The new DMC-GH4 further evolves to bridge the gap of consumer video camera and professional video camera. One of the most prominent advance is unlimited*14K video recording (Cinema 4K: 4096×2160 / 24 fps and QFHD 4K: 3840×2160 / up to 30 fps) in MOV/MP4*2. The DMC-GH4 is also capable of recording Full- HD video with ultra high bitrate at 200 Mbps (ALL-Intra) or 100 Mbps (IPB) without recording time limit.

Full text now online at Panasonic Announces 4K Mirrorless DMC-GH4 at DV Info Net (http://www.dvinfo.net/news/panasonic-announces-4k-mirrorless-dmc-gh4.html)

I'm working on adding all the photos; will update directly.

4K 2160p video:

[NEW] Panasonic LUMIX GH4 "Light of the Yucatan" in 4K by Bryan Harvey - YouTube

Tasty! This'll be pretty high on my NAB playlist.

Press release updated with a bunch of photos: Panasonic Announces 4K Mirrorless DMC-GH4 at DV Info Net (http://www.dvinfo.net/news/panasonic-announces-4k-mirrorless-dmc-gh4.html)

Clarity looks immense.

Also love that XLR attachment. Beefs up the look of the camera as well.

That looks very nice indeed, the xlr attachment however looks huge in comparison with the camera so a rig would be in order to use that handheld, good thing I"m out of budget right now or else I"d have it on pre-order :)

Very impressed by the graded sample footage. For sure the quadcopter footage had to have been shot using the internal codec, and it actually looks very nice.

I may be tempted to get one with a 14-42mm F2.8. No mention of AVC-Ultra or P2 is good, since I'd much rather work with files than a P2 workflow on a Windows PC. (If I were on a Mac, it'd be slightly different, but single MOV/MP4 files I can actually work with.)

I would have expected that the body and layout of the buttons might be different but it looks like they just refurbished the gh3 body instead, from what I have read there is still a 30 minute limitation on pal models and no build in nd filters but for many other points it does improve on the gh3 (like having zebra's and focuspeaking, just to name a few) I"m glad all my existing m4/3 glass can be put to use when I would get the body only which should be around 2000 euro (without the xlr attachment) so that's not a major cost.

Anyone know where I can pre-order this? B&H only has it on shipping notification, no pre-order.

My only complaint is the XLR unit... since it's build for video, it could be more ergonomically friendly to videographers.

Funny, I had been wondering about a week ago how long it would take one of the big companies to realize how much money they were losing by not building an add on XLR solution and bundling it with their own cameras.

Well this is just incredibly attractive. Any notions of price-point(s) yet? I don't think I'd be surprised if the attachment is more expensive than the camera.

Anyone know where I can pre-order this? B&H only has it on shipping notification, no pre-order.

I'll post any pre-order info as soon as I get it from our affiliates (B&H, Amazon, Adorama etc.) Not seeing any pricing just yet.

Now we need a Active EF-MFT adaptor that supports IS. Too much invested in EF lenses...

EF to m4/3 Speedbooster would be the way to go, help counter the small sensor.

The GH3 gets slammed for hardcoding a 10 second timeout on the displays, no peaking and zebras while many lesser cameras leave the displays on and provide at least peaking.

I think that unless one is all slathered up in the IQ, the above design flubs plus some other ones make the camera (IMHO) an ergonomic joke. Glad to get rid of mine.

Panasonic has the AF100 in proper camcorder form factor to hold all the guts and extras but doesn't. As far as I'm concerned, putting all this stuff into a DSLR and add on box makes the GH4 impossible to hold thus requiring a cage. Thus continuing the joke. More stills camera designers at play.

Dang, the gh4 is prized at 1500 euro on a dutch resellers site, that's just a bit more then what I paid for the sony rx10, it's about 20% cheaper then a blackmagic 2,5k camera.

