Hey Steve, what cards are you using in the GH5?

Hey Steve, what cards are you using in the GH5?

Same cards I used on my GH4/GX80/G80, Transcend. Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-64GB-Class-SDXC-Memory/dp/B00J3KA8JG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491477120&sr=8-2&keywords=transcend%2Bsd%2Bcard&th=1

In a positive or negative way? I just saw below video and the AF seems like unusable to me.

https://youtu.be/PE9SbpVnrss

In a very positive way. I agree with almost all of what Steve said. A gem of a camera. As for AF, I and other owners have conducted tests and results are hugely different from Max's. I suspect he got a bad body. I can't duplicate his issues no matter what I do.

So as to prove my point, here are a variety of videos I shot, trying to duplicate what Max did, that prove how different his GH5 is from mine. The last one is not mine. I'm not saying the GH5's AF is perfect, and doesn't a hunt a bit from time to time, my A6300 did too and often wouldn't even focus on the subject, but it's a whole lot better than what Max showed.

The camera is getting a very bad rap from one review that may well be from a defective camera. It's too bad.


Another GH5 AF Test - YouTube

Lens test - YouTube

GH5 AF test - YouTube

Panasonic GH5 4K 4:2:2 Autofocus Handheld Stabilizer with Olympus M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm f2.8 Pro - YouTube

No camera is perfect and free from flaws and Panasonic has always show some in low light, auto focus and colour. That said, the GH5 has improved in all of them, maybe not to the standards of others, but when combined with Panasonic's strengths, reliability, tonnes of features and image detail, it stands above other DSLR's.

Whilst the Canon DPAF is legendary, I find some tend to rely on it too much to their detriment, and whilst it hunts less, it doesn't always lock on correctly, judging by some videos I have seen. A scenario I also see played out in some examples of GH5 auto focus and why I am always cautious in using it for key moments.

Understandably those using Canon DSLR's have little choice but to rely on auto focus, as that useful manual focusing aid of focus peaking is conspicuous by its absence, even amongst the very expensive models; whereas my GX80 costing little over £500 has it. I'd take features that help me better manual focus over a good AF as I find even the best AF can't predict what I want in focus at any given moment.

As I said, there's no perfect camera, but the GH5 has delivered on all my expectations that I had for it. I have quite a tough Wedding season ahead of me, and I feel more confident knowing I have this camera working for me.

PhotoJoseph has posted this LUMIX GH5 *Successful* Autofocus Tests! - YouTube worth watching I think.He has another that also shows some parameters that do not work.

I don't know how many videos it will take before Max acknowledges, at least the possibility, he got a bad unit. Too many good videos out there with good AF. Here's Peter Gregg who did his own testing. No issues here either. Either way the GH5 will take a hit from Max's video. Too bad:

Panasonic GH5 Best Camera Settings Explained For Good Video Autofocus - YouTube

Steve or anyone here, I'm wondering if I can use the same cards I use in my Sony A7S: SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB 95MB/s in the GH5.
Still waiting on the GH5 to show up here in Sydney.

I can record raw footage on my black magic pocket camera using the card you mention so I"m sure it's fast enough for the current bitrates of the gh5.

PhotoJoseph has posted this

It appears that PhotoJoseph is sponsored by panasonic but I guess we will find out soon if he gets to together with Max:

https://youtu.be/uX6wQTf1oQA

I will believe the autofocus has improved on the GH5 but looking at below comparison video the a6500 kicks the gh5 all over the place, it's actually painful to watch. The sony makes it look oh so simple, just put the focusing system at standard and it just works while on the panasonic you seem need a engineers degree to figure out the settings and it still doesn't work. I still looks like there was a reason why Panasonic didn't put any emphasis on the improved autofocus and now is using panasonic ambassadors to save their reputation. Max has a received a second gh5 unit so we might find out soon enough if he a) has a defective unit or b) uses wrong settings or c) will be proven right.


https://youtu.be/AEsSsdTKJs4

Hopefully I will have my GH5 next week and can check myself a few things. Auto focus and the issue of audio being delayed at the start of record. In view of the several autofocus example above I think Max either has a bad unit or continues to set it up incorrectly . None of these videos just use the standard auto focus either, always the customs settings.
I believe PhotoJoseph was also recording internally as he gave instructions on HDMI output settings so that he could record 60P internally and 30P externally as his recorder could not record UHD60P. So yes he was recording internally as well as externally.

EDIT: Just read that he did only record externally and I must have mistaken his HDMI settiing incorrectly. We will see what else emerges. Still I will check myself next week !!!

