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Panasonic G6 Issues
  • 83 Replies sorted by
  • Is there a way to keep the recording info, such as sound levels, displaying on the lcd continuously. I'm sick of it disappearing after one minute. And it is not practical for me to keep touching the record button every minute.

  • @Rivo_Kikkul "I noticed that live exposure view is missing from my camera when on M mode". You get the real-time view by changing the settings using the toggle lever neat the shutter button.

  • I got the G6 as an upgrade for the GH1 and I think it is a great update. Some things I do not like :

    1. Position of the video record button, my finger always has to search for it, it is very hard to feel where it is. I now use most the shutter button in movie mode, but also that is not ideal because i have to press deep. The video button on the GH1 was so much better (a little same with the AEF/AEL button, easy to feel on GH1, hard on the G6)

    2. Timelapse and electronic shutter is fantastic. But it is very hard to stop it. FN4 button does not seem to work, I normally switch off the camera, and must cancel timelapse mode when switch on again. Do not switch the control dial before the timelapse mode is cancelled, because then you may get a back screen and you may wonder why. Also it would be nice if the timelapse mode could be assigned to a FN-button.

    3. The biggest problem with the G6 is the viewfinder. It is not sharp until i press record video! Even after pressing AEL/AEF lock button i do not have a sharp view and it is hard to tell if the subject is in focus. But when I press record it sharpens, but also the color changes. I like to see the sharp image and the actual colors before i press record. Is this done to save battery? I really do not like this, on the GH1 I did not have this issue.

    4. When I start up the camera and try to record a video fast, i get a 'please wait' warning, sometimes 2 or 3 times! Very frustrating when you just missed the moment. My GH1 always got slower after startup when my 8GB class 10 got half full. I think it has to do with the complex AVCHD directory structure which has to be read at startup. I now switched from AVCHD to MP4 and it seems to be much more responsive after start up!

    5. Also a great upgrade from the GH1 is the ex-tele-conv function in Video. The only problem is to toggle fast between on and off for video. I have to press several buttons to switch it on or off, because the priority is for photo, for which this function is useless anyway. It would be great that with one press it could be switched on or off. Especially when I am in movie-mode, it makes no sense that still changing the ex-tele-conv for photo gets priority over video.

    Still I am very happy with the G6 great camera for a nice price and this model is so much easier to find in shops here in Asia, where the GH3 is very hard to find. But I think it would be a even better camera with a few simple software updates.

  • no using AFS. Its not out of focus, there is a consistent softness to it. It reminds me of Canon video footage.

  • Manual focus?

  • Using G6 and old 14-140mm Panasonic Lens for first time at weekend, I noticed that the overall image was quite soft. I don't get this issue when I pair the G6 with the 20mm Panasonic lens or a 50mm Canon FD.

    The same 14-140 on the GH3 performs very well with quite good sharpness.

    I realise the GH3 has a slightly better overall image produced but can't seem to figure out why it appears soft. My old Canon FD 50mm produces really sharp images.

    Anybody using the G6 with the NEW 14-140mm got these issues?

  • @c3hammer Hey Pete, Thanks for the reply! Checked all my settings and tried to replicate problem to post a video. Thanks for confirming that you don't have that problem. It turns out I was hitting the function lever and changing the aperture. It was me and not the camera. I also mapped preview to the wifi button and now I can preview what the photo will look like.

  • @antonglamb, I have the G6 and mine doesn't do that at all. ISO is displayed continuously and any changes are reflected instantly in live view on the lcd. I turned off the EVF completely as I never use it. Also make sure all the IA functions are turned to off in the menu.

    In M mode on the dial, what you see is not what you get if your settings are out of whack. When in Video M mode, what you see is what you get. I use M mode for taking pictures and video M mode for all video and haven't had a single issue with exposure shifting.

    Cheers, Pete

  • Hey guys I need some help! When I have the camera set to M (manual aperture and shutter speed) on video mode, it still does automatic exposure compensation +/- when the lighting changes that ruin some of my shots. I bought this camera as a b cam to my gh3, but I'm not happy about this camera thinking its smarter than me. I also can't believe that it doesn't reflect ISO settings until a picture is taken. Seems pretty useless to have an evf if you can't constant preview it.

