newfoundmass

The A7siii is $1300 more than the GH6 and has less video features. Simple things like no waveforms, no ability to load LUTs, no anamorphic desqueeze, no 4K DCI, no shutter angle, opengate recording, etc. Add in internal ProRes and there's a lot going for the GH6 and it's the $2200 price tag.

Also, I suspect that a lot of the R&D is cross compatible between their M43 and FF cameras. Unless the market completely bottoms out I think they'll continue with M43, even if it doesn't match their 2013-2017 output. The day will come, I'm sure, but the demise of M43 has been greatly exaggerated.

There are a lot of things to critique the GH6 about (the streaking, for example, is unacceptable), but of the major camera companies there's no camera in its price range that comes close to its capabilities. It's impressive even if you factor in smaller companies like ZCam and BMD's offerings in its price range, even though they try to push even further as they try to gain market share. Hopefully Panasonic fixes and improves it even more. But it's still an impressive release.

First, I want to say that I'm glad you're back. I wish more of the old guard (except Jon Pais, fuck that guy) would come back! I think where Kye gets annoyed is that, you reiterate why you can't understand why anyone would get a M43 camera even after people have specifically stated what they like about the system and why they are invested in it. When you do that it feels like you kind of completely disregard what we've said and our opinions. Sony was never a member of the M43 partnership, so they definitely wouldn't decide in 2022 to begin releasing M43 cameras. I don't think it's innovation that's lacking, M43 led in innovation for years, it's just that everyone caught up. Still, their cameras offer tools that the competition doesn't. But in a market where auto focus is so very important, that doesn't really matter to a lot of users.

Lenses are generally cheaper than their full frame counterparts. They're also smaller, as I stated earlier. Even buying third party FF lenses you'd still spend less on the M43 versions. Are they at fast as their FF counterparts? No, but that's not the most important thing for a lot of people I believe that the M43 system, particularly Panasonic, needs to improve in order for the system to continue. I'm uneasy about Panasonic's long term success because of the AF and how important it is to the market, even if it's not the most important thing to me. But people have proclaiming M43's death since before the GH4. The bodies do. The lenses, especially the zooms, are a different story. A GH6 body with battery, memory card and 12-35mm lense weighs 1,128 g. The A7IV with battery, memory card, and 24-70mm is 1,544. It's the same story with the other zooms, too. In fact the size gap grows significantly. A 70-200mm FF lense alone weighs about the same as a GH6 with a 35-100mm. I mean, it depends on the user. In video? All of those things have workarounds on M43. Low light? Add more light. The lenses all auto focus pretty quickly on systems with good AF. The GH6 has the same MP count as many full frame cameras doesn't it? You can get nice DOF. Photography? Low light isn't as big of an issue. Auto focus works great. MP? Both Panny and Olympus have added high resolution modes. Have you seen the 100mp images the GH6 can produce? Incredible stuff. And the stabilization can't be beat. M43 isn't for you. That's OK.

I understand. A lot of people won't, unfortunately. I go back and forth on it myself, honestly. But there really are positives to the system, and they don't get nearly as much love as they deserve.

For a lot of work using primes isn't feasible, and you need to use zooms. It's in those situations where the size difference really stands out. The 12-35mm is 305 g, while the Sony 24-70mm is 886 g. The 35-100mm is 357 g, while the Sony 70-200 is 1045 g. The 100-400mm f/4-6.3 is 985 g, the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 is 2115 g. That's not even factoring in the length of them. All of those lenses are also considerably cheaper than their Sony counterparts. Also, if you wanted to get a 600mm full frame equivalent lens for M43 you would go with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4. It weighs 1475 g and costs $2,849.99. The Sony FE 600mm f/4 meanwhile weighs 3040 g and costs $12,998.00. You were saying? 😉

Sherif, who has worked with Panasonic for years and was hired by them to make GH3 and GH4 videos for promotional purposes, seemed really disappointed with Panasonic's response. For those that didn't watch, Panasonic indicated to him that they were satisfied with the performance. That's not to say they won't try to improve it in the future (my words, not his), but I too am disappointed by that response. Panasonic has always felt like the company that listens and cares about their users (except for autofocus lol.) They absolutely should not be satisfied with this performance. There are still advantages to M43, and it does have a dedicated user base. As much as I like my new S5, I really appreciate how compact my M43 kit is even more. I think we'll continue to see a slowdown in releases compared to 2014-2017, but I think we'll still see more M43 cameras down the road.

