upgrade to 4K - anyone experienced with the GH5?

[Juergen_187]

I plan to upgrade to 4K eventually, and consider a few different options. The things I'm most concerned of are stable auto focus and ultra wide angle lens options. I checked out a few camera systems and it seems to me it's down to these two:

- Sony AX700

pros: good auto focus, good stabilization, good housing options, e.g. by Gates, with macro and wide angle lenses combined (flip-in)
cons: 30fps at 4K (I don't mind too much, software can do good interpolation in slow motion), no fish eye lenses available

- Panasonic GH5

pros: 60fps at 4K, good stabilization, fish eye lenses available
cons: auto focus (?), no all-lenses-in-one option (as far as I can see)

So...no perfect solution, I guess, in this price segment. Would appreciate your opinion, especially about the auto focus capabilities of the Panasonic, I've seen some pretty bad footage....and some really good!

 

[runsongas]

manual white balancing is better from talking to the guys at backscatter for the gh5. also you get 4k30 HDR 4:2:2 with the gh5. the ax700 wont do 10bit color in 4k because the codec bitrate is capped at 100 mbps. depends if you have a HDR monitor and TV though to take advantage of it.

the gh5 ends up being pricier though once you factor in lens and dome port. the ax700 does seem to be a decent improvement over the older ax100.

 

[Interceptor121]

Check out my blog http://interceptor121.com there are posts on the GH5

One lens fits all for video is almost 95% possible with wet lenses however be aware the wet wide angle lens that goes with it costs $1,350




Autofocus is not really a consideration as you rarely use it due to the way you take footage

 

[Juergen_187]

manual white balancing is better from talking to the guys at backscatter for the gh5. also you get 4k30 HDR 4:2:2 with the gh5. the ax700 wont do 10bit color in 4k because the codec bitrate is capped at 100 mbps. depends if you have a HDR monitor and TV though to take advantage of it.

the gh5 ends up being pricier though once you factor in lens and dome port. the ax700 does seem to be a decent improvement over the older ax100.

thanks, the GH5 seems to be better in the colors, too. I'm just concerned about a wobbling focus as it can totally ruin a long film sequence. In this respect I found my Sony HD camcorder pretty good.

 

[Juergen_187]

Check out my blog http://interceptor121.com there are posts on the GH5

One lens fits all for video is almost 95% possible with wet lenses however be aware the wet wide angle lens that goes with it costs $1,350




Autofocus is not really a consideration as you rarely use it due to the way you take footage

thanks, a wet lens is an idea. What camera lens did you use in combination with your wet wide angle lens? Something like a 12-50 mm? Would be a good idea, because I already have one for my Olympus EM-1. And which type of wet lens do you use?

 

[matdiver]

Hi,
no experience with the Sony, but very happy indeed with the GH 5 (Nauticam housing). Actually, I use autofocus a lot, but often with the focus-lock function and aperture at f 5.6 or smaller (sometimes down to f11). That depth of field usually means that everything is nicely in focus, but with many shots normal autofocus is fine in my experience. Sharks against grey/blue background with particles in the water are another matter, but I think we all knew that already didn't we?!. Good manual white balance is very important to me, and the 50/60 fps 4k option means that you can slow footage down a bit to make it even smoother. I'm using the PZ 14-42 lens with red filter, and I have an Inon wet UCL 165 for macro.
This was my first attempt with the camera, but I'm still learning:


this clip of raw footage might also be interesting for you:

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Juergen_187]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for sharing this information! And the focus looks stable in your movies...maybe you cut the wobbling out ;-). I'm more and more convinced to go for the GH5, next is the question of lens and port.....I'm thinking of the Lumix 7-14 mm plus wide angle port...Nauticam or Aquatica.

Cheers,

Juergen

 

[Juergen_187]

...about the white balance I'm not overwhelmed, it looks overdone to me, too much red in there (water turns purple). It reminds me of filming with an orange filter in front, which looks only really good down to 10-15 meters maximum.

Can it still be fine-tuned during the dive? But having the colors, correction should be ok in post-processing.

 

[Tchau]

Hi,
no experience with the Sony, but very happy indeed with the GH 5 (Nauticam housing).

Cheers,
Matt

Have you tested the GH5s? Does it get a better picture since it captures more light?

 

[stphnmartin]

I use a GH5. My primary lenses are the 8mm FE, 12-50mm and 60mm macro. Here's an example video of the gear in action: