andy lee

Andy, you may be right. Most people don't realize how underrated Panasonic cameras are, especially for video. No over-heating or insanely high levels of moire, and the colours are pretty decent too. Also, the price is a Fraction of most other cameras that shoot 4k and can be dialed down to pretty Flat Profiles. 

the G7 kicks ass the best Panny camera yet in my opinion , such a good camera for such a small price its a game changer - when paired with a Metabones XL speedbooster makes it a very serious film making tool - everyone on this forum should be using one

the G7 kicks ass the best Panny camera yet in my opinion , such a good camera for such a small price its a game changer - when paired with a Metabones XL speedbooster makes it a very serious film making tool - everyone on this forum should be using one

Update: that one, the gx8 and most of the GH4s are already gone.
But they have a G7 + 14-42mm = $400
http://www.cyberphoto.se/info.php?article=DMC-G71442SI_B

Panasonic G7s on the set of the movie 'Pandora' yesterday for a pre production lighting test I was doing , Metabones XL Speedboosters , Gini Rigs cages rods lens supports and follow focus , Nikon 28-70mm and 80-200mm , Libec Tripods - they are still building the set so plastic on the floor so we dont ruin it!!

Panasonic G7s on the set of the movie 'Pandora' yesterday for a pre production lighting test I was doing , Metabones XL Speedboosters , Gini Rigs cages rods lens supports and follow focus , Nikon 28-70mm and 80-200mm , Libec Tripods - they are still building the set so plastic on the floor so we dont ruin it!!

Panasonic G7s on the set of the movie 'Pandora' yesterday for a pre production lighting test I was doing , Metabones XL Speedboosters , Gini Rigs cages rods lens supports and follow focus , Nikon 28-70mm and 80-200mm , Libec Tripods - they are still building the set so plastic on the floor so we dont ruin it!!

G7 is a game changer from Panasonic , its 4k UHD is just stunning , nothing like it for the price

I stopped using a meter when I stopped shooting film ten years ago  , I didn't use zebras or histograms , I just expose by eye , I like to play in the shadows so I'm up to 3 stops under at times to get a moody look, the g7 is so forgiving you can under expose and not worry about noise in the blacks , I don't like to over light subjects on sets , if I'm outside I'm stacking NDs to keep a f2 stop , focus pulling has to be spot on at f2 so I'm now using the gini rigs follow focus which is big and very smooth and you can reverse it which cancels out the Nikon Bourne lenses focusing the wrong way , this is an amazing thing I've discovered about the gini rigs follow focus that I can't do on any other make of follow focus . will post some pics soon of this nice trick
I also shoot my day interiors at 4000k not 3200k this looks alot better on the pannys and I find the skin tones nicer - warmer, I shoot day exteriors at 6500 k and night exteriors at 2500k , , 

Im shooting 16:9 and extracting 2.40 in post - framing for 2.40 in camera using the guide line and tape on the rear screen .
I always shoot natural profile saturation -5 , contrast -5
I put the colour back in with curves , no LUTS  no Cine d , no LOG profiles , keep it simple and it looks good . use your eye - its the only way for me

when you are working on a Movie you sign a contract and NDA ! and that contrat says there is an embargo on anything going out without premission from the film company - they own everything they paid for it including all my tests - now we live in a world of Facebook and twitter film companies dont want any leaks beore their marketing department decides what people can see and when .
So yes I can tell you the results of all my tests right now - just take my word the G7 kicks ass , with a Metabones XL - Nikon Glass and Atomos Ninja Assassin all rigged up on my Gini Rigs cages it s a serious film making tool
 
 
Now Colour grading is all in my eye - I shoot flat and add the colour in post - alot of my colour is on set I light always with coloured gels and get the look I want in camera - just on a flat profile so I get cleaner blacks with more detail - not crushed out

speedbooster XL is essential with th g7 it makes a very powerful film making combination

I leave nr and sharpening at 0 because I like the look this profile gives when saturation and contrast are -5 , Panasonic have done an amazing job on the codec for this camera in 4k UHF its the best they have ever done in a small micro m4/3 camera yet, I personally don't believe in adding sharpening in post ever , I just don't do it never have never will , just get it right in camera first , all my tests against the red and Alexa where done on these settings and I like how the final image looks once graded , it works so I'm not going to start sharpening every cut I do in post when it looks great straight out the camera . I like pin sharp images I use the best aspheric lenses I can , the Nikon zooms ate insanely sharp and produce a great usable  image

you get a much more usable image with natural and you dont need to get so tweeked up re correcting like you do with cine D profile ,that ties you up in knots correcting before you actually put the look on it you want to . I used natural on the g6 for 2 years now Im using it on the G7 ,

