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GH4 4K Panasonic video camera, official topic
  • 3230 Replies sorted by
  • konjowkonjow

    "calling somebody's baby ugly"-nothing wrong with it. i have brand new baby (4w) and I call it ugly. Its a good thing to be objective most new baby's are ugly for non owners. But this is mine so I can be honest :)

    Its the Same with camera. I did not like GH2 so I sold it but I can't say it was bad camera just Preferred Gh3 for my needs. GH4 is another step up for my needs. I would prefer 4K would not be there so could be cheaper other wise with this policy Gh7 will cost €3600. But hey other then that I can't complain because it not my baby yet!

  • AstroAstro

    @jrd says Quote: And, of course, no thread is complete without somebody throwing in the "troll" word, when the party line isn't being religiously observed by all contributors. But never mind. This is the best of all possible worlds and the GH4 is the best of all possible cameras. Unquote

    Thats right...we are all mindless robots, incapable of seeing anything...or making up our own minds

    (except you of course...who can see things as they really are), and is brave enough to point out the real truth and hopefully convince the unfortunate ones that are under Panasonic or Personal-Views control.

    Thank you for your several pages of insightful observations.

    Yawn!!

  • TronTron

    @jrd Of the currently available options, yes the GH4 is superior and by quite a wide margin. And there is significantly less hype surrounding the camera when compared to the A7s.

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    @driftwood @neokoo If its been transcoded that would be good to know and would make some sense...

  • driftwooddriftwood

    @neokoo Well spotted. Bloom has obviously put it thru a transcode. He's obviously recorded at UHD mp4 and transcoded it to pro res then exported to mp4 again. So its been through a few re-encodes probably third generation. Maybe he will answer here?

  • c3hammerc3hammer

    @jrd what is your deal? There are no other cams that we can even compare to. A Canon 1DC at $10k? it's only advantage is exceptional low light ability. A sony FS700 at $7k? It's only advantage is 240 fps with one of least pleasing images out there. Blackmagics are nice, but they shoot blanks for a feature set and usability. Canon, Nikon and Sony have nothing in the realm. I just don't understand what you're comparing to.

  • jrdjrd

    And, of course, no thread is complete without somebody throwing in the "troll" word, when the party line isn't being religiously observed by all contributors. But never mind. This is the best of all possible worlds and the GH4 is the best of all possible cameras.

  • johnnymossvillejohnnymossville

    A forum is never complete until the troll shows up. Heck, I enjoy hearing from them.

  • jrdjrd

    No technical info here, still more emotional terms

    If you want "technical info" you're in the wrong place. In 69 pages, there's not a color chart , DR measurement, resolution chart, etc. If you regard my description of the footage's shortcomings, which are specific, as "emotional", how would you describe the expressions of joy and delight here? Objective assessments?

    For anyone who thinks this material grades well, or that there's abundant DR, there's plenty to compare it to on the web. Film scans, 4:2:2 footage, etc. Give it a try. Also look closely at the samples of grades posted here, including the one a few posts above. Nothing wrong?

    But, that said, @Astro is absolutely right: there's no point in continuing this conversation. The whole thing recalls previous discussions about the GH2, where posters insisted that the GH2 was the best video camera under $10K or $20K, etc. etc. etc., and saying otherwise was worse than calling somebody's baby ugly.

  • AstroAstro

    @jrd Honestly I read through the last few pages of this forum...and you are being really boring. What are you trying to achieve? thats the question you perhaps should be asking yourself...so you think the GH4 is not that good...fine, but post after post about "oversharpening, colorcast, it will hit a grading wall and whatever else you can dredge up." You are coming across as someone that has a strong bias against the Camera.

    So why dont you go to a forum that has a camera you like and post there instead of trolling the negative stuff here, people like Driftwood and others here have had far more hands on the Gh4 than you have and they like it, people that have graded several images with it like it ...yet you continue to push your views.

    Again "What are trying to achieve exactly"?...that you have a better eye than anyone else incl Driftwood and some others that do grading for a living here...well I seriously doubt that, the images look mostly great to me and I am an artist by trade (you know the type that actually creates images and makes them look good from scratch) So really ..go and buy an Arri or a $15,000 Canon or something and be happy and enjoy your "perfect" camera and make a movie and be happy.

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    @ itimjim - i think the image looks fine, its just not an improvement on GH2 / GH3 in lowlight compression. Don't wanna jump the gun but if its an mp4 specific thing then it'd be good to know. Haven't seen much lowlight footage so far apart from this.

  • neokooneokoo

    @driftwood

    Do you know if that Philip Bloom night drive clip is directly from GH4, or is it recompressed?

    QuickTime tells it's 3840x2160 at 200Mbps and quick calculation based on duration and filesize tells the same. I thought GH4 is supposed to do 4k/UHD only at 100Mbps.

