GH4 g7 vs gh4

T

the doc

Well-known member
Been looking to upgrade my gh1 for a while now... I am making my vids for family / friends - no paid work. Usually with a soundtrack on top - not in camera sound. Mixture of sports / family and wildlife. Some stills as well.

After reading a lot about the GH4 recently I had in mind that when i got it i would just film in 4K mode all the time - wouldn't really have a need for the 1080- modes as the consensus seems to be that the down scaled 4k footage is better anyway... and the slow mo 1080 stuff is not that great.

So the G7.... it will let me capture 4k with the same engine as the GH4 at the same bit rate? They have nerfed the 1080 bit rate... but wasn't going to use that anyway.

Otherwise it seems to have all the features I need... and apart from the weather sealing I am hard pressed to see what the GH4 does better (slightly faster burst mode for stills... is that it)?

I have the cash to buy the GH4... just wondering now if I am missing something here? For 4k shooters the G7 is a lot lighter and cheaper?

But if the GH4 movie files would be any better than the G7 then I would probably pay the extra.

What are people thinking?
 
If you don't own many m43 lenses, I would seriously take a look at the newly announced Sony RX10 Mk2 4K camera.
 
TheDingo said:
If you don't own many m43 lenses, I would seriously take a look at the newly announced Sony RX10 Mk2 4K camera.
Click to expand...

Aside from the lens and some of the video rates, I see no need to spend an extra $500 for less features with the new RX10 - G7, fully articulated screen, 4K photo mode, interchangeable lens, larger sensor, OP already familiar with the better Panasonic menus.

Just an opinion. :beer:
 
stoneinapond said:
Aside from the lens and some of the video rates
Click to expand...

If you're not shooting professionally, I think the constant f/2.8 Zeiss lens is a big deal as there's really no equivalent in the m4/3 world right now. ( the 14-140mm is too slow and not constant aperture )
 
I have the 14-140, 100-300, and the 20mm pancake lens as well as a few cheap canon FD lenses.

Would be a major decision for me to switch format... though the Sony sensors are looking pretty impressive on paper just now!
 
I'm working with a G6 and three Nikkor primes now, and I really like the image quality. Even the kit 14-42 is not bad. I actually placed a pre-order for the RX10, because it looks like such a wonderful machine. But, I am canceling the order for these reasons:
  • I doubt that it can produce a cinematic look, which my present setup can.
  • I don't need 4K - for closeups, it might be a disadvantage.
  • I don't really need slow motion - I would love to play with it, but I don't need it.
  • Getting shallow depth of field, which is easy with my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 or 85mm f/1.8, might be a trick.
The RX10 opens up new business opportunities for professional cinematographers, especially in amateur sports, but I have no interest in that. The pre-order scheme worked perfectly. I made a decision on impulse, and I can now undo it with no consequences. If the RX10 is a successful product, it will be available to rent if needed.
 
What the heck? You see the bit where it compared the GH4 and G7 in low light (the baby shot) in what he claimed were equal settings otherwise? The G7 seemed to be much better at dealing with the conditions? How is that possible... is the sensor in the G7 more sophisticated?

If the only thing i would miss from the GH4 is weather proofing, the audio jack and vlog then I would go for the cheaper camera for sure. If the cheaper camera actually has cleaner video at high ISOs than the GH4 then it becomes a no brainer... Panasonic may be cannibalizing a lot of GH4 sales with this?
 
the doc said:
If the only thing i would miss from the GH4 is weather proofing, the audio jack and vlog then I would go for the cheaper camera for sure. If the cheaper camera actually has cleaner video at high ISOs than the GH4 then it becomes a no brainer... Panasonic may be cannibalizing a lot of GH4 sales with this?
Click to expand...

Even though the sensor might be the same, the inevitable progress on the off-sensor tech moves on, GH4 or not. I doubt the G7 will impact the GH4 that much. The latter has been out for a year now and had a good run for its money, and for the right person will still be the main choice. Panasonic are very cleverly using the GH4 reputation to expand their user base to new users and to those that want a cheaper B-cam.
 
Greg_E said:
For perspective... I just bought a GH2 for HD video work. The newest and bestest isn't always the choice.
Click to expand...

We are at the point now where ALL cameras can deliver very good very usable high-def images.
Some people want ultra sharp ultra crisp, mainly for things like sports, landscape, certain types of documentary.
the GH2 is an example of a camera that gives more of an artful cinematic look as opposed to a crisp super-realistic look.
These are two very different looks for two very different purposes.
Both are valid, but both are not the same.
Pick your purpose - then pick your camera.
 
