Pro video blog…Produced by Philip Johnston DoP/Editor

Can you believe this major fault found only by accident by a colleague of mine during a live theatre show.

He was filming the show as a 3rd camera and accidentally pressed the green playback button when the GH5 stopped recording and went into playback mode.

This has be be one of the worst mistakes I have found with the GH5 so far and Panasonic need to urgently address this with a firmware update.

As it was a 3rd camera there will be no consequences to his recording but had it been a single camera it would have been a disaster.

The same happens with the GH5S as well !!!

It has been pointed out to me this problem has existed over a few incarnations of the GH line from the 3,4 and now 5. This is no excuse for sloppy engineering, if Panasonic want the GH5 to be taken seriously within the video world then a simple menu addition needs to be added allowing users to deactivate the playback function during recording.

author

Having been working in the video business since 1988 I have amassed a great amount of knowledge of both the kit and production values over the last 30 years.

9 thoughts on “GH5 Faults “Playback button live during a recording”

  1. well fancy pressing the play button?
    he could also have pressed the stop button and then what?
    Some things are down to user common sense, GH4/5 are small compact cameras with all buttons and dials literally next to each other you can’t help but accidentally press one of these if you are hand held.
    I recommend using a cage if you are hand held then you are limiting the chances of accidentally pressing buttons…how many of us pressed the white balance button by accident instead of the shutter button on EX3//

    HDW : I do take exception to this comment, when you are in a theatre situation you are working in the dark so its all to easy to press the wrong button, but for a professional camera to come out of record into play mode is wrong.

  2. Why the hell did he press the buttom. Can’t blame the camera for stupid operator.

    HDW : Working in the dark, the word theatre is the clue, Sherlock !…The point is the play button should be inactive during record mode !

  3. It’s not really a new phenomenon and no specific problem of the GH5: The GH2 behaved the same way and probably GH3 and GH4 did also.

    HDW : No excuse for sloppy engineering, this should not happen.

  4. I have worked in dark theatres for 20 years using sony VX900 Ex3 EX1 F3 GH4 hand held, tripod pole mount even in audience seating area, fumbling around in the dark is recipe for mishaps, first thing I got for our 2x GH4s was cage, eliminated users errors by 99%.
    Sorry but if you are working in the dark and pressing button and not knowing what your pressing then its not the manufacturers fault.
    Lesson learned, tell our fellow GH5 owner to use a cage, otherwise…

    HDW : Why should people have to incur extra expense when a simple FW update to switch this function on and off during recording is all thats needed.

  5. Got a few sony, jvc and Panny camcorders, will try and enter play to see what happens, a gh5 s is hardly a pro camera, prosumer yes.

    HDW : I think its a PRO as many of us need these days and beats the socks off many so called PRO video cameras at 4K 50p.

  6. oh Please!…. why did he press the button in the first place?? user error YES…. golden rule of operating any camera… KNOW HOW TO USE IT!
    dark or no dark… the operator should know left from right.
    ok.. its an bug… but at the end if the day… its user error. END OF STORY.

    HDW : Its a “BUG”, a very serious BUG in my opinion which needs fixing…SIMPLE !

  7. I follow you here; The only button which should stop recording is the recording button iteslf, period.
    Looking at the comment section, I’m so surprise people found this as an operator problem.
    I own many pro camera and none of them stop a recording when I press a play button, or review.. So, are pro operator stupid enough and we protect them more? or the environment is sometime not ideal and your camera should be smart enough to cover you?

    My guess is the obvious second choice.

  8. Some button are misplaced and have very soft action so they are a source of mistakes. Another misplaced button is DISP. And event it is flat it could be pushed easily. Maybe some buttons should be designed to be pressed harder.

  9. When shooting on a tripod, I usually avoid touching the camera to minimise camera shake. I would suggest firmware fix or not, that playing with buttons in the dark whilst recording is not recommended. Good news is – he didn’t find the delete button!

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