Panasonic GH5 starts shipping in 3 days. How's the 180fps slow-mo quality?

[Andrew Reid]

The first actually useful GH5 review I've read comes from Amadeusz at the excellent Polish website VideoDSLR.pl (Google Translated here)

He look at all aspects of the new camera in detail, including the quality of the promising 180fps slow-mo mode.

Read the full blog post

[Mckinise]

"

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The only chink in the GH5’s armour is something Panasonic can’t control. This is what Sony has up their sleeve in future, a camera which could spring up at any time from NAB 2017 onwards. If they ever improve the ergonomics and rolling shutter of the leading A7 camera for video, in addition to adding a 10bit 4:2:2 codec, anamorphic mode and higher bitrates, the full frame look with higher dynamic range will almost always be preferred by the majority to a 2x crop sensor.

That is a lot for Sony to add.  They still haven't added Cinema 4k or an actual 24fps option.  Canon, Panasonic, and Olympus all have those two features in their flagship models.  They also need to find a definitive way of keeping their cameras from overheating during normal use.

[Andrew Reid]

Yes a lot for them to do.

If anyone has the technology though, it's them.

[andy lee]

this camera is a game changer , I was shown the prototype GH5 last June in a meeting with Panasonic and the spec was amazing , ( I have had to keep very quite since then) the GH5 is everything we have all wanted in a Pansonic Camera , now its finally coming out its going to revolutionise Indy Film making like no other camera has . I expect to see this on alot of Indy movies over the next few years , it will be my main camera for movies now.

[Mckinise]

Just now, Andrew Reid said:

Yes a lot for them to do.

If anyone has the technology though, it's them.

Agreed. I hope they do implement each and every item we mentioned.  That camera would be the Holy Grail for many of us.  Well, at least until the next Holy Grail.  Right now, I am looking forward to using the GH5 on my next feature, and honestly, I will be content for quite some time.

Keeping up with the Cinematic Joneses is both expensive and time consuming.  I get more accomplished when I am not researching the next big thing.

[sanveer]

2 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

The first actually useful GH5 review I've read comes from Amadeusz at the excellent Polish website VideoDSLR.pl (Google Translated here)

He look at all aspects of the new camera in detail, including the quality of the promising 180fps slow-mo mode.

Read the full blog post

I had the chance to use the GH5 too, here in India. It does have a much better designed menu and a few really interesting features.

Unfortunately most people don't know enough about Panasonic Cameras in India, and the company doesn't seem to care about thier camera division. They would rather concentrate on the TVs and Air Conditioners. 

[Ken Ross]

Add to the things that Sony would also need to include to be competitive with the GH5 are much improved color 'science', EVFs that don't dim when shooting 4K, LCD screens that swing out & pivot, and an IBIS that's actually effective. Their current iteration is really poor.

[arson519]

i preordered the first day from a canadian store instead of B&H does anyone know if they are prioritizing certain countries orders first? 

[Andrew Reid]

3 hours ago, Ken Ross said:

Add to the things that Sony would also need to include to be competitive with the GH5 are much improved color 'science'

I added that for them

[jonpais]

5 hours ago, sanveer said:

I had the chance to use the GH5 too, here in India. It does have a much better designed menu and a few really interesting features.

Unfortunately most people don't know enough about Panasonic Cameras in India, and the company doesn't seem to care about thier camera division. They would rather concentrate on the TVs and Air Conditioners. 

I could live without televisions, air conditioners and refrigerators, but I couldn't live without my cameras. ?

[Chris Sully Cortez]

Hey andrew, I'm very excited for my GH5 to ship and I really think it's gonna be a great camera much like the GH4. However I can't help Lust after the potential Sony has to stomp all over them with the next iteration of their A7 line. Either way as a Sony and Panasonic shooter I'm def excited for both

[Rinad Amir]

Youtube & Vimeo gona have some Flooding with GH5 vids in couple days  i cant wait to get my copy

[Davey]

1 minute ago, Chris Sully Cortez said:

Hey andrew, I'm very excited for my GH5 to ship and I really think it's gonna be a great camera much like the GH4. However I can't help Lust after the potential Sony has to stomp all over them with the next iteration of their A7 line. Either way as a Sony and Panasonic shooter I'm def excited for both

There is always going to be an improved camera further down the pike. If you ask me, Panasonic have come out with yet more wife material but that won't stop Sony unleashing a strumpet that will seduce many. It won't be as reliable as the GH5 but will definitely turn heads and get people salivating.

 

[theSUBVERSIVE]

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2. The H.265 codec and 5K recording has plenty of potential on the GH5. With the current firmware it is under-exploited. The ‘6K photo mode’ is locked to 30fps files in 4:3 or 3:2 ratio with no option to change this to 24fps 16:9 if you would like to record short 5K videos. Perhaps there are heat and power consumption issues to be managed but it would be nice to have a 5K video mode. Besides I don’t know why they call it “6K” Photo Mode when the maximum horizontal resolution is 5K. Weird marketing Panasonic!

