Elvis Deane
Active member
I have used my GH1, GH2, and GH3 for short film and documentary shoots, but was still using my HVX200 on corporate or live event shoots. The GH4 and YAGH finally combined just about everything I needed in one package so it seemed like a no-brainer.
I've been putting it through its paces in different situations for the last few weeks. It is a huge pain in the ass that Panasonic didn't include an AC plug for the YAGH, but I got one from B&H called "Power Supply for the ID500 and IB500 LED Lights" that works fine so far. I also got a Tilta V-mount battery pinch with a d-tap to the 4-pin XLR in. Works great so far. Before I got the Tilta, I was running a d-tap to 4-pin XLR from a V-mount battery that has a D-tap in on its side. I had to velcro the battery to my rig, which looked dumb but worked just fine.
I think the point about battery swapping with the YAGH is moot. It takes all of 10 seconds to remove the YAGH if you aren't going to need it. The finickiest part of mounting and unmounting is getting the micro HDMI in properly (you have to do it before you tighten the screw all the way, or it doesn't have enough give to slide into the camera).
Haven't used the HD-SDI yet, hoping to test that out in the next two weeks going into an ATEM and a Tricaster and switching it with an EX1. The XLRs volume seem to run a little higher than they display. One of the first interviews I shot, the speaker was hitting the higher orange LEDs on the audio meters, and it sounded alright in headphones, but most of the audio was clipped when I saw the recorded waveforms. That was mostly dumb on my part for not keeping it in a nice safe tolerance.
Used it yesterday on a short film shoot and when mounting the GH4+YAGH on a rails setup, there are few follow focuses that will reach the lens gears. I've ordered the screw-on rails kit for the YAGH that Smallrig sells, and that should do the trick. I just wish that they'd added back rails as well, since you really do need a place to mount a battery or battery pinch when you're using this thing, and mounting it in front isn't really accessible.
And hey, the thing has fallen twice (tripod leg exploded on me), and it's still purring along just fine. I hope not to make a habit of dropping it, but nice to know it survives a fall from 3-5 feet up. It isn't the perfect gadget, but it does add a lot of pro functionality to the GH4. It's really not for everyone. If I was just shooting short films, I'd be happy with my Zoom H6 or I'd get a Tascam DR-60D. But spending $3000 on a GH4 and the YAGH veruss buying the GH4 and a $3000 video camera with HD-SDI out made sense for my needs.
I've been putting it through its paces in different situations for the last few weeks. It is a huge pain in the ass that Panasonic didn't include an AC plug for the YAGH, but I got one from B&H called "Power Supply for the ID500 and IB500 LED Lights" that works fine so far. I also got a Tilta V-mount battery pinch with a d-tap to the 4-pin XLR in. Works great so far. Before I got the Tilta, I was running a d-tap to 4-pin XLR from a V-mount battery that has a D-tap in on its side. I had to velcro the battery to my rig, which looked dumb but worked just fine.
I think the point about battery swapping with the YAGH is moot. It takes all of 10 seconds to remove the YAGH if you aren't going to need it. The finickiest part of mounting and unmounting is getting the micro HDMI in properly (you have to do it before you tighten the screw all the way, or it doesn't have enough give to slide into the camera).
Haven't used the HD-SDI yet, hoping to test that out in the next two weeks going into an ATEM and a Tricaster and switching it with an EX1. The XLRs volume seem to run a little higher than they display. One of the first interviews I shot, the speaker was hitting the higher orange LEDs on the audio meters, and it sounded alright in headphones, but most of the audio was clipped when I saw the recorded waveforms. That was mostly dumb on my part for not keeping it in a nice safe tolerance.
Used it yesterday on a short film shoot and when mounting the GH4+YAGH on a rails setup, there are few follow focuses that will reach the lens gears. I've ordered the screw-on rails kit for the YAGH that Smallrig sells, and that should do the trick. I just wish that they'd added back rails as well, since you really do need a place to mount a battery or battery pinch when you're using this thing, and mounting it in front isn't really accessible.
And hey, the thing has fallen twice (tripod leg exploded on me), and it's still purring along just fine. I hope not to make a habit of dropping it, but nice to know it survives a fall from 3-5 feet up. It isn't the perfect gadget, but it does add a lot of pro functionality to the GH4. It's really not for everyone. If I was just shooting short films, I'd be happy with my Zoom H6 or I'd get a Tascam DR-60D. But spending $3000 on a GH4 and the YAGH veruss buying the GH4 and a $3000 video camera with HD-SDI out made sense for my needs.
