Panasonic 4K GH4 possibly coming next Spring...

IanTheM said:
I hope this entire 4k hooplah drives down the prices of some great 1080p cams, it'd be cool to snag a C100 for what a 5D3 costs.
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It already has. Prices on one of the best 1080p cams, the $250,000 Sony F35 are now around the $12K used point for complete kits.
 
Ken7 said:
Sam, were your measures in this comparison when in video mode?

The odd thing is, I've seen BMPCC owners say countless times how their camera has in the vicinity of 13 stops of DR. Is this bogus? Nothing would surprise me.
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No video, it's RAW and ProRes-Film.

I also tested it for absolute DR and found those same 13 stops everybody talks about; it's this "usable" measure that comes up lower. In this camera, and with every other one (actually, the difference between absolute and usable DR is bigger in H.264 cameras).
 
Sam, so if I'm reading your comparisons correctly, you're saying there really is only about 2 usable stops difference between a BMPCC and a good quality AVCHD camera...say the RX10.
 
Emm... I haven't measured the RX10 in particular, but that could be a fair number. If it's similar to my NEX-5N, the difference will be around 1.5 stops in absolute terms (11.5 vs 13.0), and 2.5 stops in usable terms (7.0 vs 9.5). Add another stop of difference if you use the NEX with a picture style other than Portrait. Only 1 stop of difference in usable terms if you decide that RAW is too cumbersome to work with and decide to shoot always with ProRes-Film on the BMC.
http://www.similaar.com/foto/pocket-dr/bmpcc.html
The GH2 and GH3 are clearly below the NEX in this respect, and I still haven't heard anything DR-related about the GH4K, so I don't have any reasons to believe it will be any different.
 
Samuel H said:
Emm... I haven't measured the RX10 in particular, but that could be a fair number. If it's similar to my NEX-5N, the difference will be around 1.5 stops in absolute terms (11.5 vs 13.0), and 2.5 stops in usable terms (7.0 vs 9.5). Add another stop of difference if you use the NEX with a picture style other than Portrait. Only 1 stop of difference in usable terms if you decide that RAW is too cumbersome to work with and decide to shoot always with ProRes-Film on the BMC.
http://www.similaar.com/foto/pocket-dr/bmpcc.html
The GH2 and GH3 are clearly below the NEX in this respect, and I still haven't heard anything DR-related about the GH4K, so I don't have any reasons to believe it will be any different.
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In any case, I have used both... and in this respect without mention others, I'd choose the GH series any day... Funny, isn't it? ;-)
 
I'm not going to buy an RX10 either, the sensor is too small for me and the lens is great but not as great as my Leica-R vintage primes.
The fact that there's no "right answer" for every case is already telling you how close all options are to each other, that tradeoffs arise for every alternative.

A recent post of mine somewhere in these forums:
So, right now I'd say we have reasons to go with basically any system, depending on your needs:
* Canon: my lenses are Canon, I'm used to the UI, aliasing/moire don't bother me, it's still making me money
* 5D3+RAW: I want the best possible image quality, no matter how painful the workflow is; I also want a big sensor, and I have $3500 for a camera and a big memory card
* BMC: I want the best possible image quality, no matter how painful the workflow is, or how weird the camera shape; I can live with a small sensor, and with some aliasing/moire
* Panasonic: I care more about sharpness than about anything else, and I like how a mirrorless mount allows me to use basically any lens
* Nikon: I care more about image quality than about anything else, and I think DR is more important than sharpness; I can live with an APS-C sensor and F mount
* Sony NEX: I want a cheap camera with FF-equivalent sensor (when used with a speedbooster) or that can mount basically any lens (when used with standard adapter), that's good but not the best in every front (DR, sharpness, aliasing/moire)
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If the rumour is right on the price, this may be a good bang for the buck, and this pre-NAB announcement is good news for the VARICAM, which is hopefully coming to NAB. Not that Panasonic would announce a GH line camera at NAB, but still - this leaves the Varicam as their possible ace for NAB.
 
If you consider that the GH4 may have the same body and most of the same guts as the GH3 it wouldn't be unrealistic for it to come out this quickly. It sounds like more or less it is the same camera with a beefed up processor and additional codecs to handle the datarate. There wouldn't be a lot of R&D in that situation.

I think companies are feeling the pain and are desperate for 4K to boost their sales. Not sure if it will but Panasonic isn't exactly the popular kid on the block when it comes to film makers even though it continually proves to be a solid option. Perhaps Panasonic is hoping for that edge that may finally convince Canon users to jump ship.
 
Panasonic had the GH3 at NAB last year next to the AF-100a . I was surprised, but it probably had more to do with not having any new cameras to show.
At least it's not a rumor, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this new 4K camera is all about. I have a sweet set of the newish Lumix zooms looking for a camera to put them on since I sold my GH3.
 
I think if Panasonic wants folks to jump ship (or come back) they need to make a real C100/FS700 contender in APS-C, not another version of the DSLR with M4/3rds. Their pride and the desire to bring their lenses into the mix goes against the mainstream. If they want to be in the mainstream they need to swallow that pride and go to APS-C where so many own lenses. A killer AF-200 would be their best way forward imho if they want to be a player in the film-ish space. If the C100 was not limited in viewfinder, codec and framerate, there would be no dicussion, that would be the camera. If Panasonic can make "that camera," they will be a force. But will they go there?
 
Bassman2003 said:
I think if Panasonic wants folks to jump ship (or come back) they need to make a real C100/FS700 contender in APS-C, not another version of the DSLR with M4/3rds. Their pride and the desire to bring their lenses into the mix goes against the mainstream. If they want to be in the mainstream they need to swallow that pride and go to APS-C where so many own lenses.
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Isn't that argument a bit obsolete since the speedbooster appeared?
 
Well, the speedbooster turns 2x into 1.42x crop factor, so, if they make a m43-to-PL one, you may have a point. Then again, that's only for people using PL cine glass, and they probably won't settle for anything below Alexa / Dragon image quality. Going for a 1.5x crop factor that lets people use FF lenses when paired with a SB seems like an easy target in comparison.
 
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