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Panasonic G7 topic, 4K castrate monster or GH4 for poor
  • 719 Replies sorted by
  • VeskuVesku

    Can someone test if the AE-lock and AF-lock works during video recording? I mean can you toggle AF/AE-lock on-off-on-off while video recording runs.

    It is not working in GH4.

  • smoke23smoke23

    @Vesku I can confirm it does work during video recording. If you get AF/AE to AF-On, you can press it during recording and till Autofocus. Nice feature if you need to grab a quick focus and using peaking at the same time.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Replacement coming

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/15524/panasonic-g80-g85-4k-5-axis-stab-magnesium-monster#Item_31

  • DrDaveDrDave

    On my G7s, the histogram is off unless preview is enabled. Anyone else have that problem? It seems to be taking a histogram of the screen, not the actual frame. Or is this normal....seems really weird.

  • domenldomenl

    @DrDave Can confirm, when constant preview is turned off, the histogram just displays the output of the screen. It only turns yellow to show that your exposure is off. I do not consider it a problem, as always have constant preview on.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    @domenl Thanks, I was getting some pretty weird results using ETTR and the histogram.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    Now that the G80 or G85 is almost upon us, it's worth asking whether it is better to get the newer model, with all the new goodness, or the G7, possibly a ta good price.
    I haven't tested the G80 yet, but I have a few thoughts.
    File spanning: feature or annoyance?
    One of the annoying things about the G7 and many earlier models is that they write a succession of 4gb files. No one likes this, and on the GX85 (not the G85...) this is "fixed": you get one big file instead of lots of little files.
    But is this a good thing? First of all, using a file joiner you can make one big file in two or three minutes, plus you can dump all those files on the timeline. The downside, if you don[t join the files, is that it can be a hassle to add effects.
    But what happens if the camera shuts down while recording, or you get a corrupted disk, or file? The fat is, it's a lot safer to have lots of little files. If you pull the plug an that big file, you get zippo. The cosmic goose egg.
    The other thing to mention here is that the G7 is lighter. It will be interesting to compare battery run times and the crop factor.
    The G80 looks like a great cam...IQ will certainly be a big factor.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    The downside, if you don[t join the files, is that it can be a hassle to add effects.

    What kind of hassle?

  • DrDaveDrDave

    If all the effects are not exactly the same, the video will "skip" over the join; of course, if you join the files into one long file there is no problem.

  • smoke23smoke23

    I'm torn on selling one my Personal-View NTSC G7's to buy a G85. One of my biggest complaint is the HDMI out when recording. The G6 & GX85 all have HDMI out while recording, I don't see why the G7 wouldn't.

    Could Panasonic ever release a firmware upgrade to enable this?

  • ScotScot

    @smoke23 They could but I wouldn't hold my breath. If I was you I would sell and get a G85 unless IBIS is useless to you. I sold my G7 and got a GX85 and even with the sound issues (no input) and no cineD I love it. Did an entire day shoot at the beach handheld and with a monopod it was great. There were some moments of movement but due to the IBIS shake was controlled and only moderate software stabilization was required to make those moments perfect. I will be getting a G85 without a doubt and than get what I loved about the G7 and what I love in the GX85.

  • GrimorGrimor

    @smoke23 I think G6 never have Hdmi out while recording.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    Monster batteries: Running the G7 and GX 85 forever on batteries for $40 QD 185-TY Portable Charger 18650 Li-on Battery Power Bank
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B98J67O
    SunLabz® 18650 3.7V Rechargeable (4-Pack) Flat Top Battery Cells 3400mAh
    or whatever brand...the cheap ones are fake, FYI. Make sure they are flat top.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CNVGE4O

    Dummy battery
    Whatever cable you need, I used 4.0x1.7mm on both ends.
    Set the voltage to 8.5 or 9. 8.5 runs pretty cool.
    And run you cam for a really long time.

  • BernieBernie

    @ Dr Dave. Can you link to suitable "dummy battery" or post a photo of the one you are using. Very useful tip as usual from you. Thanks

  • DrDaveDrDave

    I bought this one for the G7
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/111060138054
    I have several of these and they are all pretty much the same, the official Panasonic one has a slightly different connector. If you want it sooner spend a few dollars more for one on Amazon or one with faster shipping.
    The connectors are cheap you can buy one that hooks into the included cable:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/371018798506
    Or you can get or make a cable that has 4.0mm male on both ends to go from the dummy battery to the power pack.

  • IronFilmIronFilm

    Note sure if this one has been posted yet, but it is pretty good:

    Albert Fast did this with a Panasonic G7 ( Olympus 25/1.8 & Mitakon 25/0.95):

  • jagnjejagnje

    Can you change the manual focus throw on this camera?

  • ScotScot

    @ironfilm I liked the comparison and his approach which if anything would give an advantage to the Sony stopped down vs wide open on the lenses. I watched and picked the images I liked best not the mindset of which camera is which. To me it was amazingly close call on many of the images but I chose the G7 over the A7s on all but one number 3 which was one of the to close to call images to me.

  • ScotScot

    @jagnje What do you mean by that? Focus throw is a function of the lens. I don't think any cameras let you change the focus throw of there autofocus lenses when manual focusing but technically I would think it is possible so maybe someone does.

  • jagnjejagnje

    well It`s a fly by wire lens, so the focus trhow is not mechanical...you can spin the ring round and round, so I thought that it might be possible to turn the lets say 360° throw to a 180° one. As it is is a bit unpractical to do big shifts in focus by hand.

  • mellermeller

    I would like to buy video assist for g7 but I'm not sure if hdmi output is available for 24fps and 60fps 1080? I heard that output is only for 30 and 60fps. Can someone confirm this please?

  • DrDaveDrDave

    F****** camera--I set and saved the Custom dial so I could save some setup time, and when the camera went to sleep it randomly changed the WB. Feeling orange.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @DrDave

    Just too complex thing :-)

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Body available for $400 at

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-G7-Mirrorless-Micro-Four-Thirds-Digital-Camera-Black-/191839949463

  • DrDaveDrDave

    If you look at the latest cameras from Panasonic, Fuji and Olympus on the DPReview site where you can compare the video IQ, one thing is crystal clear--there's no difference in IQ (video IQ, of course) between the super cheap G7 and $2K Olly. You are paying for features, not image. Of course, IS is a great feature, but it's surprising and revealing the basic video IQ is so similar among all these cams.
    OTOH, there is an incremental improvement in stills, even though it is slight.

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