The GH4 has peaking and zebras. Biggest draw back for me is no 4:2:2 in camera. I am trying to stay light weight so external recorder is out. But if it comes in priced under $1500 I will probably buy one.

Biggest draw back for me is no 4:2:2 in camera

Which camera can do 10bit 4:2:2 in 4k to a external recorder for around 1500dollar? I think for that prize you are getting a lot, even if it's not internally recorded.

Pair this with about any camera with clean HDMI out, for 4:2:2 spec.

Blackmagic Design: HyperDeck Shuttle Tech Specs (http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/hyperdeckshuttle/techspecs)

I thought a few clips in the GH4 demo looked a bit soft (flamingos) and I noticed some moire in the stonework during the first couple of clips. Color looked quite nice. Overall I found myself more impressed with the AX100 demo.

As more 4k consumer cams come out, that's great but I'm still left wondering how consumers are going to playback that 4k content on their UHD televisions?

I was watching the excitement of the AX100 spokesperson at CES touting the 4k features, but the question was asked of her, what can you do with it? She said, ...you can edit it in Vegas. Great! Then what?

What we're missing are good playback options. The Sony 4k media server streams from the internet, and plays back HD media files from a flash drive, but not 4k, and in any case only works with a Sony UHDTV. The Redray player from Red also plays HD media files, but 4k only if it's from Red. The Samsung UHDTV will playback 4k from a flash drive but only if you use a hack that requires you to split the file into 4 quadrants. I mean...come on! The panasonic UHDTV may be the only one that supports 4k playback from a flash drive at this time and I can't confirm that, the LG is uncertain. If you believed in conspiracies, you just might conclude that the mfr's aren't much interested in supporting your own 4k activities as they are in controlling all 4k access.

Right now, the consumer wanting to watch 4k content is left with streaming it out to his tablet or portable wireless device, playing from a HTPC, or connecting his camera to the monitor to see only raw unedited, ungraded footage in 4k. I think those are pretty crummy options for jumping into 4k video cams for the average amateur, but I'm sure others disagree.

Hi

4K is still very early days. If 3D had taken off we'd still be waiting for 4K, make no mistake it's launch is less about practicality but more about the numbers game and an attempt to stop falling sales of TV and related equipment by making everyone feel their TV is now out of date and to go out and buy another one. It will be long while yet before the general public are actually watching 4K even if they have a 4K panel.

The vast majority of the general public are still watching SD on HD TVs none the wiser!

Still 4K is giving us some impressive 2K now, 200Mbits/sec all Intra or 100Mbits/sec long GOP acquisition, plus the option for 0-255 which is capturing more picture information for extra latitude in post.

A shame we are still waiting for 4K at 50/60fps and that 4K is limited to just 100Mbits/sec, that's a 25Mbits/sec equivalent for 1080P, although this betters Sony AX100 which is allowing just 15Mbits/sec to each 1080P quadrant.

Regards

Phil

Pair this with about any camera with clean HDMI out, for 4:2:2 spec.

Blackmagic Design: HyperDeck Shuttle Tech Specs (http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/hyperdeckshuttle/techspecs)

That does not record 4K AFAIK, so it would not be particularly useful.

To Tom Roper: I'm still supplying customers with media players and bluray players so they can watch their HD.

Hi

4K is still very early days. If 3D had taken off we'd still be waiting for 4K, make no mistake it's launch is less about practicality but more about the numbers game and an attempt to stop falling sales of TV and related equipment by making everyone feel their TV is now out of date and to go out and buy another one. It will be long while yet before the general public are actually watching 4K even if they have a 4K panel.

The vast majority of the general public are still watching SD on HD TVs none the wiser!


I disagree with that. Most people are not replacing their TV sets because a newer model comes out, they replace them when they get old. When they do that they will probably choose whatever the current technology is. Mistaking that as a driving force for sales is paranoid. Very few people look at their TV sets (or any household appliance for that matter) in the same way that they might with their cell phones.

