GH5 as a B Cam To My S1???

[Mark Romero 2]

Thanks so much!!! Really appreciate it.

[IronFilm]

3 hours ago, kye said:

Yes, I realise that this means you will be shooting a rec709 type profile on your best camera, but this is intentional to match colour profiles, and also it will help you get a good quality image in post.

Remember it is no big deal to shoot rec709 on for the boring long interviews / ceremonies / speeches / talking heads that you're shooting. 
As you're got the time and set up to nail your exposure and white balance. And you're not going to be going crazy "arty" looking with these shots in the edit anyway. 

Leave shooting in log / raw / whatever for the B Roll / flashy stuff when you're just shooting the single A Cam by itself.

3 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Maybe a G85 would be good??? half the price of a GH5, no recording limit in 4K, and IBIS

You do get a better sensor in the G85, but the G7 has no recording limit as well (with the setting tweak), and IBIS doesn't even matter when it is only ever going to be used on a tripod!!

In the end, it comes down to how much you want to save every last penny that you can or not. Otherwise you'd just go get a Panasonic S1H as your C Cam 😉
 

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, kye said:

Also WRT low light, the MFT cameras can get very passable low-light performance if paired with a fast lens.  I have above average night vision (I can easily go off-road mountain bike riding with no lights if there's a full moon) but the GH5 and f0.95 lens combo can see in the dark better than I can.
The other low-light advantage of MFT is that on an f0.95 lens it gets the exposure value of T0.95 but a DoF equivalent to a FF at F1.9, so better exposure without the razor-thin DoF.

Mountain biking at night without lights is an interesting way of defining how good your own personal "night vision" is!
Don't think I'd ever do that myself. But I'd happily run at night, even off road with no LED lights. (heh, back in my heyday of running, LED lights barely existed! At least not for this poor impoverished boy, thus I'd often be running off road at night for long training sessions)

[Mark Romero 2]

9 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

You do get a better sensor in the G85, but the G7 has no recording limit as well (with the setting tweak), and IBIS doesn't even matter when it is only ever going to be used on a tripod!!

True, but the IBIS would help make it a good stills camera hopefully.

[ac6000cw]

I own a G6, G80 (a Euro spec G85) and G9. Never used a G7 or GH5.

Re. the G85 - it's a very good hybrid camera, but compared to the GH5 (and the G9) it uses the older 16MP sensor, has cropped 4k and noticeably inferior 1080p. It's a smaller, lighter and cheaper camera though, and I think it might make an excellent 'serious' but maybe less intimidating camera for your son.

Also Panasonic have changed their colour science - for the better - over time, so it's probably going to be harder to match something older like a G7 to the S1.

If you can live with the 30 minute (10 mins for 4k 60p) record limit, a G9 is cheaper than a GH5 and has better IBIS and autofocus, plus 10-bit video capability. The V-log L update can also be added to it.

[MrSMW]

S5 for me and it keeps everything even more incestuous other than the batteries.

[newfoundmass]

I agree, re: suggestions about going with the S5 though if that's out of your budget then the GH5 is still a damn good camera. I'd also consider the GH5s if it's mostly going to be on a tripod; IBIS is nice, but it has the better low light and better colors. The G85 is a good option if you don't need to do too much grading in post, just basic stuff. I use it and a GX85 as b and c cams for my GH5 and I'm very happy with them but I also don't do any heavy grading when using them. 

I don't know that the G7 is a good idea these days. The price of the G85 has gotten so low, especially used, that I think it makes sense to just go with it over the G7. Not to take away from the G7, it's still very good for what it is, but I couldn't recommend it over the G85 unless you absolutely could not afford anything else. 

The Viltrox speedbooster is very good, though auto focusing is pretty awful in video mode. I don't think the metabones adapters do much better in that regard. You might see a slight IQ improvement with the metabones but not enough to justify the extra costs, in my opinion, unless you just have the money to spend. 

[IronFilm]

5 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

True, but the IBIS would help make it a good stills camera hopefully.

But why wouldn't you just use your S1 for stills?

[Trankilstef]

Seriously I think the S5 would be the best option. Same mount, same sensor, same everything except for the batteries and the HDMI!
I have the S1H and I chose to buy the S5 for my B-cam/gimbal cam. It's way better to have same bodies, same menu systems, same sensor size, same (kind of) low light performance, same dual ISO, etc.  Of course that's my opinion.

[Mark Romero 2]

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

But why wouldn't you just use your S1 for stills?

