GH4 GH4 Battery Life for Video Recording (Weddings) and other GH4 Questions

B

Budgieboots

Well-known member
Hello,

I am considering a GH4 for purchase to use as a “B” camera for wedding videography.
My “A” camera is a Sony NEX FS100.

For those of you who have shot with the GH4, I was hoping you might be able to answer some of the questions I have about the camera.

a) How long can you record video on a fully charged battery while shooting 1080p at 29.97fps?
b) How long does it take the battery to recharge?
c) Being a DSLR, I understand that it stops recording after a certain point of time and you have to press record again. How long do you have? 12 minutes? 28 minutes?

d) How does the low-light grain compare to the FS100? Namely, I’ve shot in some very dark reception venues before with the FS100 kit lens (18-200mm) and to be specific, have had to use F6.3, ISO 12800.
There is some grain with that yes, but my output is to DVD and no clients have complained about “the grain”.

My question is, how does the GH4 match upto the FS100 at 12800 ISO in dark venues? I do understand that the GH4 has a smaller sensor, so it will be grainier, but if I would use that Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm F2.8 lens – that would largely get them to be comparable correct? Since I could hop down to ISO 6400 on the GH4?

e) How is the auto focus on video mode?

Thanks for your time.

I am also considering the SonyA7s – but I still don’t know enough about it – except that it seems to have a larger sensor and seemingly superior low-light capabilities, but I know nothing about battery life or if it has a nice peaking meter for focusing.
 
I switched to the GH4 from the FS100 myself so I think I can provide some useful information for you.

A. I don't have an exact number on this, but I've shot for several hours on the stock battery.

C. It will span clips for whatever length of time your wanting to record, I just shot a 1.5 hour clip with no problems at all, it just segments the file into 4GB pieces.

D. The low light is not even remotely in the same ball park as the FS. That was quite a shock from me coming from the low light warrior. Personally, I think ISO 1600 is tops on the GH4 for reasonably "Clean" footage. You will NEED to augment lighting with this camera.

E. Autofocus is pretty good. I mostly shoot music videos and narrative type stuff so this doesn't apply to me as much.

A few other things I've noticed in contrast:

- You will need some type of support with this camera. Rolling shutter will bite you in 4k otherwise.

- The GH4 has WAY more resolution than the FS. It's really staggering.

- The micro 4/3 sensor actually helps quite a bit with nailing focus. I find I'm ending up with far less "soft" material.

- To my eye, dynamic range seems very similar to the FS.
 
one more note is you can grip the GH4 and an additional battery if needed and shoot all day. Everything said above is correct. GH4 is great camera!
 
I also have a FS100, and am eyeballing the GH4, reasons:

-Smaller and lighter package, even though the Fs100 has XLRs, I feel that the GH4 with a juiced link is still smaller. The grip and eyecup take space in the bag where I could fit 2 lenses or other things. With the gh4 these things are more or less build in. It just PACKS better and takes less assembly.
-The magnify focus button can also be assigned to a nicer area.
-Splash and rain proof.
-lcd screen is in a far better position
-usable fast autofocus (even if it's only before recording or in between usable segments, that's enough for me, as I noticed it kind of stutters while focussing)
-Besides the camera, smaller lenses too. The FS100 is really not bad in that regard if you use e-mount lenses though. However I worry that e-mount APC-C might not be supported in new cameras as long as MFT, and MFT has more cameras that support it (including Blackmagic)
-4K of course, higher resolution and able to crop in post. The cropping thing is big for me, especially during interviews. I heard the rolling shutter is minimal during HD recording, so I can always switch to HD when needed. So I don't see this as a drawback compared to the FS100, which only shoots HD to start with.
-decent stills. I want to reduce my pro photo work and focus on video, and want to sell my 6D and simply use the GH4 when I need some photos. 16MP is good enough for me. I vastly prefer the live-view functionality of mirrorless over an optical viewfinder, even for photos.
-Better slomo functions
-I simply want to have less stuff in my small room, and simplify my gear and focus on shooting. With the FS100 shooting is always a bit cumbersome when going handheld or rigging. when I pick up a GH4 (I had the GH2 and GH1 before, too), I just find it much more enjoyable to shoot.



