GH5 Anyone shot the GH5/5S in 4:3 HLG?

A

andrew00

Well-known member
Hey,

I've always liked 4:3 as a filmic aspect ratio, esp when used by filmmakers like Andrea Arnold. I was wondering if anyone uses the GH5/5S in this mode? Specifically in 6K and with HLG?

I believe HLG gives the best dynamic range for these cameras (as V-Log is capped at 12 stops), correct me if I'm wrong. I am also aware that you can shoot 4:3 in 6k, mostly used for anamorphic.

But either way, as a combo, as someone who likes 4:3, shooting 4:3 in 6k HLG seems interesting. I.E. can it be downsampled nicely to 4k or 1080P and with this does it gives any additional colour detail etc that could be useful as part of the downsampling? Or at least the appearance of? If so, what were you experiences?

Not sure if I'm explaining myself sufficiently but hopefully so.
 
I too am a fan of 4:3. Funny how once an aspect ratio goes out of popular usage, it becomes desirable again!
I have shot some HLG in 4:3 but not extensively. Just some basic tests to compare with 16:9 and V-Log. So I can't provide you with any concrete data either way. But here are some things to keep in mind: HLG doesn't necessarily have any more dynamic range than V-Log L, there's just more of the 10-bits being used to represent it. V-Log L uses a range of 128-750-ish range, while HLG uses 69-940. Doing the math, HLG has another 254 points of gradation with which to represent each channel of color.

On a personal level, I'm inclined to like HLG more than V-Log L for the following reasons: The log curve of HLG really favors the highlights while leaving the shadows and midtones relatively unaffected. Since I don't really care about shadow preservation, and am more concerned with highlight rolloff, HLG seems better suited to my needs, all other things being equal.

The second reason is because V-Log on the GH cameras is just wonky. It was designed for Varicams which is a completely separate line of Panasonic cameras made by a separate division. The color science of the GH5 does not match the color science that V-Log was intended for. Hence the reason for all the third party LUTs being sold in an effort to get pleasing color. The official Panasonic V-Log LUT is defiecient in yellow, which makes for odd skin tones, and renders blue very pale pastel, which makes sunny skies look almost cloudy.
HLG, on the other hand, with a simple conversion of the gamma/gamut from REc 2020 to Rec709, looks gorgeous, with a more pleasing color palette in my opinion.

And it doesn't cost $100.

In terms of shooting 4:3 on the GH5, the clear advantage is that it's using the full sensor, which means more pixels to represent the image. I shot some green screen footage in 4:3 for elements that were projected in a live stage play. With that much resolution in 10-bit, the green screen keying was flawless.
 
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I don't often shoot HLG nor do I have V-log, but regular 4:3 H265 4.2.0 10bit hvec encoding used by the GH5 photo mode has some sort of aesthetic that I really like. I don't know what it is exactly that is going on, but it appears to have higher color bit depth than any other mode. In detailed images it gives me upwards of 190mbps clips as well.

If you change your aspect ratio for photo's to 3:2 then record in photo mode, you get an image that is 5184x3456 3:2 h265 video recording. It's just an amazing image and space to work in if you ask me. It allows you to crop/pan/stabilize to 16:9 UHD quite nicely.

Definitely a place to work from if you have the horse power to edit it :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
We entered a 48hr competition in Glasgow and used both gh5 and gh5s in hlg anamorphic. Premiere cc hates it and does not edit smoothly. If anything due to the time constraints it put me off using hlg immensely. I would stick with v log or cineD for fast turnaround.

Here is the film

https://youtu.be/4AhSBwfyrdY
 
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