Good question:

1) It's heavy. I mean, it's real heavy. On pro jobs for stills I often take my a6500 and 10-18 lens because of the weight / size difference (I have two x Godox AD200 flash guns, one Godox shoe-mount flash, and one Godox AD-360 flash guns along with various flash triggers and accessories, along with three light stands and a heavy aluminum tripod.

2) I would want a camera that my 14-year-old son can borrow for school projects and getting in to photo and video on days I don't have a job. And I wouldn't want him to deal with the size / weight / complexity of the S1 (and wouldn't want him to break it).

[Mark Romero 2]

15 minutes ago, Trankilstef said:

Seriously I think the S5 would be the best option. Same mount, same sensor, same everything except for the batteries and the HDMI!
I have the S1H and I chose to buy the S5 for my B-cam/gimbal cam. It's way better to have same bodies, same menu systems, same sensor size, same (kind of) low light performance, same dual ISO, etc.  Of course that's my opinion.

Yes, I can see your point. That does make sense. Technically the S5 would be the A Cam and the S1 would be the B cam (on sticks) since it has unlimited recording.

But that would leave me out of having a "family" cam (see response to Iron Film above)

Much as I like the S1 I may end up trading for an S5... Most of the work I shoot is on a gimbal and it is just a beast having to work with the S1 on a Weebill S. I think the lighter weight and smaller size of the S5 could help out there.

[Trankilstef]

1 minute ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Much as I like the S1 I may end up trading for an S5... Most of the work I shoot is on a gimbal and it is just a beast having to work with the S1 on a Weebill S. I think the lighter weight and smaller size of the S5 could help out there.

Best option I think. I still think with the firmware update due in 2021 for the S1 that it will outperform a bit the S5, but considering your requirements (size mainly) it should be a good option to have the S5. I personnally enjoy shooting with the S5 as it's so lightweight. But then when I grab my S1H again I'm feeling at home, I like the grip, the good size with the big lenses, etc. Each body has its purpose; and that's great to have this flexibility.

 

[MrSMW]

46 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Technically the S5 would be the A Cam and the S1 would be the B cam (on sticks) since it has unlimited recording

Yep. Or at least how I saw it and was considering.

But then I looked at the price of an S1 now vs an S5 and weighed up what the S1 would bring me that I needed over an S5 and the answer was unlimited recording.

And that was not a sufficient enough answer when I factored in all the other 'stuff' I was getting with an S5, mainly in the size & weight department.

I am not exactly uber-obsessive about every last nanogram etc, but it all counts and adds up.

Ultimately it's what works for our own individual situations and these things can depend on what kit you already have, but if starting from scratch... Well that offers up more choice.

[MrSMW]

Having said that, I am not ruling out going with 3x S5's and 1x S1 come next Spring instead of 4x S5's, purely to have that S1 in the dedicated static no record limits, video role...

[Mark Romero 2]

7 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Having said that, I am not ruling out going with 3x S5's and 1x S1 come next Spring instead of 4x S5's, purely to have that S1 in the dedicated static no record limits, video role...

I think the S1 could be good handheld NOT on a gimbal because the extra weight and better IBIS. Also if someone wanted to put it in a cage and plug in a monitor due to the full size hdmi cable.

But those are minor advantages.

If only there was a hack to remove the internal record limit on the S5...

[newfoundmass]

The record limit on the S5 is just in 4K60p right? 

[Mark Romero 2]

12 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

The record limit on the S5 is just in 4K60p right? 

I think it is ANY resolution in 10-bit and unlimited in 8-bit at any resolution. 

I am not sure if the different frames rates have time limits as well or not.

[newfoundmass]

4 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

I think it is ANY resolution in 10-bit and unlimited in 8-bit at any resolution. 

I am not sure if the different frames rates have time limits as well or not.

Hmm. Even in APS-C mode? 

I still think it's a viable option. Do you need 10 bit? I know it's nice to have, but for a stationary camera it might not be as necessary? 

[Mark Romero 2]

2 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

Hmm. Even in APS-C mode? 

I still think it's a viable option. Do you need 10 bit? I know it's nice to have, but for a stationary camera it might not be as necessary? 

Well... I really like the image from VLOG and having more flexibility in post, but that is mostly for my real estate videos where I have basically NO control over the lighting and color casts. 

I guess I should try shooting some other things in 8-bit on the S1 so I have an idea of what 8-bit would be like on the S5.

[IronFilm]

15 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

2) I would want a camera that my 14-year-old son can borrow for school projects and getting in to photo and video on days I don't have a job. And I wouldn't want him to deal with the size / weight / complexity of the S1 (and wouldn't want him to break it).

Getting something like a Panasonic GF5 (or similar kind of camera body that is just fifty bucks on eBay) for your kid? And the S5 for you!