Bryan Harvey

this was shot in-camera 8 bit at the standard image look setting.  Panasonic initially flirted with the idea of me recording this project externally in 10 bit, but I think it was wise to show people how it looks in the more typical way that most will use this camera. 

we arranged special access to the Mayan ruins before they were open to the public. 

there was indeed heavy moire on the feathers of the macaw. it was a shame because the detail on that shot was pretty incredible, but any camera without a global shutter would have trouble with those feathers. 4K resolution just made it the worst possible scenario, as each feather is like a series of "stripes" like on a striped shirt when picking up all that detail. 

Bryan, great job, I think you achieved the goal of showcasing 4K detail very nicely.  The highlight gradation also looks very nice... what video mode did you capture in (Standard, CineLike gamma, etc)?  Was this captured in 10 bit 4:2:2 or just internal 8 bit 4:2:0?

 

Thanks,

 

Todd

Bryan,

 

I think your video was the best of the bunch and showcased the capabilities of the camera really well.   Love the Tulum shots in the aerial. Wonder how you got away with people free pyramid views as it is normally a tourist nightmare. 

 

I noticed some heavy moire in the green macaw shot feathers but I have no access to a 4k monitor. I get a bit of that on macaws and other birds on the GH2 but wonder if this was pronounced by scaling down to 1080p.   Would love to see a downloadable frame of that exact shot at 4k to see the detail if you could share, but I guess Panasonic is the one that releases that.    

 

The parrot you shot with the white forehead on the tree tops is a White Fronted Amazon Parrot who specializes in eating guava fruits.  

 

Congrats again on the video!

_____________

 

As far as 4:2:2 why not shoot everying at 4k and scale down to 1080p as the Andrew article points out.  It becomes a non issue.  I still think they should have implemented 200mbits at 4k not just 1080 and 120fps on HD.   That hype on 120p rumors sure got the best of us.  96 is still pretty good if it has no image quality downgrade.

 

from Samuel H. at DVX

"A 4K image with 8-bit 420 color has enough information to give you a 2K image with 10-bit luminance and 8-bit 444 color."

 

 

Shame MoVi gave up the ghost, I feel the GH4 and MoVi could have a good marriage if only they'd get on better ;)

 

GH4 is going to be popular for aerial multicopter shots I feel. The detail on the ground just pops out at you. Currently other 4K solutions are either not as good or much larger. Even the Blackmagic Production Camera is much heavier.

 

I can't wait to see what it looks like with my Cooke PL lenses on, try as I might PL to 5D Mark III just won't go ;)

 

Did the 4K internal codec stand up well in post Bryan?

MoVI and GH4 are perfect together! Even a Canon 5dIII can get heavy quick on the MoVI. 

You are spot on about the multi-rotor world. The 4k detail is really noticeable on the wide aerials. This camera is going to be hugely popular in this space, and 4K rez allows for guilt-free Warp stabilizer in post if needed.  I hope Panasonic  "loans" me a production model. ;0)

4K looked great in post for the most part, but for sure you must nail your exposure because there is not much room for grading the 8-bit output.

BryanHarveyFilms.com

@Bryan To my eyes, the closing shots of the parrot, the caterpillar and the temple at night (?) were the most impressive, from solely a resolution standpoint. And I watched this at the highest setting on a 15" Retina. And sorry about my sarcastic comment, I realize you couldn't fit the copter and tripod in your bag (at least I don't think you could!)

Could you comment on the viewfinder? is it an improvement over the GH3?

Sorry I cannot compare with the GH3 as I have not used any Panasonic mirror-less cameras prior to this project. Also, I mostly plugged in an external EVF to the micro HDMI port to achieve critical focus. For sure 4k can be unforgiving in regards to critical focus. The style of this project was designed to highlight the 4k detail, so we shot everything deep focus at F9 or F11, with very subtle camera moves.  Typically I'm doing just the opposite and trying to shoot everything wide open with more dynamic camera movement.  I was most happy with the aerial flamingo shots as they were pretty amazing to see in true 4k on proper 4k monitor. It's the big wide shots with lots of detail where I really notice the 4k difference. The parrot and caterpillar type shots also resolved well. 

BryanHarveyFilms.com

nice job Bryan..what rig did you use on the helicopter..??

Almost everything that could go wrong on a shoot DID go wrong on this one. Without going into details, I feel like the video is 60% of what it could have been. I had a MoVI that went down on the very first day of shooting, which forced me to rely on our backup brushless "FauxVI"  Alexmos based gimbal. Also had a lot of MoVI handheld shots planned, but those had to be cut obviously.  The prototype GH4's had some quirks that were challenging to deal with but I'm sure they are solved by now with firmware update. All in all I was really impressed by the image coming out of the GH4. We posted this in front of a 60-some inch 4k monitor and the shots looked stunning to me. 

And responding to someone previously, yes all 8 lenses and two bodies absolutely did fit handily in my carryon backpack, minus the ocotcopter of course! ;0)

BryanHarveyFilms.com

here's the GH4 4k footage.

dont forget to adjust your playback settings to 4k on the Youtube playback window.