GH5 GH5(s) Camera questions for simple tv style show

Z

zwarte_kat

Active member
Hi people! It’s been a while on this forum.



I’m a pro video maker who used to do a lot of shooting (still have a c100ii) but recently doing mostly editing and some directing. Also I’ve been appearing in some of my promotion videos as a subject. 
I have over 10 years of experience.

I want to step up my game and make my own simple tv show, not perse for TV but like to get a deal with some of the streaming services ideally. 
It’s for a budget show, with limited graphics, some custom music (I have a lot of production friends ready to join) and me as a reporter style host.
 It’s about travel and food, I hope to make episodes form 15-25min.
 Shooting is by myself or with one assistant mostly.



Now looking to upgrade my kit. It has to be compact but some good quality so I can sell it to most services (4K).
 I am looking at the GH5s. Since I’ll be using it in plenty of dim lighting (restaurants / bars) I think I need that Low light power.
 Also the flip screen to shoot myself, xlr option for mics etc.

I work a lot with 60p, so 4K 60p is a requirement.

Panasonic is not my favorite image, but canon simply doesn’t have anything that fits the bill sadly (I tried the EosR..)


I want to avoid lens adapters and non native MFGT lenses to keep my kit simple. Autofocus is ideal too, even if just for single shot (I know tracking is not great on these cams)
I will use additional drone footage. I’m still debating with myself to get a gimbal / slider, and maybe a GH5 as Bcam.


I have a couple of questions before I make a purchase:

1. 
The Panasonic 12-35mm and 35-100mm 2.8, does it still have the jitter problems I read about online? I might get the 12-35 anyway as it’s a great allrounder with a nice 12mm start, but don’t want to spend money on a shaking 35-100 lens.

15mm 1.7 and 42.5mm 1.7 IS from Panasonic, these I am eyeballing as affordable primes, any opinions? Can these be reasonably focussed by hand and are they not noisy? (AF and IS)

2. Any of you doing something with a similar setup? Do you use the XLR? Ideally I record everything in camera to make post easier, but I could record separate for interviews.
 Can Audio levels be monitored over the smartphone app?

3. Vlog or Cinelike D for low light?



4. Does push auto focus work alright? How about from the app?


Any other advice?
Many thanks!
 
I have the 15mm and 42.5mm f/1.7's. They are my go to lenses for everything basically. Never have owned one of the zooms as I just use ETC and 2x digital to give 4 different focal length for each lens. To be honest the 4K UHD with 2x digital is one of finest images you can get with the GH5. Not sharp like the native lenses give most of the time, but quite pleasing if you ask me.

https://youtu.be/GbESNMYJmEk - fly by wire focus can be done, but is super hard. Especially on the 15mm as the focus ring is so close to the camera and hard to reach.
https://vimeo.com/212995727 - 42.5mm f/1.7 archery all wide open at f/1.7
https://vimeo.com/148256578 - 15mm f/1.7 on all the stabilizer shots. Think a bunch of the closeups were the 42.5mm as well on GH4

I use a seperate H4n and lav mics if possible, then sync in post. Too hard to carry it all on cam, especially when on a stabilizer.

Total combo with a set of carbon sticks and my 100-300mm for wildlife work weights 6.5 lbs !!!

Cheers, Pete
 
I would wait a couple of weeks and get the Panasonic s1 if you haven’t yet invested in m43.
You get IBIS, Full frame, higher light sensitivity than the gh5s etc.
 
I think one thing to think about would be the 8 bit in 60p it really does not match up well with the 10 bit. Especially with the V-Log L . This was one thing I really disliked about my GH5, I ended up going with the pocket. But miss the ease of use of the GH5 I would maybe look into an atomos as a way to keep everything 10 bit, especially since the on board monitor isn't the greatest outside.
 
there will be an internal 4k 10bit 150mbs paid upgrade in the future with true V log.
\Also you can switch to apsc mode which opens up a lot of lensing options for people who already own super 35 glass.

HunterAK said:
I think one thing to think about would be the 8 bit in 60p it really does not match up well with the 10 bit. Especially with the V-Log L . This was one thing I really disliked about my GH5, I ended up going with the pocket. But miss the ease of use of the GH5 I would maybe look into an atomos as a way to keep everything 10 bit, especially since the on board monitor isn't the greatest outside.
Click to expand...
 
zwarte_kat said:
The Panasonic 12-35mm and 35-100mm 2.8, does it still have the jitter problems I read about online?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen any 12-35mm mk1 jitter issues since the last firmware update, which was way back when I was shooting with GH4 cameras. I still shoot with the mk1 lens because I haven't been able to justify upgrading to mk2. ( the mk1 lens still works great, even when using it in DUAL IS 1 mode with my GH5 cameras )

The 35-100mm mk1 still had jitter issues after three firmware updates, but the GH5 IBIS instantly got rid of this. Later on I sold the mk1 lens and bought the mk2 lens which has never had any jitter issues from what I can see.

zwarte_kat said:
Can these be reasonably focussed by hand and are they not noisy? (AF and IS)
Click to expand...

I find focus-by-wire to be problematic when trying to repeat a focus point, but the one-touch focus using the camera's LCD screen has been pretty reliable. I haven't tried the Olympus PRO f/1.2 lenses which have a manual clutch ring, which is still focus-by-wire but it's supposed to be better than the LUMIX lenses. ( there's also the option of going with the Voightlander f/0.95 fully manual lenses, which I have seen used really well when shooting live events )

zwarte_kat said:
Do you use the XLR?
Click to expand...

