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GH5S or X-T3?


BjornT
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Started a new job heading up the video side of a company and been asked to compile a list of equipment to buy (budget not set in stone but for camera around 1500-2500 euro range).

Im thinking either GH5S or X-T3. Currently own a GH5 and love it but thinking GH5S for the extra low light. The job is for a furniture company so will be shooting a lot of social media advertising as well as testimonials, behind the scenes and the occasional team events so ideally a good all rounder.

The bigger sensor and better autofocus is the big plus over GH5S I believe but understand battery life is worse on X-T3 and wondered if people think its as good all-rounder as the GH5S? Does anyone know which is better in lowlight? Best Dynamic Range?

How is the audio circuits in the X-T3 vs GH5S? Planning on using the rode wireless lav kit with the camera and thought GH5S might be better in this regard but maybe Im wrong.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

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I think what @DBounce mentioned about colors can be important. While the GH5S colors look nice to me (I do, after all, shoot with Sony cameras), it might be good to plan around how much time you will have for coloring / grading.

Neither camera has IBIS. Is that going to be an issue? If I had to go by "gut feeling" alone, then MAYBE the tilty screen of the X-T3 would be easier to use than the flip-out screen of the GH5 when using on a gimbal??? If you are using a small "single hand" gimbal (Crane or something similar), will the motors block the flip out screen???

You can hear some of Jordan Drake's thought on the X-T3 here:

https://youtu.be/6situ5QPf6s?t=579

It seems the AF tracking in video is not on par with the Canon (and I would assume Sony as well... not that canon or sony cameras are in the running in your decision at all, just that maybe that is one slightly less advantage in terms of the X-T3).

Will you be using lighting??? If not, does 10-bit 4:2:2 hold up any better to color correcting mixed lighting than 10-bit 4:2:0 (I think Jordan says the Fuji is 10-bit 4:2:0 when recorded internally).

Do you not want a B cam??? Since you mentioned you own a GH5 already, then having a GH5S as an A cam and your GH5 as a B cam makes a lot of sense.

What is the lens budget looking like? The only people I know who say "Fuji lenses are inexpensive" are people who used to shoot Sony...

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Here is the deal man, whats more important Low light performance or auto focus?

The XT3 has state of the art auto focus. However the low light performance isn't that great. The GH5 gives a clean image up to 6400 iso, where as the XT3 is more like 3200. Even at 12,000 iso the GH5S is nice, where as the XT3 is really noisy and soft in comparison. The XT3 isn't much better then a GH5 in regards to ISO performance. Of course I always used the GH5 with a speedbooster, so that gave it that extra stop of light.

To me Fuji color is much nicer and it also has a bit more dynamic range (half a stop maybe). Fuji has better high speed options (4k 60p in 10 bit where the GH5S is 8bit) Shooting over 60p is pretty crippled on the GH5S due to weird banding issues. The Fuji 120fps 10bit is much nicer then the GH5S's 120p in 8 bit.

If you have a GH5 is makes sense to get the GH5S as the colors will match pretty well.

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45 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

The XT3 has state of the art auto focus. However the low light performance isn't that great. The GH5 gives a clean image up to 6400 iso, where as the XT3 is more like 3200. Even at 12,000 iso the GH5S is nice, where as the XT3 is really noisy and soft in comparison. The XT3 isn't much better then a GH5 in regards to ISO performance. Of course I always used the GH5 with a speedbooster, so that gave it that extra stop of light.

Can you link to any tests done with X-T3 to show off the poorer low light performance?

I am surprised because it is supposed to be better than the Sony a6500 at low light / DR but I am not sure if that holds true for video as well as stills.

Thanks in advance.

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GH5S much nicer to use. Full sized HDMI, flip out screen, solid battery life, etc. X-T3 has nicer SOOC color, AF, and a larger sensor. Low light is a slight edge to the GH5S, but both are nice. Comparable native lens options. Both have internal 10-bit in solid codecs--slight edge to the GH5S for not breaking up clips into 4GB chunks. 

To me, price is the big point. The X-T3 is comparable, if not better, for $1000 less. That's a couple decent lenses, some support gear, a few lights/stands, a slider/gimbal, etc. So if budget is a factor, Fuji is a real no-brainer.

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Is the X-T3 really comparable in low light with the GH5? Because that is not great news.

If you care for a hybrid camera, X-T3 is the one. If you care more for video, then GH5S (Pocket4K is also an option for less than the Fuji).

GH5S has very different color science than the GH5 (plenty of videos). I do not follow them closely, has PAnasonic released any firmware update improving color science on the GH5?

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11 minutes ago, TheRenaissanceMan said:

Both have internal 10-bit in solid codecs--slight edge to the GH5S for not breaking up clips into 4GB chunks. 

