Panasonic GH5 Review and exclusive first look at Version 2.0 firmware

[Diego Marqz]

Wich card to buy?

Did you tested different cards with this firmware?

I found a Delkin Devices V60 @bhphotovideo for $99 bucks... says 250mb/s read but 100mb/s write... you think this could be enought for the 400mbps safely? Or should i buy a Angel Bird for $200 bucks with 250mb/s Write speed? As you can see. is twice the price... thats why i would like to have ANY advice about the delkin if possible to use with no problems.

[Diego Marqz]

On 9/2/2017 at 4:41 PM, Christopher Taylor said:

just wondering: I noticed you said that 95 MB/s cards aren't quite good enough, and we should invest in 300MB/s cards... I've seen some lexar 150MB/s cards, has anyone tested those? Is the 300MB/s an absolute necessity to get everything working right?

These Lexars have only 45mb/s write speed.

400mbps is 50MB/s so no good at all.

[karuchie]

review. Thanks.
Is the desqueeze function fixed a cinemascope aspect ratio?
Is it possible to display 16: 9 aspect ratio desqueeze with a 4: 3 sensor and 1.33 x anamorphic lens?

[Andrew Reid]

Yes that's possible, the desqueeze automatically changes to 1.33x in 16:9 video mode, Panasonic expect you to use a 1.33x anamorphic in this mode.

In future, I expect them to add options for choosing our own desqueeze ratio of 1.33x, 1.5x, 1.78x or 2x... we are all grown up and everything

[Grimor]

7 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Yes that's possible, the desqueeze automatically changes to 1.33x in 16:9 video mode, Panasonic expect you to use a 1.33x anamorphic in this mode.

In future, I expect them to add options for choosing our own desqueeze ratio of 1.33x, 1.5x, 1.78x or 2x... we are all grown up and everything

What about an ibis mode for anamophic?

Dou you think we'll get a mode without roll axis activated?

[Andrew Reid]

Yes there is an IBIS mode for anamorphic to account for the change in focal length of the 2x or 1.33x stretch.

Panasonic really did think of everything.

[Ari]

On 9/7/2017 at 5:53 AM, Diego Marqz said:

These Lexars have only 45mb/s write speed.

400mbps is 50MB/s so no good at all.

I bought one of these when I bought GH5 in the summer, and it should be good enough for 1080p all-i. (I'll stick to 1080p for a while.)

[Oedipax]

Can someone confirm the crop factor in 4K video on the GH5? I've seen everything from 1.91x to 2x to 2.34x mentioned.

Also, does anyone know if this changes in 6K open gate?

And lastly, has anyone attempted to mount the BMPCC 0.58x Speedbooster on the GH5? Have done it successfully with the GH4 (after disabling the shutter / enabling silent mode), curious if it's the same for the GH5 or not.

[NewFilmMaker]

On 2017-09-08 at 5:55 AM, Andrew Reid said:

Yes there is an IBIS mode for anamorphic to account for the change in focal length of the 2x or 1.33x stretch.

Panasonic really did think of everything.

Hi  Andrew,

Can you please tell me when you are using the 6K anamorphic mode with open gate, what will be the HDMI output? Wondering will it be better to record it in prores directly with an external recorder like the Shogun Inferno or Odyssey 7Q+.

Thanks

[Oedipax]

11 hours ago, NewFilmMaker said:

Hi  Andrew,

Can you please tell me when you are using the 6K anamorphic mode with open gate, what will be the HDMI output? Wondering will it be better to record it in prores directly with an external recorder like the Shogun Inferno or Odyssey 7Q+.

Thanks

Not Andrew, but my understanding is that HDMI does not output during recording in the 6K open gate mode. However, according to Matt Frazer at Panasonic, they are working on getting the HDMI output in that mode to be active before/after takes and to support playback of recorded clips over HDMI for review. Apparently the 6K mode is pushing the camera so far that HDMI out during recording was too much for the hardware to handle.

[Francisco Rios]

I'm speechless... my last gh was gh2... since than never seduce me the new models... instead bought and renew with g6-g7-gx7-gx8 as second camera and for photo, because appears Pocket ... love pocket's image... but now I'm back  ... thanks Andrew for GH5 article! Pretty impress Gh5 and we don't have 2.0  yet...uff amazing...BEST!

