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GH4 4K Panasonic video camera, official topic
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  • Very good videos, especially the one Bence Mate made, thanks. I can't wait for more samples and the final product to arrive in stores.

  • Had a play with the GH4 at BVExpo on Tuesday. Other than the fact that 96fps in Cinema Mode looked really nice at 1080p I was able to film 4k 4096x2160 24fps, PAL 3840x2160 25fps and 1080p 96fps on a 45mb Write / 90mb Read UHS class 3 card. Wish I took along one of my Sandisk 90mb Write / 95mb Read UHS class 1 cards to try out!

    I did have to reboot the camera to change from PAL to Cinema Mode to get the 96fps which is a minor gripe, mind you how often would you use 96fps I suppose?

    The camera felt very much like the GH3, even the menu's are similar with a few additions. The on-screen displays looked the same, although it has the addition of peaking.

    The SDI/XLR/Full HDMI box, undercarridge? what ever its called? didn't look as big as I'd seen in pictures, but it would still require some major re-arranging if you've got a powered shoulder rig to mount it on. Would be ideal if panasonic or someone created a shallower adapter that runs on a cable from the base of the camera to allow the box to be mounted on the rear of a shoulder rig???

    Will the GH4 replace my GH3? Not straight away. Especially as the GH3 body was retailed at £1500 when released in the UK when it was $1500 retail in the US. I got the PAL version for £899 just three months later in the UK when the price levelled out correctly to the rest of the world. Now that Panasonic have made the GH4 a switchable world cam I won't care which part of the world I get one!!!

  • Can you upload on we-transfer few second of unedited 4K material please?

  • I second that request ;-)

  • Sorry, when I say I filmed on a UHS 45mb card, the card was Panasonic's. I wish I took my cards! I did film a bit of the slow-motion 96fps playback on my iphone for what it's worth...

  • I must admit, although I was glad it was there in the first place, I was quite surprised at how lacklustre Panasonic's display for the GH4 was at BVExpo, litrally felt like it was sat on a spare bit of display stand to the side of all the broadcast cameras. I know its a pre-production model, but it was working very well aside from a few teething problems that required a reboot. Very small compared to Blackmagic's BMCC 4k display and presentation!

  • @jonpais thank god you don't see it because if you did you wouldn't like it. But it looks like you have found a nice balance in settings by not going for a really flat image out of the cam. The first time I shot with my GH4 I thought something looked odd with skin tones when trying to get that flat image. It bugged me so much I did a side by side comparisonwith my GH2 and it was pretty evident. Only way to avoid it is to do as you do and not stray so much from base settings.

  • I don't know, if it's well known, but Panasonic started to fill the F.A.Q. concerning the GH4 on http://eng-na.faq.panasonic.com/app/answers/list/page/1/st/5/kw/gh4/search/1 with some answers, such as:

    • Is Phantom Power supplied on the XLR connections of the GH4's interface unit?

    • Yes , 48V (switched)is provided

    • How is the GH4's optional A/V interface unit powered?

    • The interface unit must be powered by an external (customer provided) 12V DC power source, such as those offered by Anton Bauer. The power connection is a 4-pin Canon style power connector, the same as used by most professional cameras. This power connection will also power the GH4 body.

    • How is the GH4's optional A/V interface unit powered?

    • The interface unit must be powered by an external (customer provided) 12V DC power source, such as those offered by Anton Bauer. The power connection is a 4-pin Canon style power connector, the same as used by most professional cameras. This power connection will also power the GH4 body.

    • When 10-bit 4:2:2 HDMI output is enabled (using the GH4 as a live camera) can you also simultaneously record to the SD card?

    • No, you cannot.

  • @MRfanny Thanks for your response! If I had more experience with different cameras, maybe I would be aware of the problem. I also just watched the grading tutorial over at CC and realized that I don't know what I'm doing^^ All along, I've just been doing global corrections by eye instead of using the RGB scope and adjusting highlights first. I tried following Denver Riddle's advice on a few clips and was able to get much better color than the videos I've posted. But he did confirm what I thought all along, and that is, that it's best to do color correction prior to adding the look you're after. So I suppose I'll be spending all weekend playing around with editing... Here are a few clips I made: https://copy.com/j27nZhXTCheP I'm sure that after some experimentation, I'll be able to get a more cinematic look than anything I've done up until now.