Having read the manual several times now waiting for my GH5 to turn up there are so many parameters that can be set that I am beginning to think Panasonic should have provided presets in the movie mode that completely control all settings. Also provided a lot more explaining how to set up.

This will be my first Panasonic bought for UHD60P only. I normally shoot 3 or 4 camera multicam all with Sony video cameras and they are all in manual focus !! However 3 of them will be set with touch focus as needed and that is how I will use the GH5 too. So for me hunting is not an issue as the GH5 will be in manual focus but getting it to lock on touch focus will be. We will see hopefully next week.

It just amazes me that people will ignore all the evidence of good GH5 CAF and focus solely on Max's test. I posted 4 examples of good GH5 CAF, 2 of which mirror what he did and it couldn't be more obvious my results were 180 from his. I also did a candid mall video, shown below, because I've shot in this same mall with my A6300 and it often failed, focusing on the background and ignoring the subject or simply not holding the subject when it did focus. Although there was a bit of hunt in a couple of clips, there was nothing like the outright failures I have gotten with my A6300.

For those that have any interest in objectivity, all I used in the 4 videos I've posted, was central area focusing with all other AF settings at default. I never bothered with speed or responsiveness. I think some are making this more complicated than it needs to be.

But hey, people will believe what they want to believe. It's fascinating to see.

GH5 4K AF Test - YouTube

I believe PhotoJoseph was also recording internally as he gave instructions on HDMI output settings so that he could record 60P internally and 30P externally as his recorder could not record UHD60P. So yes he was recording internally as well as externally.

To be honest, I watched PhotoJoseph's video and the autofocus is plain unusable, there is a constant hunting going back and forth or missing focus. I might have used it if it was good and only in situations where I can reshoot but how it looks no, no thanks, not for me.

But hey, people will believe what they want to believe. It's fascinating to see.

I just checked the first shots of the film you posted and all I see is a pulsating focus, just check the background and that might be ok for you but would be unacceptable to me.

Noa, I used CAF. If I had done that with the A6300 I would have gotten similar results or, more likely, the A6300 would have ignored the subject and focused on the sign as has often happened to me. With that said, most people would focus on the subject and not the background. The subject was fine.

However in reality, most of us don't use CAF with any camera of this ilk. In a shot like that, if I was doing it 'for real', I would have used lock on AF and would have entirely eliminated the hunt. Totally. If not using MF, that's how I would have shot that scene. But that wasn't my intent for this or any of these tests.

My point in the video was a) to show how much better the results were than Max (no comparison, his were a total blurry mess) and b) to see what the worst case scenario was using CAF.

I"ll have to see it myself once I get my gh5, but it's not a feature I am looking forward to unless it proves to be spot on with tracking a subject that walks towards me, that's the only reason I would use it, if it is any good.

Do you often shoot someone walking towards you?

Do you often shoot someone walking towards you?

Only if they're threatening me. :)

Yes, at every wedding that I shoot, the most critical moment is when the bride and others walk towards the altar where I am standing.

Just picked up my GH5 this afternoon so have only just had a quick look at it. Heavier than I though as this is the first time for me moving from video camcorders. It is about the same weight as my FDR-AX53 I think. Did a quick auto focus check. With Custom AF " OFF " continuous ON , the focus moves a little slower than the AX53 but gets there and changes just fine from real closeup to about 15 feet away in about the same time as the AX53. Playing with the custom settings I can get all the same issues that have been reported !!!

Over the weekend I will shoot some comparitive video against the FDR-AX1 in UHD 60P , the only reason I got this camera. Will test auto focus of both too as I know the Sony is not good as it tends to decide what it want in focus !!!

Just picked up my GH5 this afternoon so have only just had a quick look at it. Heavier than I though as this is the first time for me moving from video camcorders. It is about the same weight as my FDR-AX53 I think. Did a quick auto focus check. With Custom AF " OFF " continuous ON , the focus moves a little slower than the AX53 but gets there and changes just fine from real closeup to about 15 feet away in about the same time as the AX53. Playing with the custom settings I can get all the same issues that have been reported !!!

Over the weekend I will shoot some comparitive video against the FDR-AX1 in UHD 60P , the only reason I got this camera. Will test auto focus of both too as I know the Sony is not good as it tends to decide what it want in focus !!!

Ron, I think the more you stay away from the custom speed & sensitivity the better. I'm getting the best overall results by just using the central area focus. If your subject isn't in motion, lock on AF is best.