    Does gh2 have this problem as well? Strongly debating selling my brand new g6 to buy a gh2 since I feel the wifi is mainly a gimmick compared to being able to actually control the camera.

  • @Rivo_Kikkul, though I too lament the lack of the Constant Preview feature, is the more accurate alternative is to use the histogram. As I become more familiar with my camera I find myself using the histogram more often.

  • pff...well that is really bad.

  • It's called "Constant Preview" and there is no such option on G6 thus far for still photo modes. Only works that way in manual video mode.

  • I noticed that live exposure view is missing from my camera when on M mode....I mean that the exposure on the screen won't change (meaning if I raise shutter speed the screen the image wont be lighter etc). It works that way on my GH2. I always like to see how the image will look like before I press the shutter button. Didn't find anything in the menus either that turns this on.

  • My 24p displays 480p too in properties. (Win7)

  • 24p is reading as 720 x 480 on my windows 7 computer. It has the correct bit rate and looks right, but for some reason it is displaying as a different resolution in the text description and in properties. It is being read as 1920 x 1080p everywhere else, windows 8, etc.

    Every other mode reads correctly.

  • Had a very strange thing, going into menu and selecting sub menu - playback whatever - I started getting continuous scrolling through the pages as if a button was fixed down. Spoke to Panasonic who hadn't heard of it happening before and sent in for repair yesterday. Just when I really need it of course, having sold other cameras! That pocket camera better arrive v quickly now!

  • Talking about loss of detail; I saw a user report (http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/3116-panasonic-g6-review-the-gh2-redux/page-2#entry39094) that showed notably softer image at 50p compared to 25p, I also read the review of the website author which doesn't mention this but honestly am not taking him too seriously, especially because he doesn't find it necessary to comment on that user report and he removed the message from another user that was questioning this as well.

    I have asked this question over at dvinfo but thought here might be a good possibility that this could be checked and confirmed as well, are there any g6 users that have seen this behaviour, is there something going on in 50p mode that softens the image?

  • @oscillian did you notice any loss of detail! Compared to the gh2-3?

  • @azza_act 50p on 25p timeline.

  • Did you shot this in 60p?

  • Unfortunately, this was shot prior to my knowing about the iDynamic issues. Some of the shots in ETC mode during the ceremony look atrocious with a dark shadow across the brides face. Bummer!

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    It does seem like worst color shifts happen after few frames of more stable colors.

    Still, it is strange that the color error is so big, or even present at all. In operating instructions it says "When the burst speed is set to [SH] or [H] (when [Focus Mode] is [AFS] or [MF]), the exposure and White Balance are fixed at the settings used for the first picture for the subsequent pictures as well." So if colors do not change in front of the lens, they also should not change in images.

    Perhaps I should try taking raw+JPEG sequences next time and compare if the frames have same color errors.

  • @neokoo

    May be camera make measurement and adjustment only after certain number of frames. As I do not have any idea why such can happen.

  • I did another real-world timelapse test for color inconsistency in burst modes, this time with high quality JPEGs.

    As expected, JPEG quality setting had no effect on color consistency. In burst mode H, colors change very noticeably, but in burst mode M, not so much. I suspect this is some technical compromise that prioritizes shooting speed over color accuracy.

    Here are some image files from the test. Just 10 of each to save space, as the effect is noticeable even with few images. The problem is most visible in red-tinted areas, but is present in other colors as well.

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16587899/for_pv/G6_JPEG_color_test_2013-07-13_burst_H_vs_burst_M.zip

    Ideas on how to fix this in post are welcome, I was thinking of trying AE color stabilizer and/or some kind of per-channel flicker removal.

  • @CFreak

    Colors appeared to be more consistent in burst L mode even on low quality JPEG setting, which would suggest that compression quality is not the source of the problem. As far as I understand, color balance should not be noticeably changed by JPEG-type compression unless the compression settings are really extreme.

    But same thought had crossed my mind, maybe JPEG quality setting has some effect on this as well. Will try high quality settings on my next shoots and tests.