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GH4 4K Panasonic video camera, User reviews and opinions
  • 1273 Replies sorted by
  • FilmingArtFilmingArt

    Just did some more tests now in daylight at shooting the GH4 in 4K Mode is really quite impressive. My prior tests were indoors with only available light which has me disappointed .....

    I just tested against the pocket camera and would say the GH4 in 4k Mode has much more detail and even dynamic range appears to be the same or better.

  • karlkarl

    @plasmasmp: In your DR sample picture, when you look at the upper part of the black T-shirt, there are disturbing, somewhat brighter horizontal bands to be seen in the GH4 image. Is that a reproducable, generic issue?

  • everoevero

    The EVF and video centric features differs GH4 from most competitors IMHO. I look forward to trying it next week, and especially using it as a light weight camera.

    I hope to find a grading workflow that makes especially indoor run n gun footage from the GH4 a little more organic. I shot my best MFT footage with the GH2 and voigtlander 25, but I'm desperate for a fast zoom lens. What if Sigma used their expertise from their 18-35mm to make a stabilized f/2 MFT zoom lens or something... I like the panny 12-35, but for MFT sensors I think 2.8 is too slow in some cases. Hope Sigma sees the market potential in MFT, maybe the GH4 motivates even more:)

  • plasmasmpplasmasmp

    @karl. Anamorphic flares from the light between the blinds :) So yes they are repeatable with a front anamorphic adapter.

  • last_SHIFTlast_SHIFT

    So this guy on Vimeo claims to have success with the BMPCC and BMCC Speedboosters. Can anyone confirm?

  • kevin_kirchmankevin_kirchman

    I'm loving this camera. Here is a still pulled from the 4k video with a slight grade. I like the skin-tones from it....

    Pat.jpg
    3840 x 2160 - 2M
  • Xenocide38Xenocide38

    Is there a difference between choosing MP4 vs MOV in camera. Both say they are ideal for high end PCs but doesn't seem to be much difference beyond that. Anyone done any testing to see if one is better than the other?

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev I agree re noise.

    @Kevin_Kirchman Nice looking shot - has an interesting texture to it. Is this a test shot or actually part of a film?

  • plasmasmpplasmasmp

    The BMPCC speedbooster would be cool, but I think I will just get the BMCC speedbooster to be safe. It's basically made to project down to that size anyway. C4K becomes 1.43 crop vs 1.59 with the regular speedbooster. Not to mention that extra 1/3 stop gain of light.

  • gabiloursongabilourson

    Layer of noise :-) Many people are so obsessed with noise or grain.. and forget that if you shoot interesting thing it is not really matter much. Many good films have significant grain and even color noise in low light scenes."

    +1 !!!!!! Vitaly !

  • algutialguti

    I'm really hating the grain structure on this camera at iso 800 and up. I compared it to a hacked gh2 with moont7 and the gh2 seems to be producing finer grain lol. Is anyone getting really ugly looking grain on underexposed spots?

  • kevin_kirchmankevin_kirchman

    @mattgh2 Thanks man. I agree about the texture, not sure what it is.

    This was just family party footage around the dinner table. All available light with the Rokinon 85mm and RJ speed booster. Can't wait to use it on a film and actually get to light the scene seeing that it can look pretty damn good with only available light.

  • EnoEno

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev, I totally agree, and if the file is detailed it can easily be cleaned. I now a lot of filmmakers which put extra noise to get the film look to heir footage, so...For my needs GH4 is very good, and has acceptable high ISO performance.

  • DanPVDanPV

    @alguti just curious - can you explain in objective terms what is ugly about the grain or post an example of what is ugly about it?

  • driftwooddriftwood

    Even REDs give noise if poorly exposed/lit. Seen it in the best of 'em.

  • imcchimcch

    So, encountered a strange bug while recording 96fps today. LCD screen remained black after trying to enter into playback mode, and turning the power indicator light remained lit-up despite then trying to restart the camera by turning it off. Taking out the battery and putting it back in solved the problem though. Possibly a firmware bug that would need updating. Though I wonder if my battery being on its last bar might be related to it. Anyone else encountered this as well?

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

    96fps by Erik Naso

  • joe1946joe1946

    4K UHD 2160p close up of a Bee on a Dandelion with GH4 at close focus with 15mm F2.8 Sigma full frame fisheye lens @F5.6 that I normally use with my full frame Sony VG900 camcorder.

    https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5101/13920485309_15a4c74c62_c.jpg

    https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/13920485319_1978a1e166_c.jpg

  • algutialguti

    There's an initial example comparing 1080p. I'm not sure if you guys can see it clearly both shot iso 1600.

    gh4 and gh2 comparison.jpg
    430 x 162 - 43K
  • algutialguti

    I'll do some more comparisons. A lot of variables on the gh4. But so far awful noise rendition especially coming from the hacked gh2. I'm a bit shocked and torn lol. Gh4 for sale people!

  • markr041markr041

    Here is a 4K video made during a short trip to Boston using the Panasonic GH4. It was a gloomy day (with sun only at the end of the day), but I cannot pick shooting days or hours according to the light.

    Select 2160 for best 1080 viewing.

    I used the 12-35mm Lumix f2.8 and the Lumix 45-175mm zoom lenses. I employed autofocus with focus locking, shutter priority at 1/60th and an .8 ND filter for outdoors shots. EV was usually set at -2/3. Standard Picture Style.

    The video was edited using PowerDirector 12 because it smart renders the MP4 4K video from the GH4. According to the software's analysis, over 96% of the video is not re-rendered. The bitrate is thus the original 80Mbps average.

  • SuperSetSuperSet

    @alguti Sorry if I missed it but what are your picture style settings and shadow/curves adjustments? You can clearly see the difference in that posted pic.

  • AdamTAdamT

    @markr041 which SD card were you using? There are a couple blips in there -- for example around the 3:12 mark. Happens maybe 15-20 times throughout the video.

  • markr041markr041

    I see those blips too, but not that many. I think they occur at the beginning of scenes so maybe the editor re-compression, or Youtube handling of them. They do not look like they appear when the bitrate is stressed.

    I did use the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC, which is rated way above what is needed (and is the only card that works for RAW video on the BMPCC). I get it it is not UH3, but that rating seems superfluous given write speed specs. But, maybe.

    I am going to upload to Vimeo, allowing downloads of the original UHD video. I am frustrated by the fact that one cannot be sure whether it is the playing devices or editors that are adding glitches and artifacts. One player downrezzes and adds lots of moire, for example, leading to false conclusions by some viewers.

    This is the first time I have used PowerDirector, and I doubt any software group has had much experience using or editing actual 4K videos.

  • Zaven13Zaven13

    I used a DMW-MS1 external mic with GH2 which uses a 2.5mm plug. However, GH3 and GH4 use a 3.5mm plug. I bought a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter and tried it with GH4 but extremely low to no audio recording. I know that Panasonic is trying to sell the new DMW-MS2 shotgun for GH3 and GH4. My question is: has anyone tried MS1 with GH4 and see if they can record audio thru mic input successfully?

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