Actually the stunning crisp sharpness of a pre-production "stock" GH2 in Bruce Dale's hands was the push that caused me to almost immediately convert to GH2's.

https://vimeo.com/14725884

The sharpness and detail shown blew away anything I was getting out of Canon 7D, T3i, and 60D. With the GH2 I could have that "crisp super-realistic look" or an "artful cinematic look", both with one camera.
 
Joshua_G said:
Please summarize the differences between GH4 and G7 or video shooting.
Click to expand...

Looks to me like - you lose weather proofing, audio out, use of the Yag thing that very few people seem to rate and a fair number of the video capture modes - the most important being the 1080p bit rate.

You gain - much lighter, much cheaper, and based on one example I have seen so far, much better low light performance in 4k shooting.

If I got a GH4 I expected to only ever shoot video in UHD - and it seems like the G7 may actually do this job better than the GH4???? Amazing.

The one thing I would miss would be the slow mo 1080p - but I have read that the 96fps in the GH4 is too noisy to be much use anyway?

Would be great to see just how well the lower bit rate 1080p works on the G7 compared to the GH4 at 60fps... but with superior UHD performance (what I guess most people are using the majority of the time) it makes the GH4 quite a hard sell for me now? Even if I was more of a pro user... I would still be tempted by the G7 if it really does give better UHD performance in a lighter package as i would be doing audio separate anyway.

I am still wondering what the catch is? Shout out if you know of any.... money isn't my main concern here.. I want the best video I can in the M43 range.
 
Hi,
Thank you.

the doc said:
Looks to me like - you lose weather proofing, audio out, use of the Yag thing that very few people seem to rate and a fair number of the video capture modes - the most important being the 1080p bit rate.

…
Click to expand...


What's the bitrate difference?
Does GH7 output full rez clean signal over HDMI?
 
G7 might be a good B cam to the gh4 but if you plan to use this as an a cam, consider these;

It will record continuously beyond the 4gig limit by creating spanned files like the gh4 BUT it stops at 29.xx minutes. The GH4 does not.

If you plan to use external recorders or a mic, theres no way to monitor this since there is NO headphone jack.

Replacing sd cards during a shoot is slightly cumbersome since its located underneath with the battery.
 
the doc said:
Looks to me like - you lose weather proofing, audio out, use of the Yag thing that very few people seem to rate and a fair number of the video capture modes - the most important being the 1080p bit rate.

You gain - much lighter, much cheaper, and based on one example I have seen so far, much better low light performance in 4k shooting.

If I got a GH4 I expected to only ever shoot video in UHD - and it seems like the G7 may actually do this job better than the GH4???? Amazing.

The one thing I would miss would be the slow mo 1080p - but I have read that the 96fps in the GH4 is too noisy to be much use anyway?

Would be great to see just how well the lower bit rate 1080p works on the G7 compared to the GH4 at 60fps... but with superior UHD performance (what I guess most people are using the majority of the time) it makes the GH4 quite a hard sell for me now? Even if I was more of a pro user... I would still be tempted by the G7 if it really does give better UHD performance in a lighter package as i would be doing audio separate anyway.

I am still wondering what the catch is? Shout out if you know of any.... money isn't my main concern here.. I want the best video I can in the M43 range.
Click to expand...

Additionally, in the US you're stuck (currently) having to buy the G7 with a plastic mount kit lens. I think Pani USA knows exactly what it's doing with this product intro: :undecided
 
Last edited:
Ted Ramasola said:
G7 might be a good B cam to the gh4 but if you plan to use this as an a cam, consider these;

It will record continuously beyond the 4gig limit by creating spanned files like the gh4 BUT it stops at 29.xx minutes. The GH4 does not.

If you plan to use external recorders or a mic, theres no way to monitor this since there is NO headphone jack.

Replacing sd cards during a shoot is slightly cumbersome since its located underneath with the battery.
Click to expand...

I am in the UK - so if I buy a GH4 i only get 29.xx minutes recording anyway due to annoying EU tax laws. So yeah... a factor in the states but not here.

I dont know much about external audio recording as I haven't done it - I thought things like the zoom had levels / output for headphones on them? Surely it is easy to monitor external audio devices?? You only use the in camera audio for sync.

The SD card placement i didn't know about - good point - this would be annoying if you were using a lot in a shoot. Also... G7 battery life is lower than GH4.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top