[Nodnarb]

I'm looking forward to testing the new firmware. Do I have to wait 2 more weeks to get my hands on it?

[philipd]

On 30/08/2017 at 4:17 PM, wolf33d said:

It's just too bad there is no 10bit and no All i for 4k60p. I film everything at 60p to have the luxury to slowdown in post a shot I did not know I would slow down when shooting. 

Using this camera for 4k60p only and not benefitting from All I and from 10bit is such a shame. 

Hi

Same here, but there is a problem with maintaining quality with 60P.  All-Intra is essentially compressing each frame as a JPEG.  At 400Mbits/sec and 60 images a second to create Jpegs from, that is 400/60/8 = 830KB approx for each image.  Take any image at 3840x2160 pixels and save it as a Jpeg compressed down to 830KB and quality is going to suffer, and that's ignoring the fact these would be 10bit images, which being squeezed into 830KB just isn't enough space to give a benefit, and would likely look worse than the standard IBP at a lower bit rate.  

When looking at 24fps each frame can be around 2MB in size, considerably better.  So the higher the frame-rate, the more quality sees a drop in All-Intra unless the bit rate is raised.  To get the same quality in 60fps All-Intra as seen in 24fps would need a bit rate of around 960Mbits/sec.

60fps compresses quite nicely and efficiently as IBP as it is a higher sample rate than 24fps, and IBP (if the processor can keep up) compresses better the more samples it has per second.  So apart from easier editing, quality is going to better than trying to compress 60fps with only 400Mbits/sec available.

Regards

Phil

 

 

[philipd]

On 07/09/2017 at 3:53 AM, Diego Marqz said:

These Lexars have only 45mb/s write speed.

400mbps is 50MB/s so no good at all.

Hi

All-Intra at 400Mbits/sec will need a card rated at V60 or better.  Ignore all other marketing speeds or bench-marks of a card, they aren't relevant in this context.  Unless the card says V60 or V90 it isn't going to work at 400Mbits/sec despite the advertised speeds.  The V moniker means the card supports a new specially designed protocol for real-time video recording that allows these 'high' minimum guaranteed write speeds, the number after the V gives the minimum guaranteed write speed that the card will support when used with equipment that also uses the new protocol, which the GH5 does of course.

Benchmarks on websites reviewing these cards may also cause confusion, as it is almost a given that benchmarks may show sustained write data-rates to below the V rating, but that will be because they are not bench-marking the card using the new real-time recording protocol and hardware.

Regards

Phil

[DBounce]

Well this is pretty much the end of September upon us, and still no update. I wonder if this will be released on time?

[JordanWright]

Is there any update on the release date yet?

 

[Dan Sherman]

@Andrew Reid Have you heard anything from Panasonic about the open gate being 4:2:2 and not 4:2:0? 

In your article the screenshots show 4:2:0
http://www.eoshd.com/2017/08/panasonic-gh5-review-and-exclusive-first-look-at-version-2-0-firmware/

but the official release documentation shows 4:2:2
http://www.panasonic.com/global/consumer/lumix/gh5_firmware.html


Thus I'm kind of wondering if the messed up the documentation, or they will actually have 6k 4:2:2 10bit in the release.

[Emeric Caron]

Hi Andrew!

Quick questions, as I’m using multiple GH5 with Metabones for live recording, do you know if the firmware 2.0 support smooth iris ?

Panasonic cameras change apertures in 1/3 steps causing visible exposure shift, while other cameras uses 1/8, allowing smooth and invisible changes.

Do you have any news about that?

[Amazeballs]

Where the hell did he find GH5 for 1700$? Its 2 grand everywhere I look for it. 

[Cinegain]

51 minutes ago, Amazeballs said:

Where the hell did he find GH5 for 1700$? Its 2 grand everywhere I look for it. 

Well, I managed to get the GH5 12-60mm Leica kit for effectively 2055,- EUR (not shying away from importing it from the UK, benefiting from a special trade-in bonus program). That's a 56,- up in body only retail price and lands you the Leica zoom with a retail price of 999,- EUR. Depending on whether I like it much more than the Lumix 12-60, I will either keep or sell it. Should I sell it for say 750, it would render the GH5 itself a 1305,- EUR camera body (~ $1555,-). You gotta turn into somewhat of a dealhunter and keep your eyes peeled.