Chrad

A 50mm f2 lens on a .72x focal reducer becomes aprox a 36mm 1.4 lens.    Doesn't matter what sensor size the format is.       If you put the 50mm lens on a non focal reducer adapter on M4/3 you get a 50mm f2 lens with the FF angle of view of 100mm with f4 DOF (while still being a 50mm f2).        With the focal reducer it has a 72mm FF angle of view with 2.8 FF DOF (while still being a 36mm 1.4 lens).
It makes NO difference to the sensor at all.
A native 35 1.4 lens is not really any different to a 50mm lens on a focal reducer.     I believe some fast wide angle zoom lenses are constructed using a focal reducer internally.
The thing is that mostly focal reducers seem to be used with fast lenses for more exotic results or to  make slow kit type lenses more useful especially on M4/3.

Nah, noone's right on this one. The Speed Booster gets you to a super 35 field of view on the 50mm f2. An easy way to remember it is that APS-C's field of view is roughly 1.5x the focal length and depth of field of 35mm film, and micro four thirds is again roughly 1.5x the APS-C equivalent focal length and depth of field (actually 1.4x, but 1.5x is faster to calculate). This works backwards as well as forwards, so you can calculate how the 50 will render relative to the smaller sensor, or what lens you'd need to emulate the look it gives you on a larger one.
On a super 35mm camera, the 50mm is going to act something like a 72mm f2.8 would on full frame, in terms of angle of view and depth of field. Which as we know is close to what a 36mm 1.4 would act like on M43. The advantage of the Speed booster is that you get the light transmission of the 36mm 1.4 as well, not just an F2.

In other words... 'we had already lined everything up and were good to go, but then marketing figured out that we were giving out freebies and stopping people from buying our new stuff'.

Unfortunately not.
 

I recall Andrew requesting this feature in an interview with a Panasonic engineer years ago, and writing that said engineer wrote it down in his notepad. Interesting to see it finally come to fruition, and I can't thank Andrew enough for the part he may have played.
If the focus transitions are triggerable through the Lumix app, the production value it makes possible is incredible. Remote follow focus steadicam like shots with only a light gimbal. All you need is a 'focus puller' to trigger the pre marked points off their phone.

It is very useful for dolly or jib shots (If you can synchronise the speed of camera movement with the speed of focus). I shot a Music video last summer, and this shot was a pain in the ass, with this feature it would take me max 2 shots.

I'm sure it's designed for locked down shots. However, as long as it holds the same focal points regardless of whether the frame shifts (and I don't see why it shouldn't, since autofocus isn't running) it should work for shots where the operator and/or talent hit pre-rehearsed marks, and give a very professional looking result with no hunting.

A guy sponsored by Canon, and probably the only professional cinematographer who would choose to shoot with the C500 as an A cam over the Alexa on a Hollywood production. No relation between these two facts, of course...
His claim that the 5D will always trounce the GH4 no matter the setting was and still is completely ridiculous. I believe that he was genuine in his dislike of the GH4 footage, but his stance there is super subjective, to put it lightly. 
For the record, he came around on the GH4 when V-Log L was released and said it created very nice skin tones in 10 bit. 

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

I can't get mine till at least August otherwise I'd already have one...but then I saw enough for what I need early on...and a lot of videos regarding other features don't affect my decision one way or another...I will say though, that it takes me a while to "learn" about a camera...and I don't judge anything seriously from somebody posting something from a camera they've had for only a few days...with incomplete FW...all I need to see initially is the potential for my needs...as I come from a production design background, an important aspect of an  image one  admires, produced by an Alexa or a Red  or a Sony F35, is that every aspect of that image has been designed  to produce that lovely look...nothing has been left to chance...I simply can't dismiss this camera for myself, based on what I've seen online...of course all our needs are different

And just as he said this, "hate from fanboys against criticism", he proved there are also those that are out to knock the GH5 every step of the way. I see it on multiple forums. So it clearly cuts both ways.
There will always be those that will refuse to admit that a newly released camera could possibly be better than their current 'pride & joy'. This 'protective' behavior is not seen just with cameras, but in many other areas of electronics, particularly high end video displays. 