I don't really care about them being compatible with the GH5. You shouldn't have to use external solutions to get longer than an hour record time, especially when one of the hallmarks of the GH series has been excellent battery life. It's a very legitimate gripe.

I've heard similar. I imagine it takes a lot of processing power to do what it can do, but I'm unsure why they didn't use the same battery as the S1H. I guess to keep the size down? But give me a slightly bigger body if it means more battery time.

I use a monitor sometimes but the mini HDMI port makes me nervous. I need to get an HDMI clamp for the cage. I get 2 1/2 hours or so with the battery, and the takes weren't that long that I needed to worry about it. I did but a USB battery with PD though that I'm going to try out.

I'm in agreement with @webrunner5, I have come to dislike the overuse of gimbals. I think that kind of smooth movement should be used to convey part of the story you're trying to tell, as opposed to being the default camera movement you use. It is part of the sterile, for lack of a better word, direction filmmaking/videography has taken that I just don't like. Not everything needs to be CLEAN and PERFECT. And not everything needs to be in slow motion! There are a lot of negatives to moving away from the camcorder style of camera, and there are things I miss a lot about them, but it's also hard not to appreciate what these smaller cameras have allowed us to do. There is something truly liberating about being able to pick up my tiny GX85, throw on the 35-100mm lens, and get that kind of quality footage while being able to blend in and film in places I normally wouldn't be able to. I've also found, even with the larger mirrorless cameras, people are generally a lot more comfortable being filmed than they were when I used those larger cameras. Still, I do miss the ergonomics, the button lay out, the legendary battery life, and all the other perks that came with those big boys. I also never ran into the problem of not looking professional when carrying one of those hulking beasts with me!

I prefer the smaller cameras. I miss the ergonomics of those big boys, but not the weight. You had to be built like a brick house to use those cameras. I know a couple NBA and WWE cameramen and they need to be in really good shape to do what they do. I do think the shoulder rig is underrated. I still use one from time to time!

Normally my clients are people that saw me work first hand, so they know what to expect, but this one had never seen me work. I didn't really think to do more than bring my lights, camera, tripod, and audio gear since it was a pretty simple sit down set up... Making it all look like a beefed up cine camera didn't even cross my mind! I guess it wouldn't hurt to add my SmallRig mini matte box lite, wooden hand grips, and external monitor in the future? I just never really saw the point in controlled conditions. I think I'd just buy another S5 or an S1. When I got home I did this. I guess that does look better.

So today I had a shoot for a new client and when she saw me take out my Panasonic S5 she was a bit taken back. She thought that I had a more "professional camera." She wasn't mean about it, but she genuinely seemed surprised. It just was kind of an awkward situation, I guess in part because this was my first new client since the pandemic made me scale back, and I'd kinda forgotten what that was like. It did however make me wonder if I should've rigged out the camera more, if for no other reason than to make it look more "professional" and to make the client feel as though she was getting her monies worth. How do others handle this, and is it a consideration at all? I know many will scoff at the idea (I always have in the past), but is this something I should consider more, especially as I work with new clients? I'm interested in how others handle this!

I'm looking at this, and looking for some alternative solutions. https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-holder-for-portable-power-banks-bub2336.html

I think I'd probably get the 28-70mm instead to save some money if I went that route. I'm looking at the Panny 24-105mm though as my first lens purchase, though I'm gonna wait to find a deal on it and stick with the kit lens and adapted vintage lenses until then.

I'd guess you'd get 4 1/2 hours with the battery grip and two OEM batteries (based on what I got with one OEM battery)? And you can hot swap one battery after it switches from the one in the grip to the one in the camera, at least I can on the G85 and GH5.

