freeman

nice work! I encounter this a lot with my c mount glass, you definitely knocked it down a bit.

Hmm.. I use a rodelink with a gh4 and 5 frequently as well as into a zoom h1 and I find it actually to be hot most of the time. The only thing I can think based on the symptoms is that the h5 is looking for a line level and you are giving it a mic level. The zoom h1 is a pretty simple device that only has a mic in port, is your h5 expecting a line level in?

For me the biggest surprise was that ETC works in 4k. I love this! And also, VFR works in 4k up to 60 fps which feels very streamlined.

Thanks @PannySVHS we've been posting videos on Instagram mostly. There are 6 up so far with 3 more to come in the next few days, one min from each city we are in. On Instagram his name is (at)md_woods_ if you'd like to check them out. Any video posted recently on that page I filmed with the same GH5 setup.

Here's a 1 take long shot I did in Budapest a few weeks ago. I'm traveling Europe with my good friend and musician MD Woods, we were in Budapest for a few shows and I shot this performance for the record label. 

Cam: GH5, handheld. Interesting setup: I used a camera neckstrap around my neck for stability and had a mini tripod (very small) threaded in the bottom to use as a little grip. That and being very conscious of my movements let me do a long shot I ended up being really happy with. Of course, we did 3 takes and my favorite take visually was not the musicians favorite musically but I found it fairly easy to get a good take. This in body stabilizer is so nice to have.

I noticed with my gh4 stuff that if I shot in 4k and exported at 1080p it looked "crisper" than if I shot it in 1080. and sometimes a punch in ability is nice, but I'm not really shooting 4k to then be watched in 4k

I'm currently doing this same thing with a musician traveling here in Germany. We're doing 1 min videos on insta and FB, and are just focusing on those for now but I think that's the way to go trailer style on social media and then longer form on youtube. Thinking about audiences, if you're on FB or Insta I feel like the audience is in more "browse" mode. So you put up smaller bits of content that don't overstay their welcome, and then the youtube audience (I feel) is more likely to stay and watch a full episode. Also FB can handle videos up to 45min however file size is limited to 1.5 gigs. Post a link when they're up, looking forward to seeing what you guys make.

Had mine for 1 week now, i'm currently traveling Europe with a guitar player and gotta say I am so glad this stabilization is in here. been shooting on my trusty gh4 for 3 years and bought the gh5 specifically for the ibis and just a week in it has earned its keep. I mean the spec improvements over my gh4 are.. negligible for the most part but image stabilization (for me at least) just changes how I can use this cam (I shoot a lot of handheld with various rigs) feels so light with no shoulder rig. 

Lol.. Meanwhile not trying to attack you or anything. Do your thing man! Just giving you my take.

Hey meanwhile,

Glad you're interested in getting started with video. Reading this thread I see you're finding about everything at once, and there sure are a multitude of facets when it comes to shooting and editing motion pictures of any kind. And each facet goes deep. My 2 cents: You have to learn some real basics first and reading is only gonna take you so far. Doing is the only way. And to "Do" you need to build yourself some structure into this learning experience. I would stop worrying about cinelikeD and picture profiles and color. That's chapter 6 and you're still on the introduction. You have a camera and you have a computer with some editing software. You need to shoot something, edit it, and show it to an audience. These steps will always be part of the process and trust me you're gonna look back on your first stuff later and have a good laugh so it doesn't mean shit what picture profile you shot it in. 

So what to shoot? Pick anything but having a clear goal will help you get it done and the first rule of filmmaking is "Always finish the film." Traveling somewhere? Make a 3 min film about a place you go. Or better yet, make a 3 min short about your hometown. If you have an interesting shop in town, ask the owner if you can make a video about the shop. 5 min max. Then shoot it and edit it. And post it. Then do it again. A good resource I love: the Vimeo Weekend Challenge group. Every 2 weeks Vimeo staff post a challenge prompt for you to complete over the weekend. Simple stuff, like "Film your Dream from last night" "Make a video consisting of 5 clips of 5 seconds each" These are exercises with defined objectives and are great at building skill. The short time limits are a blessing too because they take less editing time and less shooting space. I see a lot of first time filmmakers start a documentary that ends up being 20 mins long and they get burnt out. No need to do that yet, just start making stuff. As you go you'll realize your sound isn't what you want. And then you move on to tackling sound. Once picture and sound are looking and sounding good you can start tweaking your picture profiles and really getting the look you want. Another easy project can just be a montage of footage to music. You have a lot of grey skies so maybe make a little moody short with grey landscapes and some music you find intriguing. Each project will contain technical lessons to learn, and it'll be easier than trying to learn about all of it theoretically without ever even starting. 

