GH4 5d3 Raw to GH4

J

JasonMillard81

Active member
Greetings all! I am in a bit of state of limbo.

1. I could sell my 5d3 that would be used for RAW and purchase an a7s only and figure out which lenses and options are best for 50/50 photo and video...mostly documentary type stuff with little narrative pieces (i'm a teacher)

2. I could keep my 5d3 and the raw capability and the FF sensor for photos and get a GH4 and figure out which lenses and options work best. I'd probably sell my 60D to recoup some money for this.

The GH4 is more popular due to price and that means there are more videos out...the a7s videos are on a while more consistently professional looking while half of the GH4 videos look like an iPhone 5 and the other half look as professional as the a7s....

I'd like to rig audio into the camera take it around the city do some interviews, have staged interviews, create narratives, record some concerts, etc. I also want to do photography so FF is king but mft is decent for printing as well.

Initial thoughts?
 
I should of listed my lenses:

Tamron 17-50 (ASP-C)
Canon 50mm 1.8 (FF)
Samyang 85mm 1.4 (FF)

Are these worth keeping or selling? I could sell and get a 24-70 ... I could keep and get a SpeedBooster for the GH4...or I could get lumix lenses for GH4? Heck I could get a SpeedBooster and buy old primes or zooms? I'm really no sure what to do considering the doc work.
 
JasonMillard81 said:
Greetings all! I am in a bit of state of limbo.

1. I could sell my 5d3 that would be used for RAW and purchase an a7s only and figure out which lenses and options are best for 50/50 photo and video...mostly documentary type stuff with little narrative pieces (i'm a teacher)

2. I could keep my 5d3 and the raw capability and the FF sensor for photos and get a GH4 and figure out which lenses and options work best. I'd probably sell my 60D to recoup some money for this.

The GH4 is more popular due to price and that means there are more videos out...the a7s videos are on a while more consistently professional looking while half of the GH4 videos look like an iPhone 5 and the other half look as professional as the a7s....

I'd like to rig audio into the camera take it around the city do some interviews, have staged interviews, create narratives, record some concerts, etc. I also want to do photography so FF is king but mft is decent for printing as well.

Initial thoughts?
Click to expand...

GH4 isn't more popular due to price. GH4 is popular due to extremely high quality video recording and 4k recording in camera. That Sony a7s only outputs 4k to an external recorder so no shooting 4k in camera. GH4 also has a large following from the success of the video quality from the GH2 which has been widely regarded as really darn good for shooting video. Lots of factors that go into the popularity of the GH4. m43 has been around for awhile as well and in terms of the mirrorless market the leader of the pack.
 
I have the Tamron 17-50 (EF mount) which works well with th Gh4 speed booster combo when I'm up against it for time or having a lazy day - less lens swapping! I also have a Zeiss 25 and 50mm EF mount primes and a Canon 70-200 F4 L which are all excellent on the Gh4 with speedboostsr. These lenses work equally well on my C100 and GH4 and I mainly shot cooperate/ commercial videos and some docs so you will be fine with the lenses you have. I wouldn't bother with lumix lenses unless you want to take photos and need autofocus.
 
Curnsie said:
I have the Tamron 17-50 (EF mount) which works well with th Gh4 speed booster combo when I'm up against it for time or having a lazy day - less lens swapping!
Click to expand...

Do you have the version with image stabilization? And if so - does it work on the GH4 via Speed Booster? And if so - does the image stabilization work fine for video?
 
5D3 + GH4/EF Speedbooster is going to be the more flexible combination. You retain AF and a full-frame sensor for photography. Video-wise, you can use ML Raw for stuff that's extremely demanding color-wise (and allows the time for the workflow), or needs an ultra-mega-shallow DOF, but you will need/want the GH4 for everything else.

Lenses are a bit more complicated. The 17-50 won't cover the 5D's sensor. It'll work fine on the boosted GH4, for video, as you won't be getting AF (I'm assuming you're fine with no AF in video). You could sell and go for the 24-70, but that's going to be pretty long on the GH4. You could then add, say, a Tokina 11-16, which will work at 15-16mm on the 5D3, and also on the boosted GH4, if you want/need to go that wide. The 50 and 85 would both work fine.
 
As I type this I have the C100, 5D3 and GH4 all sat on the desk next to me. I've already sold off one 5D3 and am seriously considering selling the other. The raw workflow from the 5D3 is a major pain and generally the GH4 has given me equally as good, or most of the time better images.

