4eh5bVofhnS6wFu-x6Paua2-2xGze2ZQdi3QATr9QG9gD_E92Q-xNQ8f2xGIGhYc=

Brilliant. Great read. 

This thing has a mind-boggling amount of features !!

[jonpais]

3 hours ago, Axel said:

You can turn that off in the menu, was the same with GH2, there it was the default.

Thanks, Axel. Right after purchasing the G85, the very first thing I did was to switch the functions of the two wheels: the one at the front with the record button to shutter speed, and the one near my thumb to aperture, because on my GH4 I was always inadvertently changing shutter speed. Anyhow, this morning I went into Dial Operation Switch Setup in the menu and assigned focus assist, which changes the magnification from 3X to 10X (confusingly called AF Mode) to the front dial, ISO to the rear dial, and all is well. 

[webrunner5]

This thing is not going to be cheap after you add the battery grip, the Microphone thingy, and a MB Speed booster. That is like $3500.00 at least.

But it has some serious specs for sure. Interesting how they compared it to their own camera, the GH4.

[jonpais]

Just one of the many baffling decisions Apple made when they designed the 2016 MBPr that infuriated photographers, myself included, was the removal of the SD card slot. So I'll be interested in seeing just how fast I can offload video clips from the GH5 to my own MacBook Pro through the USB-C port come April.

[Dean]

2 hours ago, jonpais said:

which changes the magnification from 3X to 10X

I can only get a max of 6X ... u sure you are getting 10X?

[jonpais]

2 hours ago, Dean said:

I can only get a max of 6X ... u sure you are getting 10X?

Yes, you can get up to 10X magnification in focus assist - but testing my camera just now, I see that peaking does work ok at higher magnifications. But I think I still prefer 3X most of the time.

[DamienMTL]

Anamorphic internal de-squeeze?

Not available in the pre-release version. Too bad

[jonpais]

I'm thinking I'll hold off on the GH5 after all... In three more years, Panasonic will be launching the GH6 with 8K.  

[Davey]

Interesting take on noise in the context of GH5 expectations:

 

[Dimitris Stasinos]

2 hours ago, Davey said:

Interesting take on noise in the context of GH5 expectations:

 

I really liked his point of view and couldn't agree more. Yes, cameras have evolved since then and high noise issues gradually get off our way. But it's not always a matter of perspective or philosophy. From my point of view, A7S has raised the bar so much and opened new creative possibilities that are hard to ignore when an m43 camera with a good lens is getting really close to it´s price...I really liked "The Rock" by the way, but it is not that simple as "it was good for them back then, so stop asking for better SN ratio and do your job", because I personally have not a lighting crew with a van full of lighting gear to save my shot every time my camera tends to screw it...So if you ask me, yes the A7S has more than enough DR and low light capabilities, at least for me, but gh4 would ruin my day. And as for gh5 I am hoping for a usable 3200 iso, which I consider as "a very BASIC feature" for a camera which is 2x the price of a6300.

[Axel]

@Dimitris Stasinos

You are right of course. As I see it, Philip Bloom didn't do us a favour by shooting "night for day" in his Now I See or later in the weird lake-shot that was only lit by the moon. Lowlight capabilities allow you to scale down the amount of light necessary to light a scene (but they shouldn't save you from lighting!), but to shoot in practically no light is a misconception. I also know the GH5 will never come close to the cleanness of the A7Rii/A7Sii (I use both sometimes). The DR also is very good with the Sony's. Be it as it may, they are terrible in terms of video usability. It starts with tiny, dim and not fully articulated displays. I like the images, I absolutely dislike to shoot with it. On a check list with a comparison of Sony vs. Pana the GH5 would probably get a "con" for lowlight.

[webrunner5]

Well you and I know the next Sony A7s, A7r will Have to have 10 bit and a few more items that the GH5 has to stay competitive. So maybe for a little more money over the GH5 the A7's will be the thing to have. The low light, better DR, and even the ability for better DoF is hard to pass up for a few more dollars.

[Axel]

35 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Well you and I know the next Sony A7s, A7r will Have to have 10 bit and a few more items that the GH5 has to stay competitive. So maybe for a little more money over the GH5 the A7's will be the thing to have.

XAVC is such a good codec, it doesn't need 10-bit desperately. Do you really think that the 10-bit of the GH5 is automatically better? I don't see any evidence for this so far. What I expect is a camera that just has so many good features that it will be a joy to shoot video with it.

EDIT: ... and I really don't think Sony is going to cannibalize their FS7 by making their hybrids 10-bit. But who knows. The Alpha-series should actually be called the Beta-series. The minute you hold a brand new model in your hands, the successor is presented at a trade show, and it's successor is boxed in the factory (slightly exaggerated). 

