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Is the GH4 a lot better than the GH3 in low light?
  • Just wanted to know, Is the GH4 a lot better than the GH3 in low light?

    Was thinking of getting a gh3 but do not know how well it does at 1600 iso vs the GH4.

    Any opinions?

    Thanks

  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • Open DXO charts for both and look at DR.

    They are very close.

  • In video more I've tested them side by side with the same lens, both set to standard profile and all settings to 0. Gh4 ISO 6400 roughly looks like ISO 3200 on GH3.

  • @Eno is this 4k on the GH4? Perhaps 4k downscaled to 1080p? Both will look better than shooting directly to 1080p... Best comparison is 1080p on both, with IPB compression setting.

  • @joethepro , I was referring strictly to FHD shooting.

  • I have no regrets. I upgraded from the GH3 to GH4 It is better for stills and Video in all light.

  • GH4 is a little better than the GH3 at high ISO, but a hacked GH2 with one of Nick's all-Intra patches (last one I used was Moon T7) is way better. For a while I was shooting a monthly aerial silk dance performance in a dark tavern environment, and the ones I shot on my GH2 are so much cleaner and clearer than the ones I shot on my GH4.

  • @Sangye I highly doubt that. :)

  • A hacked GH2 below ISO 6400 may have noise, but the noise is fine grain -- almost like film grain. A GH4 between 1600 and 6400 has similar or slightly lower levels of noise, but it's not fine at all: it's ridden with macroblocking splotchyness from the shadows up through and including the midtones.

    Above 6400, the GH2 does get pretty unusable due to severely limited dynamic range and color shift. But between 1600 and 6400, I honestly think a hacked GH2 looks superior to a GH4.

  • If using NR-5 in GH4 the noise is fine grain. In 4k it is much finer than in hacked GH2.

    GH4 maintains colors and clean image better on high iso than GH3 or hacked GH2 and the dynamic range is much better than in hacked GH2.

  • Yeah, I find iso1600 to be the top limit of my GH2.