@blackspot

Hey btw... If there is so many media representatives got GH4 on their hands then where is all the preview 4K footage?

I have done a lot of presentations to media reps (though it was 3D software, not camera hardware) - the reps got to play with the software, ask questions, etc. In most cases, they didn't get to take rendered files with them.

And in cases where they got a full-blown trial over time, they were under NDA anyway. Further, their main priority in life was their own work, not sharing all the test files they'd made the past few weeks once the product was released. Besides, it's barely day 3 since the official announcement.

@maxr hummm...

Temple has a lot of moire on the stairs. Very huge moire. Something I would avoid on an official launch video.

I agree but I see around a lot of videos just perfect. Panasonic have always a bad taste/choice with his launch video. Do you remember the GH3 French video?

Does anyone know if it will shoot log?

I think the future is 10-12bit recording in camera and competitive price. No need for adapters.

Is the breakout A/V box (brick) necessary for 4:2:2 10bit HD/4K, or can this be extracted via the mini HDMI port on the GH4?

Nope, as I know. If you look at the box it has HDMI connector on the side, so it looks mostly as simple converter.

I wanna say the HDMI spec wont allow anything over 8-bit

It is not true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_1.4 Thing is called Deep Color.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev thank you for the explanation. Unless the XLR/quad SLI setup is needed, going directly from the mini HDMI port on the GH4 to something like an Atomos or Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q may be the way to go for acquiring 10bit 4:2:2 in both 1080P and 4K. This shouldn't make it too cumbersome with the hot shoe attachment on the top of the camera.

@killagram That's great news.. because I thought it was 1080p 10Bit 422 only now the HDMI spits out 4K 10Bit 422 there won't be a use for the break-out box for my use, unless it's priced right. Got a question you think the new Atomos Blade trully spits-out 10bit 422, or upscales 8bit to 10bit that's what I've heard in the past but not sure.

Some of the comments here remind me of those on Nikon forums when the D3 was announced ... and there were horrified people that it was ONLY a 12 megapixel camera. Obviously it was an over-priced useless piece of junk before it was released ... what COULD Nikon have been thinking? Who in the world would ever pay $6000 for an only 12mp camera? Absurd!

But those weren't any other camera's 12 megapixels ... the images were awesome past 3200 ISO (astounding then at that quality) and kept hue purity clear to 3200. I've shot several available-light portrait sessions with it over the years at 3200 ... and gone to 30" prints from it, beautiful things. 50" prints at lower ISO's. Remember, I used 6x7cm roll-film for 20+ years, I do expect a lot from a print.

So ... yea, some of the GH4 specs aren't exactly what all of us would prefer ... but darn it if I don't think I'd be able to shoot some good and very usable footage with this cam as spec'd. If the mechanical/internal software hold up to hopes, it's going to be a useful tool. And a big step up from the GH3 and other similar cams.

Now ... to start getting enough more paid gigs of video to justify sometime this year not only getting the cam but the brick too ... and the out-board recorder and all ... might be a spendy year ... sigh ... :)

@TrackZillas I'm not sure on Atomos Blade specs, but it'd be a shame if it couldn't handle 10Bit. From what I've read on the forums about the Odyssey 7Q is that it's an all-in-one beast (reference monitor for both A/V, SSD recorder, multiple signal processor, etc) but it's also fairly new, so CD is slowly releasing updates to increase it's usefulness in the field. Also keep in mind that the SSD's have to be from Convergent Design (to keep up with the bandwidth requirements) as well as the user having to pay separately for codecs. It's not cheap when you add it all up, but it's probably the most compact and practical.

@LongJohnSilver I find the artifacts unsettling in the Temple and on the wings of the parrot, just have to wait and see how bad they are, but they didn't appear from nowhere.

From what I'm gleaning from the specs posted so far, it's just 8 bit 4:2:0 to an SD card, but you have to use HDMI or the optional A/V brick to get 10 bit 4:2:2. If you select 10 bit output it seems from the "gotchas" in the released specs. like it won't record to the card at all, it just sends video out via HDMI and the SDI outs on the brick.

Another question I have is whether the time code generated is within professional SMPTE parameters so you could master/slave genlock a SMPTE time code audio recorder to the GH4. I don't want to be forced into buying their optional monstrosity in order to sync audio. Besides, it's only 16 bit PCM and God knows how noisy the GH4's audio pre-amps will be.