The GH5 XLR adapter is great, but make sure you are feeding it a strong signal. ( either use "hot" mics or a good mic pre-amp to feed signal to your GH5 )

I also recommend using a good external 1080p monitor to check your focus because any tiny focus errors become really obvious when viewed in 4K. ( lots of 1000 nit or brighter "daylight" monitors on the market now )
 
If you plan to focus manually you will find all the lumix lenses frustrating. The olympus PRO series 17mm, 25mm 45mm and the 12-40mm 12-100mm and 40-150mm all have manual clutch which works extremely well on all these lenses the primes especially well. The Voigtlanders have become my choice lenses because of their mechanics also having click less manual aperture. I used to have a gh5s and a GH5 but have since sold my gh5s and currently use the gh5 (as a small form factor camera) The short of it its the IBIS. I prefer a fast controllable prime with IBIS to a 2.8 uncontrollable zoom with a non IBIS body with better Lowlight and slightly better IQ. Again for me the choice of using a small camera is based mostly on handling and form factor rather than "absolute" IQ performance.
 
Another option is the Blackmagic Pocket 4K, shoots UHD/4K at 60fps, 10-bit is recorded internally and the new BMD BRaw is coming. Great camera for the money if you can wait to get one, long list of backorders. Downside like,the GH5/S, it lacks IBIS, otherwise the image quality and low light performance is excellent form what I have seen so far, much better than the GH5

Also if you are not invested in MFT lenses, the new Nikon Z6 is excellent, but does not record UDD 60fps, but it will in HD/1080p, which upreses to UHD quite nicely, and hard to tell the difference. Recording to an external monitor/recorder gives you 10-bit NLog recording, with ProRes Raw coming to it when combined with a Ninja recorder
IBIS and tracking focus both on the Z6 are the best I have seen, it is like having a GH5/S with IBIS and a continuous auto-tracking focus that actually works, that can lock onto the selected subject, and maintain a focus, which does not hunt or glitch. Face detection AF is coming also.
The Z6 shoots FF for low light and can be used in DX (S35) window mode, with out any noticeable video image loss.
Cheers
 
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I agree with icarusfilm that the Oly 12-40 is better than the Panasonic 12-35. Both look great and autofocus works as well on both but the manual focus on the Olympus makes it WAY better. You can’t really manual focus the Panasonic but the Olympus is solid due to the manual clutch.
 
Wow great responses people, thanks!
Just putting in a little message to show I haven't forgotten you guys, will make a longer response tonight/tomorrow!
 
hscully said:
I agree with icarusfilm that the Oly 12-40 is better than the Panasonic 12-35. Both look great and autofocus works as well on both but the manual focus on the Olympus makes it WAY better. You can’t really manual focus the Panasonic but the Olympus is solid due to the manual clutch.
Click to expand...

Love my Oly12-40mm. Excellent TV production-type zoom. I'll link some video I shot for a youtube zombie series shot primary with the Oly 12-40mm.

But I'd also grab a fast wider prime, for when you need the extra stop or two. I'd echo the recommendations for the Panny 15mm, but also look the Panny 20mm (it's about half as much on the used market). People love the Sigma 16mm 1.4 lens, but it's freakin huge for a GH5 (which is why I rejected it).

Another lens to look at is the Oly 17mm 1.8, which is much loved by some people, but is definitely not as sharp as the Panny 15/20mm. It's less contrasty as well. On the plus side, it does have the manual focus clutch which is so sweet on the 12-40mm, and is cheaper then the 14mm. (see the excellent review on this lens below)

I would never shoot log in low light with a GH5 (or any MFT camera). I'd use natural, which is my goto profile.

Zombie show shot with Oly 12-40
https://youtu.be/WspA5Ok1I5I

Good example of how well the natural profile can do in low light, plus a good color profile "recipe"
https://youtu.be/IzDaOaz1XDM

Excellent, newer, review of the Oly 17mm 1.8, the Sigma 16mm 1.4, and the Panny 15/20mm 1.7:
https://youtu.be/EM-Fr_8zyZs
 
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Thanks for the great advice and cool samples.
This advice mainly made me think a little longer about my decision.
It was mentioned that I would probably need a small external screen regardless and
this made me think about other options as well, such as the mentioned BMPCC 4K.
This led me to the Fujifilm X-t3 as another option:
Great colors out of the box
Very lightweight, might even work in my crane M gimbal, saving me loads of more weight and money
Inexpensive
Proper USB-C charging and powering
Nice native lenses, primes light enough for the gimbal
Solid 60p and 10bit recording options in 4K (60p looks better than GH5?)
Option to record 422 external, though I’m more exited about a space saving H265 10 bit internal, which will save me loads on HD costs and recording media. (I’m a workflow guy)
Pretty decent autofocus.
Beautiful photos even in jpeg

Negatives:
No flip out
Low light decent but not as great as my other options it seems
Battery life
No IBIS, but I think Fujifilm will release a proper IBIS 60p 4K this year. This could be a nice A cam (X-T3 for 2nd angle and gimbal)
Lenses kinda pricey, though second hand not too bad
 
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