GH5 Game Over, Panasonic

Got an email from my dealer, Hot Rod Cameras, stating they’ll start shipping the P4K to their customers next week, but only 50 cameras have been allocated to the entire USA. BlackMagic claims they’ll ship more cameras to the USA next week, but the quantity is unknown.
 
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Bern Caughey said:
Got an email from my dealer, Hot Rod Cameras, stating they’ll start shipping the P4K to their customers next week, but only 50 cameras have been allocated to the entire USA. BlackMagic claims they’ll ship more cameras to the USA next week, but the quantity is unknown.
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One for each state. We're supposed to share. ;-)
 
Thomas Smet said:
Except for the performance factor. Playing a single clip is different than handling multiple streams or effects heavy projects. For me it’s also about not wanting to use Resolve over FCPX but that’s a personal choice. Hopefully that will change.

I agree if all was equal why not use the higher quality format. But there are also different values to be measured in quality. Yes it’s higher res and 4:4:4 and 12bit but when a file is similar size and push’s those specs that means each frame is compressed more. The 12:1 BRAW is throwing something away and just how much is lost still needs to be seen. So if you go up to 8:1 or 5:1 to actually increase the visual compression quality you are suddenly no longer dealing with smaller files.
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Yes, it was only a single clip test, and I agree with you.
But you have to start your tests somewhere :)
 
Bern Caughey said:
Got an email from my dealer, Hot Rod Cameras, stating they’ll start shipping the P4K to their customers next week, but only 50 cameras have been allocated to the entire USA. BlackMagic claims they’ll ship more cameras to the USA next week, but the quantity is unknown.
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Do you have a deposit on it, Bern?
 
groveChuck said:
Do you have a deposit on it, Bern?
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Yes, placed a preorder on April 9th, the day the camera was announced. Wasn’t a lot of money, perhaps $100.

Hoping to wring a bit more dynamic range, & highlight roll-off, out of it compared to the GH5. Either way I’ll continue using the Panasonics.
 
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PRO-AV up today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYDNMP-C14

I'm sorry, but holy hell. As a GH5, GH5s, and EVA1 owner this looks like a (potential, tentative) must-buy. The image quality from this is just beautiful, as good if not better than my EVA1 footage. It's the way it renders the image, beautifully smooth and organic to my eye and punching way above its weight class.

I'm especially impressed that he shot this on the Lumix 12-35. I have that lens, and on the GH5 units it is nice and I use it to gather run'n'gun live events but, while nice, it always has this overally digital/synethic look to it VS the voigtlanders. Because of the forced electronic lens correction and sharpening. It looks so good here.

Now, here are my hang-ups:

Absolutely need to wait on user reviews and field testing, a 2 hour shoot like this video is one thing but all the IQ in the world doesn't matter if the camera doesn't hold up.

1 hour battery life means you need about 8 batteries to count on it for a full shoot day, and knock off batteries won't even power the camera. And to charge that many, you need multiple chargers. It's safe to say you may want to invest at least $500 in batteries, or go for an external solution which adds size/weight.

The non tilt screen could be a royal PIA and may mean adding a smallHD on top could be in order.

Need to add some rigging for optimal use - it would be better to record to a USB 3 SSD, but this should be mountable with a $30 smallrig part on top of a $250 cage.

Misc questions (perhaps non issues) - will I be able to edit Blackmagic raw in Premiere? Mixing colors and profiles with Panasonic cameras via LUTS (yo, Paul or Sage - being able to apply Pana color science to BMD, and BMD to Pana, would be killer for mixing these cameras).

I don't think I would have the cahones to rely on this as my only/primary camera, but if I knew I had a GH5 in the bag with it in event of failure, and I could use the cameras together well in post, then we're talking.

-------

At $1300 + free full version of Resolve this borders on impulse purchase. Realistically it's closer to $2200 once you add storage, batteries, cage, mounting, etc. but that really is not at all bad.

I am just blown away by the IQ, though - this looks nothing like what I associate m43 with and I really, really hope Panasonic takes note. These little sensors are SO capable - I just wish we could disable the electronic corrections on native m43 glass on a Lumix body, and get whatever organic mojo this thing has got into those Lumix bodies... because frankly I trust my GHx way more.

IBIS with this form factor and IQ would be killer.

I know the Panasonic S1 is on the horizon too, but at this price point, it doesn't really feel like an either/or.

Assuming this is actually available in November, I might have to squeeze it on for 2018 write-offs right before CY 2019...
 
1 hour battery life means you need about 8 batteries to count on it for a full shoot day, and knock off batteries won't even power the camera. And to charge that many, you need multiple chargers. It's safe to say you may want to invest at least $500 in batteries, or go for an external solution which adds size/weight.
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1. The "official" battery is reasonably priced...cheaper than Canon's.
2. There are so many different ways to power this camera. There's literally something for every style and scenario.

The non tilt screen could be a royal PIA and may mean adding a smallHD on top could be in order.
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Likely depending on the scenario. My guess is that there are going to be a lot of scenarios where the big, bright, sharp built-in 5" will suffice. The GH5's built-in screen is useless for 4K manual focus, and can only be relied on for menus.

Need to add some rigging for optimal use - it would be better to record to a USB 3 SSD, but this should be mountable with a $30 smallrig part on top of a $250 cage.
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I think 8SINN has the right idea with their half-cage. Don't want to cover that nice big hand grip.

