GH5 good Prices on the GH5. Buy?

Zim said:
So the GH5 has stabilization, but depending on the lens dual stabilization? My 12-35 has a Power O.I.S switch on it. So probably a newer one.
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I'm a little hazy on this, but only certain lenses take maximum advantage of the GH5's in-body stabilization. I think that the original 12-35mm Panasonic lens is one such lens that will not take full advantage of the GH5's stabilization features, but the new version of the 12-35mm lens will. The old version of the 12-60mm lens will not, but the new version of the 12-60mm lens will. Same for the two versions of the 14-140mm lens. Of course, the lens still has stabilization, and you may still be able to turn on the camera's in-body stabilization, but you can't enable the maximum stabilization feature. Or so I think.

FWIW, the GH5 with a new lens that does support the full stabilization is pretty awesome. I shot some nature video yesterday of bees and spiders, all handheld, using the new version of the 14-140mm lens. You'd never know I was handheld... it looks like a tripod. And that was with extended tele turned on.
 
ahalpert said:
I really love the GH5. I think that all the shortcomings of the camera have been mentioned already (low-light, autofocus etc). There shouldn't be any bad surprises for you. And the picture quality is great
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I saw someone on Youtube say the firmware update mught have helped the Auto Focus
 
Here's a video showing the updated GH5 autofocus against the A7iii: https://youtu.be/8k3a7LNe0Mw

I only looked at it briefly just now. It seems much improved. But generally still lags the a7iii.

I guess I would see autofocus as a bonus feature. If you were choosing a camera purely for autofocus, I would not recommend this camera.

My S1 is even worse. Maybe they will improve its autofocus in firmware as well. But I think contrast-detect is just worse for video AF than phase-detect, and both the S1 and the GH5 use contrast-detect. Firmware cannot change that.
 
Unfortunately Zim, the autofocus on any of the GH line of camera's is not sufficient for any scenario where you 'have to have it now in the heat of the moment'. It's fine for most things, but with any sort of filters on your lens and 24p the auto focus is quite unreliable. If you shoot 60p it is alot better in spite of what panasonic has said for previous firmware updates.

I shoot virtually everything in manual focus using focus peaking and a strong pair of 3 power reading glasses via the back screen. I also use the screen and my finger to slide the focus point to what I want in focus. It actually works quite nicely while recording. I don't recall what that is called in the menu, but quite simple to slide your finger tip to the exact spot you want to focus on and it will follow your finger with the box to that spot and focus there. You will see the pulse of it focusing in your recording, but once it hits, it stays there nicely when in M on focus setting dial on the back of the camera.

Check back if you get one and I'm sure many of us can help with focus tricks and tips on these things.

Cheers, Pete
 
c3hammer said:
Unfortunately Zim, the autofocus on any of the GH line of camera's is not sufficient for any scenario where you 'have to have it now in the heat of the moment'. It's fine for most things, but with any sort of filters on your lens and 24p the auto focus is quite unreliable. If you shoot 60p it is alot better in spite of what panasonic has said for previous firmware updates.

I shoot virtually everything in manual focus using focus peaking and a strong pair of 3 power reading glasses via the back screen. I also use the screen and my finger to slide the focus point to what I want in focus. It actually works quite nicely while recording. I don't recall what that is called in the menu, but quite simple to slide your finger tip to the exact spot you want to focus on and it will follow your finger with the box to that spot and focus there. You will see the pulse of it focusing in your recording, but once it hits, it stays there nicely when in M on focus setting dial on the back of the camera.

Check back if you get one and I'm sure many of us can help with focus tricks and tips on these things.

Cheers, Pete
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Thanks Pete, with my "older" eyes I do like a good auto focus. I'm not trying to follow fast moving objects, but I don't want some simple moves to go out of focus. That is a good tip on using your finger. I might see if the Gh3 does that to. I saw the video about firmware updates and it seems to help,
https://www.cinema5d.com/massively-...rmance-for-gh5s-gh5-and-g9-with-new-firmware/
 
Supposedly the Fuji XT series has pretty good autofocus for under $2k. but you'd need different lenses. Great video quality, too. on par with gh5
 
AF is unreliable for anything but a few seconds of b-roll to be cut up in a music video.

Panasonic fails all AF 'stress tests' which consist of filming for more than 30 seconds with any movement in the frame. Even if you're just sitting there, the camera will eventually confuse itself, and if you have out-of-focus lights in the frame you'll see the bokeh slightly grow and shrink.

Will a normal audience notice? Maybe not.
 
It's all subjective as we know...I do agree it's too sharp (he used a baked-in profile), but I also think you may like a bit more of a dull/plain image, so we all have to find a balance out there.
 
Just coming in close on her face...unnecessary levels of detail. I'm not even watching in full resolution. And we need 8K? Sure, everything has it's time and place...
 
Very little to do with resolution. The sensor is sharp but that's all in-camera sharpening. You could turn it down so it would be much softer. World of a difference.

There are plenty of movies in Hollywood shot in 8K that obviously don't look like that.
 
Sure but she looks better when I set it to 720p playback. You're right, I generally like a soft image. But not for film noir and war or nature films.

Some DP said "what's the point of shooting in 4K if we're going to filter it down below that resolution anyway?"

In another thread I referenced a high-end photog who sent back the newest Phase One he rented for a shoot and took out the older model he had previously been using because it was costing them so much retouch time. Everything has its time and place
 
lol. Everything is diffused, man. Some actors and actresses literally have that in their contracts.

Those $10,000 matte boxes they use have to be good for something.

Sharp high-resolution sensors and the right diffusion can = some gorgeous images.
 
Yes, even after all these years, the Panasonic GH5 is still very relevant in 2020 and is still one of the better hybrid cameras you can buy in 2020 for filming with!

NorBro said:
FWIW, the G9 now also shoots V-Log (with the upgrade) and 10-bit 24p (internally after a firmware update) for less money, but the GH5 is probably a better video camera overall although I imagine the video quality is indistinguishable.
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Yes, if a person wants to hold off and wait for the GH6 announcement (which might not be until 2021) then the Panasonic G9 is a great camera to tide them over and would be a big big upgrade over the GH3!

Heck, even the Panasonic G85 would be a big upgrade for them over a GH3. (G85 = 4K , better sensor/lowlight, and IBIS)
 
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