I leave nr and sharpening at 0 because I like the look this profile gives when saturation and contrast are -5 , Panasonic have done an amazing job on the codec for this camera in 4k UHF its the best they have ever done in a small micro m4/3 camera yet, I personally don't believe in adding sharpening in post ever , I just don't do it never have never will , just get it right in camera first , all my tests against the red and Alexa where done on these settings and I like how the final image looks once graded , it works so I'm not going to start sharpening every cut I do in post when it looks great straight out the camera . I like pin sharp images I use the best aspheric lenses I can , the Nikon zooms ate insanely sharp and produce a great usable  image

you get a much more usable image with natural and you dont need to get so tweeked up re correcting like you do with cine D profile ,that ties you up in knots correcting before you actually put the look on it you want to . I used natural on the g6 for 2 years now Im using it on the G7 ,

I only dial down the saturation and contrast to -5 everything else is at zero, then grade it to put the colour and contrast back in .

yeepee welcome to the Zeiss Party - these lenses are amazing ! the 28-70mm T* F3.5-4.5 is very good it pops its so sharp !! and its small and light too great for outdoors
all the Zeiss C/YPrimes are great too - same glass formulation as the Super Speeds and Ultra Prime Cine Lenses

This lens is fantastic. First impressions are in fact - despite the difference in focal length - that I like the results better than my Sigma 18-35 Art. The Zeiss is tac sharp in a very filmic way and the contrast and colors are awesome. So now I have gone for more Zeiss, as I just bought a Vari Sonar 28-70mm T* F3.5-4.5. Should arrive within a week, - I´m excited.

thats the point Im making from Andrew Reeds original blog on this combination . you have a Super 35mm field of view like and Alexa with an image quality that in my tests looked as good as the Alexa footage we campared it to - all at a fraction of the cost ...and Size too , you can get a Panny on a car Dashboard easily I do this alot for incar shots.

the point Im trying to make is we all can shoot images with a Panny and Metabones and some good glass like the Nikon Bourne Lenes that is equal to any major movie images , its just a bit of thought into how you light it frame it and shoot it , everyone on this forum can do this without buying a Red or and Arri Alexa and some Arri Zeiss master primes .

the point Im trying to make is we all can shoot images with a Panny and Metabones and some good glass like the Nikon Bourne Lenes that is equal to any major movie images , its just a bit of thought into how you light it frame it and shoot it , everyone on this forum can do this without buying a Red or and Arri Alexa and some Arri Zeiss master primes .

AS I SAID EARLIER ALL THOSE IMAGES ARE LOW RES SAVED FOR WEB VIA PHOTOSHOP IMAGES SUPPLIED BY THE PRODUCTION COMPANY , just so you can see colour ideas not pixel peep for micro blocking - that micro blocking is from photoshop save for web .
there is no de noiser used on any of these shots
its all natural profile saturation -5 and contrast -5 , at 800 iso some shots are 400 iso , never anything over 800 iso thats my limit I light for that , The Panny is very good upto 4 stops under exposed so dont be affraid of playing in the shadows the Panny can handle it perfectly well , all this rubbish I read about Pansonics being no good in low light makes me laugh , as thats where I use it all the time - UNDEREXPOSED!! , you dont need a Sony to shoot in low light , a Panny at f2 800 iso lit right is killer . all those shot above are at f2 .

The G7 is in my view the finest Panasonic camera on the market right now

Alright, did some tests today.
My observations so far:

- G7 in 1080p 50fps in MP4 or AVCHD mode is 99% the same. So don't have to worry about that. Will just use AVCHD for 1080p then.
- G7 1080p vs GH3 1080p with low ISO's is 99% the same. The GH3 has a bit more magenta in the colors and the G7 more green. Which one is 'better' I don't know. Probably the G7 is a bit more natural looking.
- G7 vs GH3 in 1080p mode in low light and high ISO's: Starting from ISO 1600 the G7 starts to be really a lot cleaner. ISO 3200 and 6400 is unusable on the GH3 due to too much noise but the G7 is a lot cleaner. Might even be usable at 3200 and 6400!
- G7 at 4k mode, downsampled vs GH3 at high ISO's. G7 is EVEN CLEANER at 4K mode.
- G7 at 4k mode vs GH3 at 25p -> GH3 is smoked. 
I don't see any gain in DR however. The colors are slightly different but no big deal. Slight color correction fixes either. So the big improvements are cleaner high ISO's and of course better detail and no more moiré (!) at 4K mode. Too bad I can't use an external monitor with g7 but luckily it has focus peaking. So at least I can see the focus good enough on the small screen. 
I'm thinking now of shooting the wedding on the G7 as the main cam. Use 4K for 90% of the shots and downsample in post. Then use 1080p 50fps for the slowmotion shots. They look about 95% the same as the shots I'm currently making with the GH3 so I don't need to 'get used' or anything to what I'm seeing.
Computer had no problems with 4 different types of footage on the timeline so that's great as well. 
I only need to find out how to make the Warp Stabilizer work on 4k clips on a 1080p timeline. It simply doesn't work. When I 'nest' the clip and apply WS it actually works, but it crops the image very weirdly and like 200%.
Anyone knows how to do that?