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GH4 4K Panasonic video camera, User reviews and opinions
  • 1273 Replies sorted by
  • nic2011nic2011

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • touviere7touviere7

    hi guys and gals,

    just a general question:

    i was wondering if the gh4 has a function identical to gh2 for manual focus assist: pushing the back dial? i 'm thinking of getting that body, and i can't find any answer going through the pdf.

    thanks a lot!

  • h2otarah2otara

    Yes, it does, although I've never activated it by pushing the back dial - I have it programmed in a function button. It starts on p. 107 of the Advanced Manual, which you can download. Tara

  • touviere7touviere7

    thanks tara,

    but without the camera to try out, and very much used to push that dial with my thumb on the gh2, i would like to be able to use the same technique on the gh4. the pdf manual is not helping...

  • fredfred27fredfred27

    @touviere7 As @h20tara stated, read pg.107 of the "Owner's Manual for advanced features". You will see which button is the default for this feature, the Fn3 button on the back of the camera. It can also be programmed to another function button if you prefer. It cannot be programmed to the thumb dial on the GH2, because the dial does not have a push feature like it does on the GH2. I have a GH2 and GH4, and they are very different in their control layout. It can be frustrating when going between the two.

    Personally, I use the default Fn3 button for focus assist on the GH4. I use my thumb just like on the GH2.

  • h2otarah2otara

    @touviere7 I understand your question now. I had the GH1, GH3 and GH4, but not the GH2. Actually, as fredfred27 said, the Fn3 is programmed to activate the focus assist by default, and I've changed the Fn2 button to the 4 arrows that allow you to move the magnifier where you want it. I find it easier to move the box where I want it first, and then magnify the area I want than to magnify first and then try to find what I'm looking for.

  • touviere7touviere7

    thank you both for the clarification.

    i am not very happy about that sad and frustrating news :-( the gh2 scenario was the most natural, having the thumb on the wheel at all times. i have a hard time imagining pushing either fn2 or fn3 while holding the camera - seems unbalanced. kind of lost my desire to buy. since they love to change things around, maybe i'll wait for gh5 and see...

  • fredfred27fredfred27

    @touviere7 I find the GH4 to be a much more ergonomic camera to use. The GH2 seems tiny to me now. I assume when you focus, you have your hand on the lens. This is where the balance comes from. I have no problem using my thumb on the Fn3 button when focusing. Strange thing to be a deal breaker for you.

  • PierreBPierreB

    I agree and think if you get the GH4 you will find it a great camera ergonomically...I just shot something with my GH2 today and have no issues switching back and forth...although I will never get rid of my GH2, if Pannie releases Vlog for the GH4 today, I'd immediately buy a 2nd body!

  • touviere7touviere7

    truth being told, i do indeed need to have the camera in my hand for a true test obviously. my initial reaction was of course a bit childish. :-) the larger size of the gh4 will certainly be an advantage. using for now the gh2 with metabones and manual nikon assorted glass, and i love the results. the attraction is of course the 4k and maybe a new version is just around the corner...should i wait a little?

    thanks for the reassurance however.

  • jopereirajopereira

    That's just a matter of taste and get used to it... I bought a GH4 and a FZ1000 after that and I find the FZ1000 much more pleasing to use. For instance, I never though I would like to have just one dial since all my recent (Sony) cameras have both front and rear dials, but the way Panasonic implements this, with push bottom ability, I much prefer this control system over dual dial to change shutter and aperture.

    That said, the ultimate image quality is in GH4 and that's a relevant part of the equation... :)

    ps - I do find GH4 to be smaller than I would like it to be. I much prefer FZ1000 (bigger) size.

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    Look for the GH5 at Photokina or to be announced in first week of Feb 2016. The GH4 was available May 5, 2014 so expect 2 years. It may have a 6-8k output Sensor with higher ISO capability? Extremely clean ISO 6400 would push the buy button for me.

  • TronTron

    @RRRoger More likely NAB 2016 for the GH5.

  • touviere7touviere7

    well, one way or the other, almost a year from now!

    any better hopes?

  • brudneybrudney

    competition is huuuge (sony&sammy) so I wouldn't be surprised to see gh5 announced at Photokina in September...

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    I think we need to start a new thread if we want to speculate on the GH5

  • lmackreathlmackreath

    Anyone got experience with using the gh4 with the rode videomic pro?..need to know what the best in camera and rode audio settings to get the best sound

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    Depends on how you want to use the Rode VideoMic Pro. For interviews just mounting it on the flash shoe and plugging it in may be enough. For serious Video it may be used only for synching sound but you could use the internal one for that.

    Not sure what the range of the Rode is or whether it is effected by Camera or other nearby sounds.

    I use an Azden SMX-10 directional, stereo shotgun mic mounted on camera to record the Church Service 20-40 foot away. The results are very satisfactory.

  • h2otarah2otara

    @lmackreath I set the camera on -12 and the mic on 0, per Dave Dugdale, and seems to work great. He's got a video about using that mic with the GH4.

  • TjaboTjabo

    @lmackreath, I'm not a pro like many of the people on this forum are, but I suspect not too many of the pros care much for on-camera mics (like I don't either, actually).

    At any rate, with the VMP I often find that the mic set on +20dB gives me a bit more gain than I can dial down to the preferred level in the camera, and the 0dB setting requires me to have to dial a bit more gain in the camera than I really want to... Having said all of that, both methods seem to give adequate results for what you can get with an on-camera mic. Neither one is great, but both are decent for some people's purposes.

    @h2otara, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Dave's use of the VMP setup like you described is for his video narratives with the mic off-camera on his desk? In that case I would undoubtedly end up using the same setup, because he has the mic pretty close to the subject, in a mostly quiet environment. Should (and does) work very nicely like that.

  • h2otarah2otara

    @lmackreath I mainly shoot wildlife videos, and those settings seem to work really well for that too.

  • raf702raf702

    Anyone familiar on how to check shutter count? I followed directions on how to get to the Temporary Service menu. But when I tried it, all i got was a screen with a bunch of squares with numbers. And if scroll left, right, up or down. Bunch of random numbers and letters appear.

    Turn it off and back on, and everything is back to normal. Any ideas on how to do this?

    Thanks

  • rNeilrNeil

    So ... with the "brick" or YAGH unit now selling for $700 at several sellers, any more folks gonna be interested? I'm still not seeing that as all that attractive unless you need timecode through the SDI ports ...

    Neil

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    On September 1 Panasonic will officially disclose all details about the V-LOG firmware update for the GH4. We will finally know when it will be released and if it’s going to be for free or not.

    Sometimes I wonder if they get their marketing talents under bridge in nearest company of homeless guys.

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