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

    Philip Bloom has begun writing a presently evolving review of the GH4. He had quite a few positive things to say:

    http://philipbloom.net/2014/05/12/gh4/

  • andrew00andrew00

    One thing that's a frustration for me is the focus peaking. I love focus peaking, I'm glad to have it. However when you start dialling down the contrast settings it becomes s lot harder to see, or rather the peaking doesn't show up. Considering how good this is on the bmpcc, it's a shame it's weak on the gh4 (as it was on the g6)

  • markr041markr041

    The GH4 is also a 108060p video camera (50Mbps MP4):

    All the pedantry, pageantry and monotony of a commencement shot colorfully and in HD.

    You can download the original 1080p video, which was not re-compressed.

    Standard picture mode used. Lumix 12-35mm and 45-175mm lenses.

  • EnoEno

    @andrew00 this is another reason why the GH4 must be used properly, not in super extra mega hipper flat mode. LOL

  • caveportcaveport

    For those that use colour bars, be aware that when recording them internally, the recorded levels are only correct with video levels set to 16-235 in the camera setup section.

  • caveportcaveport

    Also had success feeding line level external audio into the mic input. One must be very careful with levels but works well. No audio issues with noise or other artefacts. Did a 2hr plus recording test for an upcoming corporate event shoot. HD 1080 25P at 50mbs looked great and the battery was still on 3 full bars! This is a beast of a camera!

  • markr041markr041

    Richmond, VA Brief walk-around in 4K:

    Standard picture mode used. Lumix 12-35mm and 45-175mm lenses. Edited in Sony Vegas Pro 13.

  • mrbillmrbill

    Appears to be no practical difference between 16-235 and zero-255 luminance recordings when importing into avid (which maps everything to 16-235 anyway). In zero-255 you do get to use 100% zebras though, as opposed to only 95% zebras in 16-235. Anybody REALLY annoyed how zebras disappear when you adjust iso speed?

  • aaronchicagoaaronchicago

    Shot this with 1080 modes and the Panasonic 12-35.

  • v10tdiv10tdi

    @mrbill

    Anybody REALLY annoyed how zebras disappear when you adjust iso speed?

    zebras, exposure and everything else. Yes, annoying.

  • lunalobo75lunalobo75

    I know it conserves battery to put Live view mode in 30fps (setup menu, page 2/6), but I'm finding easier to focus (especially punch-in focus) with Live view mode set to 60fps. Anyone else notice a difference? 30fps mode seem a bit grainy and soft. Could just be me.

  • oscillianoscillian

    @aaronchicago Great timing!

  • caveportcaveport

    @v10tdi Zebras stay on when adjusting ISO if you use the touch screen 'tab' menu to adjust. Not perfect but may be of use to someone.

  • FilmingArtFilmingArt

    @aaronchicago

    Looks Good and concept was funny..... What I really want to know though is HOW did that Blue bowling Ball turn RED.............

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • aaronchicagoaaronchicago

    @oscillian and @FilmingArt thanks!

    Big mistake on my part with the red ball. We came up with the concept on the spot and filmed the bad bowling first. When we shot the intro last, i could have sworn we used the blue ball, but nope!

  • 4CardsMan4CardsMan

    @ MikeLinn - At 3:03 in, the texture in the balconies at screen upper right is exquisite. We are so accustomed to experiencing a barrier between viewer and motion picture that we don't even know it's there, until we see something like this. The cinematographer and the GH4 in this film lift that barrier.

  • jamesgh2jamesgh2

    Just noticed that when the camera goes to sleep and wake up you loose all the settings you adjusted for the last shot on the camera, SS, Aperture, WB, ISO etc... Not sure if that is only on C modes which I mostly use but its annoying as hell. It should be able to remember them unless you turn off the camera completely.

  • LamboLambo

    the compression of Vimeo is very bad :-( password: julz

  • ajayajay

    For anyone interested in the performance of the GH4 for wildlife/birds, here's Part 1 of my review:

    http://iwishicouldfly.com/iwishicouldfly/journal/html/051614.html

    In this article, I primarily focus on cropping/panning inside of 4k video and I discuss the merits of using frame-grabs for prints.

    BTW, thank you for this website. I don't post often, but read much and have been using the GH series of cameras since the GH2 and this website was instrumental in getting me going with modifying the GH2.

  • mrbillmrbill

    My NLE (avid) isn't doing a very good job of the downconvert from 4k to 1080p - lots of aliasing. So tried the 200mbs 1080p on someone wearing glasses -always a tough aliasing test - and was very pleasantly surprised! So I'm looking to get a ninja or similar, and wondered if there was any definitive word on what frame rate the camera actually outputs via hdmi before taking the plunge, as some report a 50p output instead of a 25p output when working in pal. Anybody with a way of testing this?

  • mrbillmrbill

    Tried my TV but it's quite an old Bravia flat screen which reports the gh4 as being 'out of range'..

  • kurthkurth

    wow..these framegrabs of 1080 vs scaled 4k to 1080 really make their point !

    http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_GH4/index.shtml#movies

  • jamesgh2jamesgh2

    What is with these crazy reviews that continue to punch the GH4 for noisy video at 1600 ISO?

    The GH2 is no where near as good and it could be lit to perform great in dark scenes. If it an a7s? of course not it has a sensor 1/4th the size.

    On my recent shooting I found it not just great in low light but exceeded my expectations with the 20mm 1.7 lens. It is very very good. Some of my shots were at ISO 2000 and 2500 and were pretty clean. Much cleaner than the 7D could ever do.

    We have unrealistic expectations for what a clean image might be, the camera is clean as a whistle compared to ISO 1600 film and cleans up very well in post.

    I would love to see a comparison with the GH4, 5D Mk III and a7s and fast lenses. GH4 speedbooster to boot just for kicks. And see the amount of detail they retain, my guess is the GH4 even with NeatVideo on top will look more detailed.

  • IVIaverick52IVIaverick52

    So far I'm quite impressed with the improved dynamic range and resolution over my GH2. The GH2 is still a workhorse and I plan on keeping it as a B cam for a long time, but holy crap that 4K resolution looks incredible. Also I noticed that the Cinema D curve with the master pedestal lifted fully gives a super flat image, much flatter than I had expected. Here's a concert I filmed just earlier this week. Shot in the Cinema 4K setting, white balance 3800K I believe, ISO800, Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 wide open. The youtube compression doesn't do any justice to the original, there is far less banding in the original MOV file, and the fricken dust particles are razor sharp lol! All I did in post was throw Premiere Pro's cineon converter in to add contrast back into the image, and reduced noise very lightly using Neat Video with almost no sharpening.

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