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Panasonic GH5 Review and exclusive first look at Version 2.0 firmware


Andrew Reid
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  • Wow, just wow... Respect for Panasonic just went up big time. Canon who? This is amazing, Panasonic have gone above and beyond my wildest expectations with this update. My decision to invest in the Panasonic system now justified. Canon never did anything like this for us. I am still waiting to see what EVA1 brings, but if the lowlight performance is there, I can see it making a nice addition to my tool kit. If not, another GH5 will be in the cards. In any case, this is massive. The competition is surely looking stupid right now. Hey Sony, Canon, Nikon etc... this is how you earn customers business and repeat business.
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20 minutes ago, MediaMan said:

My only beef in the 2 day shoot was trying to hold focus when it's on a gimbal/stabilizer. I'm looking forward to testing the tweaked AF. 

I love almost everything about the GH5 except the wonky video autofocus. I'm interested to see how they tweaked it, but since you can't add PDAF through firmware, I'm not expecting any major improvements.

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59a7222f50901_ScreenShot2017-08-30at3_37_34PM.png.40a70e293b701937c98518ef35074b9b.png

10bits and smooth playback don't matter, just the bitrate :tounge:

Sorry, couldn't help myself. Funny thing, he later argues for HEVC 200mbps.

Back to the subject, I am glad that GH5 has raised the bar so high and now puts a lot of pressure on other companies as well. Hard to go wrong with the GH5.  

I only wish for another update to allow baked in LUTs. Will make it a color monster!  

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Hi and thank you Andrew for some great information!   Does anyone know if it's possible to use GH5 in 4:3 mode without the anamorphic lenses, just for the sake of 4:3 in Open Gate mode?  Or quality wise it's better to shoot in regular widescreen and then crop?  I'm enticed by the potential to shoot real 4:3.  Thanks

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Yes it is possible to use 4:3 as a normal recording mode and crop to whatever aspect ratio you like, such as 16x9

It is only just dawning on me for some reason, that they added a 5K video mode, haha.

Just like that! Bang, first 5K mirrorless camera.

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22 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Yes it is possible to use 4:3 as a normal recording mode and crop to whatever aspect ratio you like, such as 16x9

It is only just dawning on me for some reason, that they added a 5K video mode, haha.

Just like that! Bang, first 5K mirrorless camera.

open gate shooting will be awesome!

We can digitally stabilize, punch in, and down-sample in post while still being able to deliver in 4k! 

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Thanks for the test clips... those look simply incredible.   Would love to see some skin tones though!

FWIW,  I switched over to a GH5 about a month ago after struggling with the A7s for the last 3 years to produce my YouTube show which averages about 1-1.5 million views a month.   It's just easier.

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The announcement of the firmware update seems a relevant moment (incidentally my birthday), to give a little update on the GH5 project I alluded to here and on Bmcuser.

I had expected in July that it would be ready to deliver before the end of August, but alas it continues to lay waste to timelines. Bringing it into reality has proven exceptionally complicated and challenging, 7 months in.

I will release as soon as possible, which may be awhile yet. I suspect it will be of enormous value to anyone interested in the GH5. More soon

Still1_zpszbrznxle.jpgStill2_zps9uhxyt6g.jpg

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Hi Andrew....one of the best camera reviews I've read....and not just because I own one, but for the thoughtful way you laid out what's important for shooting motion....and maybe the most important thing for me personally in your review, was the part about motion cadence...the Achilles Tendon of most cameras....I knew that motion would be improved with the 400 bit all Intra, but that they held on to the image quality too, is such an achievement....Panasonic has now brought the GH line into Varicam territory with upgrades that are significant (actually considering anamorphic desqueeze huge IMO) I almost no longer consider the cost of the camera...it is a little monster by any cost measures really...and I love this companies philosophy of selling you the camera, and then continuing to build that same camera out to it's potential over time....like @DBounce it's making me think of a second one...I've already dismissed the EVA due to the EF mount, but one built out GH5  on sticks and one in the hand makes for a great production package...looking forward to your 2nd part of the review, and the Shooters Guide to follow some time....I think you'll have many takers as this is no camera for a beginner, but it's so capable in a package of this size, it's almost comical....again, thank you!!

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6 minutes ago, Toby Cork said:

I made a quick video about these GH5 Firmware 2.0 files work great in AVID 8.9.1

You have to 'link' them in - not import - and you need to let the GENERIC plugin link them NOT Quicktime.

There has been some discussion on the AVID official forums about "frame counts" - which is why I'm prattling on about them. :-)

Thanks for the tutorial, Toby!

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Thanks for the great review and test footage Andrew.  I don't have a GH5 (yet), but, I did rent a G85 for a week long vacation last April.  I found the IBIS to be fantastic.  But, when I watched some of the test footage from the GH5 that you kindly made available, it seems like the IBIS in the GH5 does not perform as well as the G85?  Could there be any truth to that?  Specifically, when I watched the "British Raindrops" clip, the stabilization does not seem to be very good?  I realize it is a very tight hand-held shot, but I would have expected some of the shakiness to have been removed by the GH5 IBIS?  It *seemed* like the G85 did better than that back when I rented it in April, but...I really have no comparable clips, so can't say for sure.  So, I guess I'm making this post just to ask if anyone has ever compared the IBIS in the G85 versus the GH5?  Maybe I should start a separate thread topic:  G85 IBIS compared to GH5 IBIS?  

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