Panasonic G7 and Metabones Speed Booster XL hands-on - Super 35mm 4K for cheaper

[Jason Rae]

Do you think the IQ will be way over what the gh4 produces now?  I know the NX1 has the edge on the gh4 so I wonder if the new Sony will beat both of them?  Guess we will wait and see when more tests come out.  

[IronFilm]

There's the 30min record limit, which kind of kills it for me as a BCam. Anyone know if it can be exceeded in 1080 mode? If not, I'll likely be keeping my GX7 and waiting for the GX8.

​The new firmware allows it to do automatic restarting I believe. Which for many people can at least overcome most of the annoyance with the 30 minute limit for B cam usage. 

[Astro]

Do you think the IQ will be way over what the gh4 produces now?  I know the NX1 has the edge on the gh4 so I wonder if the new Sony will beat both of them?  Guess we will wait and see when more tests come out.  

​I think thats doubtful, its good to remember that its hard sometimes to tell the difference between a 4K image and a 2K one if you are not sitting really close to the screen, if anything it will be probably will be that V-Log-L will give the GH4 a solid edge over the G7, depending on how good the release version of V-Log-L actually is.
But considering the complaints on the net about how long Panasonic have taken to deliver this, I would think they would want to make it as good as it possibly can be. 

[epixx]

Elsie is being a little optimistic. It functions but there's interference between the glass and the mechanical shutter so I don't recommend it for the GH2. Upgrade to the G6 or G7 and sell it.

GH2 is in "red" on their chart here - http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPEF-m43-BT3

​Confirmed from Metabones:

Their website is correct. GH1/2 not compatible with this Speedbooster.

[amanieux]

i am sorry but this s35 4k combination is weird at 800+650 $ why not choose a 1300$ nx1+24$ canon adapter it is cheaper  and has better video quality, and for low light the extra stop of light you get from the speedbooster,it is equivalent to the bsi technology also giving a stop advantage for low light compared to non bsi sensors. (and for an extra 24$ you can also adapt nikon lenses  )

[agachart]

I think it's unlikely because they will probably still want to give rich pros a reason to buy the GH4! There's not many reasons! 10bit HDMI, YAGH compatibility for XLR, erm...!

​G7 can record (external) via HDMI output when you press rec button.

This i found on Nick Driftwood test pre-product of Lumix G7.

[Mattias Burling]

i am sorry but this s35 4k combination is weird at 800+650 $ why not choose a 1300$ nx1+24$ canon adapter it is cheaper  and has better video quality, and for low light the extra stop of light you get from the speedbooster,it is equivalent to the bsi technology also giving a stop advantage for low light compared to non bsi sensors. (and for an extra 24$ you can also adapt nikon lenses  )

​That would make the first option $26 for stabilization. Think most would find that a good deal.

[Inazuma]

i am sorry but this s35 4k combination is weird at 800+650 $ why not choose a 1300$ nx1+24$ canon adapter it is cheaper  and has better video quality, and for low light the extra stop of light you get from the speedbooster,it is equivalent to the bsi technology also giving a stop advantage for low light compared to non bsi sensors. (and for an extra 24$ you can also adapt nikon lenses  )

The NX1 is actually worse at high ISOs than the GH4 even without speed booster

[agachart]

You mention that the Metabones Speed Booster XL 0.64x isn't compatible with the GH2. Since I have a couple of old cameras around that might be useful as backup, I wrote a mail to Metabones and asked about that. The answer I received was this:

"Dear Jorgen,

Good morning!

Both the Panasonic GH1 & GH2 are compatible with the Speed Booster XlL 0.64x.

Regards
Elsie
GBI Ltd"

​yeah,and i hope panasonic brink back wide aspect sensor like GH2.

this GH4 had little time for develop ,panasonic make 2.3 crop on standard m4/3 's 16mp that made bad crop factor.

[KarimNassar]

interesting budget camera and even more so with the speed booster combo.

looking forward to the footage to see what the dynamic range is like.

4k or not, speedbooster or not, if the dynamic range is not good the footage will not be.

[joel_checkley]

Pretty sure you listed it in your initial post Andrew, but just wanted to confirm the new speedbooster XL will function well with the Sigma 18-35mm in 4k and FHD modes on the GH4? Cheers!

[Antonis]

Looking forward to see the comparison between the G7+MB and the 1DC.
Would be great to see some talking heads/skin tone examples!

[DBounce]

​Don't judge the A7R II from badly graded heavily compressed YouTube footage shot in pixel binning mode then

What are we supposed to judge by? Is there more sample footage out there that I am unaware of? Inquiring minds want to know.

[BrorSvensson]

Sorry but vs the NX1 the A7R II walks all over it...

There's no Speed Booster for the NX1 so that's a big factor.

And the A7R II will be better in low light.

It will likely also have much less rolling shutter.

It has built in 5 axis stabilisation.

It has proper adapters for EF lenses with full aperture control.

Also an editable codec without transcoding.

NX1 is great but pretty big difference above really isn't there!?

And of course I shoot stills too... where full frame / canon lenses are what I use most. NX1 is neither is it?

​Andrew would you say that the A7 has the same or worse image quality as my NEX 7? Right now im totally satisfied with the nex 7 but the only thing is the apsc size sensor and that the camera is a little bit to small.

[johnnymossville]

This G7 hits the sweet spot for many of us who do this part time and for supplemental income.   I think I'll finally retire my GH2 and pick one of these up.    Panasonic offers amazing solutions for the rest of us.  

Looking forward to some video footage Andrew!

[Kubrickian]

Not interested unless it gets a log picture style. Anyone who is interested in the film look should feel the same. 

[Nick Hughes]

Not interested unless it gets a log picture style. Anyone who is interested in the film look should feel the same. 

​If you're doing the kind of kind of work that demands a log style, you probably shouldn't be looking at $800 cameras in the first place. As far as I know, the cheapest log available is in Sony's RX100IV for $1k, which is pretty groundbreaking already. Complaining that the G7 doesn't have log is pointless because there is 0 precedent of a camera in this price range having it. We'll get there soon, but at the current moment we may as well be complaining that the G7 doesn't shoot 6k internal or that it doesn't have XLR inputs.

[Kubrickian]

​If you're doing the kind of kind of work that demands a log style, you probably shouldn't be looking at $800 cameras in the first place. As far as I know, the cheapest log available is in Sony's RX100IV for $1k, which is pretty groundbreaking already. Complaining that the G7 doesn't have log is pointless because there is 0 precedent of a camera in this price range having it. We'll get there soon, but at the current moment we may as well be complaining that the G7 doesn't shoot 6k internal or that it doesn't have XLR inputs.

​BM Pocket has an incredibly flat log picture style for $1000 now or $500 when it was on sale. Properly graded, it's what gives it such a great film look. 

[Nick Hughes]

​BM Pocket has an incredibly flat log picture style for $1000 now or $500 when it was on sale. Properly graded, it's what gives it such a great film look. 

​Forgot about the pocket. Duh. 

[christrad]

The NX1 is actually worse at high ISOs than the GH4 even without speed booster

​Can somebody confirm that or do you have an example ? Because I'm about to buy the NX1 and thought that a S35 sensor should be better in low light than a m4/3 one...