sqm Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Hey guys,i need help to decide between the NX1 and the Gh4.I´ll use it mainly for musicvideos but in future for weddings too (that cinestyle weddings 5 min highlight clips)My pros & consGH4 Pros- Ease of use- Good image- wide range of lens adapting options.Cons- the "documentary look"- has no real flat "gamma-like" setting (rumors say it will come , but since when? december?)- ColoursNX1 Pros- superb 4k- almost no rolling shutter at 1080p-great colours-less quality loss on slowmo- Body fits perfectly to my hands- love the 35mm look, i´m thinking about getting a bmpcc as a second body they probably fit better together in post.Cons- h265 time wasting decoding.- lens options- some major and minor quirks like no clean hdmi 1080p output What did you prefer and why? Thanks for your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neosushi Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Get both, try them and return the one you like less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Get both, try them and return the one you like less If i had the money to try both side by side i would do this immediately I know its realy subjectiv wich camera fits the best to someones workflow, but i would love to hear other suggestions on that comparison, maybe i´ve missed something major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neosushi Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Well for instance the lens option is not really a "con". Because since you have a super 35mm you have better wide angle options. And because Samsung pro lenses are really fantastic. Since I have both of them I would tell you that I think the main difference - the one that makes you pick one camera rather than the other - is the "look". And personally the image I get from the NX1 I find it to be so much better than the GH4.Also the battery runs forever, the videos are highly compressed (H265 takes little space on your hard drive) etc.And yes H265, you have to transcode for now (but iffmpeg or rocky mountain converter are fast and very easy to use).For me right now the debate is more about macroblocking and banding (NX1) vs noise (GH4). But considering that, I still always pick up my NX1 rather than my GH4. Liam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Rent both of them for 2 days. Since it'll be a decent sized purchase it might be worth it. neosushi and Nick Hughes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 GH4 fan here btw. neosushi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Well for instance the lens option is not really a "con". Because since you have a super 35mm you have better wide angle options. And because Samsung pro lenses are really fantastic. Since I have both of them I would tell you that I think the main difference - the one that makes you pick one camera rather than the other - is the "look". And personally the image I get from the NX1 I find it to be so much better than the GH4.Also the battery runs forever, the videos are highly compressed (H265 takes little space on your hard drive) etc.And yes H265, you have to transcode for now (but iffmpeg or rocky mountain converter are fast and very easy to use).For me right now the debate is more about macroblocking and banding (NX1) vs noise (GH4). But considering that, I still always pick up my NX1 rather than my GH4. thanks for your reply, i think you are right... at the end the image or the "look" is what makes the decisiion.in my opinion the nx1 looks way more "cinematic" than the documentary style of the gh4, and the filmic image is what i´m looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Rent both of them for 2 days. Since it'll be a decent sized purchase it might be worth it.i found no way to rent a nx1 in berlin have you tried the nx1 yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beritar Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 My impressions so far with the NX1 compared to GH4 (for video use) :Pro's- Image quality is better, even if you turn sharpness all the way down, there is still a lot of details.- Autofocus is better too. With good light, the AF is really fast and can track a subject with continuous autofocus. But in low light the NX1 is about equal to the Gh4.- The swallow DOF, 1.5x crop in photo and video (2.3x for the Gh4 in video).- The 16-50mm S : thanks to the F2 aperture @16mm, it's a great and sharp all-rounder lens.- Better slowmotion quality.- ISO 100 available and almost noise-free until ISO 800.Con's- The rolling shutter is worse than GH4 in UHD (but very good in 1080p), if you shoot without moving a lot, no problem, but if you move or pan, it is bad.- The Dynamic range is good but you must be carefull with the highlights, the zebras are not accurates. The NX1 has probably more DR stops in shadows than in highlights (unusual).- Noise reduction setting not available yet (starting at iso 400, the noise reduction smears details a bit).- The OIS of the lumix 12-35 is better (compared to the NX 16-50mm S).- The focus square can't be moved with the buttons (only with the touch screen) and can't be shrunk during video recording.- H265 not supported by a lot of editing softwares.- Heavier (pro zoom lens are heavier and larger too).In conclusion, i like them both, but for me, it may be easier to use the GH4 for now.When the editing softwares will support the H265 and when Samsung will solve problems that can be corrected, no doubts the NX1 will be the king . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 My impressions so far with the NX1 compared to GH4 (for video use) :Pro's- Image quality is better, even if you turn sharpness all the way down, there is still a lot of details.- Autofocus is better too. With good light, the AF is really fast and can track a subject with continuous autofocus. But in low light the NX1 is about equal to the Gh4.- The swallow DOF, 1.5x crop in photo and video (2.3x for the Gh4 in video).- The 16-50mm S : thanks to the F2 aperture @16mm, it's a great and sharp all-rounder lens.- Better slowmotion quality.- ISO 100 available and almost noise-free until ISO 800.Con's- The rolling shutter is worse than GH4 in UHD (but very good in 1080p), if you shoot without moving a lot, no problem, but if you move or pan, it is bad.- The Dynamic range is good but you must be carefull with the highlights, the zebras are not accurates. The NX1 has probably more DR stops in shadows than in highlights (unusual).- Noise reduction setting not available yet (starting at iso 400, the noise reduction smears details a bit).- The OIS of the lumix 12-35 is better (compared to the NX 16-50mm S).- The focus square can't be moved with the buttons (only with the touch screen) and can't be shrunk during video recording.- H265 not supported by a lot of editing softwares.