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GH4 as a picture camera
  • 54 Replies sorted by
  • eurocameramaneurocameraman

    @ mash Thanks a lot for your very interesting post. I think it is a smart way to consider the combination of video + photography production. I am going to have a look at this from my editing line.

    Concerning system comparison, I had the chance to work on professional filming project with both Canon 5D2 and 5D3 as well as Lumix GH2, GH3 and GH4.

    For fiction any of those choices will deliver great results, with 5D raw file having the favor of a majority of people who cannot afford an Arri Alexa ou anything similar.

    When I am hired by a Production company, I shoot with whatever the client prefer and Canon 5D is famous and therefore the most frequent demand (beside "real" video cameras such as Canon C series, Sony F series or Panasonic HPX260).

    For more limited commercial project, in time and budget, I am free to decide to work with the set up I prefer and the GH series always got my preference as I had to work with a very limited team sometime.

    I do recommend this TV Commercail Making Of project I shot few years ago with a GH2 not yet hacked!

    I was able to do i as a one man crew, thanks to the compactness and the great ergonomic of the Lumix GH series.

  • eurocameramaneurocameraman

    @ Veksu Thanks a lot for your post. I can see what you mean comparing low light shots from 5D and GH4. It looks like a very interesting scene and it is a pity that the light is so weak.

    Funny thing is that, I am more concerned by the depth of field on those shots than the difference in noise rendition.

    On the 5D shot, only the bracelet is in focus and the body of people behind are out focus. I don't know if this was the attended result, but I would close down more the aperture on the Canon 5D to see both hands and body in focus. Out of this consideration, the bracelet is very nicely recorded despite the high ISO.

    On the GH4 shot, the focus point seems to be on people body (I can see the texture of a fabric sharp) but the hands are out of focus in the foreground. I would focus on the hand on that shot as well, expecting the GH4 to get enough depth of field to also get people bodies in Focus.

    Despite the high ISO, the bracelet render beautifully on the 5D shot, but it is difficult to compare with the GH4 shot as hands are out of focus and it reinforce the feel of blurriness created by the noise.

    Out of portrait shooting, I am working at f4 or f5.6 with the D800, while I am using f1.4 or f1,8 with the GH2/3/4, and at the same distance, achieving the same angle of view, I am having an equivalent depth of field between the 2 system. And the better handling of noise from my FX is somehow reduced by the need of pushing more the ISO to compensate the smaller Aperture but also because my FX camera is forcing me to work with higher shutter speed to not get blurry.

    I am using only prime lens on M43 camera in those condition, but zoom are working fine on FX as I am rarely opening my Aperture for group shots

    Thanks again for you post and I am very curious to see the complete scene.

  • VeskuVesku

    I dont want to share these whole photos because I have not asked those people about publishing their photos in web. The samples are just for sensor noise differences, images has no other meaning of photographic lessons like focusing or depth of field.

    It is true that full sensor needs smaller aperture to get same kind of photos as with small sensor camera. The iso advantage is then often lost. I dont still understand why you need higher shutter speed with bigger camera.

  • eurocameramaneurocameraman

    @ Vesku I totally understand that you cannot post the complete picture, no worry. And I do also understand their purpose. No worry.

    To answer to your question, not all FX camera needs higher shutter speed, but some, for different reason.

    It can be Shutter System Vibration (bigger shutter for bigger sensor) such as on Sony A7. In film time, I worked with Medium format camera (Pentax 67 especially) and some were famous to create vibration with their big shutter system and it was almost impossible to shoot under 1/60s without taking the risk to not get perfectly sharp images (or we needed big and heavy tripods).

    My actual problem, with D800, is coming from pixel density with its 36 millions pixels sensor.

    I noticed that I had to be much more stable or to work at higher Shutter speed compare to my habit (With DX camera or older FX, such as D700). Some people explain this phenomenon by the fact that D800 is recording so much details and information that any slight movement at lower shutter speed will blur the image enough to be noticed. I took the habit to double the speed I am usually working with other cameras. Actualy, it is also true while shooting movement. A subject I can freeze with a M43 at 1/500s, I will need 1/1000s on the D800.

    Canon 5D, 6D, Sony A7s or Nion D700 or D610 might not have this problem.

    According my own experience (as I also worked with a 5D3 for 6 months before the D800) I noticed that smaller sensor allowed me to work at slower shutter speed, hand held, with better success rate. I have no explantion for that.

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