A guy sponsored by Canon, and probably the only professional cinematographer who would choose to shoot with the C500 as an A cam over the Alexa on a Hollywood production. No relation between these two facts, of course...
His claim that the 5D will always trounce the GH4 no matter the setting was and still is completely ridiculous. I believe that he was genuine in his dislike of the GH4 footage, but his stance there is super subjective, to put it lightly. 
For the record, he came around on the GH4 when V-Log L was released and said it created very nice skin tones in 10 bit. 

Until Edward Bernays effectively created 'Public Relations' based on concepts from his uncle, Sigmund Freud, marketing was based on people's actual needs. Bernays changed everything and marketing evolved into emotion and fantasy-illusion based and thus the world has been changed. Now marketing is based on emotion and desire, and not actual need for daily living or survival.
The Universe Loves Drama, so combined with the emotional-fantasy-based social reality we now live in, explains the current behavior of social interaction, especially in social media. It's enough of a challenge for logical thinkers to effectively communicate with emotional thinkers (and neither side being able to communicate with the other). It becomes a deeper communication challenge with the added fantasy layer, which affects everyone at some level (including me: for example I too used to believe in the 'Full Frame' look until I studied the math and performed my own tests). What we really 'know' changes with time and it's important to remember that.
Another interesting social element is that most of the people discussing cameras, and all gear for that matter, spend far less time creating with the tools than focusing on the tools themselves. The tools become a form of entertainment in and of themselves: playing with them, doing 'tests', debating online, discussing deficiencies in the current model(s) and yearning for the new model(s), buying and selling, etc. And for perhaps the vast majority, not actually creating any content other than writing, discussing, and debating the tools in social media. This is not a judgement, rather an observation of another form of creating and fellowship of like-minded enthusiasts: people who focus on the tools themselves for entertainment vs. using the tools to create content, for entertainment or for a living. Every now and then someone will post, "get out and shoot people!", but that's not why most of the people are on these forums.
The GH5 of course is a major improvement and is an excellent content-creation tool. Is it a baby ARRI? Who knows, let's see some side-by-side tests as were done with Canon 5D3 RAW, which with 14-bit Canon color is indeed like a baby Alexa as shown by various tests done over the years.

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

I would just record 10 bit 1080p60 through the HDMI, because this time around it looks like quality will be exactly the same. The videodslr.pl tests show the exact same rolling shutter for UHD and HD, which suggests the 1080p image is simply an in camera downscale. The resolution to my eyes looks identical in 1080p. 

The Grand Tour is on Amazon Prime and features GH4s already. Of course because you can cram it in just about anywhere, but still.
If anything. It's the other way around. Take the whole YouTube vlogger crowd. They don't know and care about getting to know settings and principles of filmmaking, they just want to hit record and go. That's the reason Canon isn't actually quite dead yet. Vloggers pick up a G7X (Mark II), 80D or god forbid, the EOS-M5 Creator Kit and they know they're: getting pleasing colors right of the bat and know autofocus doesn't hunts around, but smoothly transitions (it doesn't however always lock on, mind you). They dump the footage on the computer and rather than taking flat footage and correcting and grading it, maybe the most they'll do is throw on a curve with some post sharpening and start editing the timeline. Professionals shooting a RED/ARRI/etc don't rely on camera's autofocus systems. You'd rather have someone pulling focus either directly or remotely. AF is a sign of convenience, not of professionalism.

Hey, my production company made this! Thanks for posting.  The movie will be released this year on VOD. 

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

The GH5 being used to shoot 'serious movies' isn't so inconceivable to me. The 10 bit 4:2:2 4K make it a good option for very low budget films that are hoping to eventually get picked up by platforms that are seeking out or require 4K content. Yeah, it's no Alexa, but it's $2000. 

On that note, if you know what you're doing, pretty much any recent camera can be used to make decent theatrical content these days. This was shot on two GH4s: 
 

The best thing that's come out of 4K on consumer cameras is finally being able to make sharp and detailed 1080p. 

Based on videoDSLR.pl tests for noise, resolution and rolling shutter, it appears that the 1080p is just an in camera downscale, so the performance should be identical.
I'm very happy about this as it will mean I won't be so inclined to shoot in 4K and downscale as I am with the GH4, unless I really need to crop in. The 1080p looks superb. 

The best thing that's come out of 4K on consumer cameras is finally being able to make sharp and detailed 1080p.