Some questions from my side:
-I was surprised, nemisis633, that mentioned the dynamic range was about the same. I was always told the FS100 highlight roll-off was kind of crappy. Did you use the cine profiles on the GH4? What profile on the FS100 are you comparing too?
-How does GH4 60P compare with the FS100, and how does 96P compare with 60P on the FS100? I would be really happy with slightly better 60P already!
- Will it still make sense to keep my atomos ninja (not Blade) in terms of image quality? Will 4K trounce the HD output even when recording Prores HQ on the Ninja. I am thinking of doing green screen, and am actively following some other threads about GH4 green screen. Has anyone compared the GH4 green screen to the FS100 green screen results?

The low light and depth of field change are slight worries, but I can easily pocket one or two small primes in case I need them. They are so tiny!

Cheers
 
-I was surprised, nemisis633, that mentioned the dynamic range was about the same. I was always told the FS100 highlight roll-off was kind of crappy. Did you use the cine profiles on the GH4? What profile on the FS100 are you comparing too?

The dynamic range just seems seems similar to me overall. This is completely non-scientific, but the FS was no slouch in my opinion. Zacuto tested it at 11.5 Stops. That said, the GH4 doesn't suffer from the bizzaro highlight treatment. I have been using G-Log Ultimate on the FS which seemed to correct most of the issues I had with the image initially.

-How does GH4 60P compare with the FS100, and how does 96P compare with 60P on the FS100? I would be really happy with slightly better 60P already!

I haven't extensively tested the slow motion, 60P seems better, I haven't tested the 96FPS yet personally.

- Will it still make sense to keep my atomos ninja (not Blade) in terms of image quality? Will 4K trounce the HD output even when recording Prores HQ on the Ninja. I am thinking of doing green screen, and am actively following some other threads about GH4 green screen. Has anyone compared the GH4 green screen to the FS100 green screen results?

Once again, I'm no expert but the resolution from downscaling the 4k is markedly better. I think you'd have to make the choice of 10-bit pro-res or the extra resolution. The shogun I expect will be a deadly no compromise combination.

On the depth of field front from m43, I would stress to you I think that online this is really blown out of proportion. When shooting at F2.8, you're still dealing with VERY shallow focus. I ended up going with the stabilized Panasonic lenses.. 12-35 2.8 and 35-100 2.8 , I haven't regretted that at all. I will note the OIS isn't nearly as strong as the Tamron 24-70 I migrated from.
 
I just tested my GH4 for battery life. I was shooting a static scene at C4K 24p and the battery lasted over 2 hours 30 minutes of continuous recording onto a 128GB card (there was still some space left on the card when the battery died.) That was only one battery, without using the battery grip. Not sure if recording at 1080 30p will change the battery life.
 
Thanks for the replies so far everyone! This has been very informative for me. If anymore people are switching over to the GH4 from a Sony FS100, I'd be certainly interested in finding out your experiences.
 
Jaime Valles said:
I just tested my GH4 for battery life. I was shooting a static scene at C4K 24p and the battery lasted over 2 hours 30 minutes of continuous recording onto a 128GB card (there was still some space left on the card when the battery died.) That was only one battery, without using the battery grip. Not sure if recording at 1080 30p will change the battery life.
Click to expand...

Hey Jaime - just the test I've been waiting for - a continuous shoot of 4k to SD card in the GH4. May I ask what kind of card you were using? I have a theatrical event shoot this weekend, and need to know if my Sandisk 128GB SDXC Extreme Plus Class 10 UHS-1 will record continuously for over an hour without dropouts or write errors.
Of course, the GH4 will be backed up by one of my GH2s - I've only promised 1080p delivery, but it would be good to get 4k material right on the first event shoot with the GH4...;-)
 
DVXSanDiego said:
Hey Jaime - just the test I've been waiting for - a continuous shoot of 4k to SD card in the GH4. May I ask what kind of card you were using? I have a theatrical event shoot this weekend, and need to know if my Sandisk 128GB SDXC Extreme Plus Class 10 UHS-1 will record continuously for over an hour without dropouts or write errors.
Of course, the GH4 will be backed up by one of my GH2s - I've only promised 1080p delivery, but it would be good to get 4k material right on the first event shoot with the GH4...;-)
Click to expand...
I was using the new Transcend 128GB U3 card. I, too, shoot live theatrical events, and it's great to know that I can record a full performance in 4K without swapping cards.