So there's how I would start. Looking forward to seeing what you create. 

1 hour ago, jcs said:

The box stays up in MF mode (using native lens).

Searching for Direct Focus Area found this: https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/3677576

See last post here; might help: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?325388-Turning-off-focus-pinpoint

Thanks for the digging JCS, yes Direct Focus Area is what is being turned on automatically when I mount any adapted lens with manual focus. I guess panasonic are right in assuming that when mounting manual focus glass you will want the Direct Focus Area tool working.

My desire was eliminate everything off of my composition screen. Unfortunately it looks like I just can't get rid of this manual focus box. (at least when using manual focus only lenses) When I mount my olympus 12mm which can utilize AF I found some options change. I can now select which kind of AF mode I want, and I found that indeed selecting the 225 point AF area will remove the box (the center cross still stays, but.. OK) However, the second I unmount the lens the little Direct Focus Area box comes back. At this point I have literally tried everything. I guess I still could be missing something, but i'm fairly certain that when using an MF lens, this box pops up automatically with no option to hide it. 

Silver lining, in my intense digging I discovered as Jonpais said the four directions on the rear wheel can be configured as 4 additional custom buttons! (for anyone wondering, pressing DISP in the "Fn Button Set" brings up options to configure the wheel as a 4 way D-pad like button, and on the GH5 the new thumb nub can have itself configured as a 4 way) I find that pretty damn cool even though I'm running out of needs to configure haha.

Can you get the box to go away when in MF mode? (when using adapted lenses, I assume you are using a native lens to enable AFC?)

Yes, when I switch to AFS/AFF and AFC modes the box appears a little bit taller, however I can't get rid of it. No matter what when I switch to any adapted lens that is MF this box stays. Have you gotten rid of it on your GH4 in Manual focus mode?

17 minutes ago, jcs said:

That's for the GH4 (no GH5 here): have you gone through all the menu settings, searched the PDF manuals?

I feel like I have tried everything. From what I remember on the GH4 this box is called "Direct Focus Area" but there is no longer a direct focus area menu option on the Gh5.

Top of page 3 is function button settings and dial settings (on the GH5 at least) What menu item are you referring to?

 Also dont worry about the shutter its whatever it happened to be when I took the photo.

Hey guys, got a question for all the gh4/5 people out there. I am going insane trying to find how to turn off my Direct Focus Area crop marks. You can see them in the center of the screen (white crop marks and green plus in center of screen) I want this box gone! But how? I can move it around the screen and I can make is smaller or larger but cant seem to just get rid of it. Used to have the same problem on the GH4 

Nice Ed and Ed! Liked both of those stories. I use a 12-120 and also the 15-150 by angenieux. I am pretty sure they are the exact same lens, the 15-150 just sits a bit farther away from the mount increasing it's coverage (it's also a 2.8 instead of a 2.2 like the 120 which makes sense) I love shooting with them! Never have to change a lens.. just focus on getting shots. My favorite doc lens. I shot this for RIT with the 15-150. Do you guys use the diopters as well? I had to use them for a couple close ups as the minimum focus was something I had to get used to. I really took modern focusing distances for granted.

I like the look of vintage documentaries and for me (having shot on a gh2 and gh4 for all of my personal and client work) I have found lenses to be the most significant decider in the "look" of any of my films. All of the "look" in this clip is because of the lens, I used an Angenieux 12-120 from the late 60s:

Grading is necessary and especially with these old lenses if you want to bring back some contrast. I have been using film convert (fcpx plugin) lately and really liking the grain in that emulator, and also the relative speed I can get a decent look going. This short with the rally cars was graded with a LUT and some individual tweaks (it was before I purchased film convert) but I find film converts grain to really add a nice layer in that "film" look. I would say though the lens is where you start, and going back a couple decades gets you a look thats not so common anymore.