Powering a camera via USB powerbank is foreign to me. I've been using a 5 year old camera, people! 🤣 Any specific powerbanks you'd suggest? And any easy ways to mount it to a cage or tripod?

My primary reason for wanting a battery grip is that sometimes I need to record longer than 2 hours and there's not always an outlet near the optimal spot for the hard camera. I've thought about it. The thing that makes me lean towards another S5 is that I often times am seeing if bundled with the 20-60mm kit lens. The $200 upgrade also is kinda a sore spot, though I notice a lot of them already have it. That was honestly why I was hesitant to buy into a full frame Panasonic camera. To be clear, it's not really a huge priority for me, but I think the long term health of the system is dependent on AF because it's what the market demands. But I couldn't pass up the deal I got.

So based on @Mmmbeats excellent post the GH6 probably isn't the best choice if you're creating content that needs a quick turnaround? I'd say 80% of my work is NOT shot in V-Log for that reason. Getting an image that is in the ballpark and then tweaking it a little to get it where it needs to be was one of the things I really like about the GH5, especially for my multicam work. It's nice to have that flexibility when you need it, but when I have work that I need to film, edit, and release within 24 hours, it's also really nice to be able to get a good image SOOC.

For instance, some of the chatter I've seen is that it's not as easy to get the most out of it like it was with the GH5. That's not a bad thing, as it's due in part to it being such an advanced video camera, but I'd like to see the process/differences, especially as it pertains to people moving from the GH5 to the GH6. When the GH5 came out there were just ample videos of people going through all the menus, explaining what this feature does and what that feature does, and what they do together, and what's the optimal set-up. There were videos dedicated to getting the most out of the autofocus, colors, etc. Like, real videos about using the camera, not just "here are the specs, here's an example of DR boost, look at the stabilization" etc. Obviously, when you own a camera you want to go through that stuff yourself and make your own decisions, but those videos were a good starting point and gave you a good idea of what to expect, and also whether the camera is a good fit for you or not before even purchasing. I suppose it goes back to me being less interested in specs, and more wanting to see and hear about the genuine user experience. It hit stores 6 weeks ago, it's just kinda surprising (and disappointing?) that there hasn't been a lot of that so far.

So I'm late to the party, but I've had the S5 for a few days and I must say I'm genuinely impressed. It's a real joy to use. It kind of blows my mind that it's an entry level camera, because it's capabilities are impressive. First, I was wrong to write it off because of the recording limit in 10-bit and 60p. It'd have been nice to not have those limits, but the 8-bit is quite nice with good colors SOOC. I think it will be more than sufficient for my event work, though I'll know for sure after this weekend. Low light is very good, at least as someone coming from a GH5. Speaking of the GH5, I've been able to match the two pretty easily. I was worried that wouldn't be the case, but I think using the GH5 and my G85 will work out okay as b and c cams. I LOVE that I not only can use the XLR module but that I can lower the pre-amps more than the GH5. That was always something that has bugged me. There aren't a ton of 3rd party accessories. It came with 3 OEM batteries, but I bought some third party batteries from Newmowa. They work pretty good, though after using the OEM batteries and seeing how long they last I probably didn't need to get them. They work with the GH5 though, so they're not a waste. I wish there was a third party battery grip, and more options for cages. Mine came with a Small Rig cage, which is okay, but it doesn't feel as robust and protective as the GH5 cage I have. Overall I'm very pleased. I had no intention of getting it until I was offered a great deal on one. Now I'm contemplating picking up a second one and going with two S5s and one GH5 for my set up. That probably won't happen for a while, but in the span of a week I went from being pretty resistant to going with Panasonic for full frame to debating buying a second FF Panny camera. 🤦🏻‍♂️

It's unfortunate, as I'd really like to see more in-depth dives into the GH6. Seeing those that own one discussing it is great, but I'd love to watch some truly deep dives on those things being discussed. I'd especially love to see the difference in the workflow to the GH5.

I'm surprised we haven't seen more in-depth reviews yet. I suppose that has been replaced by the "first look" reviews where they base it on pre-release cameras/firmware? But there hasn't been a lot of talk about it post release.