GH5 Panasonic GH5 Source of Truth

S

SDub

Well-known member
I recently purchased a GH5 for Black Friday coming from a GH4 and wow....the menu has significantly more stuffed into it. I'm going to need to take some time to educate myself. My largest confusion is about the various recording formats, and the impact of using something HLG, v.s. vlog, v.s. cine-d. I started to peruse this forum to gain some education and I've seen a lot of terms used repeatedly: colorspace, vlog, gamut rec 709, rec 2020, etc. I have a fairly basic understanding of these items but I'd love an in depth resource describing them. These are all terms I've seen used quite a lot specifically in this subforum and there's so much on them online, but how do I know what's true and what's someone's opinion/understanding of something?

In the past I've resorted to wolfcrow: https://wolfcrow.com/blog/category/panasonic-gh5/ he seems to have a fairly in depth understanding on some of these concepts. Anyone have any recommended resources? Note: I'm not asking about resources that describe the features of the GH5, I have the user manual for that, but rather these larger encompassing terms.
 
I find direct observation to best the best teacher.

My observation is that V-Log with the ACES workflow in DaVinci Resolve will produce the best results from the GH5s.
 
SDub said:
Do you have a different option? He seems to be a more technically focused website, which is kind of what I'm looking for.
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This is exactly the problem I have with Wolfcrow. Because he comes across as smart and technical it’s easy to assume what he spews is factually correct or accurate but it is not. He is figuring all of this out along the way like we all do. He makes plenty of mistakes and rarely attempts to correct those mistakes. He thinks he has the answer and states it as fact and that is dangerous.

If he came from the direction of his videos are his opinions and there may be other answers then people may not assume they are the definitive source of truth.

Just because people write articles or create videos does not instantly make them a subject matter expert. Part of why I prefer to share in forums like this one vs writing my own content is because what I say are what my personal observations are and sometimes it better for a group of people to discuss vs me just stating something as fact. I may sometimes write as if what I say if fact but I write it here so others can also chime in and correct me if that’s even possible.:cheesy:

That isn’t to say Wolfcrow doesn’t create some great content. He does get a lot of things right and I commend him for putting himself out there. I have called him out on inaccuracies however and he had an attitude that he didn’t care if he was wrong and made no effort to follow up with a correction. So his videos float out there forever inaccurate and spreading false information that confuses people more than provide accurate solutions.
 
I started with the GH4 from Panny, and I felt the same way moving up to the GH5S. Start out with Cine-D and V-Log-L and move on from there. Learn to use the waveform monitors for exposure, and you'll be fine.
 
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Thomas Smet said:
This is exactly the problem I have with Wolfcrow. Because he comes across as smart and technical it’s easy to assume what he spews is factually correct or accurate but it is not. He is figuring all of this out along the way like we all do. He makes plenty of mistakes and rarely attempts to correct those mistakes. He thinks he has the answer and states it as fact and that is dangerous.

If he came from the direction of his videos are his opinions and there may be other answers then people may not assume they are the definitive source of truth.

Just because people write articles or create videos does not instantly make them a subject matter expert. Part of why I prefer to share in forums like this one vs writing my own content is because what I say are what my personal observations are and sometimes it better for a group of people to discuss vs me just stating something as fact. I may sometimes write as if what I say if fact but I write it here so others can also chime in and correct me if that’s even possible.:cheesy:

That isn’t to say Wolfcrow doesn’t create some great content. He does get a lot of things right and I commend him for putting himself out there. I have called him out on inaccuracies however and he had an attitude that he didn’t care if he was wrong and made no effort to follow up with a correction. So his videos float out there forever inaccurate and spreading false information that confuses people more than provide accurate solutions.
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This is precisely why I posted in the forum. I'm not sure what's right. No one is linking any resources, so you just wing it?
 
SDub said:
This is precisely why I posted in the forum. I'm not sure what's right. No one is linking any resources, so you just wing it?
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The resources are in front of and between the things on either side of your head.

Read and test. Read and test. Repeat as often as necessary.

There are no golden answers. We all have differing opinions. We can share them, but in the end they are just that - opinions based on various degrees of experimentation, whether formal or informal. If you don't understand what a term means, search on line, follow sub-links, and in the end, be guided by your own eyes. :beer:
 
SDub said:
This is precisely why I posted in the forum. I'm not sure what's right. No one is linking any resources, so you just wing it?
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I'm not entirely sure such a resource exists which is why there is so much misinformation out there. There also isn't such a thing as a right answer to a lot of things which is why many of us here end up in heated debates at times. Take dynamic range for example. We all agree its important and that certain methods or cameras may capture more dynamic range but what nobody can ever agree on is just how important is 12 vs 13 vs 14 stops, how to test for it and if higher dynamic range is better than shooting with lights and bounce cards in challenging situations. Camera profiles are another subjective subject and there is no such thing as the correct camera profile to shoot with.