I think much of what you are seeing form the videos from the GH4 is down to the wide variety of skills people have, both in shooting and post production. Of course the GH4 is popular for it's abilities, that goes without saying, but it's also fair to assume that price does play a part for some people, and those may be people just starting out and with not much experience.

The A7s is awesome in low light, but if low light is not your main operating environment then you're going to need to use ND filters a lot more due to the higher native sensitivity of that camera.

As said above, the GH4 can record 4K internally and it's great as a small / low weight kit. The A7s can do great 1080p internally but you need an external recorder (Shogun?) to get 4K. If you've never shot 4K then you don't know what you're missing, so maybe don't care, but once you've shot and got decent 4K you really won't want to go back to 1080p for capture, unless it's for specifics like slo-mo, even though you end up delivering in 1080p. 4K just gives so much more flexibility in post.

Using a GH4 with EF lenses is a valid option if you're planning on shooting everything with manual focus and have the time to set up those shots. I've been using Samyang primes with EF-->M43 adapters and been very happy with them. I've also used the 70-200 f2.8L IS II and had some awesome results. However, I've also been buying up native micro four thirds lenses because not only are they smaller and lighter, but they are typically cheaper and sharper and can be shot wide open, unlike most full frame lenses which are a little soft until sopped down.

Of course, there is no one right answer here. It's down to personal preferences. What is good for me isn't always going to be good for you.

In terms of photography, my 5D3 is also sat idle there too. I've spent a couple of weeks really getting to know the GH4 inside out (for photos) and now it's become my default choice even for photos, even on paying jobs. I know it sounds crazy, and if you'd asked me 6 months ago I would have laughed at you, but I'm sat looking at the 5D3 and trying to think of reasons to actually keep it. There are only two reasons I can think of, and they are if I ever actually needed the extra resolution or higher ISO. The problem is I just made a 30"x40" print from the GH4 and it's perfectly acceptable (the client loves it) and another from ISO3200 and again, no problem from the client. If I'd had to shoot that on the 5D3 I'd have been at ISO12,600 in order to stop down enough to get 'enough' DOF, whereas i could shoot that wide open on the GH4. Shallow DOF really isn't everything!

So, let me ask you this:

• What do you actually expect to be shooting (subjects, lighting etc)?

• How much time do you have for each shot (typically)? Is it run & gun or lot's of setup time?

• Do you want 4K now or in the future?

• Do you mind using adapters (EF on GH4 or A7s) ?

• Do you mind carrying around larger kit?

With just that little information there could be pointers towards one way or another.
 
the ONLY reason i still lean toward a FF camera is i'm old(ish) and grew up shooting 35mm. so i know immediately in my head what lenses should look like without having to do the 2x compositional math or back up away from the subject.
 
JasonMillard81 said:
Anyone think we could get this level of look out of the GH4?

https://vimeo.com/107738007
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Not without a lot of compensation work anyway.
This Vimeo clip is a perfect example of the kind of image quality that the 5DIII and 6D really excel at. It's not about 2K or 4K... it's about native image quality and the 2 cameras (Canon/Panasonic) just have different native looks to them.

The Canons kill Panasonics in shoots like this one and other low-light narrative style looks - but the Panasonics often are more desirable for realism and documentary type applications.

I don't think it's a matter of "which is better" but rather it's a matter of both filling different roles. Ideally I'd want both. And with as much as I spend on lighting, rigging, lenses, and computers....the cost of a second camera body is really not all that significant.

I.e....If I have a strong need for better low-light performance, do I spend $2,000 on a great lens and a speedbooster? Or do I just buy a 6D body? Honestly, I'd rather have the 2 different flavors.
 
For those of us on budgets, DaVinci Resolve Lite is a heck of a lot cheaper than a 2nd camera body/lens/battery/media/support package of any flavor and you can get very close to whatever you prefer.
 
I think I will keep the 5d3 for FF photography to blow up pictures as well as take some raw clips for video, but use GH4 for most of the workload, believe it or not.
 
Why not? Outside of very low-light work the GH4 is pretty fantastic. Heck I'm still using my GH3.
 
JasonMillard81 said:
Anyone think we could get this level of look out of the GH4?
Click to expand...

Yes, I don't see anything in these shots that's not possible with the GH4 with the right settings, exposure and grading.

I actually found the fluctuating contrast in this Canon FF Raw Vimeo video a little annoying, as the contrast is all over the place depending on the shot, which is very noticeable on some shots when they cut to the next shot.
 
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