I'm far from an expert, but one thing I noticed about that video is the deep depth of field, likely the result of a small aperture, Combine that with lots of people moving within the focus area and it's no wonder there's hunting going on. These are shots that IMO call for manual focusing.

Ron, I think the more you stay away from the custom speed & sensitivity the better. I'm getting the best overall results by just using the central area focus. If your subject isn't in motion, lock on AF is best.

Yes, in my application I will actually always be in manual focus anyway. Though would always like to set with touch focus. I haven't yet played with all the focus controls but agree that with Custom off it behaves much like any camcorder I have, just a little slower than some of the Sony's but able to direct the focus point rather than have the camcorder decide what it wants to focus on !!! I like the peakiing that I am used to as well as zebra. As mentioned by at least one other on the DVX forum I would like to see all the parameters while it is in record. Something most camcorders do even if some parameters are in auto and others in manual.

Lots to play with and will take some time to full understand.

I'm far from an expert, but one thing I noticed about that video is the deep depth of field, likely the result of a small aperture, Combine that with lots of people moving within the focus area and it's no wonder there's hunting going on. These are shots that IMO call for manual focusing.

Paul, if I had been shooting that video for real, instead of testing the limits of CAF, I could have easily have chosen either MF or AF lock. Both would have done the job nicely, without a hint of hunting.

Hi everybody, so far great impressions on 10 bit Vlog colorimetry, quite flexible.

Panasonic GH5 10 bit V-log test - YouTube

Can you share your 10bit video settings? Would like to see if there is anything quirky about mine that might be causing the compression artifacts I'm seeing in FCP. Thanks!

Well to my utter surprise, I got mine delivered literally an hour before I was heading off to a Wedding yesterday in Essex. Mind it was a close call. I got the call Thursday at 7pm to take payment. Asked for an AM next day service and then the delivery van broke down Friday first thing, so was advised of some delay. A frantic call to the delivery firm and they were kind to make me first visit of the day once they were running.

If I made one of those awful unboxing videos, it would have lasted 30 seconds. Long enough to confirm all was there before it was packed with my gear. Started using it as soon as I arrived for the Wedding. Couldn't wait. :)

First impressions. Love having auto ISO with manual (finally), love 4K at 50p which I used for the Brides entrance, confetti, reception entrance and first dance. Definitely smoother auto focusing when in 50p. Much heavier to hold. Menus took some time to get use to. Literally finding my preferred settings on the fly, though my experiences with the GH4 and GX80 helped there.
The new custom menu is great, laying down my most used menu items in 1 place. Battery drains faster than the GH4, but that's to be expected.

And no crop. Much improved on the GH4. I'm now travelling to Ireland for another Wedding today and then will spend a few days visiting, so hope to become more familiar with it and have a tonne of footage by the time I return. However yesterday was a great start. Bit more a baptism by fire than I had with the GH4, but it held up well.

Steve - did you find out why your lcd looked soft? Compared to the gh4 I agree completely that it looks softer, hoping that was just a setting I have not played with yet. Anyone else feel the same?

Steve - did you find out why your lcd looked soft? Compared to the gh4 I agree completely that it looks softer, hoping that was just a setting I have not played with yet. Anyone else feel the same?

I think its just how the LCD is. Perhaps as I have sharpness turned down on the image, its better reflecting that. I shall have another look in the settings and see if there's something I can do to beef the display up a bit.

Can you share your 10bit video settings? Would like to see if there is anything quirky about mine that might be causing the compression artifacts I'm seeing in FCP. Thanks!



Steven, Hi.
I had a Slog setting default, and converted it to Prores 444, no compression artefacts, which I noticed also converting to 422.

The Phone, short GH5. 10 and 8 bit scenes included. on Vimeo
The Phone, short GH5. 10 and 8 bit scenes included.

also in youtube
The Pnone, short, GH5 film in 4K, 10 bit scenes. - YouTube

I think its just how the LCD is. Perhaps as I have sharpness turned down on the image, its better reflecting that. I shall have another look in the settings and see if there's something I can do to beef the display up a bit.

I was told the monitor on the gh4 shows more aliasing so maybe that was actually helping with the focusing. I have found doing the following definitely helps:

lowering the contrast all the way down on the monitor and also lowering the brightness by one or 2 clicks. I have also set the monitor luminance to 1, the brightest instead of auto. Seems to definitely help to me anyway.

