GH4 Panasonic GH5 coming in 2017

Hello all, bit new to the GH line and had a couple questions.

I've shot on DSLRs and the like many years ago and have been using C100s for a bit now and love the ability to punch in and check focus, is the GH4 (presumably GH5) relatively easy to gauge critical focus?

Also, how is the audio out of the camera. It would be general B-roll audio that would be used if there was a decent soundbite otherwise it wouldn't be used. Decent enough for that or will I need something like a VideoMic Pro?

Thanks for the help.
 
ParagonFilmworks said:
Hello all, bit new to the GH line and had a couple questions.

I've shot on DSLRs and the like many years ago and have been using C100s for a bit now and love the ability to punch in and check focus, is the GH4 (presumably GH5) relatively easy to gauge critical focus?

Also, how is the audio out of the camera. It would be general B-roll audio that would be used if there was a decent soundbite otherwise it wouldn't be used. Decent enough for that or will I need something like a VideoMic Pro?

Thanks for the help.
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Yes, you can punch in and check focus. You can also set different levels of enlargement and pan around the image using the menu arrows. Peaking tools for are also excellent. On the Gh4, you can't punch in while recording. Not sure about GH5. The built in mic on the GH4 is surprisingly good. If you are close in to the talent it is usable. Otherwise use an external mic.
 
Batutta said:
you can't punch in while recording. Not sure about GH5.
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From what I've see from Panasonic interviews, you cannot punch in while recording still. Out of everything, this is the only thing that truly hurts. Screwing on ND filters is just inconvenient but not being able to check critical focus is making me concerned. I think I will be using the camera for b-roll and other creative shots but would love to be able to acquire in 4K on two of these cameras and have the C100 as a b-camera. I would generally be fairly close to the talent in-doors for getting ready shots, otherwise the audio will be a scratch track and sync'd in post with a proper recorder. It seems as if I can just use the internal mics, at least for a while if not indefinitely.
 
ParagonFilmworks said:
From what I've see from Panasonic interviews, you cannot punch in while recording still. Out of everything, this is the only thing that truly hurts. Screwing on ND filters is just inconvenient but not being able to check critical focus is making me concerned. I think I will be using the camera for b-roll and other creative shots but would love to be able to acquire in 4K on two of these cameras and have the C100 as a b-camera. I would generally be fairly close to the talent in-doors for getting ready shots, otherwise the audio will be a scratch track and sync'd in post with a proper recorder. It seems as if I can just use the internal mics, at least for a while if not indefinitely.
Click to expand...

For a scratch track the audio is definitely usable. I've found the peaking tool to be generally very accurate, unless you are really wide open and soft on your lens, or have an unusually low contrast situation. You could always get a monitor that takes a 4k signal and does 1:1 scaling to check focus.
 
joe12south said:
Confirmed. Disappointing, but it's because of a fundamental limitation of the GH-line's image pipeline. Can't be fixed in firmware.
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Is there a solution for this without building the camera up in a monster on rails etc.? Most importantly, without needing to purchase a monitor more expensive than the camera? I think I can get around most other "issues" but I've yet to decide how important punch in will be. I tend to remember it being a huge stress reliever when switching to a platform that allowed it but I'm unsure if it will have so much impact with peaking at least being an option.
 
A monitor is probably the only good way to accomplish a focus check punch in at the moment. It might be something they can do in hardware with different firmware, might need to wait for a bit before buying to see what they can do.

The cheapest might be a Black Magic Video assist (5 inch) as long as you aren't trying to record from the HDMI. It's only about a third of the price of the camera and looks good from the little use I've given mine at work with SDI signals (no recording).
 
Monitors are cheap. You can get a decent 7" 1080p monitor with various features for $200. You'll be able to see the picture nicely and won't need to punch in...but some offer that feature too...as well as various peaking.
 
This is something Panasonic should definitely address. Also the DVX200 has the same hardware limitation, which is kind of disappointing in a professional camera.
 
ParagonFilmworks said:
is the GH4 relatively easy to gauge critical focus?
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I actually found it quite difficult. Shooting in 4K, a LOT of my footage that looked fine when shooting actually came back a bit soft when viewed on the larger screen of my edit system. The Focus Peaking wasn't sufficiently accurate to help, either.
 
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