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GH4 4K Panasonic video camera, User reviews and opinions
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  • rolyroly

    @MaxMX5 Well, the raw images will have been adjusted in whatever way the person doing the processing saw fit, whilst the jpegs are baked in camera. Generally speaking, if you have a modicum of skill you'll get the converted raws looking better than jpegs.

  • Xenocide38Xenocide38

    I think I read that Davinci Resolve 11 will support MTS files so maybe support for GH4 files as well. Unfortunately Resolve 11 is going to be released sometime in June, still some time to wait...

  • Zaven13Zaven13

    @mrbill and @Mistas. Thanks for your response. I do have the latest version 7.7.5 of Quicktime installed. It will not play GH4 MP4 (LCMP) and MOV files even if it is recorded in FHD formats. The message I get is "Error -2041: invalid sample description was found in the movie". I searched the internet and found one tip which was to change the file ext from MP4 to 3GP but that did not work either. I contacted Resolve support and they sent me the following link that shows all of the formats they support. It does not seem to include GH4 formats. H264 m2ts container that GH2 uses is also not supported. Looks like you have to convert to other formats that are supported first before using it in Resolve.

    http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/5407521/DaVinci_Resolve_9.1_Supported_Codec_List.pdf

  • AdamTAdamT

    I was just reading that Photographyblog review and they state that the GH4 has a sweep panorama function. I don't see it anywhere in the menus and a word search of the manual for "panorama" produces no results. Did they just lift this from their GX7 review?!

  • MazMX5MazMX5

    Photographyblog has a full review on their website. I've noticed there are a few errors in the review, but it's noise comparison that has me a little confused... http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_dmc_gh4_review/image_quality/

    The raw images seem to have good noise control up to iso6400, but the JPEG images at iso3200 and iso6400 seem to look comparitively worse? I think maybe the raw images are a little soft, and perhaps the noise reduction in the raw concertor is doing things a little differently to the camera?

  • AdamTAdamT

    Small ergonomic change that makes me very happy: Panasonic added a couple of raised dots on the ISO button which makes it much easier to operate the three buttons behind the shutter release by touch. I was forever hitting he wrong button with the GH3.

  • MistasMistas

    @Zaven13 Resolve Lite will not import the higher Cinema 4K resolution files but should have no issues with the regular "UHD" 4k. I believe .mts (AVCHD) is supported in the newest version.

  • mrbillmrbill

    @zaven - double check you have the latest version of quick time installed

  • Zaven13Zaven13

    I installed Davinci Resolve 10.1.4 lite and tried to import the GH4 MP4 and MOV media but the Resolve could not recognize the media. Has anyone else had the same problem? I know Resolve does not support AVCHD H264 container but I thought they would support MP4 and MOV.

  • AdamTAdamT

    For upgraders, FYI, the new app is called the Panasonic Image App -- not Lumix Link.

  • aaronchicagoaaronchicago

    @panamedia yes wifi live view works pretty well. I used my iPad today with it and theres a tiny amount of lag but not bad at all.

  • murtlandphotomurtlandphoto

    @Panamedia Yes, I tried out the Wifi capabilities today. There is a noticeable lag for sure but nonetheless it is a very useful feature for wireless monitoring where exact replication isn't necessary. One real benefit I see is for blogging- the camera can be set up across the room and you can change all settings, focus, and hit record from your seat.

  • PanamediaPanamedia

    Did anyone try the wifi live-view? Are you able to use your smartphone as a wireless external monitor while recording (any delay) ?

  • TronTron

    @anti12 Yes the 4:3 mode 2336 x 1752 is available.

  • TronTron

    I just reread the manual and it doesn't explicitly say anywhere that the frame size is limited to 2MP in 16:9 or 4MP in 4:3, perhaps the full rez option will still become available in a firmware update. @brianl 40 fps is useful for things like fashion shoots where you're trying to capture momentary action under controlled conditions and extract the most meaning full frame from the sequence. The same thing can be done with 4K, but 16MP is typically preferrable to 8.8MP frames of 4K and it also allows for the different sensor aspect ratios to be used.

  • anti12anti12

    @Tron is it possible to use the SH burst mode with 4:3 aspect ratio ("S" = 2336x1752)?

    Edit:

    Tested 4:3 burst on Lumix G6. 2336x1752 resolution is also possible but only 40 Frames = 1 Second.

    120 frames of higher than 1080p resolution on GH4 with mild slowmo could be a very useful tool.

  • brianlbrianl

    How is this useful for full motion video shooters? Why would I need a 5 second clip of great fidelity? I get the benefit of a still shooter obviously.

  • TronTron

    My bad guys, apparently the resolution is locked at 'S' (1920x1080) while in SH shooting mode?? I could swear I read the specs as full rez JPEGs @ 40 fps somewhere. Hmmm.

  • AdamTAdamT

    The electronic shutter doesn't reduce the shutter rating at all since the mechanical shutter isn't doing any work when the e-shutter is employed.

  • jamesgh2jamesgh2

    Will electronic shutter be infinite without tapping into the 200k picture shutter rating?

    At that rate the shutter would be exhausted in 138.88 minutes of footage at 24p. It would be interesting to see the quality that you get from that mode for sure!

  • Xenocide38Xenocide38

    @tron that would be fantastic, looking forward to your upload

  • x_worpig_xx_worpig_x

    @Tron that sounds awesome! Can't wait to see those.

  • TronTron

    So I just blasted the 40 fps JPEG electronic shutter mode at full res. The GH4 conforms it into a playback sequence in-camera and although not played back at full speed it is handy to see how the files look in the sequence (similar to timelapse mode on the GH3). This is a great way to get nearly 50% slow motion at 4K+ resolution for 5 seconds of playback (conformed to 24P). I recommend setting the shutter speed to 1/80th for the optimum 180 degree shutter angle during capture. I'll shoot some bursts this afternoon and upload the 4K to YouTube tonight if anyone wants to have a look at the output.

  • jamesgh2jamesgh2

    @mpgxsvcd

    great chart test, I see no reason to shoot below 4k unless I want 60p or 96p. Aliasing wise the 1080p on the GH4 seems to improve on the GH3 and as you say the 4k is perfect with really no problems. I haven't seen a chart this good in 4k unless you go to FS700 4k recording or C500. The GH4 is an absolute beast for the cash. Since 4k is still 100mbits then unless you don't want to do the extra encoding and down-sampling, shooting at 4k will deliver the very best the camera has to offer.

    4k here looks so good that you can really just shoot video as a documentarist and extract stills with very close to JPG quality as long as you mind the shutter values for motion blur.

    @AdamT mpgxsvcd is an old school tool for converting footage to the SVCD format which was a step below DVD but recordable in regular CDRs back in the day if I'm not mistaken.

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    @AdamT

    No that is great. Your second test sounds very controlled and gives us good test data. No experiment is a bad experiment if you learn something from it.

    While changing from 16-235 to 0-255 shouldn't affect overall exposure levels it did appear to give a very slight increase in apparent dynamic range when I tested it. I now shoot in 0-255 for everything. I still need to see what drawbacks that has in playback on other devices though.

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