I reduced the price of the Panasonic GH4 Shooter’s Guide last week to just $9.99 and it has sold well, therefore I am extending the half-price sale to the entire range of EOSHD Shooter’s Guides for the next 7 days only. If you’re looking to dive deeper into your camera knowledge or are even just curious about what the books offer – now is the perfect time.
Read moreAll EOSHD Shooter’s Guides are now half price for 7 days
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdhaqeKf0-Y[/youtube]
Dave Dugdale has published his Sony A7S review ahead of time. In it is an enlightening video review of the differences between the Sony A7S and Panasonic GH4.
Read moreDave Dugdale compares the Panasonic GH4 and Sony A7S
The EOSHD Panasonic GH4 Shooter’s Guide is now available
Master the art of 4K video on the GH4 with this 128 page book!
Welcome to the EOSHD Panasonic GH4 review.
The Panasonic GH4, is it a cinematic monster or a wimpy video camera? It’s a monster. Even compared to the full frame 14bit raw from the 5D Mark III the GH4 holds its own.
The GH4 represents a big return to form for Panasonic, a consumer camera that pushes way beyond the image provided by the GH3 and AF100. As a 4K camera never has the format been so practical to shoot as it is with the GH4. With file sizes 8x less than on the nearest competitor and a price 5x less expensive than the Canon 1D C, the GH4 is the most exciting camera I have ever shot with at EOSHD.
It looks like the story of 2014 is taking shape in the form of very high quality 4K on large sensor mirrorless cameras. Last year for me it was raw on the 5D Mark III which excited me the most and before that it was the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. This year is more exciting on the tech and creative front than any I can remember.
Here’s my look at how the GH4 and A7S compare in detail for 4K cinematography…
Read morePanasonic GH4 vs Sony A7S compared – who wins the 4K battle on paper?
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/90913653[/vimeo]
Test footage shot by Frank Sauer and Andrew Reid
Something I have discovered while editing all this GH4 4K material is that the 8bit codec Panasonic uses is quite complex and requires more power than ProRes. I have also found that the sequence settings and video proxy settings in Premiere are a good thing to pay attention to this time… the default ones no longer cut it.
Along the way I have found a few tricks to get the colours in GH4 footage to absolutely sing with Film Convert and Premiere using the Alexa Rec 709 profile.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/90809303[/vimeo]
Tip jar EOSHD just $5 if you think this article is useful
Nerd alert!
I’m afraid it’s time to put the creative urges to one side and get down to the nitty gritty. Just exactly how does the GH4’s image stack up against the competition?
Read morePanasonic GH4 4K Production Diary – Day 3 – EOSHD Shootout
Pros are wondering what the benefit of 4K is to them in terms of overall image quality, when mastered and delivered for 2K / 1080p. A lot of work is still shot in 1080p and cameras like the Canon C300 are the workhorses of the moment.
In the case of the GH4 it may appear from the specs that it’s just an 8bit 4:2:0 camera internally.
Actually the theory is 8bit 4:2:0 4K material from this camera can be taken through a workflow in post that converts it to 10bit 4:4:4 1080p – with all the smoother tonality, better colour and workflow advantages that format brings. This is a big leap for 1080p based on the much more expensive C300 which only does 8bit 4:2:2.
I asked Go Pro’s David Newman (Sr. Dir. Software – follow on Twitter) whether this theory was correct…
Read moreDiscovery: 4K 8bit 4:2:0 on the Panasonic GH4 converts to 1080p 10bit 4:4:4
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/86130834[/vimeo]
Above: interview with Illya Friedman of Hot Rod Cameras, by Dan Chung
The GH4 is a consumer camera but one which has the most pro-camera leanings I’ve ever seen from a consumer or even prosumer model.
Because of that many professional shooters are considering the GH4.
Here then are some of the remaining questions from pros on the EOSHD forum answered…
