Its not only the video world thats getting exited about the new Panasonic GH4 but take a look at this video produced by William Innes a fantastic wedding photographer.
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Pro video blog…Produced by Philip Johnston DoP/Editor
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The obvious advantage of the GH4 is great stills but this camera appears to take a huge bite out of “traditional” pro camcorders that weigh in at 5 lbs and up.
Are we now at the stage where selection of one over the other for video is a pure question of preference or is there still a place for the traditional pro video camcorder?
I have a Panasonic AG-AC160A.
I love this camcorder but figure I miss a lot of shots as a result of trucking around tripods, shoulder mounts, on camera monitors, and remotes.
The list goes on as I continue to salivate over sliders and other gear I feel I should have.
Where is all of this headed?
Hope he enjoys that large cheque from Panasonic!
Does the GH4 suffer from the same design flaws as the GH3 where the displays turn off after 10 seconds and the record button has to be pressed twice at times and one time at others?
HDW : I think I saw this on a recent “poorly produced” video that this has not been addressed.
Trying to sell a half-frame camera to the wedding crowd will be tough sell. Sure there’s a nice 42.5 f/1.2 to offer but on this sensor you’re effectively twice the working distance from your subject – that’s a big compromise for “the look” of a shot! Unlike video guys who think Micro 4/3 is a huge plus to the look of their images (and it is) for stills guys this is a heck of a compromise!
I don’t think I would struggle at all shooting events and wedding photos with a GH4. Because-
– what you see is what you get.
– face recognition auto focus means my compositions aren’t compromised by focus points that don’t observe the rule of thirds.
– no mirror slap.
– I can shoot wide open in low light and have twice as much depth to my shot. Great for head to toe portraits.
– My Olympus prime lenses have much better sharpness and contrast wide open than my Canon L primes.
-Equipment weight over several hours is a big plus.
Coming from an optical VF, you may be frustrated with the EVF as it is tied to the LCD where it pauses and displays the photo you just took. You miss stuff you want to see during rapid fire events. I couldn’t find a way to keep it realtime while letting the LCD display whatever for the times I want to check it.
Also, it appears the GH4 inherited at least the most egregious design flaw (if not also some of the others) of the GH3: The displays only stay on for 10 seconds and no way to override it. Hopefully that at least fixed the record button.
Hi Les,
I’ve been using the Sony A7R lately and the EVF does take some getting used to. It took me a few weeks to get it set-up to operate like the OVF on my 5D3, but now it’s set-up with no review-lag, it operates superbly fast. In fact, I prefer it to the 5D3’s OVF now, exposure assessment with peaking is superb – you video guys were onto something there! Focus magnification is another superb aid, how did we manage without that. In dark environments, or against the light focusing on a quality EVF is a major improvement also. Assessing the scene in the viewfinder is bloody brilliant too – I really like that feature, that’s the show-stopper for me. I think the GH4 is a far better (system/motion) camera, but if you are inclined to shoot in a more journalistic style its not a brilliant choice. I don’t shoot weddings but have noticed the better wedding shooters are tending to shoot wide-open on 24’s, 35’s & 50’s a hell of a lot. How do you get that look on a half-frame camera? I was never taken with old “grip & grin” style wedding coverage but these kids are providing some beautiful journalistic and modern looking wedding coverage – good for them!
Should read “Exposure assessment with Zebras” – please excuse the stills guy (:-)
Good video, but doesn’t talk about how it performs in shooting native 4K video.