Hi

I disagree with that. Most people are not replacing their TV sets because a newer model comes out, they replace them when they get old. When they do that they will probably choose whatever the current technology is. Mistaking that as a driving force for sales is paranoid. Very few people look at their TV sets (or any household appliance for that matter) in the same way that they might with their cell phones.

Exactly, that is the problem.

Flat-screens and 720P panels, DVD players then DVD players with "upscalers", 1080P TVs, then Blu-ray, many countries get digital switch over driving more sales, AV Amps for the home cinema experience, then bigger TVs, then smart TVs connected to online services. Then 3D was the must have which failed to drive any real sales so 4K has arrived, ironically they are calling 4K more 3D and life like than 3D was!

For 30 years or so the only change in TV technology in the UK and much of Europe was NICAM stereo and a couple of new channels bringing the total up to 4 then 5 in the UK. VHS was around for a long time but only had minor improvements, like S-VHS and Hi-Fi audio which apart from me, I knew no one else with S-VHS.

In recent times the TV industry has grown on the back of new technology from this digital age. The industry doesn't want to go back to a time where having a 20 year old TV is the norm because it just does the same as a new one would, not that they would last that long anyway before breaking down these days!

Still this what is driving progress, things get better, but the sad thing is many people I know have bought into this HD world, and they aren't watching HD but think they are, let alone 4K.

Regards

Phil

The GH3 gets slammed for hardcoding a 10 second timeout on the displays, no peaking and zebras while many lesser cameras leave the displays on and provide at least peaking.

GH4 has peaking and zebras. As a GH3 owner, this alone is worth the upgrade. DCI-compliant 4K is just a bonus.

I think if panny is offering the GH4 with all these wonderful specs but we're having to add a whole bunch of gear to make the GH act like a video camera, it would make better since to include all the specs in an AF200, a real video/cine cam.

Speaking of adding gear to make the GH4K act like a video camera, don't forget that the SDI-XLR brick requires external 12 V power. Not a compact rig, or even a rig that matches a large video camera for ergonomics.

I thought a few clips in the GH4 demo looked a bit soft (flamingos) and I noticed some moire in the stonework during the first couple of clips. Color looked quite nice. Overall I found myself more impressed with the AX100 demo.

I beg to differ, the edges of the AX100 demo showed smearing due to the internal lens geometry correction. The AX100 also looked oversharpened in places compared to the GH4. Remember too that the GH4 footage has been graded and that the demo is not representative of actual raw footage from the camera.

The thing that put me off of the AF100 was that the image looked way too oversharpened. I'll only be convinced to move to a AF200 if there's 4K 50p/60p, and a decent not oversharpened image.

Those features would be nice, i'm not sure panny would offer those features considering the Varicam 4k announcement coming up.

Jack, yes, I did see the oversharpening but I saw no smearing (I know you've mentioned that before, but I don't think many people saw that or agreed). On another forum one member watched on a 65" Sony 4K TV and saw none of these artifacts. With that said, I was still more impressed with what appeared to me to be greater resolution of the AX100...not just sharpness. For the life of me, I have no idea why Panasonic decided to keep in their demo reel the clips of the flamingos that were obviously soft.

Was this softness the result of misfocusing or something else? If it was a focusing error, it doesn't bode well for non-professionals trying to get accurate focus in 4K with a shallow DOF when the pro couldn't achieve it. The moire was also a bit concerning, but I'm not sure if that's the result of the 4K clips being downrez'd on YouTube or actual issues with the camera.


We'll have to wait and see how the actual footage out of these cameras holds up.

Most people are not replacing their TV sets because a newer model comes out, they replace them when they get old. When they do that they will probably choose whatever the current technology is. Mistaking that as a driving force for sales is paranoid. Very few people look at their TV sets (or any household appliance for that matter) in the same way that they might with their cell phones.

