So let's talk about the GH5

[CabbyArrant]

So for the past year I've been working at a camera store and I've gotta be honest it's a fucking awesome gig. One of the perks that has come up recently is that the new GH5 is being offered to dealer associates at a *cough... substantial discount. I've gotten to play with it in the store and it seems pretty sweet. Recently I've been moonlighting with a buddy of mine on one of his films and think the GH5 would be an awesome tool to add to my arsenal as I forray more into videography.

If anyone out there has used the GH5 I'd love to hear your experiences and see footage if handy.

Also, I am in the market for new equipment, don't give me the usual crap about spending that money on a trip or on lens. Pentax isn't great for video and their lens selection is crap

 

[IanAvery-Leaf]

I was never impressed by the image the GH4 gave out, and the GH5 looks like it improves in some aspects but it is still crippled by the tiny m4/3 sensor. If the primary purpose of a camera is to capture light then you want it to do so with in the cleanest way possible, and all the examples I've seen of the GH5 in anything but ideal light still looks pretty noisy. 4K/60p does look dope along with the lack of a recording limit, I'm jealous about those aspects.

Is the GH5 the only camera you can snag a good deal on? There are good deals on Sony A7Sii online right now and I'd pick that or even an A6500 any day over a GH4/5, Sony E-mount is a very solid system to invest into IMO

 

[CabbyArrant]

I was never impressed by the image the GH4 gave out, and the GH5 looks like it improves in some aspects but it is still crippled by the tiny m4/3 sensor. If the primary purpose of a camera is to capture light then you want it to do so with in the cleanest way possible, and all the examples I've seen of the GH5 in anything but ideal light still looks pretty noisy. 4K/60p does look dope along with the lack of a recording limit, I'm jealous about those aspects.

Is the GH5 the only camera you can snag a good deal on? There are good deals on Sony A7Sii online right now and I'd pick that or even an A6500 any day over a GH4/5, Sony E-mount is a very solid system to invest into IMO

To be honest I never thought the m4/3 were any noisier than an aps-c sensor, and I've used them for Astro stuff. Obviously full frame is best but I don't have the option of buying an a7s II for the price of a G85 like I do with the GH5.

 

[eheath]

I was never impressed by the image the GH4 gave out, and the GH5 looks like it improves in some aspects but it is still crippled by the tiny m4/3 sensor. If the primary purpose of a camera is to capture light then you want it to do so with in the cleanest way possible, and all the examples I've seen of the GH5 in anything but ideal light still looks pretty noisy. 4K/60p does look dope along with the lack of a recording limit, I'm jealous about those aspects.

Is the GH5 the only camera you can snag a good deal on? There are good deals on Sony A7Sii online right now and I'd pick that or even an A6500 any day over a GH4/5, Sony E-mount is a very solid system to invest into IMO

the gh5 has a much needed improvement in lowlight, its not a billion iso like the a7s but its usable up to 3200 iso.

Everyone needs to get over the fact that its a 2x crop sensor, it doesn't matter. the gh5 is an amazing camera for the price, period. I'm hightly considering buying one, but im not in a rush. 4k60... oh baby.

 

[IanAvery-Leaf]

the gh5 has a much needed improvement in lowlight, its not a billion iso like the a7s but its usable up to 3200 iso.

Everyone needs to get over the fact that its a 2x crop sensor, it doesn't matter. the gh5 is an amazing camera for the price, period. I'm hightly considering buying one, but im not in a rush. 4k60... oh baby.

3200 looked questionable in tests I've seen but thats simply viewing online videos that have been compressed further, I haven't used it personally. But I have shot with a GH4 a few times and the image fell apart at ISO 800+ so any improvement over that is much needed

I guess it comes down to what you're shooting, if its skiing in daylight then 2x crop doesn't matter at all, in fact it helps keep more shit in focus for followcamming with tighter lenses which is nice. There are many situations outside of skiing that benefit big from having a clean image with a higher ISO and thats where having APS-C/35mm helps. 4k/60p and no recording limit is so damn nice though, I hope those stats get Sony's attention

 

[eheath]

3200 looked questionable in tests I've seen but thats simply viewing online videos that have been compressed further, I haven't used it personally. But I have shot with a GH4 a few times and the image fell apart at ISO 800+ so any improvement over that is much needed

I guess it comes down to what you're shooting, if its skiing in daylight then 2x crop doesn't matter at all, in fact it helps keep more shit in focus for followcamming with tighter lenses which is nice. There are many situations outside of skiing that benefit big from having a clean image with a higher ISO and thats where having APS-C/35mm helps. 4k/60p and no recording limit is so damn nice though, I hope those stats get Sony's attention

My gh3 struggles above 800, which has only limited me once in my current line of work, but you're not wrong, if you need to shoot in low light situations, the gh series isn't ideal, but the gh5 is getting better.

the difference between a full frame and m43 is huge, obviously, but I've used cameras with much, much smaller sensors. Everyone is spoiled by their full frame, which IMO is too big for filming anything, but it works. The tokina 11-16 is still wide as fuck at 11 on a 2x crop sensor and as you said you get more reach which is great too. The m43 is a great skiing sensor, dont let anyone tell you otherwise althought i'm sure you agree with me, thats just an overall statement.