Misc questions (perhaps non issues) - will I be able to edit Blackmagic raw in Premiere? Mixing colors and profiles with Panasonic cameras via LUTS (yo, Paul or Sage - being able to apply Pana color science to BMD, and BMD to Pana, would be killer for mixing these cameras).
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No, at least not now. Premiere has never supported compressed DNG, and BRAW isn't even available on the camera yet, let alone in Premiere. Sounds like a really good opportunity to see how Resolve has matured into a very good NLE. ;-) Otherwise, there is ProRes.
 
Im planning to use the pocket 4k in tandem with the gh5, the Olympus 12-100 f4 IS can simply live on the blackmagic, maybe feed the pocket off a V-Mount battery as a general purpose shoot it all combo and Slomo cam. and the voigt primes on the gh5 with IBIS

filmguy123 said:
PRO-AV up today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYDNMP-C14

I'm sorry, but holy hell. As a GH5, GH5s, and EVA1 owner this looks like a (potential, tentative) must-buy. The image quality from this is just beautiful, as good if not better than my EVA1 footage. It's the way it renders the image, beautifully smooth and organic to my eye and punching way above its weight class.

I'm especially impressed that he shot this on the Lumix 12-35. I have that lens, and on the GH5 units it is nice and I use it to gather run'n'gun live events but, while nice, it always has this overally digital/synethic look to it VS the voigtlanders. Because of the forced electronic lens correction and sharpening. It looks so good here.

Now, here are my hang-ups:

Absolutely need to wait on user reviews and field testing, a 2 hour shoot like this video is one thing but all the IQ in the world doesn't matter if the camera doesn't hold up.

1 hour battery life means you need about 8 batteries to count on it for a full shoot day, and knock off batteries won't even power the camera. And to charge that many, you need multiple chargers. It's safe to say you may want to invest at least $500 in batteries, or go for an external solution which adds size/weight.

The non tilt screen could be a royal PIA and may mean adding a smallHD on top could be in order.

Need to add some rigging for optimal use - it would be better to record to a USB 3 SSD, but this should be mountable with a $30 smallrig part on top of a $250 cage.

Misc questions (perhaps non issues) - will I be able to edit Blackmagic raw in Premiere? Mixing colors and profiles with Panasonic cameras via LUTS (yo, Paul or Sage - being able to apply Pana color science to BMD, and BMD to Pana, would be killer for mixing these cameras).

I don't think I would have the cahones to rely on this as my only/primary camera, but if I knew I had a GH5 in the bag with it in event of failure, and I could use the cameras together well in post, then we're talking.

-------

At $1300 + free full version of Resolve this borders on impulse purchase. Realistically it's closer to $2200 once you add storage, batteries, cage, mounting, etc. but that really is not at all bad.

I am just blown away by the IQ, though - this looks nothing like what I associate m43 with and I really, really hope Panasonic takes note. These little sensors are SO capable - I just wish we could disable the electronic corrections on native m43 glass on a Lumix body, and get whatever organic mojo this thing has got into those Lumix bodies... because frankly I trust my GHx way more.

IBIS with this form factor and IQ would be killer.

I know the Panasonic S1 is on the horizon too, but at this price point, it doesn't really feel like an either/or.

Assuming this is actually available in November, I might have to squeeze it on for 2018 write-offs right before CY 2019...
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The new PanaLeica 10-25 f/1.7 next year, if it has OIS, would pair wonderfully with the BMPCC 4K. No electronic processing on the lens, OIS to help keep it stable, small and light.

Hawks wood batteries or a similar small SWIT or Core Nano setup could also be very nice with the BMPCC 4K.
 
Can we revist specs, I want to make sure I am not missing something.

The Camera does 4K 60p 10-bit internal via ProRes? And/or external to a USB SSD in RAW as well?

And does all of this with VFR - ie 36, 48 fps, etc.?
 
filmguy123 said:
Can we revist specs, I want to make sure I am not missing something.

The Camera does 4K 60p 10-bit internal via ProRes? And/or external to a USB SSD in RAW as well?

And does all of this with VFR - ie 36, 48 fps, etc.?
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cDNG (RAW) is not limited to SSD. You can record it internally to either CFAST or SD. Obviously, the compression ratio and frame rate will impact exactly what cards will work.
 
I think this is a real game changer at this price point. The color is just stunning which leads to enhanced detail without digital sharpening. The footage looks amazing and does not have the 'impossible to get out lingering middle grey LOG leftovers' that a GH camera has. Yes, I can now say that this camera has beaten the GH5 /s on image quality.

Ergonomically I would not want to use it outside of a tripod based controlled environment. This is a pitty as so many of us do not have that luxury. IBIS along with a tilt screen and viewfinder would make this unbeatable. I hate using an LCD, especially outside. BM seems to love this approach but it just can not be trusted for exposure so then it is just sort of a reference screen. Kind of a waste. I know my viewfinders on all my cameras and trust them to deliver the correct exposure to serve as a solid benchmark.

It is a shame that the camera market has to be so segmented. One camera excels here and another offers the opposite. The GH series is the best middle ground but they clearly have some room to grow. To Panasonic - it is time to up your game a little more. The BM camera's image quality is clearly amazing at $1,000 less. Great to see such competition though.
 
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