Hi,

I'm going to buy this camera (probably) replacing my old hv30. As i'm going in the new world my choice is actually the bundle kit with leica lens.

my question is if the gh5 is suitable for animal / nature "hunting" like delphins, whales or in general fast scenes (many years ago I was in namibia and remained very impressed by a lions start run).

thanks

PS: will you so brave to put the gh5 out of the sailboat to get stunnig images?

Max Yuryev just uploaded his video where he together with PhotoJoseph did some extensive testing on the GH5 autofocus capabilities and what I see is still borderline usable, it could work in repeatable shots but I never would use it for shots where you only get one chance to get it right, like with every wedding I shoot. It's clear the autofocus has been improved over the GH4 so I see that as something positive but for me it unfortunately would not be usable.

I have had my GH5 for a week now. First thing I did was compare autofocus to my Sony camcorders and to me it performs much the same with Custom OFF as they discovered. Just slightly slower but not noticeable. Got confused by the same things the camcorders do so no surprise. The GH5 has the advantage of specifying the area that it will look at to auto focus on and that area can be moved around with the joystick right next to your thumb. Can also be jogged into to resetting what it wants to focus on by pressing the shutter button as Max said. I will not use continuous auto focus in my use so interesting but not something of great importance to my application. I also find the WiFi app really good.

Now we know what to expect from the autofocus it's time to move on, I for one am most exited about it's ability to preset 3 focuspoints and then to do controlled focus pulls by tapping the corresponding numbers on screen. I see this as very valuable while covering a ceremony from a fixed location, I can now preset focus on the readers at the lectern, the priest at his altar and the position where the couple is standing for the vows and while panning between them nail my focus every single time with a perfect repeatable focus transition. Or just use it to perform a perfect rack focus between objects.

Must be careful if you are using one of the zooms not to zoom after setting the points. The zooms are not farfocal and the settings will be lost if you zoom. Just pan to set the points and it should work fine. Or if you shoot 4K and they are all in the full wide shot it works great.

Yeah I know, focal length can't change once it's set but still a highly usable feature.

Yeah I know, focal length can't change once it's set but still a highly usable feature.

Focus shifts do not look so great if there is focus breathing (small shift in perspective when the focus changes). Has anyone checked how bad this is on any of the (still) photography lenses (Lumix and others) used on mft cameras?

That's a limitation of the lens, not the camera, I don't mind the breathing as long as I can nail focus.

We spent part of the afternoon yesterday at a park not far from us. Here I use 4K60p as well as AF, no MF used at all. In terms of AF, I used both CAF as well as focus lock. You can judge the AF performance for yourself. In terms of profiles, I used Cinelike D for the most part with a couple of clips in Standard mode. This is real world testing.

GH5 4K60p-Mill Pond Park, Long Island - YouTube

Ken, can you tell me what shutter speed you used for this video?

Tom, some shots were at 1/60th such as the waterfall, but others (I had no ND filter with me) were shot at higher speeds since there was more light.

Thanks Ken. I was hoping that was the case. Nice job.

YouTube converts my 4K (UHD) 50p uploads to 1080 50p. Same for all?
4K (UHD) 25p off my GH4 no problems.

Ron

Hi

I've uploaded 4K/50P MOV files from the GH5 and that's appeared as 4K 50P on YouTube no problem, note that it takes a while before the 4K footage appears, have you checked again?

Regards

Phil

YouTube converts my 4K (UHD) 50p uploads to 1080 50p. Same for all?
4K (UHD) 25p off my GH4 no problems.

Ron

Ron, my 4K60p do upload as 4K60p, but sometimes it takes awhile for the full conversion to complete. So it may linger at 1080 60p for up to a day or so before a full shift to 4K.

The other thing I've found is that a lot depends on your browser. On my 5K iMac, if I use the Safari browser, often I'll only see HD. But on the same computer, if I switch to the Chrome browser, I'll get a full 4K60p. I have no idea why this is.

Thanks Ken and Phil, will have another go. I suspect Safari might be the problem.

Ron

I've noted a VERY odd thing.... if I try to play Ken's video on YouTube in either IE or Edge, it will ONLY allow playback at 1080p.... Chrome displays and plays (albeit with fits and stops and starts) 4K.

I guess 4K on the web is a bit problematic....

I think it is very dependent on the browser used to play at all and then performance is dependent on the PC and internet connection speed. Most of the time I use Firefox and that plays fine in 4K on my system which is an i7 3770K WIN 7 with 100 Mbps cable connection speed. I do not have a 4K monitor so the system has to scale to 2560x1440 too for display but is indicating 4K download from YouTube.