I asked Sean Robinson about it but his reply was a bunch of marketing mumble jumble that didn't even make sense, it seems they simply wanted the 4K, 6K and 8K progression, even though nobody actually cares about that.

I even asked why don't they release a 5K video then instead of just open gate hi-res anamorphic or since the 6K Photo is a 10-bit 420, will the hi-res anamorphic be 10-bit 422. Or as H.264 doesn't support HLG HDR, so does it mean that when Panasonic releases the HLG firmware there will be H.265 4K 10-bit 422 files as well? But he didn't answer any of that.

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6. The EVF was sharp, but nowhere near as good as the Leica SL for manual focus with the focus aids switched off

It seems that the EVF is basically the same as the Leica Q. The only other manufacturer that uses a 3.2" 1620k LCD screen is Canon, so it may be the same, who knows?

[LPG]

Hi Andrew, this is exactly the kind of information people are looking for. Just a clear view on the pros and cons... You see why we don't want you to abandon EOSHD? Keep up the good work!

[Brian Flint]

I think a lot of people with their new GH5 will have problems trying to edit their 4K ( UHD ) h.264 4:2:2 10bit files. 

I downloaded the latest version of DaVinci Resolve 12.5.5.026 and it will not recognize this file. My Windows Media ( Windows 10 ) will not play this file, although other video players such as VLC will.

[Oliver Daniel]

15 hours ago, Ken Ross said:

Add to the things that Sony would also need to include to be competitive with the GH5 are much improved color 'science', EVFs that don't dim when shooting 4K, LCD screens that swing out & pivot, and an IBIS that's actually effective. Their current iteration is really poor.

The A6500 with native Sony lenses is very effective in IBIS. Really very good.

The colour science is also much better, and is really pleasing if you dial in your settings and grade. This has kept improving through each camera. The colour isn't a disadvantage if you know how to treat it  

Sony issues for me are the poor battery life, complicated menus and rolling shutter. If they fix these and add more horsepower with their data and bit rates, they will be difficult to ignore.

I'm not getting a GH5 as I don't need one. Looks awesome though! 

[Clayton Moore]

Andrew your past comments about what Canon could have done but did not make me think that for SONY to enter the GH5 arms race presents more of a marketing challenge then a technical one.  

if SONY makes as significant an improvement in things like image and rolling shutter and all of that (in a full frame camera) how is it that ---  (given the right glass) the image would not now become indistinguishable from SONYs own way more expensive super 35mm LSS camera line.  As we have seen, Canon would never do that, certainly not for a line of cameras that already starts at under 3k.  We all know what canon could have done but did not.  What now will SONY be willing to do that Canon has not and how does this not present a challenge for them?  Panasonic still has the difference  between a M 4/3s sensor and a super 35mm sensor but a FULL FRAME camera is a whole other deal.

Your thoughts.

[Ken Ross]

2 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said:

The A6500 with native Sony lenses is very effective in IBIS. Really very good.

The colour science is also much better, and is really pleasing if you dial in your settings and grade. This has kept improving through each camera. The colour isn't a disadvantage if you know how to treat it  

Sony issues for me are the poor battery life, complicated menus and rolling shutter. If they fix these and add more horsepower with their data and bit rates, they will be difficult to ignore.

I'm not getting a GH5 as I don't need one. Looks awesome though! 

I actually had an A6500 and returned it for precisely the IBIS issue I mentioned. I had an A6300 since its release, and the A6500, with its IBIS, was no better with Sony OIS lenses than the A6300 was with those same lenses. IOW, the IBIS added nothing to what was already there in the stabilized lenses. Yes, for non-stabilized lenses the A6500 is a real plus, but when you compare it to a camera like the A6300 with stabilized lenses, it's really no better. That was a big disappointment, as the Sonys have always been prone to jitter, especially at longer focal lengths. 

I did notice the A6500's color was somewhat better than my A6300 or any of A7xx series, but not enough to keep me. It's interesting that most reviews I've read don't even point to the improved color in the A6500. To me it was pretty obvious.

I still think Sony has a lot of work to do to catch up to where the GH5 is.

[sanveer]

I liked this part of the review that Videodslr.pl outlined:

"The only thing I'm missing is the ability to modify the V-Log parameters, just as you can modify the S-Log on Sony hardware. For more advanced users, this opens up many additional possibilities, such as speeding up workflows or obtaining more natural colors while maintaining a large dynamic range."

There is a way to change specific colour tones that Jess has mentioned in one of the GX85 posts. I wonder if that applies (I am guessing it doesn't).