- Heavier (pro zoom lens are heavier and larger too).In conclusion, i like them both, but for me, it may be easier to use the GH4 for now.When the editing softwares will support the H265 and when Samsung will solve problems that can be corrected, no doubts the NX1 will be the king .Thanks Beritar,got my hands on the nx 85mm ... heavy like a tank wow the 16-50 is super expensive... for the same price i can get 3 samyang/rokinon primes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neosushi Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 "- The OIS of the lumix 12-35 is better (compared to the NX 16-50mm S)." Ah yes the Stabilisation might be better on the 12-35mm. But for the optical quality the 16-50mm is better than the 12-35mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M. Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I agree with the others that say the GH4 is an easier camera, at this point, to use over-all, and I've had both cameras, and still own the Samsung NX1. The other Pro's for me that wasn't mentioned was the ability to adapt many different lenses to this camera. I still do not own a NX mount lens, but now have six classic lenses that I use on this camera, the latest being an absolutely mint Mamiya 55mm f1.8, Oh wait, that's not true, I'm waiting on my mint Isco Gottingen 180mm f4 to arrive! These lenses, in my opinion, give the NX1 a more over-all cinematic image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 What's drawn you to either of these to get you to this final decision? Sorry, i mean i assume you've done your homework and know you want one of these two, just asking. Is it the 4k? I could see why someone would decide that's necessary at this point, but if not, there are other really good options in and below that price range for low light, sensor size, colors, lens options etc. Though these are obviously great cameras for the money for more than just the 4k, and I'd think native h.265 editing and v-log are on their way to make both options better. Having less color grading experience and not needing auto focus (or OIS really), I'd go for the nx1 between these two and adapt manual nikon lenses IronFilm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Jay Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I use both.GH4 with Panasonic primes and zooms, the 3 Voightlanders 0.95 and the SLR Magic 25mm/0.95 and 35mm/1.4. I love the GH4. It's quick, easy and reliable to use, compact and lightweight, and superb image quality. You do need to set colour in camera rather than pushing the grade too much. Great quality 4K published on a 1080 timeline. Lovely clean image with a slight filmic grain. I shoot mostly travel, hotel and property videos with it. It's a complete and mature system. I'm very used to the system and the workflow, one take and I know I've got the shot, it's never let me down. You can shoot beautiful work with a GH4, and with a speedbooster and cinema glass you can achieve any look you want. Recently I spent an hour watching NX1 user footage on Vimeo and Youtube, and immediately ordered the NX1 and the 2 pro lenses from the Samsung website. Delivered the next day. Oh boy, this camera is awesome. Image quality exceeds the GH4 in every measure (I only shoot up to 800 iso, I prefer to light the shot if necessary, so I can't judge high iso performance). Autofocus is superb and very useable (I can never use AF successfully on the GH4). The image grades beautifully and the colours are amazing, there's just something special about the image in my view (I tend to drop the saturation a little). Ergonomics are great, like the GH4. The NX1 stabilises better in the hand than the Panasonic (NX1/16-50pro vs GH4/Pan12-35 f2.8). The image detail is mind blowing, you can't distinguish between a 4K frame grab and a 28MP RAW photo file (so long as you're exposing the scene nicely). I can shoot footage on the NX1 I never would have dreamed possible before. The NX1 is my go to camera. I'd go NX1, no doubt.Edit: just to add, of course it depends what you're shooting. If I was off tomorrow to Spain for a month shooting villas, I'd take the GH4. Anything 'creative', I'd go NX1 and pick up some nice vintage glass. studiodc and Marco Tecno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Mahaffey Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 NX1! Definitely NX1! If you don't care about transcododing the h.265 (which doesn't take that long) then there is basically no con to getting the NX1! I'm shocked with how pleasing/amazing the image quality is. The image to me feels like a Canon C500 in 4k Or a Red Epic! It's incredible! Marco Tecno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntblowz Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I uses both, for fast turnaround project or co-op with other people GH4 is the way to go, especially if you have same day edits for wedding, no time for transcoding! NX1 I mainly use it for gimbal (AF is awesome!)GH4 can look cinematic if you know how to shoot and colour grade (same for other DSLR type camera including NX1) Like this one is shot on GH4.. nothing docu look at all! Cinegain and Liam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Tecno Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 According to this test:http://***URL removed***/forums/post/55538098 the nx500 is quite a bit better than nx1 in fast focusing on moving targets. This makes me hope that nx1 will see at least the same improvements soon, via fw update. That said, and considering the iq, I think nx1 is a very nice incoming and grooving system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphonzo Alegrado Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Can you still use the touchscreen autofocus on non-pro Samsung lenses? Is it any different than the PRO S lenses in that aspect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beritar Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Is it really true that Samsung want to update the NX1 firmware monthly ? Or is it a rumor like the 100% CAF improvement and 4k crop mode ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 What's drawn you to either of these to get you to this final decision? Sorry, i mean i assume you've done your homework and know you want one of these two, just asking. Is it the 4k? I could see why someone would decide that's necessary at this point, but if not, there are other really good options in and below that price range for low light, sensor size, colors, lens options etc. Though these are obviously great cameras for the money for more than just the 4k, and I'd think native h.265 editing and v-log are on their way to make both options better. Having less color grading experience and not needing auto focus (or OIS really), I'd go for the nx1 between these two and adapt manual nikon lensesi´ve done my homework 4k downscale is the way i want to go.4k in camera downscale to hdmi like the gh4 would be nice to avoid transcoding Liam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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