  • @kirk thanks for info. Thats a good news if 45mb Write sped card was working then 95 should be fine as well. Could you point me which card exactly was in camera?

  • $1699 body only at Vistek

  • Am I the only one who feels like GH4 image looks more detailed than BMPC4K? I might bet that GH4 resolves more lines than BMPC4K. - After seeing latest GH4 footage, Im starting to lean towards GH4 as my next potential camera choice ;) (I own GH2)

  • Some random korean website my girlfriend found on her blackberry last week said it was $8975 with the breakbox and custom wrist strap. Might have been a grey-market dealer though. I'll probably pass on the GH4, as I already have a 4K wrist strap.

  • So my understanding is the 4K mode is basically the extended tele conversion mode of the GH2/GH3 but using a 4K native sensor output rather than 1080p? If thats the case, will there be the same issues of higher noise and image softness at longer focal lengths with some lenses compared to 'full sensor' 1080p mode?

  • can anyone post the original 4K files???

  • If people want original 4K files, there's nothing stopping anyone from going to the youtube pages where the various vids are being hosted and contacting the authors directly.

  • ou c´mon, its so stupid your position. The fact that here are already users 'talking about' the files blablabla but noone see nothing is absurd... so we need facts, files and test thats.

  • Sample videos look great. Can't wait to get my hands on one!

  • @konjow In the GH4 was a Panasonic SDXC UHS-3 class 3 (90mb Read/ 45mb Write) card. Any new SDXC card with the class 3 statement should mean it can record a minimum of 30mb/s, which is more than the 25mb/s Panasonic states is needed to record 4k. On that note, any SDXC class 1 card which states write speeds at a minimum of 30mb/s should effectively work the same? The fact that the class 3 standard has been around for only a short period of time should be irrelevant, unless the camera is only designed to work with class 3 cards, which I doubt. On that score, I'm hoping the Sandisk Extreme Pro 95mb/s write cards work in the camera :-)

  • @amateur

    hope these shots not coming from the GH4 … DR is very poor, seems to be low-cost phone videos … hum hum ….

  • Thanks @kirk What is interesting here http://panasonic.net/avc/sdcard/product_lineup/ Gold Pro Series is uhs1 class1 write 95 read 80 when Gold Series is uhs1 with class3 I though 3 would be faster then 1. However its not Gold PRO its only Gold and its slower 90/45 -thats the one you were talking about. 4K supported on both. However there is Gold Series UHS1 class 1 same speed 90/45 and 4K is not supported. Your old Sandisk 95 may not work.

  • Please, can someone upload to we-transfer 10 seconds or something like this of original 4K material from GH4. But please, original, unedited, directly from the camera. Thanks.

  • @lolodigital I thought the same initially, but I suggest you to have a closer look: first video is made in very unlucky lighting situation (big shining windows all around) and the second video if you trash the first shots reveals some nice colors and good cinematographic potential of the camera, in my (humble) opinion. See the cityscape and colors in the taxi scenes. No offense to Eduardo Angel, but when I saw some other video he made with the GH3 on his website, that didn't amaze me in terms of photography and grading. So I think the camera could get to a totally different level when used in more favorable situations and with of course some practice.

  • @konjow I can see your point, this does however smell of an advertising gimmick. I've used SDHC cards in the past. Same brand cards with the same speed specifications, but one had the word VIDEO emblasened on the front of the card, it cost 20% more to buy, but in the end both cards worked in the HD camcorders and DSLR's for video work. If a card has got 4k stated boldly on the front Panasonic, Sandisk or whoever know they will be able to sell at a marked up price, but in the end they should be the same card with different stickers, just format in the device you need to use it in and it should work.

    The question I'm pondering is would the firmware be able to disable the use of UHS-1 cards altogether in 4k mode and only allow the newer rebranded UHS-3 cards???? I doubt it but we shall see!