Continue doing your research but this forum is a really solid place for good information. Most of us don't post here to get ratings or increase viewers. We do so out of kindness and a desire to share knowledge with the community. Like I stated above I also think its a better source of truth since there are back and forth discussions and debates. No single one of us is always 100% right and it takes a village. If you do watch YouTube videos be sure to find other opinions and read the comments to find out if anybody challenges the content. You don't want to watch a video and assume its fact when all the comments point out how inaccurate the content was. Be aware that a lot of reviewers are heavily biased even if they think they are not. Another reason why I don't do my own reviews. Reviewers also rarely test everything the way it should be tested which is another reason why it's important to watch multiple sources.
 
Guys,

I'm not asking what makes a good shot, what's the best lens, or what picture profile should I use. The answers to those questions are subjective. I'm asking about something that is quantifiable: "what is rec 709" which is conveniently defined by wiki in a technical document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rec._709

Could I go to wikipedia for literally everything? Probably, I probably will, but I was asking here first to see if there were resources for that technical information that other people knew of and preferred. I appreciate the replies.
 
SDub said:
Guys,

I'm not asking what makes a good shot, what's the best lens, or what picture profile should I use. The answers to those questions are subjective. I'm asking about something that is quantifiable: "what is rec 709" which is conveniently defined by wiki in a technical document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rec._709

Could I go to wikipedia for literally everything? Probably, I probably will, but I was asking here first to see if there were resources for that technical information that other people knew of and preferred. I appreciate the replies.
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Honestly the manual is a pretty good start. If it's something the camera has there is at least a basic description in the manual. From there Google search the terms and see what you find. I wish there was a single place for this kind of info but there is not. Google is your friend as is this forum. Use the search tool in here and you will likely find a discussion related to something. Facebook groups related to video and the GH cameras in particular are another great source of community input. We all kind of learn from each other as a collective brain.
 
SDub said:
Guys,

I'm not asking what makes a good shot, what's the best lens, or what picture profile should I use. The answers to those questions are subjective. I'm asking about something that is quantifiable: "what is rec 709" which is conveniently defined by wiki in a technical document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rec._709

Could I go to wikipedia for literally everything? Probably, I probably will, but I was asking here first to see if there were resources for that technical information that other people knew of and preferred. I appreciate the replies.
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Apologies.

I misinterpreted the thrust of your question. I have to admit I'm still struggling with some of these new formats, and don't plan on seriously exploring them until they become more of a standard and I have the equipment to do the stuff justice (appropriate monitors, etc.).

In the meantime, Google is my friend, as are the many forums. Watch, listen, sift, read, while hopefully deepening my skill set.
 
While not directly related to the GH4/5, Barry Green’s AF100 book covers a lot of these basic questions, and his advice can be applied to the GH5 as well. Rec709 in a nutshell is a video standard to enable digital video to be used in a Broadcast environment, and defines what is required in the signal to make it acceptable for Broadcast applications, and includes the color requirements as well as limiting the dynamic range if the signal to a,low it to be Broadcast and viewed on current HD TV and Monitors. Red 2020expands the resolution and dynamic range of the 709 standard. Barry covered a lot of the same basics in his new EVA1 book which is available in a free download form from Panasonic.
Cheers
 
SDub said:
This is precisely why I posted in the forum. I'm not sure what's right. No one is linking any resources, so you just wing it?
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Do stuff. Shoot projects, test, light what you want to see, expose well, edit them, grade them, and finish them. Learn what you need to know to do what you need to do. Winging it? Not exactly. So if you need to finish something, you need to know how it’s going to be displayed. That will lead you inexorably to a working understanding of Rec 709. I have found that expecting to have a comprehensive understanding of underlying technologies sometimes leads me to procrastinate when having something to do and the curiosity and patience to figure it out provides a much more exciting experience. Putting the knowledge immediately to work leads to effortless retention as well.
 
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Denny16 said:
While not directly related to the GH4/5, Barry Green’s AF100 book covers a lot of these basic questions, and his advice...
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Wish Panasonic would commission Barry to write Field Guides for their cameras. His AF100 Book was a great resource for that camera, & though I don’t recall if I viewed them, imagine his DVD series was too. Believe Panasonic even thru in a copy of the book with the purchase of a AF100.

Doug Jensen’s Field Guide, & videos, for the FS7 greatly assisted me in getting up to speed with that camera too.

If camera manufacturers were smarter they’d all commission Guide Books like these.

 
Panna had Barry Green also has a book on the EVA1, like he did with the AF100, only this time it is a free download.
The AF100 books were extra, a direct buy from Barry or through Amazon Books. After it had been out a while, some cameras were sold with the book, but this was just before the AF100A came out, if I remember correctly.
I got a used AF100, it came with the book. Still have that book, and I downloaded the EVA1 book out of curiosity to see how much came over from the original book, and all the general intro stuff was ported over.

Yes, books like these help to sell a camera system. The ROLLEI Club did one on the Rollei 6000 system.
What GH5 shooter wants to step up to the bat and write one?
Cheers
 
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Denny16 said:
Panna had Barry Green do a book on the EVA1, like he did with the AF100, only this time it is a free download.
The AF100 books were extra, ....
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To Jan Crittenden's (US product manager of the AF-100) and Panasonic's credit, they provided Barry's book for free in the US.
 
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