Finishing the film. Only way to move on to the next one. Speaking of which.. I need to get editing :P

Do it! sounds like a great place to start; same lens in a film stock and digital sensor. Try and emulate a "film" look go for it! Look forward to the results. 

Thanks Stanley! No I didn't have lights for this shoot but the humidity and haze that day made the windows into huge soft boxes and the light just bounced from the kitchen walls. That and shooting at 1.8 kept it bright.

Hey guys, I film an online food series called Flour City Foodcore with a good friend of mine who is a chef. Rochester NY was once called the Flour city because of Flour production, now it uses the name Flower city for our annual Lilac festival. Flour City Foodcore is a project designed to highlight interesting techniques as well as the food scence out here. We had filmed this back in August but it got lost in the editing pipeline, finally got around to it.

GH4, 18-35 1.8, nikon 50 1.4. Graded with film convert. 

Enjoy!

Hey guys, I live and work in Rochester NY and one organization I have been involved with is WAYO radio, a low power station operating out of our city. I filmed their first kickstarter video last year, which secured their first year of funding, and filmed their video this year as well. Just reached funding last night with two days left! Always feels good to know you played an effective role in messaging. 

Here's the vid for those interested, all gh4 and sigma 18-35. probably  a shot with my nikon 50 1.4 in there somewhere.

I had a video where we needed to cut in some cannon 5dmkii footage w/ a gh4  and they did look different, however myself and the other cinematographer did no profile matching or testing. I think you could get them to cut well with each other but you'll probably need to find similar picture profiles is funky said. 

Also jonpais brings up a good point on IS, if you have it in cam or in lens it's definitely nice, can make a no rig setup surprisingly steady. I've gotten used to handheld shooting with a rig at this point but when I do have the opportunity to use an IS body.. it's pretty great. That being said sometimes is does look kind of funky when it's trying to smooth out your movements. 

PS stanley you were asking how the gh4 and 2 cut together, they did well provided there was enough light. In low light the 2 looked a lot softer and got grainy faster. 

Been using the GH4 for 2 years of freelance now, gh2 for one before that. I'm working as a 1 man crew, often run and gun is how I shoot. In terms of what the gh4 makes "easy", I'd say:

1. Battery. Solid, with a couple backups you are so covered in terms of power its just not as issue anymore. 

2. Control access. Now I know I am used to it but I have found the gh4 (and the gh2 when I use it) to be easy to manipulate. ISO and white balance are easy to get at with their own buttons. At the start of every shoot I create my c1 and c2 profiles. Example: I was filming in a motorcycle shop. I knew I wanted slo-mo for various things (cutting, grinding, power hammer). First thing I do in the shop is check WB, set my exposure on my c1 profile. I then go into the menu and choose the variable frame rate option, set it to the desired rate, compensate for the higher shutter, and set that to c2. Now I can flick between the two settings and never dive in a menu. Moto builder starts to grind something, c2, get the slo-mo shot. c1 for my real time wide. It's quick. This is something any cam with custom profiles can do, for me it's how I use the gh4's variable frame rate. In-camera slo-mo whenever you want it is AWESOME.

Other than that it's mostly up to how you shoot as to what will be easy. The gh4 handles well, it's a good size, its easy to manipulate the controls. The body has a mic input and an audio out so you can monitor what it's getting, which is also great. Lately I've been using a zoom h1 as a plant mic or with a lav on someone in combination with a shotgun on the cam. It's light, small.. the kit packs up nice. I don't know if the GH4 is "weather sealed". I have shot in the rain with it. I did everything I possibly could to keep it dry, but I noticed no problems. I've enjoyed this little cam a lot. I use a sigma 18-35 and a nikon 50 1.4 on a speed booster 90% of the time. Highly recommend a speed booster w/ m43. An extra stop of light is just great to have and helps stretch the iso limit. So yeah, this little tank has served me well!