GH5 A7sii -> GH5?

[JordanWright]

I currently use a Sony a7s ii with native Sony glass ( Loxia 50/2 and Sony 28/2). I am considering switching systems on the GH5. I have a few questions about the system.

1) Lenses? which to go for... Native or speedbooster. how well does the IBIS work with adapted lenses, do you have to dial in the focal length each time you change lens?

2) Lowlight - I often shoot upto 1600, sometimes at 3200.. is the footage usable at these ISOs

3) Dynamic Range - If I switch I plan to use VLOG.. how much difference in DR is there between the a7sii's Slog and the Gh5s VLog. Has anyone else made the switch and do they miss it?

4) Colour - I have been using EOSHD on the Sony cameras with really nice skintones. How are the skintones on VLOG?

Thanks in advance.. if anyone else has made the switch from the Sonys to the GH5 any advice would be appretiated! and is there anything ill miss from the sonys?

 

[TheDingo]

1) Lenses? which to go for... Native or speedbooster.

A lot depends on what you want to shoot and the type of look you are trying to achieve. I own 8 native m4/3 lenses and I own 8 Nikon FF AI-S lenses.

I find the native glass better when shooting wide-open at fast apertures. A native lens can be sharp corner to corner at f/1.2 or f/1.4, where not many adapted lenses can do this. ( adapted FF telephotos are the exception )

I also find the native glass sharper with very high contrast compared to adapted FF lenses, but there are lots of times where you want a softer look so I will switch to my adapted Nikon AI-S lenses for this.

how well does the IBIS work with adapted lenses, do you have to dial in the focal length each time you change lens?

Fantastic. I can get smooth hand-held shots shooting with a Nikon 135mm f/2.8 lens ( equivalent to a FF 270mm lens ) with my GH5 that I could not get with any other camera. This changes things in a big way for me.

Any time you change the focal-length of the manual lens you are shooting with you MUST set this focal length in your camera or the IBIS won't work. With electronic lenses the camera automatically knows what the focal length is.

2) Lowlight - I often shoot upto 1600, sometimes at 3200.. is the footage usable at these ISOs

Yes, but fast glass makes a big difference with low light. You can also use NR apps in post to clean-up your footage, like NeatVideo.

3) Dynamic Range - If I switch I plan to use VLOG.. how much difference in DR is there between the a7sii's Slog and the Gh5s VLog. Has anyone else made the switch and do they miss it?

I haven't seen anyone do a proper DR test between the Sony A7SII and the GH5, but the DXO dynamic range rating for the A7SII is 13.3 F-stops and the GH5 DXO DR rating is 13.0 F-stops, so according to DXO the difference is 1/3 F-Stop.

I also haven't seen anyone who has switched from the Sony A7SII to the GH5 complain about GH5 dynamic range, so I really think this is largely a non-issue. ( the DR difference is a lot bigger if you shoot with the A7RII )

4) Colour - I have been using EOSHD on the Sony cameras with really nice skin-tones. How are the skintones on VLOG?

Excellent if you know what you are doing in post. I've been using Paul Leeming's LEEMING LUT ONE with my GH5 V-LOG L footage, which I find to be a good starting point when grading GH5 footage.

Also, one of our DVX members posted a quick color comparison between the GH5 and the $16K+ Panasonic Varicam LT, and the GH5 looks pretty good : VariCam LT and GH5 side by side test shots, V-log, 120 FPS


Here's an interesting YouTube video from a pair of cinematic wedding shooters, who shot with the Sony A7S for the past 2 years, and then recently switched over to shooting with the GH5. Lots of interesting info...