Panasonic GH4 vs Sony A7R II in low light - Speed Booster Shootout

[Andrew Reid]

Details on the blog - http://www.eoshd.com/2015/08/panasonic-gh4-vs-sony-a7r-ii-in-low-light-the-speed-booster-shootout

[richg101]

Yo Andrew.  Regarding the noisy preview in the a7r2, did you have setting effect turned to on or off?  ps.  great shootout.  

[Don Kotlos]

If the report that recording externally from the A7rII can happen without the internal processing, then it is worth the shot to try it out. You might end up with a less processed image , finer grain and a bit more noise.  

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Andrew, it'd be nice to see these shootouts done with both internal and external recording. Those of us who use external recorders would like to know how much of this is sensor and processing and how much is compression.

[Andrew Reid]

Yo Andrew.  Regarding the noisy preview in the a7r2, did you have setting effect turned to on or off?  ps.  great shootout.  

Setting effect turned on. I can't use it without that, got to see my actual exposure and not some gained up shit

Fun camera though despite all the silly quirks.

[maxmizer]

Andrew, I saw your shot, that Sony still has problems with the lights, which turns blue, one you can see in the picture in the neon of the train, and even at the end where the light begins to be reflected on the water ...

[AaronChicago]

Andrew, which GH4 profile is EOSHD Cinema based?

[Psch]

Hi. Can I use your cine flat profile in the a7s and get similar colour results?

[3D-Kraft.com]

In my opinion the price you pay for loss in corner (especially when using 4K) when using the Speedbooster in most cases is not worth the one stop gain.

In my tests the difference between A7S (full frame 4K recorded with Shogon) and A7RII (super35 mode) at ISO 25600 is extremely little:

[Astro]

Interesting article and thanks Andrew for these tests.

I have had the GH4 about a year now, I had thought of selling it and getting one of the newer Sonys, but after quite a bit of reading and deliberation I decided to keep it and not go with the current flavors of the month.
The thing is Panasonic are a bit like Canon, a bit more cutting edge and obviously geared towards the hobbiest and film maker with not a lot of money, but they basically have the same conservative approach as Canon, point being when they build a camera its pretty much reliable and works well without a lot of add ons and cluttered menus.
The GH4 for example never overheats, doesnt chew up batteries, runs forever on a single battery, has decent rolling shutter performance, gives a great detailed image with room to color correct within reason and needs only a few lenses.
I have even shot bands at night with just the Panasonic 12-35 2.8 (obviously no speed booster) and have obtained a very nice image even tho it was underexposed.
I learnt a long time ago that the more hurdles you have to jump through in order to be creative and get something in the moment, the less you will be inclined to do so, because of the amount of work you have to do to set things up in the first place.
And this is where I feel Sony may be over reaching and in too much of a rush, they have made a great camera the in the A7RII...but it overheats, has bad rolling shutter in S35 mode, and a more or less has a difficult Log to use, complex menu system etc...it seems to me that they have great techs, great sensors, but are in too much of a rush to capture the market, and that may work for a short time, but in the long term I dont feel it will.
Now if the V-Log turns out to be as good as many of the testers say, then the poor old underdog GH4 may just be the hidden gem in the pack, (Some owners of Panny and Sony cameras are already saying that) but I guess we will see.
 
I read an article on News Shooter that I totally agreed with from a pro News Camera Man that I totally agree with, its an interesting read...here
http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/08/07/sky-news-cameraman-andy-portch-reviews-a-year-shooting-news-with-the-panasonic-gh4/

Cheers

 

 

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Neat videi does wonders with the fine GH4 grain. I can actually get images with no noise at 6400 ISO that's pushing it. But it's a huge factor to consider in lowlight shooting nowadays, gives comfortably 2 stops improvement and more if you're not shooting faces (plastic skin then becomes an issue). 

Lovely comparison, thanks Andrew!

 

[Emanuel]

 

[Emanuel]

And along other feature comparisons, in the middle out there in that shootout, you can also find another interesting ISO comparison:

 

 

[Damian Cohen]

Thanks for the test! B.t.w.: There is a boost to ISO12.800 for the GH4 in creative video-mode, if you use P, A or S-Mode and set the EV-dial to +3. Kind of a secret ISO-boost (very noisy, though...), not even documented in the manual. 