Granted, that was a static shot of my living room. We'll have to test in a real theatrical event to see if it holds up with all the movement, lighting changes, etc. But for now I'm inclined to think it works.
 
Jaime Valles said:
I was using the new Transcend 128GB U3 card. I, too, shoot live theatrical events, and it's great to know that I can record a full performance in 4K without swapping cards.

Granted, that was a static shot of my living room. We'll have to test in a real theatrical event to see if it holds up with all the movement, lighting changes, etc. But for now I'm inclined to think it works.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, well I was on the fence between the SanDisk and the Transcend you used. Well, we'll see... I hope it holds out. I've always had good luck with SanDisk. I'll report back whether it worked or not.
 
nemisis633 said:
I switched to the GH4 from the FS100 myself so I think I can provide some useful information for you.

A. I don't have an exact number on this, but I've shot for several hours on the stock battery.

C. It will span clips for whatever length of time your wanting to record, I just shot a 1.5 hour clip with no problems at all, it just segments the file into 4GB pieces.

D. The low light is not even remotely in the same ball park as the FS. That was quite a shock from me coming from the low light warrior. Personally, I think ISO 1600 is tops on the GH4 for reasonably "Clean" footage. You will NEED to augment lighting with this camera.

E. Autofocus is pretty good. I mostly shoot music videos and narrative type stuff so this doesn't apply to me as much.

A few other things I've noticed in contrast:

- You will need some type of support with this camera. Rolling shutter will bite you in 4k otherwise.

- The GH4 has WAY more resolution than the FS. It's really staggering.

- The micro 4/3 sensor actually helps quite a bit with nailing focus. I find I'm ending up with far less "soft" material.

- To my eye, dynamic range seems very similar to the FS.
Click to expand...

Many thanks!
I still haven't decided. I see some decent footage coming out of the GH4 at higher ISOs BTW.
I know what you mean about soft footage, it can be annoying with handheld, though some people seem to like it. I am getting nice filmic results with the FS100 now though...

The weird thing is, that when I sell my FS100, I could probably get a GH4 with some cards and don't loose money...
I would like to see some more 60fps footage, everyone is going nuts with the (low quality) 96, but 60fps in quality comparable to my fs100's 24fps would be awesome.

Finally, I simply worry that the GH4 will still look video-ish in less than ideal situations (office spaces for example). Sure I see some great golden hour beach and city footage, but I fear when I am in a mediocre location, the small sensor will really bite me. I am often complimented of shooting more cinematic footage than other cameramen that my main client uses, and I don't want to loose that advantage. I have mixed feelings seeing the results.
 
In stead of pumping up the ISO to 12800 and shooting at F6.3, I have a better idea.

Buy a lens with a 1.8-2.8 aperture and a Speed Booster and shoot the scenes at night at ISO 1600. I do not have the GH4, but I do shoot weddings with the GH3. ISO 1600 on the GH3 looks good, but I won't go higher.
Luckily I have never had to go higher, because of my effective f1.2 aperture. And here is why the smaller sensor is great, because the depth of field will be still managable at those apertures while still gathering all that light.
 
DVXSanDiego said:
... need to know if my Sandisk 128GB SDXC Extreme Plus Class 10 UHS-1 will record continuously for over an hour without dropouts or write errors.
Click to expand...

Haven't shot much 4K yet but numerous multicam interviews that lasted more than an hour. We were recording 1080p/24 @ 100 Mbps on 64GB Sandisk 95 Mbps cards & prior to rolling the GH4 showed an hour & twenty minutes available, but our scene wasn't highly detailed & think it would have recorded about two hours.
 
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