A Year with the Panasonic Lumix GH5
Okay, I hold my hands up. I’m a bit of a gear nerd. Photography and Filmmaking, image creation in general is my passion, yet at the same time I enjoy the technical side just as much. I enjoy collecting and using equipment, old and new and love experimenting by changing and adapting the gear I use.
Back in March I had realised that it marked a year of using Panasonic’s Lumix GH5 for my professional video work.
This blog post is a bit of a review and how I have found it to be probably the most powerful tool in my kit bag.
In early 2017, Panasonic announced the eagerly awaited GH5, and like it’s predecessor, the GH4, it looked set to shake up the industry yet again. Panasonic are one of those brands who are just as enthusiastic about image creation as those consumers who use their products.
They actually listen to the feedback of their customers and try their best to fulfil any requests of new features.
At launch the GH5 headlined the following features:
New 20mp image stabilised sensor.
4K 60fps at up to 150 Mbps 8 bit with the ability to output this at 4:2:2 10 bit through a full size HDMI port.
4K up to 30fps 4:2:2 10 bit at 150 Mbps (later upgradeable with a new firmware to 400 Mbps)
1080p HD over cranked slow motion at up to 180fps
“6K” Anamorphic mode with 10 bit recording
Dual UHS-II standard SD card slots
Alongside the above - there were some familiar features to expect from Panasonic, such as a high speed burst shooting for stills up to 12fps, timelapse mode, post focus and post capture photo modes.
Now, the old saying goes that gear doesn’t matter. Yes, I agree with that statement, gear doesn’t matter and it is the user who creates good images, but good gear makes it easier and more efficient to realise your vision.
When you need to deliver the best quality possible in the smallest possible package, why not invest in something that helps you along the way?
In Body Image Stabilisation
The game changing feature for me has to be the In Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS), it’s phenomenal!
For most situations I find myself filming run and gun style i.e. mostly handheld. With IBIS, I can introduce some subtle yet controlled camera movement when required and not need to stabilise the footage in post production - saving time in the edit.
It’s so good in fact that even in it’s basic setting I can almost shoot handheld with a 70-200mm lens! Up until now that is pretty much unheard of.
Switching on the IS lock - a feature added in a later firmware update meant that you are pretty much guaranteed tripod-like stability when no camera movement is required. Amazing!
Video Quality
The GH5 improves on the GH4 with a much better, cleaner video image. The 1080p is clean, lovely and crisp with plenty of detail. In comparison, the GH4’s 4K looks like the GH5’s 1080!
Not only that, the colours are much improved. It was often quite difficult to get pleasing skin tones out of the GH4 and meant I had to tweak some settings to try squeeze some better colour out of it. My current settings on the GH4 are better but still not perfect.
The GH5 on the other hand, is a much better story, colours are much more accurate and life like, almost comparable to Canon colours - well known in the industry to have nice colour science.
Another improvement is in the low light performance. The Achilles Heel of Micro Four Thirds, simply due to the small sensor size. They tend to suffer when the ISO is pushed. For the GH4, I don’t push it over 800, 1250 if absolutely required.
The low light and more video specific GH5S, on loan from Hireacamera.
GH5 however, improves in that department. Not significant, but I can use ISO 3200 fairly comfortably providing there is some kind of light source. Anything more and it is pretty noisy, but unlike the GH4 it retains the detail in the image rather than going soft and mushy when pushed to the extremes.
This is where the later announced GH5S comes in. With a slightly larger sensor and lower megapixel count plus a Dual Native ISO function, it is the superior camera for low light shooting.
Usability
One simple feature Panasonic added for the GH5 was a “My Menu” tab, where the user can add their most frequently adjusted parameters to a quick access menu. Canon have had this on their cameras for some time so it was welcome to see Panasonic implement this on the GH5, it saves so much time when having to work quickly and change settings on the fly.
The “My Menu” tab saves valuable time out in the field by assigning most commonly adjusted settings to one menu for quick access.
As with most Panasonic mirrorless cameras, they feature a completely customisable button layout. The user can specify certain buttons to a custom function - again for quick access. I assign my Function 3 button to punch in to the image to check focus and Function 4 for activating the digital tele convertor, enabling 1.4x of extra reach whilst filming in 4K and 2x in HD.
A major advantage of using a mirrorless camera compared to a DSLR for video is the ability to film using the Electronic Viewfinder, which gives a live video feed off the sensor as opposed to going blank on a DSLR as the mirror flips up to allow video shooting.
The GH5’s viewfinder is only a minor upgrade compared to the GH4 - however this is no bad thing as they are respectively very good. EVF’s are great for filming in bright conditions where the rear LCD screen can be difficult to view. It adds another point of contact for handheld shooting - aiding shot stability too. The viewfinder provides all the same information display as the screen and has plenty of resolution and detail for critical manual focussing.
Expanding the set up
Filming with the GH5 and the Atomos Ninja V external recorder.
Finally, the full size HDMI port is welcome on a small hybrid camera and allows a clean video signal to output 10 Bit 4K video at up to 60fps to an external recorder which supports this.
The recently launched Ninja V from Atomos is pretty much the perfect companion for the GH5 and I recently tried out this set up - recording the footage in Prores format, ready for editing straight off the removable SSD. This pairing really makes the GH5 and it’s GH5s sibling a formidable video workhorse.
The 10-Bit files hold up to heavier colour grading so much better than 8 Bit due to the extra colour information whilst being able to make use of the extra dynamic range. The Atomos Ninja V has some excellent features in itself, not least being an excellent daylight viewable 5” monitor.
Filmed in January 2019 using the Panasonic GH5 with Atomos Ninja V recorder.
Shot in 4K 50p 422 10-Bit Prores. Graded with James Miller DeLUTs.
View in 4K for the best experience.
In Summary
I leave the Metabones Speedbooster permanently attached to the GH5 to allow use of my Canon EF mount lenses. For me - a near perfect combination.
For me the Panasonic GH5 really is the perfect hybrid stills and video camera and yet two years on from it’s launch it is still very much a relevant tool in many filmmaker’s bags and for good reason.
When combined with the Metabones Speedbooster Ultra and some bright fast lenses (my favourite being the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8) in a bid to improve the low light performance, it still impresses me each time I get back from a shoot and review the footage.
For stills, it does fall short slightly compared to larger sensor DSLR’s and mirrorless bodies however my stills/video split usage for this camera is about 75% towards video.
Using the Metabones adapter also means I lose the full use of the autofocus - not so critical for video but a little troublesome for stills shooting. Again, not a huge deal since I use a different body for my stills work.
The GH5 has also been incredibly reliable in the year I have used it, the dual SD card slots are great for shooting a back up or splitting my stills and video to separate memory cards.
The camera also does not have any video record limit and never has any issues with overheating - an issue which some of Panasonic’s competitors unfortunately have.
I feel the GH5 is a very complete package and offers probably the best value for money in terms of features and performance in the mirrorless market. Despite technology moving at such an incredible rate the GH5 is very likely to continue being an important tool in my bag for years to come.
Dan
Buy Panasonic Lumix GH5 here: https://amzn.to/2qxWMLz
Buy Atomos Ninja V here: https://amzn.to/2Yuc40d
Buy Sigma 18-35mm lens here: https://amzn.to/36gSqrn