"Another selling point of the GH5 is that it's a good vlogging camera."

People say this is a good vlogging camera...seriously?..why would someone pay so much for such great camera to basically do video selfies with?..all in iauto mode with autofocus?

If you want to do vlogging get a sony rx100 or something similar...this camera should never be in the hands of a simple vlogger...

Panasonic them self say it will make a great vlogging camera

"...this camera should never be in the hands of a simple vlogger..."

Actually it should because serious vloggers who have a good following on youTube turn to use good cameras: 5D III and IV, A7s III etc as their main camera. And yes they also have rx100 kind cameras for when they can't use their main cameras. (Yes there are vloggers too who have a huge following who don't use such cameras) And I am pretty sure Panasonic is also targeting those shooters because the GH5 does not overheat, unlimited shooting, good battery life and small.

Though I haven't used the camera yet, bottom line is video AF on this camera looks like it sucks and Panasonic needs to really focus on fixing it on their next GH camera and some other one or two things to really stand toe to toe with it's competitors.

@Imackreath, I don't rely on auto focus most of the time but when I do, I want it work. I have used the auto focus on canon and sony cameras on numerous occasions on paid jobs and it worked flawlessly. Actually each time I have a paid job, I turn to rent either a canon (most of the time) or sony for one key reason. When I need my auto focus, it will work.

Panasonic specifically didn't use phase detect pixels on the sensor cause they degrade the image quality. I'm perfectly fine with a very good image + MF with good assist and AF-S. I wholdn't trade image quality and functionality over AF-C, ever period!

Well, Panasonic could use dual pixel approach Canon uses. It does not lead to any quality degradation.

@Eno “Panasonic specifically didn't use phase detect pixels on the sensor cause they degrade the image quality.”

Ture! Then Panasonic needs to go back to its engineers because image quality in 4k 24p coming from an A6500, especially the XT-2 (which both by the way use phase detect) is on par or even better than the current 4.2.2 footage coming from the GH5. I am hoping that the 400Mbps update in summer will make the difference.

Let’s be clear about one thing; I am not trashing the GH5. It’s a great camera. Panasonic has done some really great improvements and firsts with the camera and I really commend them for that. But they also left out something equally as important, video AF. For my style of shooting, I will not choose it over the canon cameras I always rent, or sony and now XT-2 because I occasionally rely on video AF. The GH5 has many real pro features that those cameras don’t have and will appreciate. Until Panasonic addresses video AF, I will always use the GH cameras for my “toy” shoots. All Sony and Fuji needs to do is add 4.2.2 60p 4k, good touch screen etc etc on their next camera and where’s it gonna leave the GH5 with it sucky video AF? Remember when the GH4 came out and you were hearing 4.2.2 10bit external recording and all that stuff, what happened to the quality of that signal?

Fact of the matter is companies like sony, canon and fuji understand that there’s a growing segment of shooters out there that need and want good video AF and they are working to improve it while Panasonic just keep hunting literally for it.

I have a gig in a week that I am using a fuji xt-2 (testing it out) and though I will appreciate all the good pro features the GH5 has to offer, I will not trade the XT-2 for a GH5 because I will need to rely on the AF on XT-2 at some point during the shoot.

Again to be fair, I have not tried the camera. But all the reviews I am seeing online don’t point to a video AF system that’s remotely reliable.

Just to clarify I never said it was a bad camera and specifically said it is not a deal breaker. That being said it is regrettable that there seem to be issues with CAF in video specifically. My point was it would be a lot easier to part with $2000 if the CAF was a little more dependable.

@HillTop1

Where specifically do you use AF in video that is so much important to you. I just wonder, since most people (maybe I'm wrong) use DSLR-s and later mirrorless in fashion similar to cinema cameras. That kind of usage is what pushed video in photo cameras from 7d onwards, and that is what we look for today. I might be living under the rock though.

I know two camera manufacturers who have sinusoid like (starts very high and ends on usual "it'll do" level) people anticipation considering AF before each new camera and both start with P - Pentax and Panasonic.

Why do some people find it unacceptable for us to expect Panasonic to be competitive the bar has been raised by Sony and Canon? Especially when I have to exclusively buy Panasonic Lenses for DFD to get inferior results.

If any of you Spanish readers get offered a Lumix GH5 with the serial no. of WG-PP001244 and a SLR Magic 35mm T2.4 Anamorphic lens then you know where it came from as I was mugged today in Barcelona.