To me, price is the big point. The X-T3 is comparable, if not better, for $1000 less. That's a couple decent lenses, some support gear, a few lights/stands, a slider/gimbal, etc. So if budget is a factor, Fuji is a real no-brainer.

The 4gb problem will be fixed with the next firmware update.
Also the GH5 is definitely way worse than the X-T3 in low light.
ISO3200 are clean with the X-T3, even ISO6400 are usable with some noise in the shadows- Don't ever do that with the GH5 lol

some interesting video


The GH5 loses in the dynamic range department as well.

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17 minutes ago, deezid said:

The 4gb problem will be fixed with the next firmware update.
Also the GH5 is definitely way worse than the X-T3 in low light.
ISO3200 are clean with the X-T3, even ISO6400 are usable with some noise in the shadows- Don't ever do that with the GH5 lol

some interesting video


The GH5 loses in the dynamic range department as well.

I own Fuji and Panasonic and that’s been my experience too.

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1 hour ago, deezid said:

The 4gb problem will be fixed with the next firmware update.
Also the GH5 is definitely way worse than the X-T3 in low light.
ISO3200 are clean with the X-T3, even ISO6400 are usable with some noise in the shadows- Don't ever do that with the GH5 lol

some interesting video


The GH5 loses in the dynamic range department as well.

You realize the GH5 and GH5S are two different cameras, right?

I'll agree that Fuji probably has the edge for DR. Haven't tested it yet.

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Here is a quick shootout of the Fuji X-T3, Canon 1DXMk2, Canon C200 and Panasonic GH5S. Granted FCPX refused to not blowout some of the footage of camera B. It's displayed correctly in some of the head to head comparisons. I think it might have been caused by a software bug in FCPX. In any case all four cameras were filming in base ISO in controlled lighting. Opinions welcomed.

 

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Cheers everyone. Seems GH5 and XT-3 are very similar in low light and Dynamic Range (with a slight edge to XT-3). Recon I will suggest GH5S as primary option as battery life, unlimited recording time, lcd screen and waveforms are big pros as well as xlr adapter so I can do wireless lav and shotgun mic at same time, and I am used to it having used the GH5 for a year. The autofocus is the big pro point of the XT-3 though. Maybe I can persuade them to buy both!

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11 minutes ago, BjornT said:

Cheers everyone. Seems GH5 and XT-3 are very similar in low light and Dynamic Range (with a slight edge to XT-3). Recon I will suggest GH5S as primary option as battery life, unlimited recording time, lcd screen and waveforms are big pros as well as xlr adapter so I can do wireless lav and shotgun mic at same time, and I am used to it having used the GH5 for a year. The autofocus is the big pro point of the XT-3 though. Maybe I can persuade them to buy both!

You forgot IBIS, sort of a biggy for video. Anamorphic for a real Cine look helps also. But yeah the Fuji is damn tempting no doubt. An amazing leap for them.

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5 hours ago, BjornT said:

Cheers everyone. Seems GH5 and XT-3 are very similar in low light and Dynamic Range (with a slight edge to XT-3). Recon I will suggest GH5S as primary option as battery life, unlimited recording time, lcd screen and waveforms are big pros as well as xlr adapter so I can do wireless lav and shotgun mic at same time, and I am used to it having used the GH5 for a year. The autofocus is the big pro point of the XT-3 though. Maybe I can persuade them to buy both!

XT-3 is really amazing and would love to test in in the field. But since you're used to the GH5, it won't be difficult to adjust to the GH5S. How about adding a Ronin-S or Zhiyun Crane 2 to your budget plus an Atomos recorder or SmallHD Focus. The gimbal will help with the GH5S since you're gonna miss the IBIS i'm sure. I always had thoughts like 'Why is this damn cam so shaky?!' when using the GH5s lol. Also the Atomos recorder / Smallhd focus for better focus peaking. If you're going for the Atomos Ninja/ Shogun or Ninja V, you'll be glad if you want unlimited recording since the SSD drives can store much more than the SD cards

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The XT3 is a very tempting camera but I don't think it's quite there yet. I think the GH5S is overall a better option, though I think I actually like how the XT3's image looks more. But the GH5 and GH5S are just hard to beat when it comes to the overall big picture. 

I also just think it makes sense to go with the GH5S given you already have a GH5. 

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20 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

The XT3 is a very tempting camera but I don't think it's quite there yet. I think the GH5S is overall a better option, though I think I actually like how the XT3's image looks more. But the GH5 and GH5S are just hard to beat when it comes to the overall big picture. 

I also just think it makes sense to go with the GH5S given you already have a GH5. 

We share common ground there. 

And two sets of lenses and trying to match colors not fun. And color aside, image quality is different as night and day. 

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