The a7s is a great camera, especially the mk2 but its also $3k and the screen sucks, the batteries are weak, every camera has cons.

 

[TheKerrKid]

For lenses, if your only shooting video, you can also just adapt. I ran nikon G glass with my GH3, and now do the same with my FS700 and my A6300. The metabones works quite well, I kept my G/m43 adapter around just in case the GH5 hooks me. I second the Tokina 11-16 for the micro 4/3 sensor, my favorite glidecam/gimbal lens. I dont get to shoot skiing very much anymore, but still love having a wide lens. If you have a epic deal I would pounce on the GH5. When you own a camera you quickly learn to work around it's flaws and exploit it's strengths. If you get a bit of noise, check out neat video plug in for premiere, its magical.

 

[juicedrummer11]

i will say having tried both the A7sii and the gh5 in the last couple months, the gh5 is awesome! The a7s shoots a great image, its full frame so its buttery in low light, but its only an 8-bit camera so trying to shoot a flat profile like slog 3 for the extra dynamic range gets a bit muddy.

the gh5 on the other hand and the 10bit files in 24p and 60p are the bees knees! i shot some test stuff with each and will post my findings here soon but i am all about the gh5 right now. plus the variable frame rate when you are just looking for extra slow motion is pretty legit. i shot with both a mf3 lens (12-35mm) and a metabones speed booster and sigma 24mm prime. i will definitely be using the gh5 for some of my weddings this summer. compared to my 60d in the low light with the speed booster, noise was not an issue. the coloring part of the 10 bit files makes it all worth it.

gh5 is a sick deal in my opinion. gonna play around a bit more with the files and throw together the test shots.

 

[foodisfun]

i will say having tried both the A7sii and the gh5 in the last couple months, the gh5 is awesome! The a7s shoots a great image, its full frame so its buttery in low light, but its only an 8-bit camera so trying to shoot a flat profile like slog 3 for the extra dynamic range gets a bit muddy.

the gh5 on the other hand and the 10bit files in 24p and 60p are the bees knees! i shot some test stuff with each and will post my findings here soon but i am all about the gh5 right now. plus the variable frame rate when you are just looking for extra slow motion is pretty legit. i shot with both a mf3 lens (12-35mm) and a metabones speed booster and sigma 24mm prime. i will definitely be using the gh5 for some of my weddings this summer. compared to my 60d in the low light with the speed booster, noise was not an issue. the coloring part of the 10 bit files makes it all worth it.

gh5 is a sick deal in my opinion. gonna play around a bit more with the files and throw together the test shots.

Is autofocus as bad as some reviews are making it seem? 10 bit files work fine in premiere?

Might be getting 2 gh5's with the audio units where I work. They'll probably mostly be used in interview setups but was hoping autofocus would work well if we threw it on the gimbal. Pretty interested in seeing stuff from the EVA1 as well, looks like a c200/fs5 competitor

 

[juicedrummer11]

Is autofocus as bad as some reviews are making it seem? 10 bit files work fine in premiere?

Might be getting 2 gh5's with the audio units where I work. They'll probably mostly be used in interview setups but was hoping autofocus would work well if we threw it on the gimbal. Pretty interested in seeing stuff from the EVA1 as well, looks like a c200/fs5 competitor

i didn't really dabble too much with the autofocus. i threw it on the glidecam with the sigma 24 mm and speed booster adapter and i don't believe continuous autofocus is supported with that. could be wrong but i kept it manual and used the focus peaking, which coming from a 60d and 7dmkii was like a christmas present on the glidecam.

i transcoded the 10bit files with EditReady to ProRes HQ. Used the trial version (1 min clip max transcode) and it worked pretty smooth. i am still on fcp 7 on my 2009 mbp but the prores HQ files worked pretty well at 1080p. I have to use proxies for 2k and up so i only shot a few clips at 4k with the gh5. i am pretty stoked on the results from a couple shots ive played with so far though.