How do I get my hands on GH5 VLOG upgrade?

[apekkpul]

I got yesterday an e-mail from Panasonic that my activation code will be delivered soon, although they informed a couple weeks ago that they are out of the stock and they will deliver around mid September.

[Cinegain]

I got one of those notifications per actual mail. Like a day after it had already arrived. xD That was pretty useless. But hey, they've got a bunch of 99,-'s to spend, so why not waste money on international post and paper too, not like we care about the environment. Don't understand the whole thing with the keys by snailmail anyways. Just about every piece of (expensive) software these days is downloaded from the interw3bz and activated by a digital key. Even Blackmagic Design figured the idea of a physical dongle is pretty rubbish (although it's nice to have it work on multiple devices) and has switched to e-keys. 'Foolproof' is the oldschool way, it can't be hacked. Yeah, and then you yourself have a backdoor in your set-up allowing for a V-Log L exploit. D'OH.

[mb6079]

Does anyone know whether I need to buy the code from the same region in which the camera comes from? I had heard that it is region specific but would like to know for sure. I asked Panasonic and they told me they were passing on the request but that was a while ago now.

My camera is from Oceania region.

Cheers

[Orangenz]

1 hour ago, mb6079 said:

Does anyone know whether I need to buy the code from the same region in which the camera comes from? I had heard that it is region specific but would like to know for sure. I asked Panasonic and they told me they were passing on the request but that was a while ago now.

My camera is from Oceania region.

Cheers

There is only one code for the GH4/GH5 and it is regionless - can use from anywhere.

[mb6079]

8 minutes ago, Orangenz said:

There is only one code for the GH4/GH5 and it is regionless - can use from anywhere.

ok thanks for the help, i was just a bit thrown as once i googled this, the first link that popped up was a copy for sale on b&h with the text:

"This upgrade code is also region specific and is designed to work with cameras distributed in the USA."

Thanks again.

[Orangenz]

52 minutes ago, mb6079 said:

ok thanks for the help, i was just a bit thrown as once i googled this, the first link that popped up was a copy for sale on b&h with the text:

"This upgrade code is also region specific and is designed to work with cameras distributed in the USA."

Thanks again.

MFR # DMW-SFU1-VLOG

There is only one world-wide manufacturer code for this. For the first 4 months the same item was listed as GH4 only. You'd think they could come up with a better code than SFU.

[Cinegain]

Totally forgot to add the 'T' in there.

[JordanWright]

This is what I got back from Panasonic UK

Dear MR. Wright,

Thank you for your e-mail.

In regards to your query, I would advise that indeed the V-log upgrade code DMW-SFU1 is out of stock at the moment. In the case that you will order this now you will receive this at your address as soon as it becomes available, in this case soon after the 3rd of October 2017.

I appreciate that this response will be disappointing and I apologise that Panasonic cannot be of assistance to you on this occasion. Of course, if you should have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will endeavour to assist.

Kind regards,

[Fritz Pierre]

15 hours ago, mb6079 said:

ok thanks for the help, i was just a bit thrown as once i googled this, the first link that popped up was a copy for sale on b&h with the text:

"This upgrade code is also region specific and is designed to work with cameras distributed in the USA."

Thanks again.

Perhaps if you read the instructions on how to install the Vlog code on your GH4/5 it will clear up for you how the whole process works

[mb6079]

10 hours ago, Fritz Pierre said:

Perhaps if you read the instructions on how to install the Vlog code on your GH4/5 it will clear up for you how the whole process works

i know the process for inputting the code, however this does not mean that they couldn't have allocated certain codes for specific regions

[Fritz Pierre]

The GH5 is a world camera...it is not regional....it can work in a PAL or NTSC region with the flip of a switch....if you need the code in a hurry, you can get it from anywhere in the world and it will work...I had my VlogL code entered by the camera store I bought it, and the GH5 from...if you have a relationship with a camera store, and they have VlogL available, just buy it and ask them to email you the code number...they can then ship you the card in case of warranty issues with the camera down the road...you can install Vlog the same day you buy it.

[Dee Joslin]

I just purchased the GH5. So let me get this straight....Sony includes S-log 2, 3 on many cameras including the new AX700. However, Panasonic charges about a hundred bucks more for the camera to advanced users basically because you're an advanced user. Maybe the way to go is with the AX700. You can't really see any difference in the 10bit 4:2:2 from the GH5 unless you use the 400Mbps and V-log. Even then, the compression makes the difference minimal. I paid 2800.00 with the kit lens for the panny. I could save about 1000.00 AND have amazing auto focus from the AX700 + HDR. Lets face it, the auto focus on the GH5 blows. I guess I just need to figure out if the added 100.00 cost for the GH5 and lousy AF is a deal breaker or not. I have to wonder if Panasonic really believes that most people that are buying the GH5 are not more advanced to begin with.

[PannySVHS]

Hallo Dee Joslin, why not sell the GH5 and buy the AX700, since your preferences are clear.

I think you are super duper wrong about 10bit not showing its advantage. The 8bit SLOG on Sony cams, even on FS700 without update, breaks apart easily.

GH5 has awesome autofocus for photos. As a super exiting camera tool for the making of fiction films, autofocus is not even desired. This camera talks cinema.

