FS7: Lumix GH4 as B-cam with FS7?

P

Publimix

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I own a panasonic Lumix G6 camera. Filming in HD is possible and the footage looks nice but not perfect. But the camera is very handy in some situations.

How is the panasonic GH4 as a B-cam? Can this camera be matched with the FS7?



tnx
 
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of you don't own a GH4 I would recommend to stay in the Sony micro cosmos. a6300 / 6500 / A7sII / A7rII depending on your budget and on what you do else with the camera
 
While not an FS7, I have used a GH4 as a B-cam to an F65 without issue. True not all cameras match, but by charting your cameras and making the proper adjustments before they ever leave your studio, you can get them really close to where you can finish up in post.
 
I have used the GH4 and my FS7 together for tight budget 2 camera shoots. It is not idea because you are working with different colour science and sensors but like David says if you spend some time charting the cameras and a time in post you can make it work. Its not ideal but in the situations it was better than only having 1 angle. It helps if the GH4 angle and the FS7 angle are different enough that it helps mask any differences as people because of the composition difference.
 
If your not in a rush wait to see what the GH5 brings to the table. Don't remember what specs have been released just yet so cannot say too much, but it's going to be a serious upgrade, & I've placed a pre-order.

I'd also like to get a A7x but waiting for a model that better suits my needs.
 
GH4 was my main camera before I upgraded to the FS5 and have been using them together occasionally. GH4 has always been set to V-log and I use an external recorder for the 10-bit out. It hasn't been terribly hard to match with S-log (2 and 3), but as others have said, it probably isn't worth buying for the purpose of matching with and Sony cams.
 
Yes it is possible, I've been doing it for about a year. It's not a match out of the box, but most of the time it's easy to match with minimal color correction. Occasionally there are colors that are wildly different and a pain in the butt.
 
a6300 with Cine4/CineEI picture settings gives a pretty good match with FS7 CineEI. It is flexible but does not stress the 8bit codec too much.
Same sensor size, same lenses is a benefit on budget side too. I am sure you will good results with a GH4 too but it should be easier to match the a6300
 
Ive done it a bit..

4k on the GH4 to deliver HD

the main problem is that the GH4 needs a lot of light.. (it is rubbish above 400) expect to light to a point where your FS7 needs 1/4nd engaged (for a Fstop match)

Assuming you are shooting log on the FS7 and some flatish profile on the gh4 they can be made to match roughly

My GH4 has taken a back seat to my BM Micro as a small b-cam recently - that camera has an instantly more 'full' file than any Gh4 file Ive ever created but Ive never used a recorder.
 
goodgoings said:
https://vimeo.com/167060914
Click to expand...


^ I also went with Blackmagic as a b-cam to my Sony, but in my case bmpcc which is limited to HD but I wouldn't hesitate to go URSA as they tend to match up quite well and once you create your matching LUT it's not going to vary much from there.

The GH4 seems too far off base from the FS7 but in well controlled lighting environments it can work. Also remember when doing multi cam you will likely cut between wide and close up so the differences will be even less noticeable. In this video above we are seeing the same shot framing etc.. which I think could be rare in multi-cam shoot. I guess it depends.

cheers,
 
Clermond said:
of you don't own a GH4 I would recommend to stay in the Sony micro cosmos. a6300 / 6500 / A7sII / A7rII depending on your budget and on what you do else with the camera
Click to expand...

I know a DP who regularly uses his GH4 as a Bcam for car interiors and other tight spaces. He uses it with the Alexa and it looks great!
I agree with Clermond that staying within the Sony environ makes thinks easier. I routinely use my A7s as B cam to my A7s for interviews. I pump them both into my Odyssey for common TC and matching. I've gotten them almost spot on. It also affords me the ability to just pick up the little guy and grab some beauty shots or basic Broll.
At the head of each roll, er interview, I shoot a few seconds of a McBeth for the editor. Works just great.
And now used A7s's are popping up all over the place for chump change. You don't need the newest of the new for Bcam.
 
two images from an interview in September. FS7 CineEI, a6300 Cine4 /CineEI.
Lenses Zeiss Contax 50mm/1.7 and 85mm/1.4 Many thanks again to Ben Scott for this great hint

Adjusted both in one minute in FCPX with ColorFinale, just curves and saturation in ColorWheels


2016-11-22_FS7-a6300.jpg
 
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gene_can_sing said:
Interesting test. Surprisingly, I thought the skin tones from the GH4 looked the best. It was way less red than the FS7 and the Black Magic (which was a little less red than the FS7).

I wonder what BertLUT True Balance would look like as that's noticeably less red than LC709A.
Click to expand...

I thought the same. Especially with the first guy, it looked the best by quite a lot. Surprising.
 
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