  • itimjimitimjim

    @nobbystylus I was fairly impressed with the image. Agreed there's some compression and smearing in the darker areas, but it's still pretty impressive. I have a little more hope about this camera. Problem is, I can't really be all that bothered with an external recorder :(

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    @ driftwood - Bloom's mp4 night vegas shots aren't great in the dark areas. Compression is pretty bad in low light. I'm guessing / hoping thats just the mp4 codec?

  • caveportcaveport

    @jrd Quote: "Okay, I'll try to clarify. The color, in those instances, is not accurate, edges are unnaturally sharp, the footage has an overall color cast difficult to neutralize, and clipping is abrupt and deadly in the course of grading, for lack of DR." No technical info here, still more emotional terms i.e. "abrupt and deadly".

    Examples would be useful, or references to particular test footage. Accurate colour is VERY difficult to judge without having seen the original scene. Colour casts are a camera setup issue. IMO not difficult to fix as grading is what I do for a job ;-) EVERY camera will show colour casts due to colour temperature variation, including sunlight time of day issues. ALL clipping is harsh looking unless using soft clip LUT's or highlight curves to prevent harsh clipping edges. This is not unique to this camera. Lack of DR comment has me perplexed.

  • endotoxicendotoxic

    seems to me that its like no one can manage to expose correctly this sensor. the exposure is always on the highlights, post processing will give you the desired look and data on the shadows. This tests don't give the true potential of this camera, its a shame. :-(

  • Manu4VendettaManu4Vendetta

  • endotoxicendotoxic

    i have seen enought! read enough and though enough.

    This camera is an massive achievement for the masses. You can really grade this shit all the way to the moon on 10bit 4:2:2

    With PL lenses an a proper cinematographer this sensor will shine all the way. I allways though m4/3 size sensor is the sweet spot since original 4:3 cinema standard was like this sensor size. Now we have the better sensor ever made for this series and fuck men!!! is an NMO sensor!! captures light pseudo CCD like, so this is fantastic is GH2 GH1 pedigree for real, no that Sony shit GH3 sensor. No offence GH3 users. The look on GH4 will be there just give time for proper DP.

    for the price this camera rock solid over the competition. Shine now M43

  • jamesgh2jamesgh2

    Just graded the Driftwood's 10 bit approximation file and color me impressed. I could push it like crazy with several layers of CC and it didn't break. Only problem area is the right eye below the cap where noise was present since the beginning, just looks a tad wrong. Other than that like butter.

    jamesgh2_DriftwoodGrade.jpg
    800 x 843 - 356K
  • jrdjrd

    I'm not convinced that emotional terms like "put your teeth on edge" are helpful in this discussion.

    Okay, I'll try to clarify. The color, in those instances, is not accurate, edges are unnaturally sharp, the footage has an overall color cast difficult to neutralize, and clipping is abrupt and deadly in the course of grading, for lack of DR.

  • driftwooddriftwood

    @jrd Thats your personal-view, I think we've understood that now. :-)

  • caveportcaveport

    @jrd I have been very impressed with how the GH4 footage grades. I use DaVinci Resolve for grading and the footage I have downloaded with the Cinelike D settings, grades very well. Yes they are only 8bit 4:2:0 samples I have tried, so it's not perfect and I can see some issues like noise in dark saturated colours & some compression artefacts, but I think it's a fine camera for a lot of applications.

    I'm not convinced that emotional terms like "put your teeth on edge" are helpful in this discussion.

  • jrdjrd

    @Ian_T

    Yes, compared to the GH2, the GH4 is a clear advance, but there are so many other choices today, standards are higher now in the <$3K realm (much less $15K!).

    I'll go further, FWIW: to my eyes, the GH4 footage is over-processed, probably a combination of sharpening, odd color casts and in-camera "enhancement". Lower contrast, saturation, sharpening settings might help, also non-lumix lenses. Impossible to say, without having the camera in hand. But it becomes more evident, as you grade the footage, and hit a wall -- the point where the stuff is difficult to look at. Even some minimally graded stuff can put your teeth on edge.

    But of course, this is subjective, others will see it differently. All I can say is, if anyone's interested in my view, grade before you buy.

    (Comparisons of GH2/Red did not come from me. It was some other malefactor!)

  • driftwooddriftwood

    Download Philip Bloom's Vegas Night Ride with a GH4 here: https://t.co/QNonrvo1YR

    This was recorded at 4K UHD 3840*2160 mp4 mode it appears. Its an ok test considering he's not had much time with it.

    *UPDATE: The recording shows 200Mbps so he's done some transcoding to it. Ignore it as a test.

  • kellar42kellar42

    There haven't been any excuses for a long time. Still I want this camera to ship!

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