More information on 10bit 4K 4:2:2 via micro HDMI on the GH4 without external box

[Andrew Reid]

Picture: EOSHD Forum, by Orangenz

Panasonic have confirmed that the GH4 (quite amazingly) outputs 10bit 4K 4:2:2 from the onboard micro HDMI port without the YAGH external HD-SDI unit.

However there are still benefits to using the HD-SDI outputs.

Here I have more details on how this whole thing works and what external recorders might be in the pipeline to offer 4K recording on the GH4...

Read the full article here

[dsavage]

Wow.  Panasonic keeps surprising me with how seriously they're taking this camera.  

Care to speculate on what an external recorder/monitor might cost for this?

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

"The Atomos stand should be particularly interesting to GH4 owners." - Andrew can I take this as confirmation there will be a new HDMI 4K recorder from Atomos at NAB? Or just a guess? :)

[Germy1979]

Atomos had a heads up on how many 4k cameras we should expect in 2014 early on. I'd imagine they'll be relevant in the game. I really wanna see how this thing compares DR and lowlight to a cam like the 1DC. Noise, etc.

[Sean Cunningham]

If you're worried about 4K and timecode then you likely aren't hinging any bets on an HDMI recorder.  SDI is the pro interface.

[Appleidiot]

The only other issue with the Panasonic brick is the battery situation, which makes the portability of that unit, cumbersome. However, hopefully NAB will offer a light weight solution to this issue.

The other thing I wonder about is if Panasonic is ready for the massive ordering circus come this May. I know with the GH3, they weren't, as it took months to get it. Perhaps it's a supply and demand game, but for once it would be nice to see the demand met without a drawn out back order.

[DKane]

Thank you for this Andrew. I am still unclear if the GH4 will use the camera audio pre amp or if the YAGH will provide a different pre amp solution. In the past I have used my Juicelink to bypass the GH2 pre amps in order to improve the quality of the audio

[Gordon Zernich]

It does not offer  H.265 HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding)? I do not claim to know much, but I do not live at 12 Under Rock Drive.

[Franka Mech T. Lieu]

It does not offer  H.265 HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding)? I do not claim to know much, but I do not live at 12 Under Rock Drive.

 

I guess that where's everybody on the fence somewhat, that 4K codec 

[wideangle360]

I would like to know if the camera also outputs 1080 flavors in 10 bit 4:2:2?

Thanks,

 

[TJB]

This is the year of 4K - even if you don't agree with it or need it - it's here. So I'm wondering what Canon and Sony are going to do.

Everything I've heard about the GH4 sounds great - but Canon and Sony are sure to offer something interesting - aren't they?

[etidona]

Very useful, thank you Andrew and Orangenz!

Maybe Panasonic or even third parties could also make different bricks for different uses. Maybe also with h.265, or internal battery, or internal SSD recorder, maybe without XLR audio or SDI video for who, like me, doesn't need it. 

Just guessing :)

[sam]

Currently the 7Q (or any other recorder) cannot record in 4k over hdmi as some I'm sure are aware.  Maybe in the future or with a paid upgrade as on the fs700.  So you cannot just hook up a monitor/4krecorder, you still need the Yagh. If the 7Q could do 4k, it uses proprietary ssds ($400 for a single 256gb) So, at least $800 for media, $2300 for recorder, $2000 Yagh + reasonable external power solution $200. + a rig to mount this together which I wont add to the cost.   So, with cables and the like, you are currently looking at $5,500 + rig to get 4k in 10 bit out of the gh4.  Is this worth it for a slightly larger than 1" sensor used for the 4k crop?   (small sensors with high pixel density are inherently noisier than large sensors which is partially why cinema cameras have large sensors; ie Alexa, F55, Red, etc... This article helps explain things a bit. www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/156-8-bit-or-10-bit-the-truth-may-surprise-you.   As Andrew said.  "Until now I’ve been no great fan of using external recorders. I found the quality gains to be virtually zero with DSLRs, no increase in colour depth or resolution and as for compression even with the Sony FS100 at just 24Mbit/s I was hard pressed to tell the difference between the externally recorded 220Mbit/s footage and internal AVCHD codec in terms of outright quality".  The article link above might partially explain why.      

[RobertoSF]

Old rule of thumb, to get the best bang and performance for your buck, hold-off buying gear until 1, you have a big project ready to go on the horizon, and 2, the platforms and workflows are reasonably understood, tested and stable. 

 

This worked for me when Andrew detonated the GH2 on the scene and craftily paired it with vintage anamorphic glass. I am now very happily (and gratefully) editing a feature with some beautiful ProRes footage transcoded from the GH2 source. A top pro colorist here in SF has no problems, and reasonable latitude, working with our 8 bit ProRes 422 HQ.

 

A year from now, 4K production and post should be stable for we mortals who live to make movies. And yes, I think 4K 10bit should be amazing...

[Roman Koenigshofer]

"The GH4 really does offer everything doesn’t it?"

 

Yes indeed. If there would be just the 5-axis stabilizer in it... ;)

[Ben Prater]

Thank you for this Andrew. I am still unclear if the GH4 will use the camera audio pre amp or if the YAGH will provide a different pre amp solution. In the past I have used my Juicelink to bypass the GH2 pre amps in order to improve the quality of the audio

 

I think it's safe to assume that they are putting dedicated pre-amps in the base unit. At $2k, the pre-amps better be dead quiet!

[tpr]

 

 

The GH4 really does offer everything doesn’t it?

 

I'm sure a few people will be put off the base unit when they realise it needs to be powered from an external source.

[Tone13]

Pretty obvious that the GH4 was going to output 4K 10bit 422 via its HDMI port. I don't know how else people were expecting the YAGH to get its video.

Best thing is that third party manufacturers should be able to come up with similar solutions.

[Andrew Reid]

I'm sure a few people will be put off the base unit when they realise it needs to be powered from an external source.

 

Considering who it's aimed at, I hardly think that's a problem.

 

External batteries aren't exactly unusual on a Hollywood set with Epics.

[Tone13]

Considering who it's aimed at, I hardly think that's a problem.

External batteries aren't exactly unusual on a Hollywood set with Epics.

Agreed, if you are using the GH4, YAGH and an external SDI recorder, you are more than likely using a small rig at the very least. Easy to mount an external battery to power all devises.

I'd like to see a third party manufacturer release a battery grip similar to the current Photo one that has a battery compartment and just the XLRs and preamps. That way it would be perfectly viable to shoot handheld without a rig and use XLR mics. Then they could include a multi pin port and have an external break out box or even recorder for all the SDIs for when you needed them. Patent Pending 2014 Tone13 :-P