Steve has described me perfectly. My wife and I replace our cel phones every other generation (iPhone 3S, 4S, now 5S), but the television set in the living room -- a 50" 2009 Panasonic PZ850 -- will stay there until its power board gets borked for the second time. It's already blown once, two months out of warranty, and there ain't gonna be no third time.

I could buy a 4K set today. But my most compelling reason not to do that is, what am I going to do with this big-ass PZ850 if it's still working perfectly? It's too big to ship anywhere, so that rules out Ebay or otherwise trying to sell it online. Craigslist? Meh. It's too big for my dad's house and my in-laws don't need it. All my neighbors already have their big flat-panels. So, I gotta wait for this one to break. Hmm...

As more 4k consumer cams come out, that's great but I'm still left wondering how consumers are going to playback that 4k content on their UHD televisions?



You're right Tom, it's a question I've wrestled with for a long time. We know the AX100 will play back raw footage OOC to a Sony UHD TV. But will it play it OOC to a Samsung...to an LG...to a Panasonic?

I have an AX100 on order and Best Buy has welcomed me to come over with the camera and try plugging it in to a Samsung to see whether or not it's compatible. That should be an interesting exercise.

As for an edited project, yikes! I know my Edius 7 accepts the Sony codec, but even there I don't know how it will output the project. Even if it outputs back to the original Sony codec, how do you get it back to even a Sony UHD TV? Can you put it back on the SDXC card or, as is more than likely, will the file not be recognized because it doesn't have the proper file structure created within the camera?

It's a brave new 4K world...or is it just a scary new 4K world? ;)

So, I gotta wait for this one to break. Hmm...

Chris, may I suggest taking an 'accidental' hit to the PZ850 with a hammer? ****happens. :)

Which camera can do 10bit 4:2:2 in 4k to a external recorder for around 1500dollar?

Yep -- I bet Canon are now rallying their 8-bit 1DC troops for the upcoming NAB, (among a few other 4K manufacturers ;^) Interesting times, indeed.

-- peer

Jack, yes, I did see the oversharpening but I saw no smearing (I know you've mentioned that before, but I don't think many people saw that or agreed). On another forum one member watched on a 65" Sony 4K TV and saw none of these artifacts. With that said, I was still more impressed with what appeared to me to be greater resolution of the AX100...not just sharpness. For the life of me, I have no idea why Panasonic decided to keep in their demo reel the clips of the flamingos that were obviously soft.

Was this softness the result of misfocusing or something else? If it was a focusing error, it doesn't bode well for non-professionals trying to get accurate focus in 4K with a shallow DOF when the pro couldn't achieve it. The moire was also a bit concerning, but I'm not sure if that's the result of the 4K clips being downrez'd on YouTube or actual issues with the camera.


We'll have to wait and see how the actual footage out of these cameras holds up.

It was more than likely a focusing error on that one shot. Under controlled conditions with a stationary object, I'm willing to bet the focus is just as good as the GH3. We won't know until we see raw GH4 footage how well the camera stands up ungraded with it's stock codecs.

The smearing in the AX100 is only apparent on the outermost edges of the frame, and is most apparent where lines intersect the edges of the frame. They don't look as crisp due to internal processing taking the raw square pixels uncorrected and correcting for the lens. You have to look at a 100% crop to see what I'm talking about. The boat scene in the sample video shows this on the very left and center of the frame.

As more 4k consumer cams come out, that's great but I'm still left wondering how consumers are going to playback that 4k content on their UHD televisions?

I've said this before -- in post, with 4k footage, you'll have more leverage to push in, pan across, and tweak it beyond any regular HD footage -- no matter if its final destination is only 1080p, (or even 720p).

-- peer

As for an edited project, yikes! I know my Edius 7 accepts the Sony codec, but even there I don't know how it will output the project. Even if it outputs back to the original Sony codec, how do you get it back to even a Sony UHD TV? Can you put it back on the SDXC card or, as is more than likely, will the file not be recognized because it doesn't have the proper file structure created within the camera?

