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Wolfcrow Review GH5
  • alcomposeralcomposer

    Quote of 2017: "...by the end of this [review] if you still cannot make up your mind on whether you should buy this camera or not, then maybe the best thing to do is not buy the camera at all, and maybe not buy any camera."

    Strange thing is that I find that online everyone seems to 'buy first' - 'return later'. In Australia I don't think we have such amazing return policies.

    I remember when I purchased a product from B&H (In the physical B&H shop) the sales assistant told me to use the product- and return it if I didn't like it for 'any reason'.

  • 11 Replies sorted by
  • TommyboyTommyboy

    Yeap, That was me I even pre-ordered it which I'm really against (the whole concept of a pig in a poke) but I knew I had time to test it first and then return it if needed. I must say I'm very happy that I did execute my right to return.

  • TommyboyTommyboy

    I'm skipping the YouTube video since I know what works for me and don't need to be told otherwise. Happy shooting.

  • alcomposeralcomposer

    @Tommyboy just for interest what was your major issue with GH5? I'm not interested in changing anyones mind- or promoting any solution.

  • TommyboyTommyboy

    @alcomposer no major issues that can not be worked around. GH5 is kinda GH3 release to me. It simply was not a right fit and I will wait till GH6 arrives (since I own a lot of 4/3 lenses) and in the meantime I'll use what I have and look into the new releases from other vendors. I'm also not interested in changing anyone's mind or promoting one brand over another. I just say what I dislike since a lot of people are into intensive publicity and promotion that at the end of the day turns into an addiction.

  • LPowellLPowell

    Re: GH5 vs A7r II. Wolfcrow boils down the tradeoff as low-light favors A7r II, while everything else (4K, 10-bit, waveform monitor, etc.) favors GH5. I think there's another angle to consider: lens adaptability. If you're invested in Canon lenses, a Sony A6300 can handle the high-ISO situations while a Metabones adapter or speedbooster mates your lenses to the GH5. Likewise if you're into Nikon lenses, a D7100 or D5200 can provide low-light coverage. Price of an A7R II is about the same as the dual-camera approach, but with the latter you get far more flexibility, functionality, and backup insurance.

  • alcomposeralcomposer

    @Tommyboy the main reason I posted this review is that it looks at the functionality of the camera - as well as the image output.

    I never bought a GH3- I went from GH2 (which I still have x 2) to GH4. Even though I also feel like the GH5 is very GH3 (in the middle ground of 8k) I think that many of the issues I have can be solved with the Firmware update in summer.

    However I mainly purchased this camera for quite a few projects that I have going on now, and I am very happy with the results. VLog-L is now usable, (as I can expose for it) and there are some really great hidden features. I think of the GH5 as GH4.1 :-)

    I suppose the catch phrase of 2017 is: "There's no such thing as the perfect camera". Gosh- how many times have I heard that, on YouTube and in RealLife. (Well maybe there is: Apertus looks amazing- just need to wait and see how they go)

  • TommyboyTommyboy

    @alcomposer I do agree and I also own 2x GH2 for that matter. Camera is just a tool that needs to be used as a tool and in your case if you have a project that requires the features GH5 has go for it and enjoy the journey. I for example will not buy anything with the promise of future enhancement “update”. I need to be convinced (seeing is believing, which in my case is my own tests) that any tool I buy can perform at 99% of is real specs not the specs the advertising agencies will try to sell you on over and over. In addition to it, I’m so against the subscription model of not owning anything. The more I see it the more I want to keep my copies of software and hardware and the chase for newer and greater gear becomes Carrot and Stick Approach of Motivation. The name that I personally use in corporate world is perception over reality that a lot of people practice and use. Then again, I agree "There's no such thing as the perfect camera" and you pick a tool for your battles.

    Happy shooting ;-)

  • alcomposeralcomposer

    Yes, totally agree, this is why I mainly don't use CC. Mind you, high end cameras look to be following the subscription model more than GH5's, a7's etc... $1k for Raw, etc etc... Countless firmware updates. Seems that everything ships broken these days, and we have to wait for the fixes.

    I suppose it would be cool if we were consulted on "bugs" we have found. I'd love to get an email from Panasonic asking me how they can improve the firmware!

  • TommyboyTommyboy

    @alcomposer

    Yes and on the Adobe CC note, I stopped using it few years ago.

    These days, I really want to move back to Linux platform to use professional Video and Audio editing/production tools.

    "Seems that everything ships broken these days" That happens because business are driven by delivery date that was decided by some top managers that are clueless of product inter-workings and look for an overall package advertisement and profits. Hence the concept of locking features on any given product to drive up prices and creations of market segregation to justify it (Pro vs. Semi-Pro etc...)

    On that note, I do not want to waste my free time working with Panasonic or Canon but rather be invested in three different systems to be able to rotate between on an average of 3 years with the lenses you own.

    On the Video/Audio production tools:

    Blackmagic Resolve is going in the right direction but then again I have to wait for them to remove the need of DaVinci Resolve Panel to run Resolve 14 on Linux.I keep my finger crossed for the next version of Ableton hopefully they make it run on Linux. If could have these tools run NATIVELY on the Linux platform, Windows 10 and Mac OS will be retired from my day to day use.

  • alcomposeralcomposer

    @Tommyboy you know that Bitwig is a great Ableton replacement (developed by a splinter group of Ableton software engineers), it also runs native on Linux.

    I thought that Resolve was now native on Linux without Panel? Or do you need ProRes? (in that case - yes - they ship it with panel)

    I have an Arch system running, so the ship is always broken and always being fixed. :-) Makes for exciting system updates!

  • TommyboyTommyboy

    @alcomposer

    yes, I do know about Bitwig and was going to give a try to see what features are missing from Ableton that I could possibly care or not care for. On Linux side, I'm more of deb type of a guy and would settle on a major distro. As a matter of fact back in a day I used to compile my own kernel (2.2 -2.6) ;-) whereas now I just want any tool to work with out major tweaking ;-)

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