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Dynamic range vs everything else


Eduardo Granadsztejn
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HI!

This year i´m going to buy a new camera (upgrade from my beloved t2i) i was waiting to the full specs of the gh5 and it´s a beast, but i expected a better dynamic range in the new sensor.

the other option that i´m thinking is the new Sony a6500 which has better dynamic range, a fullframe look with a speedbooster for less money and better low light. 

In one side I have the gh5 which has a lot of better things than the 6500 in terms of usability, video options and all in one package, and for other side the 6500 with various flaws to work with (buy a cage, extra bateries, some overheating, etc) but with a better image to me.

 What do you guys think than i must priorize?
The final image or an easy way to work (the gh5 video quiality seems to be outstanding but the 6500 has better dynamic range and i think this is very important)

Thank you!
 

 

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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Always keep in mind with the A6300/A6500 series, the Rolling shutter is atrocious compared with other cameras. The Sony may look better in locked off shots, but the GH5 has a better codec, better motion, better battery life, no recording limit, more shooting options, and a better grip and controls. Better DR, to me, is not worth it in comparison.

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Usually Sony finds a few ways to dissapoint, Pana usually works as it should. If you are doing real video work and you are getting paid, Panasonic will be a workhorse, plus all the things Geoff said. If you do only small segments and not very demanding and stressful stuff, then you can get by with the a6500. 

In my line of work, the a6500 can get by as a C or D camera, too many issues for A or B.

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From this test, it sounds like the a6300 S-Log2 only has about 11-12 stops of dynamic range.

https://***URL not allowed***/sony-a6300-vs-sony-a7s-ii-how-good-is-it-really/

Although Cinema5D has never tested GH4's V-log (they only tested CineLikeD which measured to be around 10.9 stops), people say GH4 had 12 stops of dynamic range with vlog, but due to noise in anything other than good light, plus banding due to 8-bit color, made it very limited in use.  

https://***URL not allowed***/gh4-vlog-l-footage-shooters-guide-colors-of-new-zealand/

GH5 is said to have slightly better dynamic range if you watch the interviews from the Panasonic engineers.  But whatever the case, it's sounding like the GH5 will have better dynamic range than the a6300.  With 1 stop better noise performance than the GH4, 10 bit, for log shooting in harsh lighting conditions, it might be the better camera for shooting log.

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You should try both before you buy, because the ergonomics and "feel" are so important. Your beloved t2i has technically terrible video and maybe 8-9 stops of DR, but the ergonomics are good and the feel is good. It's beloved for a reason even if the reason isn't the technical image quality.

If you can, rent or demo both. There's some test on reduser that shows that the Dragon actually has way more resolution, dynamic range, and color quality than the Alexa, but the over/under of the Alexa and saturation rolloff and interface will always be more comfortable to old school film DPs. Specs aren't everything. Personally I like what I've seen from Panasonic more than what I've seen from Sony, but Sony is the technical king.

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6 hours ago, Geoff CB said:

Always keep in mind with the A6300/A6500 series, the Rolling shutter is atrocious compared with other cameras. The Sony may look better in locked off shots, but the GH5 has a better codec, better motion, better battery life, no recording limit, more shooting options, and a better grip and controls. Better DR, to me, is not worth it in comparison.

Most films are shot locked off or a professional balanced system...... GH5 has similar compressed codec..... Also where int he world do you pass your "opinion" as facts, GH5 does not have anything that anyone could technically state as "better motion".

 

One thing as a fact though is the GH5 has a smaller sensor and therefore is not as sensitive to light as the Sony......

The biggest problem with Panasonic GH Hybrid cameras has been "noise" and overly sharp natural footage, if this cans somehow be addressed in GH5 then it might be a good Hybrid camera, but working in the 2K range I would honestly save up a bit more and buy a Canon C100 Mark II.......

 

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What will you be using it for mainly?

What ISOs do you think you will be shooting at?

The Sony would be better for stills for me, the Panasonic the better for video.

The Sony is one of the better APSC cameras at base ISO for DR (after a few Nikons and one or two others).     DXO is measuring at base ISO and only for RAW stills.    The GH5 should be a little better than the GH4 for DR for stills and one of the better M4/3 cameras but still behind APSC and larger sensor cameras.    The DR falls away quicker the smaller the sensor too.

DR for video would be different to DR for stills too.     

BOTH cameras have a DR advantage at base ISO over your Canon, at higher ISOs your Canon catches the GH4 (about ISO 800) anyway.

I think either would be good.     If offered the two, I would take the Sony but I mainly shoot stills with some video.      If it was the other way around, I think the GH5 would be my choice.

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5 hours ago, Michael Ma said:

Although Cinema5D has never tested GH4's V-log (they only tested CineLikeD which measured to be around 10.9 stops), people say GH4 had 12 stops of dynamic range with vlog, but due to noise in anything other than good light, plus banding due to 8-bit color, made it very limited in use.

Dynamic range is more than just counting the number of grey shades at the end of a chart.

It's how colour is handled, the roll off, the codec, noise, a lot of stuff.

C5D say nothing about what is usable, what isn't.

My Leica M9 came out 7 years ago and it has more usable dynamic range in the raw stills than the latest full frame sensor from Sony in the A7S II (which remember, Sony claimed had 15 stops!! Yeah right)

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