It's a brave new 4K world...or is it just a scary new 4K world? ;)

Lol, yes :)

Playing out 4k from the camera to the UHDTV over the HDMI should work. But if I edit the 4k XAVC video from the f55 in Vegas, render it back out to XAVC, then copy the file to the SxS memory card, the camera won't play it. So the camera as a *media server* is incomplete.

If I render out a 28 mb/s 4k h.264 file with x264, Windows Media Player plays it beautifully in HD, it looks great and can be streamed to the HDTV over the hdmi. I'm sure it would still look excellent in 4k but it's now been reduced to 8 bit 4:2:0 rec.709.

To make that happen in 4k however requires a 4k gpu graphics card. I just don't like the solution when these new 4k tvs have usb ports for playing media like photos and HD directly, to not support 4k seems like more than omission.

^^^ This is what I was assuming, that if one has an UHDTV display or projector, at least you could play your 4K motion footage directly from the camera to it. Which would be really cool at least to see what the raw footage looks like. Is that correct?

Does it record 4K internal or I need the interface unit?

It says " One of the most prominent advance is unlimited 4K video recording..." but then It says "Motion image can be recorded up to 29 min 59 sec.." So limited ?

I'm confused

GH4 has peaking and zebras. As a GH3 owner, this alone is worth the upgrade. DCI-compliant 4K is just a bonus.

Yes. Those two things are in the PR. You can thank those who've been vocal critics of Panasonic while fanboys made excuses for Panasonic. You're welcome. There's several flaws in the GH3 firmware that have gone unfixed no doubt as Panasonic was busy on 4K. Frankly, imagine how much better cameras at this price point would be if manufacturers didn't have to chase yet something else from the spreadsheet toting MBAs in product marketing. You know, like a camera that can keep the overlay displays on for more than 10 seconds. Or in the case of the GH3, a small LCD that shows your shooting settings at a glance. Better yet, Custom settings that actually stores exposure and WB settings.

.
The smearing in the AX100 is only apparent on the outermost edges of the frame, and is most apparent where lines intersect the edges of the frame. They don't look as crisp due to internal processing taking the raw square pixels uncorrected and correcting for the lens. You have to look at a 100% crop to see what I'm talking about. The boat scene in the sample video shows this on the very left and center of the frame.

When it comes to video Jack, I'm not a pixel peeper. If I'm watching my own material on a 64" plasma, I'll watch from about 8'. So no issues regarding that 'issue'. :)

^^^ This is what I was assuming, that if one has an UHDTV display or projector, at least you could play your 4K motion footage directly from the camera to it. Which would be really cool at least to see what the raw footage looks like. Is that correct?

Yes Ron, that's correct. You can play the AX100 output directly from the camera's HDMI output to a Sony UHD TV. However, I'm not sure if that would work if you did the same thing from the AX100 to a Samsung UHD TV. You would think it would work, but until I see someone try it on a different brand with success, who knows for sure?

Newsshooter editor Dan Chung talks to Hotrod Camera's owner Illya Friedman about the new Panasonic GH4.
Friedman is one of the lucky few that has already had hands on with the GH4 and is has been selling and supporting Panasonic's GH line for cine use for many years.
Newsshooter interview: GH4 feature breakdown with Hotrod Camera's Illya Friedman on Vimeo

You can thank those who've been vocal critics of Panasonic while fanboys made excuses for Panasonic. You're welcome.

As if the "vocal critics" have anything to do with the improvements on the gh4, there used to be a time where user input was taken into consideration of which the dvx line was a good example but that's a long time ago, the only impression I get now is that new products are either rushed to keep up with competing manufacturers or deliberately crippled to protect any other product, either cheaper or more expensive models they have in their pipeline.

I like the gh4 in it's bare form, only for it's 4k capability which could give me reframing options which can be essential to me as a solo shooter and the fact I can use all my existing glass on it, the few improvements, added features, ease of use when you are a gh3 owner and the low prize (1500 euro in The Netherlands) are just a bonus, but fact remains that once you start adding accessories like the batterygrip/xlr 'brick' thing and a external recorder for your 10 bit 4:2:2 recording option the camera becomes a ergonomical nightmare, still having to add a nd filter and the stupid 30 minute recording limit for EU people doesn't help much either but maybe the vocal critics can make that change for the next gh5 version? :)

For me Im looking forward to seeing how a good 4k framegrab from the gh4 will print to a 10x8 inch photo.
Thats a real world application for 4k (the pixel dimensions of the gh4 4k footage translates to approx 12 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches at 300dpi)
I would love 4k video from a fullframe camera for this reason but the canon 1dc is out of my pricerange.
This could force the price of the 1dc down a bit though.

For me, my take on the GH4 is a very nice B camera to my EX1R. I really have no intentions of making it my A-cam unless it's the only camera I have available on a shoot. Plus the MFT form factor is less intimidating than a full frame DSLR and my hulking EX1R IMHO.

200mbps I-frame 1080p60 has got to be what won me over. Having the option of 100Mbps also won me over for that specific frame rate.

I wonder if Sony will make a FS200 and FS800, with respective XAVC-S and XAVC Long-GOP only recording, with the FS800 having standard Long GOP only XAVC and RAW options, and the FS200 limited to XAVC-S. Both of these models would completely exclude I-frame, and only the FS800 would support 4K 50/60p and 4096x2160 at up to 30p.

.... but fact remains that once you start adding accessories like the batterygrip/xlr 'brick' thing and a external recorder for your 10 bit 4:2:2 recording option the camera becomes a ergonomical nightmare, still having to add a nd filter and the stupid 30 minute recording limit for EU people doesn't help much either but maybe the vocal critics can make that change for the next gh5 version? :)

You are buying a stills camera. It's only a piece of a camcorder. No surprise you have to add ND filters and bricks to turn it into one. 10 bit 4:2:2 requires space and power that the package just may not support. The 30 minute limit is because immmm yep ...... wait for it .... it's a stills camera. That's the EU law. If it records 30 minutes, it's a video camera (according to the EU) and the price goes up. Firmware changes aren't going to address the missing hardware like ND and XLR. But it does address things like Focus Peaking, Zebras and other GH3 flaws like the disappearing display after 10 seconds. Canon and Sony monitor this forum. Panasonic probably does monitoring. Bugs and flaws are noticed. Raves do nothing. If the GH3 flaws are fixed in the GH4, you can thank a vocal critic.

I"m sure Panasonic didn't improve every single flaw ever mentioned by a critic so who is to blame then? Unless you are a part of their management team, you will never know what goes on behind the screen, therefore thinking that any voice will have an impact is just guessing. I unfortunately know about the eu limit, but accepting it like it is doesn't make you a fanboy either, it's just some stupid law made by a person on top of a big organisation, and the same stupid decisions are made on managment level of every camera manufacturer based solely on making profit or just not caring what real users out there need. Low prized camera's in the dslr section will always be flawed in one or the other way and forums will be filled with users sharing idea's for workarounds, it's in the nature of the beast. Instead of constantly complaining I rather just start using any "tool" out there that suites my purposes best and if that makes me a fanboy that's fine by me, Currently I"m editing a wedding shot with the help of my gh3 and it looks just great, the disappearing of the info on screen didn't have any impact on that and once my budget allows it the gh4 will probably be the next step, with or without flaws

Anyone know where I can pre-order this? B&H only has it on shipping notification, no pre-order.

My only complaint is the XLR unit... since it's build for video, it could be more ergonomically friendly to videographers. .
The whole camera could be more ergonomic to videographers. Why didn't they take the guts of the GH4 & put it in a proper camcorder body with ND filters, dual card slots etc as a replacement for AF100?