[sanveer]

I am just curious. Does it matter to anyone, that while Panasonic cannot compete with the Sony A line for dynamic range and low light, the Panasonic Cameras can record for hours (especially in the case of the GH Series), and thus one can not only use them for filmmaking (with a few seconds or a few mins of video), but also for live events, interviews and documentaries. They can, in many ways, therefore, also be used for ENG and other work. The A7 series do not overheat after their last firmware update of last year, but the battery life isn't really too great, either ways.
I read somewhere, that theoretically, the fastest a lens can go, is f.50 (Barry Lyndon was close, at f.70). If that be the case, then I hope someone tries making an f.5 lens. That would gather like 5 times as much light as an f2.8. That like ISO3200 vs ISO 51200. 

[Axel]

I wouldn't want an f0.5. It'd hardly have sufficient resolution for 4k, at least not with MFT sensors (because the size of the pixels crammed onto such a tiny sensor means the circle of confusion also needs to be smaller - good luck with finding a lens for 8k on MFT!). The better way is speedboosting. You mentioned Barry Lyndon. Did you read about their difficulties to focus? Did you see the BD? The image is actually too soft for HD, this would never work with UHD.

BTW: does nobody have problems with the PDF-link above? Preview says the file is damaged. PDF reader won't open it:

Is this a Mac issue? 

[webrunner5]

11 minutes ago, Axel said:

XAVC is such a good codec, it doesn't need 10-bit desperately. Do you really think that the 10-bit of the GH5 is automatically better? I don't see any evidence for this so far. What I expect is a camera that just has so many good features that it will be a joy to shoot video with it.

Well maybe it is not that much better, but Sony will up the game, and that means more than just one little item. Sony tends to go for the throat as of late.

For battery problems if you are on a Tripod there is a ton of solutions for longer battery usage. Even the Battery grip goes for a pretty good while. 2 hours on average record time in 4k.

[aldolega]

I can't see Sony giving the A7xIII's 10-bit internal. They didn't even give the II's 10-bit HDMI, after the GH4 had been out for quite a while with it. I think 10-bit HDMI is the most they'll do, and even that is a stretch. They have pro cams to protect, and still being the only FF mirrorless is still more than enough of a headline feature to sell on.

Personally I would rather see the III's stay 8-bit but fix all the dumb nitpicks, than go 10-bit but still overheat, have awful battery life, dim non-touchscreens, worst possible rolling shutter, etc.

[webrunner5]

2 minutes ago, aldolega said:

I can't see Sony giving the A7xIII's 10-bit internal. They didn't even give the II's 10-bit HDMI, after the GH4 had been out for quite a while with it. I think 10-bit HDMI is the most they'll do, and even that is a stretch. They have pro cams to protect, and still being the only FF mirrorless is still more than enough of a headline feature to sell on.

Personally I would rather see the III's stay 8-bit but fix all the dumb nitpicks, than go 10-bit but still overheat, have awful battery life, dim non-touchscreens, etc.

Well they will probably make the body a bit bigger, the GH5 is quite a bit bigger than the GH4 is. Yeah hard to say what Sony is thinking but they sell one hell of a lot more A7's  than they do high end stuff. All these Bigger Video camera makers are going to have to decide do they sell 5,000 high end ones, or 200,000 low end ones. I would take the latter route!

[Dimitris Stasinos]

35 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Well you and I know the next Sony A7s, A7r will Have to have 10 bit and a few more items that the GH5 has to stay competitive. So maybe for a little more money over the GH5 the A7's will be the thing to have. The low light, better DR, and even the ability for better DoF is hard to pass up for a few more dollars.

I think the reason people are asking for 10 bit in the next A7 series is just because Pana gave it In GH5. It is the "take that" factor of the prosumer market. That doesn't necessarily means that A7S need absolutely 10 bit to be a fine all around camera. No one asked for it before gh5's announcement. But people asked for other thinks, like better economics, usable screen and better autofocus for gimbal work. As Axel said XAVC codec is badass and the only reason for a prosumer camera to have 10 bit codec is to have room in post for correcting color issues. You can easily correct the "zombie" effect on the skin tones that a7 series give in post, but good luck with orange flat skin tones of a g7 ( this is exactly where a 10 bit codec shines). Overall I think that in this specific market it is wiser to provide a nice 8bit codec with pleasing skin tones than a 10 bit codec to save your camera's bad rendition of color. How many of the Pana fanboys out there have actually tried to work on a 10bit file really? I wouldn't be so excited, especially after trying to work with Luke's files on an IMac.....(dude THANKS for these...). Don't get me wrong, I am really considering gh5, but dear Pana...fix those colors please, cause everything else is perfect....