I shot this camera at 8bit 1080p REC709 and it gives astonishing results, C300 Mark I quality in a moderatley lit enviroment.

[Dee Joslin]

Thanks for the comments. I think my preference was the GH5, hence my purchase of it. My point was that Panasonic is saying that if you know how to use log you have to pay 100.00 more. Sony on the other hand puts the feature in their cameras to begin with. 

And to be clear, if you don't use 10 bit 400Mbps + V-log you won't see a significant difference in quality over 8 bit 150Mbps due to compression. I love the GH5, I just hate paying 100.00 more to get the full benefit.

[Cinegain]

Sony had some paid upgrades on their Pro cameras.

What they also could've done was to include it for every camera and bump the price of the GH5 (kits) by 100 bucks. Now... nobody wants to pay for something they might not use, so atleast now they have the option to keep 100 bucks in their pocket. So... I don't know. I think it's alright. Made more sense with the GH4 though, because that wasn't intended to do V-Log L in the first place, but had a team make it happen anyways. With the GH5... you could argue that everyone looking into this camera, is probably pretty dang serious about video and would want to atleast try that V-Log L, therefor buy and install it. But you know... on a roughly 2000 bucks camera... I don't think this not included 100 bucks option would make it a no-go. In some places they actually gave it as a bonus for pre-orders, that was a pretty decent move.

[Dee Joslin]

I just paid for my V-log option. The features of the camera warrant keeping it for sure. This is what Panasonic said about not putting V-log into the GH5.

 

“Panasonic: For [typical] customers, V-Log L [is] too difficult, actually. V-Log L [is especially intended] for cinema people, [as] they like a very flat tone curve. For normal people and broadcasters, I think this function is not so interesting, and if we put V-log into [the cameras] without any charge, in that case it’s a little bit difficult to explain how to use [it].”

Anyway, I'll have my V-log.

[deezid]

9 hours ago, Dee Joslin said:

Thanks for the comments. I think my preference was the GH5, hence my purchase of it. My point was that Panasonic is saying that if you know how to use log you have to pay 100.00 more. Sony on the other hand puts the feature in their cameras to begin with. 

And to be clear, if you don't use 10 bit 400Mbps + V-log you won't see a significant difference in quality over 8 bit 150Mbps due to compression. I love the GH5, I just hate paying 100.00 more to get the full benefit.

Not true.
Had some crazy banding artifacts in a 4K60fps 8 bit clip. Same location, same time 4k24fps 150mbit 10 bit was completely clean.

But the 6k 10 bit H265 is actually quite prone to banding though having 10 bit.

Wish it wasn't since it's the only way to get organic unsharpened footage out of the GH5.

[Shirozina]

4 hours ago, deezid said:

Not true.
Had some crazy banding artifacts in a 4K60fps 8 bit clip. Same location, same time 4k24fps 150mbit 10 bit was completely clean.

But the 6k 10 bit H265 is actually quite prone to banding though having 10 bit.

Wish it wasn't since it's the only way to get organic unsharpened footage out of the GH5.

Must be connected to 4.2.2 vs 4.2.0 rather than 8 vs 10 bit. Been banging on about this for ages though - nothing wrong with 8bit as long as it's not compressed to hell and has better than 4.2.0 colour. 8bit HDMI out from my Sony A7s/r2 is virtually unbreakable while the internal codec falls apart just looking at it. Still the 'voices' all demanded 10bit above everything else and that's what they got.......

[PannySVHS]

15 hours ago, Shirozina said:

Must be connected to 4.2.2 vs 4.2.0 rather than 8 vs 10 bit. Been banging on about this for ages though - nothing wrong with 8bit as long as it's not compressed to hell and has better than 4.2.0 colour. 8bit HDMI out from my Sony A7s/r2 is virtually unbreakable while the internal codec falls apart just looking at it. Still the 'voices' all demanded 10bit above everything else and that's what they got.......

The 420 does not make a big difference, since 422 for 6k would need to be downsampled from around 8k to show a benefit. Banding shows due to the specific implementation of h265.

h265 shows stronger artefacts compared to the h264, which hardly shows any on the gh5.  A7R/S cameras nor any other DSLM don´t have an 18MP video mode with a 200Mbit h265 codec. It´s a matter of processing power, which is required. H264 on the GH5 does not show these problems. Sony FS5 already struggles with internal 10bit HD, that is less than 2MPixel video! GH5 is a technical marvel, showing off whats possible with current mass produced technology.

[deezid]

8 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

The 420 does not make a big difference, since 422 for 6k would need to be downsampled from around 8k to show a benefit. Banding shows due to the specific implementation of h265.

h265 shows stronger artefacts compared to the h264, which hardly shows any on the gh5.  A7R/S cameras nor any other DSLM don´t have an 18MP video mode with a 200Mbit h265 codec. It´s a matter of processing power, which is required. H264 on the GH5 does not show these problems. Sony FS5 already struggles with internal 10bit HD, that is less than 2MPixel video! GH5 is a technical marvel, showing off whats possible with current mass produced technology.

I agree.

The 10 Bit 150mbit H264 codec works perfectly fine, the 200Mbit 5K H265 codec struggles with banding and macro blocking artifacts.
Am thinking it doesn't make much use or any of the possible higher efficiency of the H265 codec at all. Kinda sad, since this is the only way to get rid of the internal sharpening.