[jonpais]

Interesting article and thanks Andrew for these tests.

I have had the GH4 about a year now, I had thought of selling it and getting one of the newer Sonys, but after quite a bit of reading and deliberation I decided to keep it and not go with the current flavors of the month.
The thing is Panasonic are a bit like Canon, a bit more cutting edge and obviously geared towards the hobbiest and film maker with not a lot of money, but they basically have the same conservative approach as Canon, point being when they build a camera its pretty much reliable and works well without a lot of add ons and cluttered menus.
The GH4 for example never overheats, doesnt chew up batteries, runs forever on a single battery, has decent rolling shutter performance, gives a great detailed image with room to color correct within reason and needs only a few lenses.
I have even shot bands at night with just the Panasonic 12-35 2.8 (obviously no speed booster) and have obtained a very nice image even tho it was underexposed.
I learnt a long time ago that the more hurdles you have to jump through in order to be creative and get something in the moment, the less you will be inclined to do so, because of the amount of work you have to do to set things up in the first place.
And this is where I feel Sony may be over reaching and in too much of a rush, they have made a great camera the in the A7RII...but it overheats, has bad rolling shutter in S35 mode, and a more or less has a difficult Log to use, complex menu system etc...it seems to me that they have great techs, great sensors, but are in too much of a rush to capture the market, and that may work for a short time, but in the long term I dont feel it will.
Now if the V-Log turns out to be as good as many of the testers say, then the poor old underdog GH4 may just be the hidden gem in the pack, (Some owners of Panny and Sony cameras are already saying that) but I guess we will see.
 
I read an article on News Shooter that I totally agreed with from a pro News Camera Man that I totally agree with, its an interesting read...here
http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/08/07/sky-news-cameraman-andy-portch-reviews-a-year-shooting-news-with-the-panasonic-gh4/

Cheers

 

 

Sony body only $3,200. GH4 $1,500 (or even less on eBay). Incidentally, can anyone direct me to a feature film or documentary that was shot at ISO 16,000 that is worth watching?

[Liam]

Sony body only $3,200. GH4 $1,500 (or even less on eBay). Incidentally, can anyone direct me to a feature film or documentary that was shot at ISO 16,000 that is worth watching?

pretty sure there was some kinda crazy iso in an episode of Broad City, trying to use natural light I assume since it was steadicam movements through the streets with a lot of long takes. wasn't trying to be fancy in terms of cinematography I assume, but the content is enough in that show to make it awesome no matter what. trying to do a scene like that and stop down to f11... infinity iso is always helpful

[ilariobiraghi]

I've a question:
In this test I see wider dynamic range and less noise in Sony's footage, but now GH4 can have V-Log L profile that should improve DR by 2 stops! And more than this, GH4's HDMI outputs 10bit against the A7R2 that outputs only 8bit, so using the Atomos Assassin (422 Prores) on both the cameras we could see the advantage for the GH4 in post, and then prehaps the two products get closer.

So, who would be the winner if GH4 is equipped with V-Log L and 10bit Prores? (please guys give me an answer because I have to decide which one to buy

[TheRenaissanceMan]

I've a question:
In this test I see wider dynamic range and less noise in Sony's footage, but now GH4 can have V-Log L profile that should improve DR by 2 stops! And more than this, GH4's HDMI outputs 10bit against the A7R2 that outputs only 8bit, so using the Atomos Assassin (422 Prores) on both the cameras we could see the advantage for the GH4 in post, and then prehaps the two products get closer.

So, who would be the winner if GH4 is equipped with V-Log L and 10bit Prores? (please guys give me an answer because I have to decide which one to buy

We'll have to wait until V-LOG is shipped out and tested by the various bloggers and experts. 

[ilariobiraghi]

Which set gives the best low light performance:

1. GH4 + Speed Booster + EF f/1.4 lens
2. GH4 + mft Nocticron f/1.2 lens

Thx

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Which set gives the best low light performance:

1. GH4 + Speed Booster + EF f/1.4 lens
2. GH4 + mft Nocticron f/1.2 lens

Thx

1, because it provides you with an effective f/1 of light. However, the Nocticron will be sharper, have IS, and autofocus. f/1 and f/1.2 are pretty close, too. I'd base the decision less on total light-gathering(which will be very close) and more on convenience, versatility, and whichever gives you the look you prefer.